From: Jim Moss (BSARecLaw@Earthlink.net)
Date: Thu Sep 12 2002 - 22:35:58 CDT
Well as usual I have just gotten back from several of the tradeshows for new
backpacking and camping equipment for next year. I'll combine my report of
what to look for along with some comments on the gear thread.
New Stuff out now or out soon.
Sleeping Bags: Mountainsmith has the hottest line of new sleeping bags
out this year. Priced right and LIGHT! 2 pounds for a 20 degree back.
Bags look good and have been out for about 6 months now. I was impressed.
Combine the sleeping bags with their light weight line of packs and you have
shaved 5 pounds off your back. (www.mountainsmith.com)
Stoves: Nothing new in stoves, Brunton's Optimus Nova Multi fuel stove
which has been out for a while is still the leader in my book. The stove
has a feature that drains the pressure out of the bottle before you open the
bottle so you do not get the spray of fuel in your face, or waste fuel
burning it off. Brunton also had some really nice super lightweight
binoculars. If you want to carry a binocular, the weight of these justifies
the cost. (www.brunton.com)
Water Filters: I have always been a filter fan and not a purifier fan.
Katadyn has a new bag filter (ceramic filter). You fill the bag up, hang it
up and gravity filters the water. Nothing new in concept, but first ceramic
filter to do that. No drugs, chlorine, iodine, etc. (The website is as
stupid as they get, so go to a retailer. I spent 20 minutes trying to find
some stats and got nowhere!) The bag holds 2.6 gallons of water which it
filters in 2-3 hours and weights just 475 grams. For the weight and volume
it works well and it is a filter. If you crew is using a lot of water
bottle filters for the trip, this might be a great addition. Start filter
when you get into camp, and you have water for cooking. Start filter while
eating and you have water for the night. Start water at night and you have
breakfast done, etc.
Pots & Pans: Several titanium manufactures have titanium pots and pans down
to a price you can afford. Another couple of ounces. $35.00 for a personal
set. If you go with a group the "snow lion" gear is price almost as low as
the aluminum pots.
Clothing: Lowealpine is making a comeback. Pretty nice designs, Lowe
Alpine quality, without the garish UK colors for once. Really nice gloves.
(www.lowealpine.com) Some nice jackets also.
Hiking Poles: Alpina has a pair of hiking poles for 1/2 the price of the
leading brand. They come with a ski basket also and two tips. Some of
their poles include a spring/shock absorber if you are in to that. Long
time maker of ski and cross country poles, the hiking poles are a great
value. (http://www.alpinasports.com/alpina_poles.html)
Hiking poles have been proven in some test to decrease the pressure on your
knees by 25%. They also make stream crossing a lot easier and safer.
Tents: The tent market at the high end is shrinking. I the past 5 years
Moss, (no relation), Armadillo, and Walrus have all disappeared. Alps tents
are moving up in the world. This years models are a lot better and pretty
slick. Alps also does deals for Scout Units. (www.alpsmountaineering.com)
Quality is superior and price for Scouts is extremely competitive. You get
a high end tent for a BSA price.
New stuff: Tents for dogs. I don't make it, I just report it! Saw four
different companies selling them!
I don't go anywhere without my crazy creek chair. At Philmont I would pull
it out for lunch and even would take naps on it. Great on backs when
sitting. I gave my first chair back to the company. They were over 12
years old and they were impressed with the beating they survived. I also
have ones that work in sleeping pads. I would rather carry the extra weight
of a separate chair and keep my pad in my tent. You don't spend the night
shoving the pad in and out of the chair, and I use the chair a lot more when
it was separate. I also did not want to pack my pad on the outside of my
pack, which made pulling it out for lunch tough.
Pillows: Find some polar fleece (or similar) and sew it inside a small
stuff sack. Turn the stuff sack inside out and put clothing into the stuff
sack. Great soft pillow. If that doesn't work, buy one of cascade designs
pillows. Light weight and they stuff.
Umbrellas: Umbrellas in the west are pretty common. Not to protect from
the rain, but from the sun. Especially in the desert. Patrick Smith,
founder of Mountainsmith never hikes without his. I use mine a lot. Great
again for lunch. Me, my chair and umbrella with a big smile!
Used stoves: I refurbish my stoves once a year. The kits are inexpensive
and easy to do. Why risk a stove going bad on the trail when $10 and make
them like new each year. Thorough cleaning, no valves, etc and voila!
Tent Stakes: I have some Eaton Aluminum tent stakes. They are about 10
inches long, purple with silver flake and a silver head. The head has a
hole for a small piece of aluminum rope to thread through. I have owned
them for several years and they are indestructible. 12 of them do not weigh
12 oz. I take a small piece of reflective tape and tape right below the
head. At night walking through camp, the reflective tape jumps out at you
and you do not trip on ropes and poles. Good idea when guiding dudes. I
also use the tape on the ends of my tent poles. Again spot tents when set
up, also spot the ends of the poles when you are setting up in the dark.
Finally after switching all my tent poles to the Eaton poles, (six tents) I
also switched everything to reflective guylines. My tent has a tendency to
glow when a headlamp hits it, but I do not get woke up in the middle of the
night anymore when someone trips over my lines or falls on the tent breaking
poles! (happened twice with dudes.) Sorry I don't have a make or model on
the stakes, but they are awesome. I even use them in the desert in sand.
(Used to use plastic because of the volume) I just put in several stakes in
a row away from the direction of the pull. I hook each successive stake
through the loop of the preceding stake. 3-4 stakes and you can hold up any
tent in sand.
Spices: You bet. I lived on dehydrated/freeze dried food enough in my life
that I won't leave without them. I also customize my spices for my tastes.
Airports are best for finding spices/condiments in backpackable containers.
Pretty bad when you decide on lunch in an airport based on the condiment
rack........... But then I take the _____ bags out of the airplanes also.
Great for packing out waste and TP with.
Food: Step one. Learn how to use the stoves and cook the food before you
leave. The instructions are usually good, but each package of food will
have some tricks that will make the test a lot better. If you are mixing in
the bag, find and take a utensil that gets in the corners so you can mix all
the food and hot water (I use a chopstick). Cleaning out the bottom of the
bag with a spoon at the end and getting a clump of dried food in your bowls
sucks.
Bowls: Get some insulating foam and cut it up to fit around a small plastic
bowl. Make sure when you are done the lid fits Use this bowl as "your
bowl." The insulation will keep the food hot for a long time why you are
finishing up some thing, getting back from the kybo (foreign country
trots!) or waiting for the meal to really set up or mix. On mountaineering
trips when you may eat one whole package of dehydrated food per person, I
mix in the bowl, put the lid on and allow the food to absorb the water while
staying warm. The lid also prevents someone from kicking over you food on
your sleeping bag. Sleep one night in a bag that smells like top ramen and
you will know what I mean. By having "your bowl" the drastically cut down
cross contamination of diseases that may be floating around camp.
La Sportiva has some new hiking boots. (I have a pair of mountaineering
boots from them I love. I mean LOVE. When everyone else is crippled, I can
still walk! Prefer them over my plastic boots.) Haven't tried them but
they look good.
LED headlamps: I have an LED headlamp from Petzl. (The did send it to me
for free.) It is great for reading, doing small things around the tent,
etc. Lightweight and the batteries will go bad before they burn out. My
only concern is having an entire crew using the LED lights. If you do have
a real problem, out after night, medical emergency, I would like to have a
few people with higher powered head lamps.
Overall, except for the dog packs, nothing new or revolutionary. (Except
Brunton's solar chargers, awesome, but I don't want to go down that road
with Scouting.) Really minor changes and tweaking in the industry.
Probably a sign of the economy more than anything else.
I get nothing from this and do not work for any of these companies. Although
I do know people who work for the companies.
Jim Moss
PO Box 2656
Silverthorne, CO 80498-2656
303-807-2275
JHMoss@Earthlink.net
-------------------------------------------------------
Scouting E-mail Discussion Lists @ usscouts.org
Subscribe/Unsubscribe at http://usscouts.org/lists/
Listserv Commands at http://usscouts.org/lists/lc.asp
-------------------------------------------------------
Send listserv commands to: listserv@troop47.com
Send postings to: philmont@troop47.com
List FAQ found at: http://usscouts.org/lists/faq.asp
List Administrator: philmont_owner@troop47.com
-------------------------------------------------------
As you gather around this virtual campfire with fellow
Scouts and Scouters, do your best to be trustworthy,
loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient,
cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent.
-------------------------------------------------------
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.7 : Thu Mar 13 2003 - 10:38:45 CST