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Crazyeyes posted:I bought a Marmot last time at rei but returned it two days later cause it discolored in the rain and looked grungy as hell after a single rain. Was not pleased. I take it that's not common in their products? We have 3 Marmot Precip jackets (in blue, black, and dark gray), and the colors are all the same as day one.
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Feb 5, 2016 16:06
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I thought that this bottle pressurizer looked like a cool little gizmo for the trail. Would be good for cooling off, cleaning stuff, spraying your friends, etc. Probably not very great for desert hiking though!
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Feb 5, 2016 17:22
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would be great for cooling off on a hot desert hike, assuming you had more water than you needed!
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Feb 5, 2016 17:53
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I'm sorry, but that first picture is loving hilarious.
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Feb 5, 2016 21:41
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Blinkman987 posted:For winter backpacking temperature range from 20 F to -10 F, tonight our group leader emphasized that one wants a bigger, puffier down jacket. I have the following and hoping to get away with not buying a massive down jacket that I might only use once. maybe i'm just doing it wrong but i just put a trash bag in my backpack, put all the things i want to keep dry inside the trash bag, and cut off the excess with a razor knife. you want to leave a little excess material and stretch it at the top, so you can give it a 4-corner tie like with a contractor bag. i guess it may weigh more than whatever fancy things they sell for keeping things dry, but i've never had it fail me & then i can use it to pack out trash on my way back. black.lion posted:Can I get a quick opinion on Native boots? I'd be using them for short-ish day hikes, likely not more than 5 or 6 miles at a time. i have a few of these, i wouldn't use them for any sort of hiking because they're not very durable and probably wouldn't last very long. they're decently waterproof but not breathable at all. they weigh like nothing though. i can't think of a single situation where i would want to wear those over a trail running shoe, where a proper waterproof boot wouldn't be vastly superior.
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Feb 6, 2016 04:33
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I leave for my wilderness survival course tomorrow morning, and the weather's going to be completely tolerable  Looking at a low of -7C/20F which is completely warm as far as I'm concerned. The course was pretty standard stuff: knots, lashings, shelter design location and orientation, fire starting, building a survival kit in a coffee tin, Les Straud videos. Then some case study scenarios where we argue about ranking items of importance and should we leave or stay. Student presentations on interesting outdoor/bushcraft topics of our choice. I chose reading clouds to predict weather. As far as luxury items it's basically things like a sleeping bag, a couple of handwarmer packets, space blanket, or an emergency shovel. I doubt anyone is bringing that last one, it's been really warm with zero precipitation so there won't be enough snowpack for snow caves or quinzhees. Things that are restricted are axes/hatches, tents, pillows, stoves, meals, and teddy bears. We're allowed one protein/clif bar and a bunch of electrolyte supplements. Another bonus, albeit a depressing one, is the area we're headed has been flagged for clearcutting  so now we can be completely wasteful with our resources for fire and shelter if we want.
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Feb 6, 2016 07:29
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Tashan Dorrsett posted:maybe i'm just doing it wrong but i just put a trash bag in my backpack, put all the things i want to keep dry inside the trash bag, and cut off the excess with a razor knife. you want to leave a little excess material and stretch it at the top, so you can give it a 4-corner tie like with a contractor bag. i guess it may weigh more than whatever fancy things they sell for keeping things dry, but i've never had it fail me & then i can use it to pack out trash on my way back. Lining your pack with a trash bag is AFAIK what everyone does - its definitely better than whatever waterproof top layers they sell for backpacks - great for all your layers etc.. For a sleeping bag though I definitely like an event compression sack
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Feb 6, 2016 16:01
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I keep a decent amount of stuff in the outside mesh pocket of my pack so I like something that goes over the entire pack rather than just protects inside (plus soggy backpack doesn't sound fun to me) but I don't really often hike in a lot of places where rains so much consistently that inside or outside would matter
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Feb 6, 2016 16:33
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marsisol posted:So I'm headed to Utah in early May and am planning on spending 2 days in each of Zion, Bryce, Arches, and Canyonlands. I know that you could spend weeks in each one, but I'm just doing a tour. That being said, any good recommendations for fun, 1-2 day hikes in any of them? Good to know you'll spend two days in Zion. Consider staying 3, as this park is incredible. I recommend The Narrows if no rain is on the forecast. In my experience I spent one and a half days in Zion and devoted an entire day to the Narrows - which was amazing but I regret not seeing more of the park instead of spending most of my time between the walls of a canyon (I'm big into landscape photography, for the record). I only scratched the surface of this place. It felt like it was in Africa or something. Arches and Bryce are great. You're going to have a blast.
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Feb 6, 2016 17:22
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Vomik posted:Lining your pack with a trash bag is AFAIK what everyone does - its definitely better than whatever waterproof top layers they sell for backpacks - great for all your layers etc.. For a sleeping bag though I definitely like an event compression sack I use trash compactor bags (thick, and not enormous) as a liner, and then I still use a pack cover to keep the outside of the pack reasonably dry, or at least not completely saturated. It's redundant, but the liner only weighs about an ounce.
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Feb 7, 2016 05:23
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Found a 2p store-brand tent with 1 vestibule that weighs 4 pounds and 5 ounces for about 100€. That's without footprint. It has "ultralight" in its name but I guess that's just marketing. Thinking about getting it as babby's first tent for solo overnighters. Would I be better off if I'd spend more and get a lighter one? We can get Marmot tents here in Belgium I think, but they're nearly three times more expensive and only cut about half the weight. Budget isn't really an issue, it's just that I'm not sure I'm ready to spend that much money on a fairly fragile piece of equipment.
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Feb 7, 2016 11:25
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I bought a pair of north face boots over a year ago and the black part on each foot at the sides (as seen here far left of the toe) has started to come away ever so slightly. How do I fix this so it doesn't get any worse?
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Feb 7, 2016 17:42
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Cement it back, and don't keep your feet near camp fires.
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Feb 7, 2016 18:18
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theroachman posted:Found a 2p store-brand tent with 1 vestibule that weighs 4 pounds and 5 ounces for about 100€. That's without footprint. It has "ultralight" in its name but I guess that's just marketing. Thinking about getting it as babby's first tent for solo overnighters. Would I be better off if I'd spend more and get a lighter one? We can get Marmot tents here in Belgium I think, but they're nearly three times more expensive and only cut about half the weight. Budget isn't really an issue, it's just that I'm not sure I'm ready to spend that much money on a fairly fragile piece of equipment. You're probably best buying a cheap tent to start out with, so you can start getting out sooner and start tailoring your gear to what you want. 4.5 lbs isn't much heavier than more expensive tents anyways. Besides, that way you won't feel so bad about wasting money on something you'll never use again once you switch over to a hammock in a year or two anyways.  Magazines posted:I bought a pair of north face boots over a year ago and the black part on each foot at the sides (as seen here far left of the toe) has started to come away ever so slightly. How do I fix this so it doesn't get any worse? Ditto on the fire, heat reactivates the glue
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Feb 7, 2016 22:01
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Well, I'm back after my survival course, and I'm pretty sure we were blessed with the best February weather any winter survival group could ask for. It didn't get below -7C/20F. There was zero breeze. I only lit a fire shortly before dawn because after 10 hours laying on my pine bough bed my feet actually got pretty cold. No one whistled the emergency whistle which is a first for our instructor who teaches it 3 times a year for 6 years. There was some drama though. Some drunk people showed up in the woods in the middle of the night and started firing guns randomly. One bullet hit a tree less than 20 feet from one girl's shelter. Our prof called the RCMP on her sat phone because we were out of cell range. They ended up taking off when her assistants yelled at them. Aside from that it was such a perfect night and I loved the hell out of it.
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Feb 8, 2016 06:47
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(In movie guy voice) Six hiking students take part in a survival course go out for the weekend, only to have their skills pushed to the limit ... Hypothermia, bears and bullets! Mother nature isn't the only killer in the woods.
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Feb 8, 2016 07:36
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So took a little hike over the summer , found this thread and decided to share some pictures of my hike on the window mountain lake trail, in the Crowsnest pass area in Alberta around hwy 3ish. Album link Simple hike, the trail sometimes had a gaps from water erosion in it so had to be careful otherwise you might fall halfway down the mountain. My first "real" hike in a while and my first solo hike at least 2 hours from civilization and 1 hour from help. The remoteness of it made me reconsider my packing and size of backpack after I got there since I got cold feet during parts of it for my slight under preparedness. Critique on my packing? Wearing: regular shorts running shoes hat cotton tshirt regular shirt sunglasses watch sunscreen SPF 35 if I remember correctly bug spray My packing list: Back pack (was full to the brim) (1) 750 mL water bottle (4) 500 mL disposable water bottles Flashlight Multitool Regular weather jacket (not sure how to describe but it sucks if the weather goes below 0 C) rain jacket (combined with the regular jacket makes it acceptable below 0 C) 4 granola bars things I know I should have brought; Lighter Signalling something anti bear something
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Feb 8, 2016 18:37
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Hiked to Mt Lowe and back this past Saturday. It was surprisingly easy. The only physically demanding part was the final hike up to the peak from the crossroads. This peak was cool because they had those metal pipes labeled and if you looked through them, you could see all the other peaks. There were some other pipes at Inspiration Point, but the one labeled "Ostrich Farm" lied. NO OSTRICHES!!!!  I did do the entire 15mi hike on 3 hours sleep and was fine, but then devoured a burrito on my drive home, and proceeded to sleep 15 hours straight. Next up, learning scrambling at Joshua Tree. Everyone's least favorite part about the 10 essentials on a dayhike is having to carry a bivy or some rain pants/rain jacket, right? Come on, guys. Nobody's going to do that within the context with which we did our hike. Shoutout to the Houdini jacket though. Holy poo poo, I use that thing all the time and to the people who spoke to its durability-- you were right. This thing isn't made for bushwacking, but it's far more durable than one would assume just feeling the material.
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Feb 8, 2016 19:08
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Blinkman987 posted:
Man, I bet some of your group leads to day hikes with full 50L packs. I know a few of mine did. A lot of it is overkill, but sometimes it ends up being necessary. Like having a rain jacket. Most times in SoCal you wont need it. But then you'll go out one day, get to a summit with 40mph gusts, and that rain jacket is now your best friend for its wind shedding properties.
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Feb 8, 2016 21:05
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they also make wind jackets that are lighter weight/less expensive and do the same thing! No point in taking both though, so they're really only useful if you're sure it's not going to rain but it might be cool and windy
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Feb 8, 2016 21:10
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Blinkman987 posted:Everyone's least favorite part about the 10 essentials on a dayhike is having to carry a bivy or some rain pants/rain jacket, right? Come on, guys. Nobody's going to do that within the context with which we did our hike.
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Feb 8, 2016 21:45
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Thanks. I'll try to clear that up with my group leader, whether or not they expect us to carry waterproofs. I did just in case, but the group leaders seemed reasonable enough. Never know when someone's going to be a stickler for the rules. All the leaders definitely carried 50L packs. I assume a good deal of it was water for anybody who didn't bring enough. Wind jackets are the nuts. Probably my favorite thing to wear at all times, even if it is neon green =)
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Feb 8, 2016 23:33
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Took an overnight hike up Mount Diablo in the SF Bay Area over this weekend. We'd wanted to get to the top for a while, which you can actually drive up to the entire way since it's basically just a giant hill (it was originally named Monte del Diablo, meaning Devil's thicket, and was mistranslated to Mount by the English). However, it'd been over a month since our last hike and we with the recent El Nino rains, the usually brown landscape was absurdly green, so we decided to ascend the long way with a trip through 9 miles of the surrounding foothills. It was forecasted to be sunny and warm, but based on our experience on Mt. Langley (which admittedly has over 10,000 feet on Diablo), we packed our softshells. We got a late start on Saturday, but it was a beautiful walk through lush hills that, as we hiked higher, revealed increasingly more of the Bay Area and eventually even the Central Valley. One issue though, is despite the fact we were ascending over 3,000 feet, there were no switchbacks the entire trail. I've seen people in this thread mention conditions like this on the east coast, but as a native Californian, this was unheard of and I had no idea what a difference it makes. We would climb a hill at what felt like a 40 degree angle, praying for another traverse because at least those were only 20 degrees.  Even though it was only 8 miles and 6 hours to our camp, half that time was spent on the last 2 miles. Luckily this was all during a spectacularly gold and red twilight, followed by the glow of the surrounding metropolis.  The campground was just a couple hundred feet from the summit, so we had a view straight to SF from our site. At the time, it was warm with a light breeze. By the time we laid down for bed, the tent was creaking and flapping from stiff breezes every couple minutes. By morning, the flapping was nonstop and my poor 3-season tent was bowing in and testing the limits of DAC aluminum. We finished our hike to the top for somehow even more views. Also wind, lot's of wind.  From this point you can supposedly see Yosemite on a good day, and even the peak of Lassen peaking over the horizon on a great day. While we couldn’t make either of those out, we could see the south bay down to San Jose, the north bay up to Napa, the central valley from Madera to Sacramento, and most of the Sierras peeking out above the smog. As for the wind, the ranger reported conditions were 50-60mph, with gusts as high as 73! Here’s an attempt to drink from a water fountain. What we couldn’t capture was the water flying 20 feet downwind.  The was a parking lot right at the top, but our car was 9 miles away. We had no choice but to hike down 4000’ of knee-crushing inclines, along ridges narrow enough to force you to take a knee or risk being bowled hundreds of feet downhill by the next gust. That was how we spent the next 5 hours.  After Hermit’s Rest, the Narrows, and even Kalalau, this may have been the hardest hike we’ve ever done. So yes, always bring your waterproofs.
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Feb 9, 2016 06:47
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Has anyone tried a bivvy with their hammock instead of an underquilt? My roommate does this apparently sleeps fine in ~20 degree F weather, but I haven't really heard of anyone else doing it. He uses the bivvy from one of those military 3 piece bags.
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Feb 9, 2016 07:42
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eSporks posted:Has anyone tried a bivvy with their hammock instead of an underquilt? My roommate does this apparently sleeps fine in ~20 degree F weather, but I haven't really heard of anyone else doing it. He uses the bivvy from one of those military 3 piece bags. I've got one, but I've never used it with my underquilt because it's heavy and doesn't offer much benefit in terms of insulation. I don't think a bivvy would be adequate for 70° weather, let alone 20°. I do, however, use a Dutch gear hammock sock to block wind, and that adds maybe another ten degrees of warmth, not to mention making my underquilt more effective by blocking gaps. Plus it's nice because I can leave my tarp hung in its snakeskins if it doesn't look like rain, so I can get a view of the night sky from the comfort of the hammock A Horse Named Mandy posted:
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Feb 9, 2016 13:13
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eSporks posted:Has anyone tried a bivvy with their hammock instead of an underquilt? My roommate does this apparently sleeps fine in ~20 degree F weather, but I haven't really heard of anyone else doing it. He uses the bivvy from one of those military 3 piece bags. I've wondered about this, but never tried it. It's interesting to hear from someone who does it and is satisfied with the results.
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Feb 9, 2016 15:38
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OSU_Matthew posted:I've got one, but I've never used it with my underquilt because it's heavy and doesn't offer much benefit in terms of insulation. I don't think a bivvy would be adequate for 70° weather, let alone 20°. In the spring/summer he sleeps in his bag on top of the bivvy. In the winter he is inside the bivvy. It seems to work for him, but I am really skeptical since I haven't heard of anyone else doing it. I usually just use a bag and a reflectrix pad, but my back gets really chilly once it gets near freezing. I'd like to find some cold weather solutions that avoid the bulk of an underquilt.
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Feb 9, 2016 17:46
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I don't understand how a bivy adds significant warmth to a hammock. Sure, goretex is going to block wind from reaching you, but it doesn't do anything about heat loss through a compressed sleeping bag and the bottom of the hammock. Is your friend stuffing sleeping pads into their bivy? That's what I do when I use one on the ground. It sounds like they are carrying an unnecessary hammock, to be honest.
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Feb 9, 2016 18:02
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turevidar posted:I don't understand how a bivy adds significant warmth to a hammock. Sure, goretex is going to block wind from reaching you, but it doesn't do anything about heat loss through a compressed sleeping bag and the bottom of the hammock. vapor barrier? dunno
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Feb 9, 2016 18:05
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turevidar posted:I don't understand how a bivy adds significant warmth to a hammock. Sure, goretex is going to block wind from reaching you, but it doesn't do anything about heat loss through a compressed sleeping bag and the bottom of the hammock.
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Feb 9, 2016 18:17
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Someone a few pages back expressed interest in a book I was editing about Ron Melchiore, who now lives off grid in the wilds of Saskatchewan. Leading up to this, he also hiked the entire Appalachian Trail in the winter and later rode his bike across the US. The book (Off Grid and Free: My Path to the Wilderness) is now published.
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Feb 9, 2016 22:23
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turevidar posted:I don't understand how a bivy adds significant warmth to a hammock. Sure, goretex is going to block wind from reaching you, but it doesn't do anything about heat loss through a compressed sleeping bag and the bottom of the hammock.
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Feb 9, 2016 22:43
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A Horse Named Mandy posted:Mount Diablo stuff What trailhead and route did you guys take to the top? Kind of interested in doing it this weekend and would love to see some of the same stuff you showed in your photographs, those looked really cool.
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Feb 10, 2016 06:54
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Desmond posted:Someone a few pages back expressed interest in a book I was editing about Ron Melchiore, who now lives off grid in the wilds of Saskatchewan. Leading up to this, he also hiked the entire Appalachian Trail in the winter and later rode his bike across the US. The book (Off Grid and Free: My Path to the Wilderness) is now published. This is awesome. Congrats on publishing your book!
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Feb 10, 2016 15:29
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Desmond posted:Someone a few pages back expressed interest in a book I was editing about Ron Melchiore, who now lives off grid in the wilds of Saskatchewan. Leading up to this, he also hiked the entire Appalachian Trail in the winter and later rode his bike across the US. The book (Off Grid and Free: My Path to the Wilderness) is now published. Awesome. I just picked up a copy. But tell him to hit the cover artist with a stick. Seriously, if the dude needs some cover advice I can point him to some really great (and affordable) designers. It's a really lovely cover.
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Feb 10, 2016 16:28
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What are all of your favorite non-valley car campgrounds in Yosemite? Thinking of going in late May/early June and have only stayed in the valley!
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Feb 10, 2016 20:43
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Yooper posted:Awesome. I just picked up a copy. Cool. I PM'd you (we can move the discussion there). Relative to hiking, I recently listened to John Denver while running the Coquitlam River Trail. I liked it. shoot me now!
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Feb 10, 2016 20:54
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John Denver has his place. He was a starry-eyed hippie, but the guy loved the mountains and the outdoors. You could do a lot worse.
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Feb 10, 2016 21:09
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khysanth posted:What are all of your favorite non-valley car campgrounds in Yosemite? Thinking of going in late May/early June and have only stayed in the valley! I've only camped at Tuolumne Meadows and it wasn't bad even though it's a pretty big campground with lots of sites, etc. Good access to trails and stuff near there.
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Feb 10, 2016 21:36
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I am heading out to san diego by la jolla area in april/may. Any must do day hikes up by there that I should not miss? How bad are the crowds by there, as trip reports say some places get pretty packed. I'm there for a week or so and then may head towards mexico (south of tijuana) if there are any spots there that people can recommend. Thanks.
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Feb 10, 2016 23:18
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