Whoo Hoo....new gear!

“Just ordered my brand new H. S. Squall TarpTent with floor, completely zippered door, and extended beak.
Ships in about 3 weeks.”

“No Raincloud?”

“LOL, well, its kinda funny. I was outside with my dog when the FedEx guy rolled up and he had a small box so my first thought was "they forgot to pack the prolite! There's no way it could fit in that box" Then I opened the box and there it was...it packs down to nothing...about the size of the Guidelite 3/4--I was impressed. It was also noticeably lighter.

So of course the first thing I did was unroll it and inflate it and yes, lay on it. To me it feels very thin and I'm not talking about the 1.5" thickness, I'm talking about the materials and wall. I think the old series like the Guidelites and the LEs have thicker padding (skin). So obviously they have made the walls significantly thinner to lighten it up. This worries me as I'm usually rough with my TARs--I'm not sure if this one will be as sturdy or tough.

Also when comparing the total thickness (rather than the skin/walls) it feels a little thinner than the Guidelite even though both are supposed to be 1.5" thick. I'll be testing it this weekend and I'll let you know what I think about it then as after a night on it I should have a better idea.

On another note, it is bright orange...in hunting season you could wrap it around your pack so hunters would see you.”

“you wrap it around your pack and your liable to need the patch kit.”

“LOL yea, it's pretty thin. Although i hardly ever rub against any brush or trees on trail hiking--off trail is a different story.”

“hmm, now I am really really curious. can't wait to get mine. You're right, we can always use it during hunting season eh? LOL I had the ultralight, and it was only 1 inch thick, so I may be happy with the addional 1/2 inch. Thank dub for your little gear review :)”

“UltraLight materals are not designed for rough useage.
If you aren't going to be carefull with them, don't buy them.”

“U talking to me?? I am always careful with my stuff. My old ultralight therm-a-rest still is in great condition. =:-D

heehee, always wanted to "draw" a face like that.”

“Hey, StoveStomper - you twinkie.

;-)”

“I'm rough with all of my gear, but I do take care of it. Ultralight gear that is well constructed does take a lot of abuse and last, but less abuse than normal gear. I avoid buying weak ultralight gear.”

“so the little white postal car came today. Much earlier then expected.

i am now the proud owner of a prolite 4. (much thicker then my lultralite, but about the same weight)

sierra ultra light year.
Hmm, I don't like the way the tent is packed. I did like my compression bag that came with the canyonland. Oh well, got to get used to it or buy a compression bag.”

“That tent will smash down really small if you put it in your pack. I usually just bend it or fold it in its bag to the best shape that fits my pack. After you put some stuff on it it will crush it down smaller”

“ahh, meaning less room in my pack. :( I got to figure it out. I guess it would work.”

“be sure the poles aren't rolled up inside when you start bending and crushing.”

“AW, come on Roam, that's half the fun.

Trying to set your tent up in a storm with broken poles. The only way to go!”

“won't happen roam, those poles are strangely shaped.”

“Kinda like to poles to a MSR Microzoid?”

“This week my new tent, Big Agnes Seedhouse 1 SL, and pack, Ula P2, arrived.

I'm lovin' it!”

“I paid Binks a visit the other day and got a few things for this year. I FINALLY took the plunge on getting a tarp, I picked up a nice big Camelbak for dayhikes with my camera gear, some low gaiters to keep the trail mix out of my Salomons, and some more chow. Spring is here & I've got the fever.”

“Roam! I was testing Gemini's blondeness ;-) I was going to see if she'd pack that tent down tight with the poles! If you don't have room for that tent in your pack Gem, then what the heck are you packing!

I wouldn't mind trying the tarp camping thing out sometime...maybe a hammock too. There's always more gear to buy!”

“Small fairly cheap digital cam. My first venture into the digital arena. Only 2.0 megapixel so I won't be winning any awards, but should a pretty nice job with snapshots and such. It's REALLY lightweight, about 1/3 the weight of my SLR and fits in a shirt pocket, but still big enough not to feel "dainty".

pics coming soon to webshots!”

“REI Dividend + some of my Fed Tax Return = WOO HOO New Gear!

First of all, I returned my REI Summit Trekking Poles, the second pair I've had to return. One of the poles from the first pair broke in November during an after-dark steep, wet descent into a river valley. So, I exchanged them for a new pair. As usual, REI gave me no hassle. Then, after using the new pair only one time, one of them bent. So, this weekend I went back to REI and, not feeling too confident in the poles anymore, asked to return them for a refund instead of an exchange. In their place, I purchased the Komperdell Titanal poles. The foam grips look like they'll absord sweat better. And, the grips are longer so you can adjust your hand placement when on steep slopes or traverses. They feel like they weigh next to nothing!

From REI, I also purchased the GSI Hard Anodized Double Boiler for my dad (twice as much pot for half the weight. He's thrilled.). And, for me, I bought some waterproof gloves for kayaking, the MSR MiniWorks EX ceramic filter, and a ThermaRest Z-Lite to replace my old hardware store type foam pad.

From campmor, I purchased an MSR "gourmet" non-stick cookset for winter and weekend trips (when I might want to cook for a group) where weight and bulk are less of an issue, a MH Phantom down jacket, and a new pair of shorts and a tank for running.

The big purchase, the one I've been wanting to buy for months but made myself wait until my tax return came, was an MP3 player. Which I just purchased today (on sale and with a rebate!!). The IRIver 256MB Digital Audio Player. I'm so excited.

I'll post reviews for some of this stuff as I use it.”

“Those are great poles Tarabull, much nicer to use than the old kind we had. The best thing about those foam grips is how far down the pole they go. Headed uphill you can just lower your hand on the grip instead of adjusting the pole length.

Saturday I got myself a serious compass. I am going to learn to use it and remember how to use it if it kills me! It's a Silva Ranger CL and it is FaaaaaannnnCY. Even has a megnetic screw to adjust for declination,(not that I really need that for MI but maybe somewhere else...). It's cool. Next Saturday we're headed to an orienteering course, can't wait to try it out with my limited knowledge.”

“you'll like doing the course Sass, those are fun and you'll learn a lot really fast. Of course it's so easy to forget the little trick when you don't use it buy once a month,......”

“I'm hoping it'll be alot easier to learn and remember if I'm actually doing it instead of reading about it. We have an orienteering club in our area we might consider joining for once or twice a month practice. The problem is finding time to do it.”

“The Golite Nest 2... I already owned the triptease, the tarp, and dog.”

“I was going to say, sweet dog!

Great piece of gear.”

“New gear rocks.

Looks nice. Bathtub floor?”

“Yep! It has a bathtub floor. well, cept in the front where the door overlaps. it doesn't have a zipper of any kind, just a hole you crawl through and some netting that overlaps with the floor. Seems to work reall well though. I need to add some more loops to my tarp to hold the nest, but it looks like it's gonna work pretty darned good. This will be my new fair weather system.”

“Looks drafty! But cool! i gotta try this tarp tenting thing this year.”

“That's the whole reason I got it. Summers can be miserable in the SE. This will flow air like I'm not in a tent at all :) Hold on... I'm not in a tent...

But, it gives me bug protection I sorely lack in just a tarp. I'll carry my cloudburst if I think it's going to rain. The nest if the weather looks good.”

“What does this thing weigh?”

“The Golite Nest 2 weighs 19.7oz on my digital scale.

With my small 8 x 9 1.1oz tarp, triptease, a bunch of stakes, the whole thing as shown was 2lbs 3.6oz.

The Nest comes with some small stainless steel hooks on the end of some para-type cord that you use to clip to your tarp. The system is adjustable from the inside with some cordlocks. I pitched my tarp, clipped the nest up, crawled inside and tightened it up. the floor is made with some regular heavy duty 1.9oz PU coated nylon, and the green "tub" portion is silnylon. This looks slightly different from the ones on the current Golite web page, whick looks like it lacks the silnylon sides. they list the weight as 1lb 6oz for the nest 2 so I wonder if they edesigned it for this year to eliminate the silnylon sides? Mine also only has 6 clips to hold it up, the new one claims 8.”

“Never mind... i can't count. it does have 8. 3 on the front and 3 on the back and one in each side.”

“Well, I just bought an MSR MiniWorks water filter. Having used Aqua Mira on my last backpacking trip, I discovered that it imparts a kind of bitter taste to the water. I can live with it but Mother G would never stand for it.
I bought the MiniWorks because it is 5 oz. lighter than my WaterWorks11 and pumps on both strokes. It turns out that it pumps water a lot faster as well. I pumped a liter of water in under 60 seconds which is about half the time of its big brother. The ceramic element from the larger filter can be used but it takes an additional 30 seconds to get the liter of water. This is because the porting has been changed on the new-style filter and the intake port has been changed as well. I'm pretty impressed with this filter. It will go with me on any trip when Mother G accompanies me.”

“Thanks for the info, Father Goose. I'm in the market for one and I'll check into it!”

“Huh, that's kind funny. I went from a Miniworks to Aqua Mira. I keep the Miniworks around just in case I ever get a chance to go somewhere where the AM won't cut it.”

“Like I said, I can live with the taste of Aqua Mira. Shucks, I can throw some Crystal Light in the water to cover up the taste. I don't treat the water at all when I cook with it, I just make sure it comes to a full, rolling boil.”

“In my quest to drop my summer load to the point where it will all fit in a daypack, I'm also considering Aqua Mira...but boy I love the convenience of just filtering as much water as I want at one time.”

“Mmmmmmmmmmm...chemical free water.”

“I made a pair of silnylon rain chaps the other night. They cinch down with velcro at the cuff to be worn as a big gaiter or open wide for airflow, weigh 2.5 ounces and fit in a shirt pocket. My rain pants may just have become obsolete, but I'll know for sure when I get to test them.”

“I went from the Miniworks to the Walkabout which failed me on my last trip. I think I have corrected the problem. If it continues to clog very bad on my next trip I will scrap it and move to a PUR.”

“I had to get new glasses but what makes this gear related is that the frames are titanium. These are the lightest glasses I had ever had.”

“I'm still waiting for my new gear. That wonderful Twigeater mailed me some tyvek and it must be on bit's oxcart delivery too. ;-)”

“I had to get new glasses but what makes this gear related is that the frames are titanium. These are the lightest glasses I had ever had."
Ewker
10:36:31 AM
04/08/04

Does Pennsy even have titanium glasses??”

“Welcome to the club, Ewker.”

“I mailed it 04/01 Stovie...although I see I mailed it parcel post, so 5-7 days...

My new glasses are titanium as well, very light!”

“did Pennsy ever post a gear review on the jet boil he used on the Maine winter trip?”

“I'm not complaining. ;-)
I'm tickled you are sending me some! :-)”