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Mountain Hardwear Mountain Tech Dome Beanie

Mountain Hardwear | Mountain Tech Dome Beanie | 2018 | $12.50 | 38g A lightweight and completely windproof fleece beanie made of Polartec WindBloc. The face fabric isn't the softest and has negligible stretch but there's a wedge of stretchy fleece on the back to ensure a snug fit. I've been wearing this around town in temperatures ranging from 30F to the high 40s in varying amounts of wind. I find that it keeps my head warm during light activity (walking the dog) down to the mid 30s. It is completely windproof - I love the whoosh of air over [...]

By |2018-12-24T21:50:34+00:00December 24th, 2018|

Vecto/Sawyer Gravity Filter

Summary: A Vecto/Sawyer gravity filter setup is half the weight and cost of an MSR Autoflow. The Sawyer Micro Squeeze is 33% slower than the regular Squeeze The Six Moon Designs December newsletter featured an article about how to turn a CNOC Vecto water container and a Sawyer Squeeze water filter into a gravity filter. I usually carry an MSR Autoflow gravity filter when I'm in a group and a Sawyer Squeeze otherwise so I was curious about whether this would be an option to either cut weight or increase convenience (or both). To mix things up a bit I [...]

By |2019-03-29T05:56:40+00:00December 18th, 2018|

Winter Loot!

After I got the chills on a Lila Lake backpack using my Mountain Hardwear Down Flip sleeping bag I decided it was time for an upgrade. Well, that time has come: I picked up a Sierra Designs Backcountry Quilt! This is my first quilt - I've been meaning to give them a whirl for a while and this particular one is EN rated (because it has a hood) and oversized so I think it'll be a good introduction. I've been looking for a beanie upgrade - I'm currently using a Smartwool Merino 150 beanie which is as thin as thin can [...]

By |2018-12-06T03:20:53+00:00December 6th, 2018|

GoToob Original 1.25 fl oz

humangear | GoToob Original 1.25 fl oz | 2015 | $4.30 | 34g GoToobs are perfect for repackaging consumables like sunscreen so that you don't have to carry the weight of an entire bottle. The smallest size available is 1.25 fluid ounces which is enough sunscreen for one person for a 3-4 day sunny trip. They come in a variety of colors which makes it easy to color-code the contents: Orange for sunscreenGreen for insect repellent lotionClear for soap humangear

By |2018-12-24T21:24:59+00:00December 2nd, 2018|

Q4 2018 Loadout

https://lighterpack.com/r/9vyw35 One of the reasons I started this blog was to be able to see how my gear choices changed over time as I became more experienced. To that end, let's establish a baseline - here's a quick blurb about everything that's currently in my standard three-season backpacking loadout: Sleep system The Mountain Hardwear Down Flip 35/50 sleeping bag isn't warm enough for fall conditions (lesson learned the hard way on my Lila Lake backpacking trip), doesn't seem to have very much down fill (as seen when holding it up to a light in the tent), isn't EN rated, and [...]

By |2018-11-18T21:03:25+00:00November 18th, 2018|

Kenmore crush! Trash Compactor Bags

Kenmore | crush! | 2018 | $1.17 | ???g (not pictured because I threw them away) These particular trash compactor bags are 3 mils thick and quite durable. However, they make lousy pack liners due to the mounting holes below the opening of the bag (holes are a poor choice for keeping water out of most things). These are a downgrade from the Glad trash compactor bags due to their higher cost (about $0.40 more per bag), heavier weight, and decreased waterproofness due to the presence of the mounting holes. They are, however, more durable due to their additional thickness [...]

By |2018-11-17T20:34:55+00:00November 17th, 2018|

Glad Trash Compactor Bags

Glad | Compactor 18 Gallon Kitchen Bags | 2018 | $0.77 | 68g Using a trash compactor bag as a pack liner is a cheap and reliable way to keep your gear dry. The only disadvantage over a pack cover is that they won't keep the pack itself dry which means you'll be carrying water weight when the nylon pack fabric gets saturated. On the flip side packs are getting lighter and using thinner (or just less) fabric so they don't hold nearly as much water as backpacks of yore. These particular trash compactor bags are perfectly sized for use [...]

By |2018-11-17T20:35:32+00:00November 17th, 2018|

Saxx Quest Loose Cannon boxer briefs

Saxx | Quest Loose Cannon | 2018 | $33.95 | 90g These are the best men's backpacking underwear. Quest is Saxx's line of quick-dry synthetic travel underwear. Saxx improves on standard men's underwear by adding a fabric panel between the thighs and testes, forming what they call a "ballpark pouch". This results in a significant increase in comfort (it really is quite something) and prevents sticking. However, the additional fabric comes at the expense of breathability - things definitely feel a little more swampy at night. The Loose Cannon edition of the Quest line features a much looser cut around [...]

By |2018-11-17T18:53:37+00:00November 17th, 2018|

Drymax Max Pro Trail Running 1/4 Crew Turn Down Socks

Drymax | Max Pro Trail Running... | 2018 | $33 | 59g Polytetrafluoroethylene (aka PTFE) (aka aka Teflon) is the third-slipperiest solid known to man. It's even slippery at the sub-atomic level: it's the only known substance that a gecko cannot stick to. That's awesome. According to the book Fixing Your Feet (the bible of foot care for athletes), "shearing forces" (read: friction) on your feet cause the layers of skin to separate, which in turn causes blisters. That sucks. Can we use PTFE's ultra-low coefficient of friction to reduce blisters? Why yes, yes we can. One way would be [...]

By |2019-01-08T04:19:21+00:00November 15th, 2018|

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