May 2020 Loot!

Here I was making edits to the April loot post when I realized that, uh, it’s not April anymore. That’s ok because April was pretty meh on gear but May is shaping up to be pretty outstanding:

Montbell Versalite Rain Shell

Can an ultralight rain jacket with pit zips function as both a wind shell and rain shell? It’s five ounces of weight savings over my current cagoule/Veil combo so let’s hope so!

(using a stock photo here since I haven’t figured out a good way to take clothing photos)

($199, 190g)

In his book The Ultimate Hiker’s Gear Guide, Andrew Skurka mentions that fleece is essential for creating a layer of lofty insulation between your base layer and rain shell during prolonged periods of rain. This is because a wetted-out rain shell will have a surface temperature that is 20F colder than a non-wetted-out shell. On a recent trip where I experienced said prolonged periods of rain I definitely noticed an uncomfortable chill on my back and shoulders, presumably from the pressure of my pack compressing those areas and reducing the insulation of my knit hiking shirt.

The KUIU Peloton 97 is widely regarded as one of the lightest fleeces available but is also known for lacking abrasion resistance. However, since I don’t plan on bushwhacking in it durability shouldn’t be a significant concern. What remains to be seen is whether I can comfortably fold it up and use it as a pillow. If so this would help defray the additional weight penalty of introducing another article of clothing to my ensemble.

($89, 138g)

Enlightened Equipment Rain Wrap

The original motivation behind my Versalite purchase was the idea that I could replace my dedicated rain shell (the Sierra Designs Elite Cagoule at 246 grams) and wind shell (the Massdrop Veil at 85 grams) with something that, thanks to the enormous venting potential of the pit zips, could adequately do the job of both pieces while saving weight. Since the Versalite clocked in at 190 grams that’s 141 grams or 5 ounces of weight savings.

On the wind shell front it’s a solid upgrade: the fully-opened pit vents provide a massive increase in ventilation over what the Veil’s 11 CFM fabric can provide alone. However, on the rain shell front we don’t fare as well: the cagoule is long and comes down to my knees which keeps my thighs dry whereas the Versalite stops at the waist. Since your thighs are exposed to the rain every time you lift your legs they quickly become soaked as yesterday’s inaugural hike reminded me.

Solution: a rain wrap (or kilt/skirt). I don’t need full leg coverage since my pants are loose and don’t touch my skin below the knees so the wetness of the fabric is irrelevant from a convective cooling and comfort standpoint. A rain wrap provides just the right amount of coverage in an incredibly breathable way and the EE version is exceptionally thin and light compared to its competitors.

($40, 48g in size medium)

Green.L 10-Stop Neutral Density Filter

A neutral density filter allows you to take daytime long exposures (waterfalls, glassy lakes, smeared clouds) by adding an incredible amount of darkness in front of your lens. In my experience I’ve found that 10 stops does the trick.

($13.99, 6g)

Tiffen Circular Polarizer

Circular polarizers cut down on glare and increase contrast when you’re shooting outdoors. They also allow you to darken skies and eliminate reflections from water. Fancy!

($19.93, 18g)

Litesmith Floss Singles

Aside from actual flossing this makes a great addition to a repair kit since floss is strong and can be used as thread for sewing. Whether twenty inches is enough remains to be seen but it’s a definite improvement over the zero inches I was bringing before.

($0.99 for a 5-pack, 0.4g each)

Fundamentals of Mantracking

Weird title aside, I used to be a search and rescue volunteer and would like to get into it again. This showed up on my Amazon wishlist and I thought, why not? Could be interesting!

($11.69)

Litesmith Shorty Toothbrush

At four inches long and only a gram heavier this is a lot more “normal” than my previous toothbrush, the Litesmith Thumbprint. I caught Person B ogling it so I’m guessing there’s a second one of these in our future.

($2.95, 5g tootbrush, 3g case)

Suunto M-3 Compass

It finally arrived! I’ve been skimping on navigation lately but as I spend more time wandering off trail on my own the time has come to go legit once again. I’ve owned a few models of Suunto compasses over the years but always with the heavy sighting mirrors so I’m excited to finally have something that’s both lightweight and functional.

($30.56, 45g compass, 5g lanyard, 1g clip)

Montbell Micro Towel Hand

The idea here was to have something small yet durable for backcountry bathing with drying as a secondary concern. However, in the meantime I’ve since realized that a Buff can provide this function in addition to sun protection and cooling (when dry or wet around the neck, respectively) and can also act as a face mask and sleeping mask. It may be the case that having two dedicated items is best but only time will tell.

($6, 6g)

Casio SGW300HB-3AVCF Sport Watch

An AB (altimeter/barometer) watch provides redundant timekeeping and elevation measurement in an ultra-low-power manner, reducing battery pressure on your smartphone. The barometer also allows you to monitor changes in the weather over time which can warn you of incoming storms if you’re on a trip which is longer than the 48-hour high-confidence interval of the typical weather forecast. This particular model also includes a thermometer which is worthless if you’re wearing the watch on your wrist since it’ll be skewed by your body heat. Finally, this particular model has a feature which when enabled causes the watch to beep twice on the hour every hour. I find this particularly handy for ensuring that I regularly take short breaks during trips.

($39.87, 44g)

Mountain Laurel Designs Pack Pocket

My Osprey Levity backpack lacks hip pockets. As a result if I want to reapply sunscreen, use hand sanitizer before eating a snack, etc. I have to stop and take the pack off in order to fetch my ditty bag from the top pouch. While frequent breaks help I’d rather just make it easier to perform these tasks on the go. I’m hoping that I can figure out a frustration-free way to attach this guy so I can reduce overall hassle on future trips.

($19, 31g pocket, 3g clip)

Mountain Laurel Designs Aquamira Kit

Sometimes I buy things in order to fill a knowledge gap rather than to address an actual need. Aquamira is one of the few water treatment methods that I don’t have any hands-on experience with. Saving weight on treatment seems like a poor trade-off for having to lug around more water but perhaps minimizing stop time makes it worth it for some. Personally, I like lots of breaks so I enjoy water filtration stops.

Unlike the picture on the website, none of the dropper bottles were labeled and the smaller mix dropper is white instead of clear. I’ll probably be ordering a replacement from Litesmith.

($16, 40g part A, 43g part B, 4g large dropper bottle, 2g small dropper bottle)

Crystal Light Liquid With Caffeine

Person B made a purchase error in my favor by picking up this Crystal Light bottle from the grocery store. She was after the non-caffeinated version but upon closer inspection I realized that this was a liquid rather than the powder in the single-serve packets that I’ve been using. This means you can apply as much or as little as you want without having to worry about leftover powder or wrappers. I’ve already repackaged it into a little dropper bottle.

($3.64)

History

2020-07-12: Added weight for rain wrap and fixed compass link
2020-05-03: Original version