8 posts tagged “gear”
Merry Christmas to me! I received a new GPS on Christmas morning. The Garmin eTrex Legend. It was an all inclusive kit that had the Legend, clip on case, lanyard, car mount, car adapter and serial cable for your PC. It also comes with a VHS video tutorial of some of the basic features. I believe you can purchase this on DVD on Garmin's website.
Cons
My first issue was that this is not a USB device. So I had to crawl under my desk to get at the back of my PC and screw the serial plug in. This also prevents me from plugging it into my Apple PowerBook which does not have a serial port. I also think they need to work long and hard on the windows95 like software. Even after I updated it to the newest version. It works OK however.
Pros
Well, it's lightweight and the batteries seem to last a good while. Of course I will need some trail time to see if it will suffice. It's supposed to be water resistant up to 1 meter. I stood out in the rain with it on Christmas morning taking some reading and it held up so far. The Legend has lots of features. I have it in my car now to test the features and find that after a little trial and error it isn't to hard to master. I do not think this is a great car navigation GPS. It is a little hard to read and setting a waypoint to route is something I would not want to attempt on the fly. But if you set it up before you leave, it certainly will get you there.
In the morning at Torreya Park, I went down to the Apalachicola River shore to get some water and wash some plates. Because I had no other footwear with me I wore my hiking boots unlaced. This made them a little more comfortable to my sore toes, but they felt heavy. Also, I ran the risk of getting them wet near the river. They ended up caked with a mud/cement that has yet to completely come off. The river was down a little rocky hill and there was a rock formation jutting into the river. It would have been impossible for me to get down there with something on. I was thinking, wouldn't it be great to have a lightweight sandal that was very comfortable and provided enough all around foot protection from the sharp rock. I have been reading on the hiking forums about these things. They seem to be the in camp shoe on most trails now days. Now I know why. I went over to Dick's Sporting Goods and put down $30 for a pair.
OK, don't say it, because I know. I was at the bar one evening and saw this dude dressed in very neutral colors. However, on his feet where the most hideous yellow clog looking things I have ever seen. I said some nasty things to a nearby friend about them. Who would have thunk I would even think of buying a pair. Well I have and I love them. I bought a manly "Army Green" pair and will NOT be wearing them to the bar anytime soon.
Size / Weight:
- XS - (Wmn. 4-5) - 7.7 oz.
- S - (Wmn. 6-7, Men 4-5) - 8.5 oz.
- M - (Wmn. 8-9, Men 6-7) - 9.6 oz.
- L - (Wmn. 10-11, Men 8-9) - 10.6 oz.
- XL - (Wmn. 12-13, Men 10-11) - 12.4 oz.
- XXL - (Men 12-13) - 14.2 oz.
I found the Coleman Canyon 32 on sale at the Coleman outlet for $49.99 US. I didn't even open the bag up in the store. I was just looking for something that would do me a while till I was ready to put out some real money. Upon arriving home, I opened the bag and was amazed to see a very well thought out sleeping bag of expedition quality. Expeditions in perfect to warm weather of course. The bag is rated for 32 Fahrenheit. It is filled with Thermolite Micro fill and weighs only 2 lbs. 11 oz.
The zipper goes 80% down the right side of the sack and can be opened from the bottom to let some cool air in around your feet if it warms up a little. The top zipper has pull ribbon but I added one at the foot so I could grab the knot with my toes and open up a vent when needed.
The bag and hood is comfy for my frame and height (5' 9", 230lbs). The hood has two different strings for adjusting. A yellow round string for the brow area and a flat red ribbon for the chin. This makes tweaking the hood a simple task in the night. I barely even wake up to make adjustments.
If I will be doing some winter or mountain camping, I may buy a different bag. But for nice summer treks or sleeping on the sofa (she found out how much this stuff costs), I will keep my Canyon.
I ordered the Primus Litech on a whim. It was on sale at REI when I ordered my backpack, so I added it. Looking back I should have put a little more thought in to it. At 1 lb. 3oz. this is a little heavy. Not super heavy, but I think titanium would have been a little nicer to carry. Also, I cannot store my stove inside (MSR DragonFly). The pans are a little low profile. Of course, I have not looked around so I may have very well found that I would not find a set of pans that was better suited for me. It' more about the not knowing. I am afraid to look now, so I will use these for a while a see how they work out.
The weekend I cooked up a scoff for myself on the DragonFly and in this set. Cooking went well, I tried a dish with rice and I simmered it after the rice was drained and spices added for about 5 minutes. The pan spread the heat very well and I did not get the usual burn circles I have seen on some of my older sets.
The light gripper handle could use some work. It does not have any tension, so if your not holding it, it will fall off of the pot. Also, it leaves little scars around the top edge. It does not seem to nit into the teflon coating, but the edge I am sure will become very ruff after some more use. Could be useful for a saw?
Otherwise, I am very happy with it for now.
Here are the manufacturers specs:
Weight: 1 lb. 3.6 oz.
Volume: 1.7 and 2.1 liters
Dimensions: 3.74 x 7.1 inches
Material: Anodized aluminum
The MSR Dragonfly is great. With very little practice you can get this thing started in the dark and half asleep. However, when this baby starts up you will wake the dead. I have gotten used to loud stoves. My last stove was a Optimus Svea 123 and that baby was a jet engine. The only downfall to the sound is that it detaches you from your surroundings. Big foot could sneak up and sit next to you and you wouldn't even know to cook extra.
The Dragonfly burns Auto Gas, Kerosene, White Gas and a few other fuels. It is self cleaning, a little shake of the stove cleans it out. Weighing in at only 14 oz., it is a very packable stove and will join me on long and short hikes from here on in.
Every hiker has to choose his/her spoon/spork. Already owning the DragonFly it was a simple choice. MSR makes a titanium spoon called the Titan with a stove tool for the handle. Yes, it is also a great lightweight spoon.
Website: MSR - Mountain Safety Research
This is my light weight one person tent, 3 lbs, 12 oz. This is a very small and easy to set up tent. I have only set the tent up a few times but I am able to do it in about 5 minutes. I also purchased the matching groundsheet a.k.a footprint.
You can stake down the footprint and tent body before putting in the 2 poles. This is great in high wind situations. I have done quite a bit of hiking on the both coasts in Newfoundland. The east coast however has some of the worst wind your ever likely see outside of a high mountain summit.
Website: Mountain Hardwear PCT 1
I purchased the Mountainsmith Daisy on sale for $99.99 US at rei.com. It arrived in about 3 days to my door.
I have always heard about Mountainsmith but had not had the chance to see one up close. When I opened the box I was please. The pack is a little heavy at 4 lbs. 2 oz. for a 3970 cu. in. capacity. This is a little smaller than I am used to. Coming from up north, I am used to a winter sized pack (5000cu+).
The zippers are all rubber sealed against rain and the nylon is 210 Cordura treated for water repellency.
The sides have straps and pockets at the bottom to hold a couple of Nalgene water bottles. This settup is perfect to hold my Quantaray tripod.
Today I went on the lookout for a small tripod for my video camera. I have a Manfrotto with a Kirk ball head for my photography. Living up to that will be hard. I want the stability, flexibility but with half the weight and well under $100. From a previous sale, I have a FLM ball head that is designed for smaller legs and mount. I would love for the legs to fit this as well.
Anyway, I headed down to a Ritz Camera in the local mall. They had lots of great but HUGE tripod legs there, however, nothing to meet my needs. I headed to the other side of town to the Ritz "Super Store". This place actually had less as far as variety. I spoke to the young lady there who, from past experiences, I knew to be pretty knowledgeable. She pointed me to a very small and lean tripod set (legs and head). The Quantaray 8500. I have used Quantary filters and other small items in the past and they seem like a very good value. After examining the setup for a little while and making sure the head could detach from the legs for my ball head (not bald head), I made the purchase. I paid $59.99 for the 8500 and could not be more happy.
It is very stable and very flexible. You can indeed exchange the pan and tilt head for a ball head. For video I may switch back and forth depending on my needs. Very well build and very light. 3.5 lbs with the head.
The legs extend via compression collars like Gitzo and some Manfrotto legs. I am not sure if I like this or not. I think I will be OK after a little getting used to. The center column setup is great. It is a 12 inch shaft that is threaded in the middle. This lets you convert it into a 6 inch shaft. I paid an additional $50 to purchase a short shaft for my Mafrotto legs. This in combination with the legs lets me get real low to the ground. Also, you can insert the shaft in reverse. In this configuration along with the ball head, you can virtually touch the ground with the camera. This is perfect for doing macro photography and cool ground effects with video.
