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The Wiggly Wizard posted:You don’t need a beacon for a day hike lol. Depends on the day hike's location. If you're somewhere frequently traveled where you'll bump into someone every 30 minutes or so, sure, you could probably skip it. But if you're out in the boonies, even if it's "only" a dayhike, and you roll your ankle or break a leg, even a half hour or hour long walk back to cell phone access or where people are staying could leave you stranded.
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Mar 19, 2021 14:42
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Sockser posted:Too many people in this thread carrying nalgenes god drat This is what I do. I watch some youtubers (I know) and Smart Water bottles seem to be really popular. I use the tall 1 liter bottles from Costco which are a not balanced very good due to the height, but I love Costco soo.... A lot of filters fit on their openings pretty well too. Although I've never had a reason to use a filter because I've never been backpacking yet. 
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Mar 19, 2021 15:04
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sb hermit posted:Maybe a whistle? If you have one that doesn't have the ball in there then it will work in more conditions. "I told no one what I was doing today!" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAAsOUoL-Zw I actually do bring one of those orange whistles without a ball. I have one attached to the chest strap on my daypack. Math You posted:Pushing that button is a $10,000 - $30,000 exercise, and while I fully support having one, they aren't for day hikes from a trailhead. 
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Mar 19, 2021 15:07
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Math You posted:Yeah if your only plan for something going wrong is a beacon you're doing it very, very wrong. In most places extraction costs are on the individual. Pushing that button is a $10,000 - $30,000 exercise, and while I fully support having one, they aren't for day hikes from a trailhead. Depends on the situation and PLB vs satellite device. I've hit my inReach SOS button once. I was hunting in NE Wyoming with my cousin and we were an hour+ drive on two track BLM roads from the county road which was another hour+ from the nearest hospital. He stuck a knife through his hand and I was able to use the inReach to coordinate an ambulance meeting us at the trailhead/county road. I never saw a bill for anything related to it and I think all his insurance saw was the ambulance transport cost. They're very useful for keeping in touch in places with little or no cell phone coverage and compared to a PLB the most useful part is being able to communicate what sort of response you need. There's a big difference between needing an ambulance to meet you at a trailhead and getting SAR to spin up a helo and drop rescuers on your PLB position and airlift you out.
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Mar 19, 2021 15:37
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I bought a PLB about 5 years ago (have to check, the battery is good for 5 years) and have thankfully never had to use it. I had a particularly nasty time on an alpine climbing trip once though, where my partner and I were stuck on the side of a mountain in dense fog, with no food or water for about 48 hours. We contemplated using it then, but were able to make slow and steady downward progress so we just kept moving. I was very happy it was in my bag though, if poo poo had really hit the fan and one of us had been injured or we'd had equipment issues that prevented us from descending safely.
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Mar 19, 2021 15:39
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AKZ posted:As an intermediate measure I have a gender reveal incindiary device that I can use to start a forest fire to draw rescuers to my location. It will definitely maim me when I set it off, but really that's more of an insurance policy that I needed help instead of just getting a really bad charlie horse on the trail. I'll never forget a massive fire started in San Bernardino by a hiker who was lost, signaling a plane w/ his flare gun. Everybody buy flare guns.
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Mar 19, 2021 16:09
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So did they rescue the hiker before the fire got to him?
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Mar 19, 2021 16:13
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Buy a high power green laser and wave it towards the plane, they love it when you do that and it's earth friendly because it doesn't start fires (unless you really try to).
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Mar 19, 2021 16:19
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DapperDraculaDeer posted:So did they rescue the hiker before the fire got to him? Yes, but I believe he was fined so hard into oblivion he probably wished he hadn't been. That was a great week for stupid people in SoCal causing fires. Not far from there a guy started one by dragging a metal plate behind his truck (because it was too heavy to easily get in/out of the bed of his truck) on the freeway. Those two fires made my commute especially poo poo, which is why I remember them so well.
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Mar 19, 2021 16:23
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Sockser posted:Too many people in this thread carrying nalgenes god drat I tried the smart bottle route but hated it. The wide mouth and versatility of the Nalgene is worth the 2.5oz
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Mar 19, 2021 16:31
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charliebravo77 posted:Depends on the situation and PLB vs satellite device. I've hit my inReach SOS button once. I was hunting in NE Wyoming with my cousin and we were an hour+ drive on two track BLM roads from the county road which was another hour+ from the nearest hospital. He stuck a knife through his hand and I was able to use the inReach to coordinate an ambulance meeting us at the trailhead/county road. I never saw a bill for anything related to it and I think all his insurance saw was the ambulance transport cost. They're very useful for keeping in touch in places with little or no cell phone coverage and compared to a PLB the most useful part is being able to communicate what sort of response you need. There's a big difference between needing an ambulance to meet you at a trailhead and getting SAR to spin up a helo and drop rescuers on your PLB position and airlift you out. Yeah that's the exact same reason I got a spotx. I don't think I could live with a device who's only function is to call in the choppers. The satellite comms devices are certainly more expensive but I can actually use it to tell my wife I'm wind bound, or utilize the contact center to guide me out, or contact park staff for a ground extraction. Most of all it allows me to receive critical communications from my loved ones. The first trip I took mine on, I was notified of a personal emergency that warranted me extracting myself at the earliest opportunity.
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Mar 19, 2021 17:59
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Wow lots of bladder chat. I like a bladder on long day hikes, especially in the desert with big water carries. For backpacking though where I'm going to be filling up and filtering multiple times, I much prefer to bring smartwater bottles. Getting a bladder in/out of a full pack is such a chore. With the smartwater bottles, I can screw the Sawyer Squeeze directly on top and filter straight into my face. PLB chat: I had to use my InReach this past weekend when my wife broke her ankle on trail. We tried to self-evac but she was not able to put any weight on it, and any time she tried standing up she got very light headed. From time to SOS --> her being in a helicopter was about 90 minutes. It was nearly sunset, temps were dropping into the 30s. I was VERY glad to have it. I hiked back to our camp and broke down everything, while they airlifted her to a field and drove her to me. From there we just went to Urgent Care (declined an ambulance / ER visit -- the American thing to do). khysanth fucked around with this message at 18:23 on Mar 19, 2021 |
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Mar 19, 2021 18:16
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Trying to decide between two 3p tents if anyone has any thoughts: Big Agnes Copper Spur HV UL3: https://www.rei.com/product/164194/big-agnes-copper-spur-hv-ul3-tent NEMO Dagger 3: https://www.rei.com/product/144623/nemo-dagger-3-tent Looking to drop my tent weight significantly from the 7lb 3p I use now. It's mostly for me, wife, and dog. Will be used mostly in the Southeast in cool weather. I'd probably be happy with either of these tbh
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Mar 19, 2021 19:10
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Did I read correctly in this thread (I think so) that Decathlon USA stuff is generally ok? I'm referring to their 70L pack FWIW. If not I can just grab something out of REI clearance.
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Mar 19, 2021 19:19
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Fitzy Fitz posted:Trying to decide between two 3p tents if anyone has any thoughts: The vestibules on the BA look nicer and more usable. Otherwise price and weight are roughly the same. Both great tent manufacturers and you would probably be happier with either.
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Mar 19, 2021 19:30
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h3r0n posted:Did I read correctly in this thread (I think so) that Decathlon USA stuff is generally ok? I'm referring to their 70L pack FWIW. I have their MH500 20 L Hiking Backpack and I'm very happy with it for day hikes. I can't personally vouch for the 70L as I've never bought it. I have a ton of Decathlon USA stuff in general and it's all been pretty good to me.
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Mar 19, 2021 19:59
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Talking about people who got lost and started a forest fire to save their lives, great article: https://www.dmagazine.com/publications/d-magazine/2006/december/lost/ Spoiler alert: they find a different dead hiker while lost EVvv neat, never saw that episode! Also, yea, in the article they talk about how they were so excited to find the guys tent, believing him to be alive, then they went inside and found him decomposing with a note in his pack about how he knew he was stuck in the area and was going to die. They use waterproof matches they find in the dead guy’s pack, tho, so ironically the dead man ends up being their savior. Really great story, especially if you’ve ever been to Palm Springs before. Brother Tadger fucked around with this message at 20:41 on Mar 19, 2021 |
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Mar 19, 2021 20:02
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1redflag posted:Talking about people who got lost and started a forest fire to save their lives, great article: There's an episode of "I shouldn't be Alive" on this story. Getting lost and stumbling across someone else who was lost and died in the spot you're standing has to be the most gut wrenching realization. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fOMWDcWV_Q
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Mar 19, 2021 20:16
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What's a good size beginner pack for 1-3 nights? 60l?
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Mar 19, 2021 20:20
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60L should be more than enough if you have a legit backpacking sleeping bag and tent (as opposed to car camping gear). E. Well, I should qualify this by saying it may be tight if you need to bring a bear box and you want to bring a lot of food or other luxuries, or have to bring all of your water for the trip with you (ie, no way to fill up on the trail), and/or are going solo and have to carry every piece of gear yourself. Brother Tadger fucked around with this message at 20:45 on Mar 19, 2021 |
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Mar 19, 2021 20:38
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Nitrousoxide posted:I have their MH500 20 L Hiking Backpack and I'm very happy with it for day hikes. I can't personally vouch for the 70L as I've never bought it. Holy poo poo. That MH500 20L is $30. Out of stock but wow.
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Mar 19, 2021 20:43
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FogHelmut posted:What's a good size beginner pack for 1-3 nights? 60l? Anything over a night or two and you start getting into a typical backpacking size since you'll need all the same things as you would for a week+ trip with the main difference is volume of food. Ideally what you should do is look at all your gear and go from there. I think a 60L is a great place to start but if you don't have backpacking specific gear then you might have difficulty getting everything into it. That said, I would avoid going much bigger than 60-65 because then you start getting into pretty huge 70+L packs that you tend to overload because the pack still has room to spare. Between personal experience and watching friends get into backpacking, it takes time and experience to get to a smaller pack. I think 60l is about the sweet spot that people should look for when getting into backpacking but a smaller pack weighs less and feels better to carry. Eventually over time you can shrink your pack size by learning what you can do without, what you can upgrade to something lighter or smaller, and significantly reduce the gear you bring but like I said that takes time and experience. The biggest culprits in taking up volume are going to be your sleeping bag and tent. Learning how to pack your bag will also help if things seem like a tight fit. I'm personally someone who tries to avoid hanging anything off the outside of my pack in fear of losing it. Old heavy sleeping bags are heavy and bulky taking up a ton of room. Either using a compression sack or just loose packing it into the bottom of your back pack is a good way of taking up wasted space since everything will mash it down anyway. For your tent, finding a lighter smaller tent will take up less space as well. If you're going with a buddy, split the gear load so that you're only carrying what you need. No sense in two people bringing a ton of duplicate gear unless you're really averse to sharing.
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Mar 19, 2021 20:47
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Pennywise the Frown posted:Holy poo poo. That MH500 20L is $30. Out of stock but wow. Not sure what one you're looking at but I got this one. It was on sale for $40 at the time when I got it. I'm showing this available for $60 and not out of stock. https://www.decathlon.com/collections/camp-hike-day-packs/products/quechua-mh500-hiking-backpack-20l-310057  It supports a water bladder, tubing for it, and has pretty beefy padded waist strap and a light plastic frame and mesh back to keep the actual pack off your back and let your back get plenty of air. It also has loops for trekking poles and an included rain cover in the bottom. I really like it. Nitrousoxide fucked around with this message at 21:00 on Mar 19, 2021 |
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Mar 19, 2021 20:57
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I'm in socal, so probably a lot of water. And more than likely by myself. Also all of my car camping gear is really SUV/Pickup camping gear for the whole family. None of it is portable. Looking at the REI bundle or equivalent.
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Mar 19, 2021 21:01
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Fitzy Fitz posted:Trying to decide between two 3p tents if anyone has any thoughts: I have the Copper Spur and really like it. We got a dog so we replaced our 2p MSR with it and it fits two of us and the pup very comfortably.
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Mar 19, 2021 21:05
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The Wiggly Wizard posted:You don’t need a beacon for a day hike lol. i read somewhere that day hikers are the most likely to go missing/die.
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Mar 19, 2021 21:12
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hemale in pain posted:i read somewhere that day hikers are the most likely to go missing/die. It stops being a day hike if you get lost for 3 days!
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Mar 19, 2021 21:31
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I wouldn't have initially bought my PLB for day hiking, but once I owned it already I definitely took it on a whole bunch of day hikes where I was off the beaten path and not expecting to see another hiker. It's super small so why not really?
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Mar 19, 2021 21:41
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The trick to getting by without a PLB is just to make sure that you never get in trouble.
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Mar 19, 2021 21:47
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Freaquency posted:I have the Copper Spur and really like it. We got a dog so we replaced our 2p MSR with it and it fits two of us and the pup very comfortably. See I was thinking this would be my no-dog tent. I haven't used a tent this thin before so I was worried the dog's nails might puncture it.
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Mar 19, 2021 22:12
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Nitrousoxide posted:Not sure what one you're looking at but I got this one. It was on sale for $40 at the time when I got it. I'm showing this available for $60 and not out of stock. I just clicked the first link I got for searching for MH500 20L. https://www.decathlon.com/products/mountain-hiking-backpack-20-l-mh500?variant=18674634588222 drat, I have this Teton 18L and it looks way smaller. It doesn't hold much stuff at all. https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B006JYHG3U/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
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Mar 19, 2021 22:12
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I've settled on the Mountainsmith Lookout 60 Pack and the REI Co-Op Backpacking Bundle. $355 after my coupons and dividends. Can I do better +/- $50?
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Mar 19, 2021 23:46
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Fitzy Fitz posted:See I was thinking this would be my no-dog tent. I haven't used a tent this thin before so I was worried the dog's nails might puncture it. FWIW, we haven’t seen any problems with it, but we’ve only used it last summer and fall. The dog has a Z-Lite pad that he lays on when we’re in the tent and isn’t one to really scratch at the floor or anything so we haven’t had issues so far, but it’s also a relatively small sample size.
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Mar 19, 2021 23:58
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REI already sold out of that Big Agnes tent, so now I'm thinking I might get the MSR Mutha Hubba. It's only $20 more than the NEMO one, and it seems to be the top pick from reviewers. e: between coupon, dividend, gift card, and REI credit card, I got about $300 off lol Fitzy Fitz fucked around with this message at 00:14 on Mar 20, 2021 |
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Mar 20, 2021 00:06
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I am waiting on delivery of this chonky boy https://hillpeoplegear.com/Products/CategoryID/3/ProductID/66 I've had their Umlindi pack for a bit now and it was pretty comfy.
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Mar 20, 2021 00:18
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FogHelmut posted:I've settled on the Mountainsmith Lookout 60 Pack and the REI Co-Op Backpacking Bundle. $355 after my coupons and dividends. Can I do better +/- $50? Those should all be more than good enough to get you started and very difficult to beat for the price (considering you can get 20% off all three since its a bundle) without going with really low quality gear. The tent is probably the best part of the kit, the sleeping pad is likely okay and the sleeping bag might be the first thing you would want to upgrade eventually as you can save some weight, bulk and probably get something warmer if you're into shoulder season or high elevation trips. But they will all work for now. Those are the 4 biggies that tend to break the bank. Tent, Sleeping bag, backpack, and depending on how much comfort you like, sleeping pad. Being able to get all of that brand new for $300-400 is pretty nice. The backpack should be fine, I've had two mountainsmith packs over the years and they were okay. The first one was way too big, 70+ liters and just cumbersome which I realized on my first trip. I liked the shoulder straps and hip belt a lot so I upgraded it a year later to another mountainsmith, something a little smaller and more streamlined and it worked great for a few years but eventually the hip belt stopped holding and it would loosen up every few miles meaning the weight was coming off my hips and onto my shoulders. Mountainsmith makes lower cost gear that I would probably put into the class of Kelty, its totally functional and reliable but not the most high tech materials and probably a little heavy.
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Mar 20, 2021 03:47
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Great, I did use the 20% on the bundle, and the backpack was from the Outlet so I used the other 20% on that. Obviously because I was going for the REI Outlet side for the backpack, choices were limited, but I think the Mountainsmith checked more of my boxes than a similar Kelty, which was also larger.
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Mar 20, 2021 06:33
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I didn't realize that I'm still a member. I joined in 2005 and haven't been to an REI since like 2007. According to their website I'm still a member! Cool.
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Mar 20, 2021 13:32
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I really like the Satcom PLB one of the guys in my hiking group has. He bought it for the AT and has several preprogrammed messages on a subscription service he can send to his SO with it, basically along the lines of “I made it to camp”, “I’m fine but running late”, or “Send a ranger” if he needs help, but is stable enough that he can hunker down and doesn’t need SAR and a medevac. Still has the PLB to send in the cavalry, but he has options before breaking that out. I’m pretty sure it’s the Garmin InReach, I’ll have to ask next time I see him.
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Mar 20, 2021 14:41
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OSU_Matthew posted:I really like the Satcom PLB one of the guys in my hiking group has. He bought it for the AT and has several preprogrammed messages on a subscription service he can send to his SO with it, basically along the lines of “I made it to camp”, “I’m fine but running late”, or “Send a ranger” if he needs help, but is stable enough that he can hunker down and doesn’t need SAR and a medevac. Still has the PLB to send in the cavalry, but he has options before breaking that out. I’m pretty sure it’s the Garmin InReach, I’ll have to ask next time I see him. I have a Garmin InReach Mini and I like it. You can probably get by with the pre-programmed messages 90% of the time. Set one for the start of your hike/camping, one that you can blast out that you're still OK, and then one that you're done. Set them all to give your location and then you've got almost every update ping you'd generally want to send to people. You get to send an unlimited number of these too. Then if you actually need help you can send a real message that uses one of your allowed messages. I also append "don't reply to this message unless it's urgent" to my pre-programmed messages since if someone replies to it it uses up one of your precious free messages. You can set all of your pre-programmed messages (or just some of them) to also report your location too. No added cost. It links to your phone too via bluetooth so you can do more involved texting using your phone's touch interface rather than trying to struggle with the tiny little device. You have to send the pre-programmed messages from the Mini though, can't send them through the app. Comes with a carabiner and a velcro strap so you can attach it to your backpack's arm strap to keep it in easy reach. At ~$20-30 yearly activation cost and then $11-15 per month (yearly commitment vs. monthly commitment) I think it's a good deal to have access to communication literally anywhere. Also doubles as a lifeline in the event of a hurricane or something like that.
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Mar 20, 2021 22:48
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