Loot

Hoka One One Speedgoat 3 My footwear journey has arrived at its next stop: Hokas. The most ridiculously padded outdoor shoes of all time are also what my mom wears, as well as some other folks in my circle. Nobody has anything bad to say about them (at least in casual use), instead, they sing their praises. When I realized I had to give up my Scarpa Spin Ultras due to sizing, I also noted that I really enjoyed what they claimed to be an excess of padding (the Ultra in the name is for ultra marathon i.e. long distance [...]

After a long purchasing hiatus it's time to get back into the swing of things. Here's what I've picked up this month: Pepto Bismol Liquicaps Digestive issues can cut outings short, and I've been rescued more than once by carrying a couple Pepto Bismol chewable tablets. However, they tend to leave a pink powdery residue all over my pill container and other pills. On a recent trip to the grocery store I noticed that they were now available in gel cap form. They are slightly more expensive at around $0.30 each vs $0.23 for the chewables. ($0.30 and 1.5g per [...]

Sadly, gear purchases have slowed to a trickle lately. Here's what I'm testing out this month: Nitecore NB10000 10,000 mAh Power Bank Nitecore's recently introduced line of carbon fiber-ish power banks (there's a 5,000 mAh flavor as well) are incredibly light for how much power they pack. The NB10000's 3.85V nominal voltage nets 38,500 mWh whereas my old Charmast 10,400 mAh (with the usual 3.6V for lithium ion cells) yields a total of 36,144 mWh. Dividing by their respective weights of 150 and 200 grams, we end up with 257 and 181 mWh per gram, meaning that the Nitecore is [...]

Late snowmelt and family obligations have kept me cooped up so big-name trips have been slightly postponed (I'm looking at you, Loowit Trail). As a consolation, here are the new things I'm trying out in July: Vaseline Lip Therapy Cocoa Butter Mini I've been using a Litesmith mini jar to store petroleum jelly for the past month or two. At a measly three grams it seemed like a great way to repackage a product you don't need a whole lot of. Unfortunately the lack of texture or other grip mechanisms on the lid mean that as the outside of the [...]

Bit of a slow start this month but I'm hoping to finish strong: Exped FlexMat Plus Foam Sleeping Pad At one-and-a-half inches thick Exped's latest closed-cell foam pad is the cushiest offering on the market. Closed-cell foam has always appealed to me: it's inexpensive, indestructible, and setup and teardown are hassle-free due to the lack of inflation. However, in practice it's never comfortable enough to work on its own - it always feels like something I'll have to "get used to". The FlexMat Plus is actually comfortable all by itself on a hardwood floor: no bottoming out anywhere, even at [...]

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) KUIU Peloton 97 Zip Fleece In his book [...]

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 [...]

Last month I bought almost everything my winter backpacking heart desired... except socks. My decade-old Darn Toughs had almost worn through in a couple places so I thought a replacement might be in order. It's only day one and I've got four purchases to share (and future purchases for the month will be added to this post, as always): REI Coolmax EcoMade Liner Socks After debating between silk, wool, and toe liner socks I decided to stick with tried-and-true synthetics. They've got a killer combination of durability, thinness, and low cost that's hard to beat. I like my trail runners [...]

Forecast for this month: I'm back in the pillow game after figuring out that my beloved Therm-A-Rest compressible pillow is just too bulky for winter. Either that or I need to get a slightly-less-warm quilt (the Enigma 10F is good down to 24.5F on its own so far, possibly overkill?) or less bulky shelter (thinking of leaving the X-Mid inner at home and just using a polycryo ground sheet). Kestrel Drop D1 Environmental Data Logger After determining that the Acurite window thermometer was wildly inaccurate I've found a professional-grade replacement for exactly the same weight. The Kestrel Drop D1 comes [...]

Becoming a 4-season backpacker ain't easy - or cheap! Neither is getting in shape, apparently. Here's all the junk I've accumulated this month: Oboz O Fit Plus Thermal Insole Few things reduce your enjoyment of the outdoors like cold feet. I prefer Oboz insoles to Superfeet so when I discovered they had an insulated version I snagged a pair. They feature a fuzzy (moisture-wicking polyester) top and mylar reflective layer on the bottom. They now live at the bottom of my winter boots although I don't see any reason I couldn't throw them in my trail runners as well. ($34.95 [...]