October 2018 – Turigrinos

Nuun Energy caffeine + electrolyte tablets

Make: Nuun | Model: Energy | Year: 2018 | 4g |$0.39 My pre-outdoors ritual only involves two things: McDonald'sCaffeine I'm often not terribly hungry at 5-something in the morning when I'm leaving for a trip. However, it turns out there's a McDonald's on the way to pretty much any trailhead which makes it a reliable way to get lots of cheap hot calories on the go once my tummy has warmed up a bit. I'm also often not terribly awake at 5-something in the morning which is where caffeine comes into play. Most people would turn towards coffee but there's [...]

By Person A|2018-10-19T02:36:56+00:00October 19th, 2018|

SmartWater sport cap 700mL

Make: SmartWater | Model: sport cap 700mL | Year: 2018 | 32g | $1.49 When I first started hiking Nalgenes were all the rage - huge, heavy, and indestructible. In hindsight, none of those qualities are what I would consider selling points for a water bottle. They were also a pain to use, requiring you to stop and ask for assistance in removing one from your pack (and putting it back) whenever you wanted a drink, or taking your pack at least halfway off if you were hiking solo. When I finally upgraded to a hydration bladder (and with it [...]

By Person A|2019-09-22T23:29:51+00:00October 16th, 2018|

Coolibar Performance Sun Bandana UPF 50+

Make: Coolibar | Model: Performance Sun Bandana UPF 50+ | Year: 2018 | 53g | $18.00 Problem: you are a bit short on hair Problem: you hate sunscreen Problem: you like the Lawrence of Arabia sun cape look (or, at least the practical sun protection that it provides) Also problem: you like to hike in mesh baseball caps for breathability but worry about all that sun coming down hard on your head Solution: bandana + baseball cap? Despite never having actually been burnt through the mesh on my baseball cap I decided to keep my winning streak against the sun [...]

By Person A|2018-10-15T04:06:34+00:00October 15th, 2018|

3M Virtua 11330 Anti-Fog Sunglasses

Make: 3M | Model: Virtua 11330 | Year: 2018 | 23g | $4.64 I used to bring expensive sunglasses outdoors and worry about damaging and having to replace them, but no more. These 3M polycarbonate safety glasses function as actual sunglasses (absorbing 99.9% of UVA and UVB rays) and have an anti-fog coating. They are decently dark and offer good peripheral coverage, and from a distance they look like regular sunglasses - they're not so dorky that people are going to notice them on the trail. They are not polarized although I don't find that this matters in practice (keeping [...]

By Person A|2018-10-16T05:07:30+00:00October 15th, 2018|