Whoo Hoo....new gear!

“Got a TNF Mountain Light jacket in the mail yesterday ($100 off at EMS). Been wanting one of those for 15 years.

My gear keeps getting better the older I get.”

“That is the way it should work.”

“I picked up a Tilley hat yesterday. I was showing them to my wife over the weekend. When she saw the price she freaked, but I told her they'd send me a new one if it got tore up or lost. Then she told me which one she thought looked best.

I couldn't find any killer deals on the internet, so went back and paid full price at the local store.

Those Canadians - they make some good gear.”

“Didja check out the "owners manual" stuck into the pocket in the top of the hat? Its a hoot!”

“My new boots came today Montrail Namche for $26 at Gear Trade

”

“I just got back from my dealer's. No ordinary car rack will fit my VW Golf (natch) and the dealer one was 75 CAD more. I got a ski box from a local manufacturer and now am set for the next ski season. I think I'll go to Gander Mountain in Plattsburg, NY for two kayak carriers to put on it.”

“Oh guess what I found while garage sale'n yesterday; new in the box, still sealed up in it's little plastic cocoon? That's right, A JET BOIL JAVA KIT! That's a stove, pot, insulator, canister, french press and some coffee. Price you ask?

$2”

“Score!”

“Oh my, THAT'S A GREAT PRICE!!!”

“There are lots of people who wish they were backpackers but end up selling their stuff in garage sales. Great deal for you!”

“Got a pair of new La Sportiva Wildcat trailrunners to replace my defective Vasque GTX's. And got a Pocketrocket for $8 bucks with the difference.”

“First big gear splurge in many years and I'm really happy with it. Set it up in the yard - tested it out with my garden hose and spray novel - I love it!

http://www.bigagnes.com/Products/Detail/Tent/FlyCreekUL2”

“Ahem...."Spray Novel"????WTF is a Spray Novel? (LOL)”

“very nice Peddy!”

“My newest gear is 4wd!

traded in the Corolla (trail-rolla) for an XTerra.”

“GOt me a pair of the Teva Doziers a few months ago (EL FREEBO by the way).

MAN I love these shoes. Light and fun, great way to air out the feet after a couple days in boots.”

“I've been looking at those. I lvoe Tevas. I have a pair I wear nearly every day---backing or otherwise in the summer and they have lasted 7 years. I need new ones though.”

“wooohooo!!!..my sweetie gave me a new tent for my "special" birthday. Double wall, nicely ventilated, big side door, and all for under 27 ounces! Oh, and it's custom made to match my pack - brick red and grey. Very very cool. Can't wait to use it. Oh and he seam sealed it today while I was a work!

http://www.lightheartgear.com/photos.html

”

“Here's anothe one...

I don't think I will have the same kind of condensation problems with this tent. The fly rolls up all the way to the ridge on both sides. Lots of star gazing...

”

“Mesh on all four sides. I am just a little excited about this tent. Can ya tell?


”

“Nice!”

“Cool Beans!”

“Very nice!!!”

“Awesome.. But why not a two man? :)

'32oz”

“Two words: missionary position.

Cool tent.”

“BTW, that way you only have to carry one matress.”

“Sweet!”

“Maker/model? I love the wrap-around screening.”

“That looks like a very airy tent. NOYCE!”

“I have not needed to buy any new gear in years now and all of a sudden I am just on a gear buying binge. My new SD tent is coming today. I'm buying all new stuff sacks (sil nylon) a new fancy Black Diamond LED headlamp, a replacement filter cartridge and I may even buy a new shell jacket.

I'm like a crack addict turned loose and REI is my crackhouse!”

“Woot! (I resemble that last remark)”

“Creek Dancer,

That is a nice looking shelter. Great design. The lunar solo from six moon design really does not have much on it. The vestibule space might be a little tight for cooking on your tent, but the floor space and hight are very similar.

If the double wall design works as it should, then you have quite a winner of a UL tent. Congrats on the gear!”

“Ahhh, ain't it great to be an addict, Nigal? I've been eyeballing a new daypack, preferably something that would fit me (a 44-46 coat size) and my wife, who's a women's small on top.

If anyone has any recommendations, I'm all ears...errr...eyes.”

“I'm still trying to picture how the heck you're going to to get a day back around you and your wife if she's on top?

Crap I cant even picture that...


'32oz”

“Bwaaahaha. I have a 7,000 ci dana design that would just about fit the bill...”

“GOOD LORD...Rosey...7000? how long you planning on being out on the trail?”

“I bought a $30.00 walmart 4-man a couple weeks ago. Went on a carcamping tour with the 3 weeks of 50-hour paychecks I earned. Private campgrouinds, state park campgrounds, nfs campgrounds, nudists campgrounds. Yep. No tan lines this year! WOOOT!”

“Set up the new tent in the back yard to check it out. I really like some of the innovations SD has done since I bought my Flashlight years ago. Granted, there's no room in there for anything else but it's plenty big enough and I can sit up in it. Next on my gear list...a Black Diamond Spot headlamp w/60 lumen and $12 off at EMS.

”

“The Mrs. has the headlamp, Nigal and I've been known to use it from time to time. It rocks.

What model SD tent did yo get? A Flashlight? What's different on it from the old model?”

“I have the same headlamp. Works great, but for me, a headlamp is a headlamp - even if I am hiking on trails at night. I get more excited over shelters and sleeping bags.

I guess if I was walking in precarious areas with low light I would be more concerned w/ my headlamp. Because I did not know what I was doing when I got into this hobby, I do have one of those petzels connected to the battery pack with a line long enough to tuck it inside your jacket/parka. That is for when I am up on Everest or something.”

“a headlamp is a headlamp

Not all headlamps are equal :) the nice thing about the new generation of headlamps is the ability to regulate the light intensity vs. the old halogen/incandescent bulb headlamps. The LED lights also have gotten much brighter with wattage and spots. They are leaps and abounds above where they were just a couple of years ago.”

“I know what you are saying Rosey. I am very aware of LED lighting tech since I bicycle just about everywhere I go and use lights extensively. As geeky as it is, I also check out candlepowerforum routinely.

What I probably could have explained better is that most backpacker I have been with usually do not need much of a headlamp. They get rolling after sun up and usually set up before dark. They are almost never hiking trails in the dark. The most walking they may do in the dark (especially on a typical TT trip) is from the campfire to their shelter.

Now I realize this is a generalization, but usually those who would be doing things outside of this description would already know what they need for lighting.

I have the BD light mentioned exactly because it is a great light for the price and I do occasionally night hike and have need for its capabilities. But I have also night hiked with a Walmart Rayovac and have not been concerned with its lighting ability.”

“I have done night-long hikes every full moon this summer (even then I sweat like a horse - esp under my nitepack). My WalMart Energizer does just fine. If the going gets dicey, I simply put Sarabelle out front and mimic her every move. Having a bright-colored dog makes all the difference in the world of darkness.”

“Ihear ya. I was dog sitting much of the summer and found that while my Tikka+ is great in camp, my Myobelt 5 is what you need walking through an orchard.

Nervous abpout coyotes, though. Not much beta available, but a kid was attacked in Cape Breton a week or so ago. A 19 year-old woman was kiied on Cape Breton Island earlier this year. 30+ attacks on people in California so far.”

“That woman was the first killed in a long time (ever?) by coyotes, right?”

“Yeah, I don't keep my headlamp for recreational night hiking as much as you never know what is going to happen on the trail where you might need it to get, get in, scare off critters, etc.

Crazy about the coyotes. I haven't heard much about it out this way tho I see them pretty regularly, even in town.”

“That's the reason I carry my Coyote Stick. It's more of a weapon than a hiking staff. It is rather intimidating - people often look at it more than they look at me.

It is a fiberglass shaft about five feet long. It was given to me by a guy that works on power lines - it's a guy wire anchor. It has a solid steel "eye" on one end about the size of a fist. It tapers from 3/4 inch to 1/2 inch from eye to tip. The tip features a tine from a landscaping aerator - which acts as a bayonette. I call it "The Storm". One end's thunder, the other end's lightning.

It gives me confidence, which affects my body language. Wild animals pick up on that. I approach eye reflections at a double-quick pace as if I'm attacking them - which I essentially am. They run.

The closest I have come to actually using it was in daylight against two large, unruly dogs. The Mr. and Mrs. were begging me not to hurt their dogs, and quickly hastened their out-of-control charges from the backcountry.

Wild dogs are actually the greatest threat in the backcountry of the SE. My dog and I had a near miss when I was a kid. They were three in number and huge - they surely would have killed my dog and possibly me if we had not melted into the leaves upon their approach. I vowed then to never again be caught without a weapon.

On my last moonlit walkabout, I was accosted around 3 a.m. by two cops along a stretch of under-construction roadway (I shined my headlamp at them to announce my approach). Their first words were "put down the weapon" - lolz.

One told me I had a possum following me, and I said "Nah - that's just Gizmeaux" ;)”

“What model SD tent did yo get? A Flashlight? What's different on it from the old model?

The Lightyear.”

“What Gojo said. Oddly enough, although we are far distant from each other, we live in a similar world (besides people, of course).”