Whoo Hoo....new gear!

“gem, they did a gear review in the new backpacker for women's gear only....they reviewed a hiking thong. lolz.

now they need to come out with a men's version so i don't have to wear buffy's...”

“no, it wasn't fleece!”

“Got me a nice shiny new silnylon tarp. Thanks Binks!”

“akto - yeah baby! :o) :o)”

“Oh yeah! Hilleberg is da bomb!”

“Gigantic screen room tent...bought it yesterday at Costco. It's 16'x16' and more than 8' high...oughta be a joy to put up, lol...”

“me too!

new pack

and great customer service! :)”

“A couple weeks ago I got a Katadyn Hiker filter from Binks.

Yesterday at the REI sale, I got capilene tops and bottoms, a bike helmet (for rollerblading) and a Pocket Rocket stove. :)”

“New gear is fun fun fun. I also got a montbel down liner jacket thanks to an REI gift voucher :o). I think I'm an addict.

Anyhow, jacket is a tad over 9oz, not 6oz. I think a 50% difference is a little excessive.”

“Footprint for the Zoid 1.
Trail book of the Smokies.”

“The screen room worked out great, BTW. It was really easy to put up, although it is a two-person job. And it's huge! I'll post pictures of it as soon as we get them developed.

It was sorta funny, the screen room dwarfed our sleeping tent, lol...”

“I picked up a set of kid's plastic blowup water wings at Kmart for about $1.
Cut across the plastic where the two tubes are joined to make a circle the arm goes through and made myself a nice 1.3 oz blowup backpacking pillow.
It worked great on the Blood Mt. trip!”

“What a sweet idea! Thanks Stovestomper for sharing it.”

“Sass - I'm just FULL of ideas, or something. ;)”

“The thing about blowup pillows I don't like is that my head doesn't sink into them right. But this can be fixed by adding a little foam and stuffing the whole thing into a pillowcase that fits snugly around the whole contraption. Then you've got comfort and support.”

“My blue Frogg Toggs (15.2oz) and Thermarest LE 3/4 (1lb 9.5oz)are here!! This cuts at least 1 1/2 lbs off my pack weight!”

“New VW Jetta should be here on Friday. Not exactly gear, but it will hold my gear.”

“Come on Pennsy . . . that's not big enough for all of your gear!!!”

“Holy Moly! I was just talking about you. Where ya been hiding? I think the "G" stands for ghost.

But the Jetta is big enuff. It's a wagon and with the seats folded down, there's tons of room.”

“Pennsy, is that the AWD model?

Are you still ok for both 'Dacks trip then?”

“It's front wheel drive. Definately some trade-offs from going back to a car from a truck, but it'll work.

Both Daks trips are still good for me, unless there is an unforseeable vacation issue at work.”

“Ok..cool.”

“I was at REI last night with the Family, and I bought some Sierria Designs Booties! Great stuff!”

“Got a couple of boxes here...

Sorbothane Ultrasoles (new shock absorbers), a small herd of Platypi with extra push-pull caps for the Li'l Nippers...

These Krill Lights don't seem very bright, but We'll See! (or not -- haha). These are the white 360˚ 'extreme' versions. They ought to be just fine when it's actually dark outside and my eyes are dark-adapted. They're pretty hefty with the two AAs each --- still not as heavy as the candle lanterns, tho'.

AND, the 1.3 litre Evernew pot.”

“Just got a new spray skirt for my kayak this morning.”

“Got some Montrail insoles (sweet) and some coolmax liners for my B-day.”

“I got an amazon hammock. 11 oz. =)

Also another seattle sports drybag w/ side roll. They're sweet! Opens up like a duffle bag instead of a sack.”

“I made new shoulder straps for a 20 year old rucksack I already had and put a longer frame in. It feels much more comfortable and doesn't tug at my shoulders like it did before. I made them removeable so I can use them on a daypack I'm going to make when I get some more fabric.”

“New Nalgene, another hip belt holder for it.

And a pretty cool Black Diamond "Moonlight" headlamp. Has 4 LEDs. Not as heavy as you'd think with 3 AAA batteries, but not as bright as I expected either. Still seems good though. Some of you scared me with your Tikka criticisms, so I guess my wife can use it to read in bed now, lol.”

“I went out to the lake yesterday evening to check out the crescent moon and test the Krill lights. I think they did well. They're about like a child's night-light in brightness (about half a candle lantern or so), but so much the better for nightvision and stargazing.

But don't plan on doing any reading... <G>”

“The big Brown Truck stopped at my hosue last night and left me a box from Campmor. I got the Kelty Lightyear 45° bag and the Eureka Gossamer. I can't wait to try them out next weekend.”

“new camera... blew some tax refund! Canon G3 digital. arrived today! i'm actually a little nervous about it, not sure why.”

“Got my order from Rail Riders yesterday. A pair of weather pants and an eco-mesh top. Very nice stuff. The pants are 2ply 3oz supplex with a layer of cordura on the knees,seat and inside of the ankles. The shirt has a 3" wide mesh vent from the wrist all the way down the arm/armpit/side down to the waist. Gonna be ideal for hot weather”

“Birch - I've heard their stuff is good for the heat - I'll be interested to hear what you think.

Ewker - Is the Bat Ray gonna play second fiddle the the new Gossamer? What prompted the new tent?”

“Big Coop- Tarabull has a nearly identical shirt as mine. She got it last year and spoke highly of it. Her opinion and online reviews prompted me to buy. However their sizing is off a bit. I normally wear a large top but had to get an XL.”

“I been using the ecomesh shirt and pants for the last few seasons. They work pretty good and the best thing I like about them is that bugs can't bite through the fabric. The shirt doesn't seem as cool to me as a knitted shirt since supplex doesn't breathe as well as a more open fabric, but I still like it for the bug factor. Another thing I like is fact that it stops UV rays and has long sleeves so I don't have to put sunscreen on my arms.”

“I just got in a bunch of new Exped Dry Bags yesterday for my Yak and I also just got a Yakima rack for my car.”

“Be sure and come back with a report on that Light Year bag, Ewker. Looking at getting one myself.”

“Good luck with the new shirt.

I never heard of "Rail Riders" until yesterday. As a result of my last trip I received their catalog in the mail yesterday. It would have gone in the trash except that it was raining when I returned from the post office.

So I just went out to the car and retrieved the catalog. Looked up the eco-mesh shirt, looked at the price, $54 + 10.95 for shipping, and decided to look elsewhere. It may be worth it, but it is a little high for my budget. (Some of their expensive pants look like some some that I've found on sale for 20 and less.)

I'll just keep trying to wear out some of my old clothing on the trail as before. One pair of wool socks still trekking date back to a purchase in Sweden in 1955. It does pay to buy quality and I assume that the eco-mesh is up there.

Well, whatever, it is too late. Today is trash day and the catalog just went for a ride in a large truck.

Have a great weekend.”

“bitpusher- The lightyear is a great bag and has plenty of room. I love mine. Tarabull has one as well and she's pleased.”

“Is that the 45F bbinkley?”

“we both have the 25 degree”

“I'm looking at getting the 45F bag, for summer trips.”

“Bitpusher, I got the 45° bag because I didn't like the fleece bag I had. It was rated to 50° but no padding, basically it was a blanket. I will use it as a liner bag in the winter time. it is the smame bag Stovestomper bought and made a liner out of.

Big Coop, I got the new tent because when I was in the Smokies over Memeorial Day Weekend I had a hard time finding a place to put the Bat Ray up. Now maybe that had to do with the campsites (34 & 29) we stayed at. I decided to go with a smaller tent for when I go there esp since I hang my whole pack so the only thing in the tent with me will be my boots.”

“Yep! Try 13 and 17.”

“Nowslimmer, I would agree that Rail Riders arent cheap. But there are claims of a pair of their pants lasting 4000 miles of hiking and another individual wearing only one pair on an AT thru hike. The hiker was named Keith Daley from Glengary W.Virginia

In 1999 Russel Tinkham from Vermont wore a pair of Rail Riders for his thru hike of the AT with only zippers needing mending, not bad for $54 pants IMHO.”

“birch - No argument here. I did say:

"It does pay to buy quality and I assume that the eco-mesh is up there."

My main point was that I had never heard of the company until yesterday! But based upon your post and my respect for you, I opened their catalog with the idea of possibly buying one of those eco-mesh shirts.
-------------------------------
With regard to nylon pants, can you possibly wear a size M? From Sports Authority I have one pair, size L, that I bought at a sale price. I really enjoy them while bp'ing and around town. I returned to the store and found another pair on close-out, but the size M was a mistake. The pants are too small for me. They have been through the laundry, but have never been worn. They have zippers which allow them to be worn as long pants or shorts. I would like to give them to you. Would you be willing to give them a try and evaluation? Just drop me an e-mail with an address and I'll pop them in the mail. (The pants are valueless to me. They need someone who can and will wear them. They look like the first pair of pants show in that catalog for $69.)”

“Nowslimmer, I hope I didnt come across as a pr!ck earlier. I overlooked the portion of your post you referred to. My intention was not to prove you wrong, If I came cross that way...sorry, big time. I havent used em yet but am impressed by the claims of one pair of pants for the AT.

Regarding the pants offer. I appreciate it but I am a large except ironically enough in Rail Riders which I wear a medium but I think their sizes are all screwed up.I would bet that some other TT would happily jump on the offer, thanks anyway!”

“"I am a large"

Quit bragging, Birch!”

“birch - It must be me talking a different dialect. "No argument here" should translate to "I agree with you completely."

Sorry you can't use the pants. I should have included a warning that the size is probably overstated and the pants are probably between S and M. Based upon the pair that I wear, the quality is likely just as good as those of RailRiders. And the close-out price was about 20% of RailRiders.

So, can anyone use a good pair of unworn, convertible, nylon pants for bp'ing? Send an e-mail.

(BTW, I was just at Sports Authority and picked up a pair on nylon workout shorts for $7.97, a close-out price. Other shorts were $20 and up.)”