Whoo Hoo....new gear!

“Yes, it's a down bag (Marmot Helium) with insulation on the bottom. The low temps were mid teens. I am a very cold sleeper.”

“But Wk's bag has no fill on the bottom and relies on his pad. I was speaking to him. Should've specified that, sorry.”

“Oh I see. That's the problem of not having nesting threads! Sorry to but in.”

“No problem, my fault. =)”

“When I was down to 0F last February, I could feel the cold blasting through my (supposedly) insulated BA. A hard foam mat is required with any air mat, below around 20. Any insulation on the bag is flattened and useless.”

“It just came in. It's in the print room lofting up. After an hour I'll put it on the conf table and measure loft.”

“I did not measure mine, but I am interested to see how yours lofts up, DH”

“I'll probably find my BA Zirkel, loft it up and compare the two.”

“I think I read somewhere it's 650 fill. The Zirkel is 750.”

“MY NEW PACK CAME YESTERDAY TOO!! GNARLEY STUFF MAN!”

“It looks flatter than the Zirkel. Tha's from memory though. My first impression of the Zirkel was not good but I like it now. I forget to get the Zirkel out to compare. If it's not thicker than the Zirkel then it's going back. Down loft rating just dictates that it takes less down to get the same amount of loft. The same thickness of either rating will give the same warmth.”

“That's the problem of not having nesting threads! Sorry to but in.

i freaking hate nested threads. this way is much better”

“Just gotta pair of Merrell switch back hiking boots


”

“Sweeeeeeeettt”

“they have goretex liners?”

“Cool!

Last Thursday I looked in my mail box and there was a letter from MEC (the Canadian REI). There was a cheque for 50$!

Of course I had to drive into Montreal. All I could find in the store that I didn't already have were nordic ski gloves (20$). They had to pass the cheque as a travellers' cheque in order to give me the rest in change and I bought dinner instead of fighting the afternoon rush hour traffic to get off the island.”

“I love Merrell shoes and Vibram soles. Sweet.”

“I got me some Merrell Chameleons a couple years ago and they are fine hikers.....”

“

Onkyo TX-SR705 to replace the Marantz SR6200. Horray for high def audio!”

“Chappy, I had two pair of those on the AT. They were light and comfy, but no match for a thru hike. Granted, that's exactly what the manufacturer says. I enjoy wearing the remanents of the 2nd pair around the house.”

“I got an early Christmas present over the weekend from my aunt and uncle. A Garmin Rino 530HCx GPS.
Electronic compass
Barometric altimeter
FRS and GMRS channel walky-talky
Weather radio
thermometer
We've been using them hunting this season, and the pole feature makes it nice when doing drives because you can see right where the watchers are.”

“How the hell do you kill a deer with a GPS? Throw it at 'em?”

“when combined with your laser marking device you call in an air strike....”

“Dang, my Aunts and Uncles stopped giving me presents once I hit 18. I'm jealous!”

“Ummm...

I got some OR Snow Mittens...

got some Gortex rain pants...

got some insulated snow pants...

got some glacier sun glasses...

got some waterproof stuff sacks...

got some Polartec Power Stretch gloves...

Ummm...oh yeah, I'm broke.”

“sounds like you are stocking up for a trip somewhere, Stew;). I am waiting on my first set of trekking poles to arrive. Have used some before and think that I will like the addition to my gear list.....and my knees aren't getting any younger:)”

“I got a pair of Patagonia Micro Puff pants for $60 from their Web Bargains page. I totally don't have the money but I'm a big fan of my MicroPuff jacket, and they put it in the web bargains when I was feeling weak.”

“those are synthetic right? and super light? Lemme know how you like em...I need warm stuff for winter camping :)”

“Yep, synthetic, superlight, and normally extremely overpriced. Retail price is $175. You've got to be kidding me.

Sometimes Patagonia has great deals on their web bargains page. If you're patient you can find steals on capilene.”

“I picked up a Sierra Designs down jacket off of REI outlet for around $80. It's only 550 fill power but only weighs about a lb. and for as much as I do cold weather backpacking, I am sure it will last just fine. Streamlined, basic features and no frills, but that's OK. Also picked one up for the better half. I was looking at the REI brand one that was 650 fill, but didn't look nearly as warm and didn't have a DWR coating. I am glad I went with the SD as when I compared the two at the store, it doesn't look like the REI down jacket would really meet my needs -- not enough fluff.
last edited: 12/17/07 11:25:48 AM”

“Ahhhhhhh...down jackets. Makes me all warm and cozy just to think about one. For sleeping, I wrap mine around one of those blow up pillows and make a really nice down pillow. Good sleeping!
last edited: 12/17/07 11:34:25 AM”

“Picked up a WM Versalite bag last week, Sweet bag, but 3oz over stated weight.

Next, we'll be a Hilleberg Kiatium-2, 4 season tent! That is, after I sell my Nallo-2 tent?”

“I think you are worse that Jimmy”

“I have that tent, NCT. Except it was called the Nallo GT last time I bought from them.

I can assure you, it rocks.

Edit: I now see that is a 2 pole vs. 3 pole design. Yet the Nallo GT is listed as lighter than the model you mentioned?

Strange. Regardless, Hilleberg tents are badass!
last edited: 12/17/07 1:09:33 PM”

“I have that tent, NCT. Except it was called the Nallo GT last time I bought from them.

I can assure you, it rocks.

Edit: I now see that is a 2 pole vs. 3 pole design. Yet the Nallo GT is listed as lighter than the model you mentioned?

Strange. Regardless, Hilleberg tents are badass!
last edited: 12/17/07 2:09:33 PM”
roseymonster
2:00:09 PM
12/17/07

The Kiaitum is somewhat of a new tent, much different from the Nallo-GT, in that it has dual doors and vestibules. I believe you can only enter through the side of the vestibules and not through the front, like the Nallo's.

You can also roll-up one or both vestibules, completely opening-up, each end of the tent, which would be great during nice weather.
I'm not sure if they fully detach from the tent though?
last edited: 12/17/07 2:08:26 PM”

““I think you are worse that Jimmy”
Wounded Knee
1:44:46 PM
12/17/07

Lets not get CRAZY NOW? Put down the crack pipe, and lets talk?”

“You have reported to this thread for more than he has. His recent love affair with climbing is distracting his wallet elsewhere.”

“I see. I think the new GTs, you can open up both sides of the tent vestibule(the GTs were always side opening doors). I have an older version with only one opening. That's nice that there are vetibules at each end of the tent and dual openings of the model you are looking at -- seems very advantageous.

Holy crap the price on those tents went up tho. I scored my GT for $300 new, but they gave me a pro deal when I wrote them a nice letter....”

“this is true. climbing has taken a huge chunk of my time since crash bang left for korea. that said, a really great guy who no longer climbs bequeathed me his rack of trad gear... this was a huge honor and a major windfall. i filled in the setup with some important pieces of gear and updated a few things... runners especially... and pre-rigged belay anchor setups. all things considered i wound up with more climbing gear than i will need for a long, long time... basically my gear list way outclasses my climbing ability. the good news is that this wasn't nearly as painful on the pocketbook is it would otherwise have been. i did recently purchase a hammock (from mataharahiker) which (and whom) i adore. oh, and i got a jacks r better quilt to use in the hammock. otherwise it's been a gearless year for me.

this may be the case for a while now. with the hammock making its way into the scene i am starting to swing from the SUL camp to the UL camp and prolly will wind up a mid to lightweight backpacker. since i have been here before i can use most of the gear that has sat in the closet idle, esp the granite gear vapor trail pack. the quilts and hammock worked well with it last weekend.

neway, i am glad to see ncthiker taking up the official gear-whore badge. keep posting those reviews dude! we love to read them!”

“Jimmy san, tell me about that quilt you use in the hammock. I got a Hennessey.”

“jacks r better... i have two. one is the "no sniveller" which is a summer quilt. the other (which i bought when i got the hammock) is the "rocky mountain sniveller" which is a thicker winter quilt.

both are box baffled down quilts with high loft down. they are well constructed and i am very pleased with them.

this gives me three configurations

summer: hammock + no sniveller
late spring/early fall: hammock + rocky mountain sniveller
early spring/late fall/winter: hammock + rocky mountain sniveller + no sniveller as underquilt.
very cold weather: winter rig + undercover and overcover (i have not tried this yet)

so it's quite a versatile rig. there are lots of options. since i am a recently converted ground sleeper i can still use the quilts when i go super-ultralight with my bivy bag. fat chance that will happen anywhere other than the grand canyon (where i prolly can't hang the hammock). that damn thing has totally ruined me.

the jacks r better quilts have hooks so they can be strapped to the underside of a hennessy hammock. so you can use them as an an "underquilt" to insulate the underside of the hammock. it works VERY well.

inside the hennessy the quilt is, in my world, the perfect sleeping setup. the hammock sort of wraps around you a little bit and it's trivial to tuck yourself in snug as could be for a sound nights sleep.
last edited: 12/17/07 9:39:20 PM”

“Yeah, but you can't bring in the womens...”

“I got the kids each a new bag for backpacking...

I think this is what they look like...
http://www.sportchalet.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2430835

but LLB had them on sale for $59.98...
:):):)”

“Nice bags and for that price a steal!”

“yes the price tag said $159, on sale for $119, and then suprise! they ring up at $59.98...

The kids backpacking bag ($80) weighed in at 4+lbs, I said what's the point...”

“WOW!!! Great buy. I was going to get one of those...but then I found a better deal...”

“Did anyone else just hear Jimmy saying he's going to midweight on occasion? Did the earth just jumps off it's axis?”

“Picked these up yesterday,for winter hiking... ”

“Are those neoprene?”

“Alright Merrells!”