After an entire month of not buying anything backpacking-related it’s time to get back on the wagon. Between a new lens purchase and the arrival of my custom EE Enigma quilt I’m now sitting at a base weight that’s just below 15 pounds. Hot damn!

Fujinon XF 18mm F2 R Lens

After lugging around my 375g astrophotography-capable wide-angle lens for a whole year and not having a single astro shot to show for it I thought that it might be time to invest in a lighter setup. The Fuji X mount ecosystem only has two lenses that approach the pancake form factor, one is a 40mm-equivalent without an aperture ring and the other is this one. It’s a stop slower/darker than the astro lens and a hair narrower but it’s also just under a third of the weight or over half a pound lighter. I normally buy my lenses used from KEH Camera and while they had a pretty good deal I was able to find one of their listings on Amazon for even cheaper. The stock hood and cover are strangely rectangular but I’ve already got replacements on the way along with a 10-stop neutral density filter and a circular polarizer.

($359.99, 118g lens, 12g hood, 8g hood cover, 11g lens cap)

CNOC Vecto 2L Blue 2020 Water Container

After a recent winter overnight I discovered that two liters of dirty water carrying capacity isn’t sufficient when gathering water is a pain (due to inaccessibility, shortened daylight hours, etc.) so I decided to add a second member to my Vecto family. Initially I was going to go with the 3-liter version but aside from being sold out I read some reviews where people complained that the weight of all the water put too much stress on the bag, resulting in minor leaks. So, I decided to snag the tried-and-true 2-liter size.

My previous Vecto is from 2018-ish, there have been a few changes between now and then:

  • The back side of the foldable flap at the top has the words “This side in” printed on it so it’s more obvious that you’ve folded it the wrong way.
  • The neck is now made of clear (harder?) plastic and extends further out from the body. Previously when the cap was screwed on the bottom would sit flush with the retainer ring but now there’s a gap.
  • The slider is attached to the body with a tether. While the cap tether makes a ton of sense, permanently attaching the slider to the body prevents you from girth hitching the slider around a tree branch as part of a gravity filter setup. I also find the tether to be too short which requires fussing with it. Time to get snipped!

($19.99, 78g)

Manfrotto Pixi Evo Mini Tripod

With 6 length settings for each leg, a lie-flat mode, a fully-adjustable ball head, and up to 8 inches of height the Manfrotto Pixi Evo covers all the adjustability bases of a miniature tripod at a measly 265 grams. Manfrotto is a snooty Italian brand mostly known for their high-end gear but this tabletop tripod was much more reasonably priced.

Before this purchase I had two tripods, a full-size MeFoto Backpacker Classic and a teensy Pedco Ultrapod Grip. The MeFoto is ridiculously heavy at 1171 grams (although that’s still pretty darn light as far as full-size tripods go). After realizing that I rarely if ever need the 5+ feet of height (because many landscape shots look really good taken close to the ground and for astrophotography you’re just pointing up at the sky) I picked up the Pedco. At only 100 grams it was a massive improvement in weight but at the cost of adjustability: the Pedco’s leg positions are limited to open/closed resulting in a fixed 5-inch height. And while a 3-inch difference betweet the Pedco and the Manfrotto doesn’t sound like a lot it’s been a make-or-break difference for a couple shots already.

($36.85, 265g)

Ultimate Navigation Manual

In yet another outdoor book recommendation thread someone mentioned this as being the most thorough navigation book they’d ever read. Having just finished reading it myself, I concur.

Also, how do product photographers get the covers of actually-read books to lie flat? Do they always use “fresh” books or do they just tape/glue the cover down from the inside? I suppose you could just place a sheet of plexiglass over the top and shoot through that…

($20.09)