New gear reviews

“Hiked the ridge trail with several other ladies this weekend and took the opportunity to test some of the new gear I've gotten lately. I've managed to take several pounds off of my pack weight with this stuff, and hoped all of it would work out ok.

Walrus Zoid 1- Great little tent. There is plenty of room for one person and gear too. I sleep on my backpack, no problem getting it in there. Sets up very easily and held up through some strong winds and rain on top of the ridge throughout the night. It was also quite warm-the temps reached the 20's the first night. I just staked the fly close to the net body. I was impressed. Weighs in at 3 lbs with stakes, poles, and footprint.

MSR pocket rocket stove- Another winner. Boils water quickly, but also is great for a steady simmer. I cooked cheese fajitas for 1/2 hour with no hot spots or burning.

Tikka headlamp- best camp light I've ever used, bright light and lightweight. I night hiked with it also, and it is fine in a group, but not solo. With the beam fixed in a downward position, you can't see down the trail without carrying it or tilting your head waaaaay back.

Enertia trail food- I would rather go hungry than eat prepackaged freeze dried food. This stuff changed all that, it's great. Very tasty. You have to simmer it for about 5 minutes instead of just pouring water in it, but well worth the trouble.

Jack Wolfskin backpack- I usually carry a Gregory Palisade that is very comfortable but weighs over 7 lbs empty. This pack is well made, carries weight well and is as comfortable as the Gregory at 4 lbs. I really had my doubts about changing packs but was pleased.

Great trip, good trail, beautiful scenery, and time with friends, what more can a person ask for?”

“Nice report baby,I've considered the Zoid 1.5 myself because I'm a little bigger than you are and I don't sleep on my pack LOL!”

“Nice report. I am also curious why you sleep on your pack?”

“LOL, I guess I should have worded that differently!! I use my pack as a pillow! I have allergies and it keeps my head elevated much better than a pillow. If I knew how to spell that word that describes the front porch, I would have also said that it was quite roomy! LOLOL”

“Is the Zoid big enough to sit up in?

I love my pocket rocket too. I have gotten three weekend trips from one of the smaller MSR cans.”

“I can sit up in the zoid at the highest point, but anyone taller wouldn't be able to without hitting the pole. I'm 5'6.5" tall.”

“Can't ask for much more than that. I can't wait to get out on a trip myself.”

“I tried out my new MSR Pocket Rocket stove this weekend, too. Much lighter than my MSR Dragonfly, smaller, quieter and much quicker to set up. It was great!

MOM complained about it using fuel too quickly, but I just don't see it. She said she always turned it up full to boil water quickly, but I don't think I ever turned it up that high. It seemed to boil quickly enough without turning it up that high. I would say my small Primus fuel container is still between 1/2 and 2/3 full after the weekend. Anybody know what an empty one weighs?

I also tried out a full length Ridge Rest sleeping pad. I cut 1/4 of it off and used it as a sitting pad. When it came time for bed, I just shook it off and put the smaller portion under the end of my sleeping bag. I find that it doesn't slip as much on the tent floor as my Therma-a-Rest ultralight full length and it weighs 10 oz. less.

If I thought it would be as warm as it was and that it wouldn't rain, I could have done without my lightweight Capeline top and bottom as well as my Gore-Tex shell. I never wore any of them.”

“I never heard of Enertia Trail food until bpbaby mentioned it in the 'ghee' thread. Now we hear about it again. I checked out the website and it looks like mostly vegetarian.

What makes it so good? Do you work for Enertia? What meals did you take? Did they make you fart?”

“I almost forgot, I took the Frog Togs with me too. I wore them in a light rain, kept me dry. They are great as a windbreaker.

Bacpac, Nope, I don't work for them and had never heard of them until a few months ago when a friend of mine had some on the trail. I had the 3 bean chili, and the Santa Fe rice. Unlike other bp foods, they taste and look like what they are supposed to be. There isn't any of that cardboard taste that most of it seems to have, very full flavored and spicy. I'm not a vegetarian, and they didn't sound very appealing to me either...until I tasted the food. I also like that they come in individual servings and are vacum packed with no extra packaging. What doesn't make you fart on a backpacking trip?!”

“I ordered a few samples from Enertia, I will give them the fart test.”

“sounds like a great trip bpbaby! I'll have to check enertia out - I had never heard of it before.

:o)”

“Hope you like it, will look forward to the review on the fart test. LOl My friend said the spaghetti is great, haven't tried it yet but I have it for the next trip.”

“Well said bpbaby, well said. Now are you gonna light those farts with the Pocket Rocket from just inside the vestibule? :) Didn't mean to poke too much fun at you, just contributing to thread degeneration. Made me laugh too, just picturing somebody doing that. I need to get out on an extensive gear testing trip. Those are always fun. Toys, toys, and more toys.”

“Thanks for the review bpbaby, I have been wondering about the Tikka.”

“The single best gear buy of the year for me has to be the LED insert for my Princton headlamp. 100 hours on two AA lithiums and it's bright enough to hike at night by.”

“Nice gear review! Thanks. Some new stuff to check out now!”

“Yeah, and more stuff to buy.
I guess that's good and bad.”

“I also have the Matrix insert for my Princeton Solo. The Tikka wasn't out yet when I bought it. It's heavier, but it lasts longer and the light direction is adjustable. I've used it twice for night hiking and it provides plenty of light to find your way. The light is more like a flourescent light. We should have put the Tikka and the Matrix to a side-by-side test this weekend.”