backpacking

Winchester® Bowie Knife Review

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Winchester® Bowie Knife

Two no frills camping trips in (yes, I’m a camping novice among novices), I’m now starting to get a feel for what I need on a camping trip and what I don’t.

As an uber novice, I made the mistake on my first trip of taking too much stuff and not using most of it. On my second trip, I got smarter, and left a bunch of the heavier tools at home. A 2.3lbs tri-fold shovel, a folding saw, and the larger of my two leatherman knives are now all left at home as i didn’t need them, nor see their value on the last two trips. Continue reading →

Coleman Aluminum Mess Kit Review

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Coleman 5-piece Aluminum Mess Kit

Old school mess kits like the one I had when I was a kid. It’s a great little setup, and the only two problems have always been: the pan handle is not strong enough to hold the pan when there’s any significant amount of food cooking, bending so easily as to be almost useless. And the cup is pitifully small. But the cooking kettle with top? That piece is awesome, and the plate works just fine. Continue reading →

Fiskars Ultra Light Knee Pads Review

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Fiskars Ultra Light Knee Pads

I originally wrote the review and review Edit below on Amazon in 2011/2012. While these knee pads are still great for car camping i have since changed my camp site activities to be much more efficient and no longer bring them on most trips. They do stil come on longer car camping trips as the difference they make for low work is substantial. But for backpacking, it’s pretty clear that while light, they are bulky enough to warrant leaving at home. Continue reading →

Wenzel Closed Cell Camp Pad Review

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Wenzel Closed Cell Camp Pad

While this unit is certainly not the least bulky or lightest item out there, it has one critical advantage over any open cell inflatable, or straight inflatable out there: It can take a beating and it keeps on working. There is simply nothing out there more reliable as a sleeping pad than a closed cell pad. But, there are rather bulky and typically would have to be strapped to a backpack, maybe with a garbage bag around it, to prevent getting wet in the rain. Continue reading →

Gerber Gator Exchange-a-Blade Saw Review

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Gerber 22-41457 Gator Exchange-a-Blade Saw

EDIT: I currently prefer the SVEN saw to this unit. Review coming some time.

This is my first folding saw and as these things go, it’s clearly better than a knife for 4-6″ diameter wood. So for firewood collecting, this is great. Is it better than other folding saws out there? I have no idea. But it’s built fairly well and the sheath is good, designed to hold both the folding saw and extra blade. All in all, a good to have item for hiking.

Gerber 22-41457 Gator Exchange-a-Blade Saw

Energizer 4 LED Headlight Review

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EnergizerHeadLamp

This isn’t a super high quality headlamp, but then again, it’s priced right for it’s features. Frankly, I don’t expect to need any more quality than this and am happy with the purchase.

The headlamp portion is a little heavy for a single headband strap. For this weight, it would be nice to have the extra over-the-head strap that many other headlamps have. Still, it should have plenty of power for hiking at night.

Grabber Outdoors All Weather Blanket Review

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GrabberOutdoorsOriginalAllWeatherBlanket

Grabber Outdoors Original Space Brand All Weather Blanket

Edit:  Feb. 2013

I’ve discovered a better way to use this in a tent. In a small two person tent, put this up against one wall of the tent and it ups the ambient temp of the tent really well. In a small tent, i tie two corners along the angular top edge, and two corners along one edge of the base heat reflector facing inwards, of course. Takes a little while but it works better than laying it underneath your sleeping bag. For the floor, a sleeping pad works better to deal with the cold. Continue reading →

High Peak Dura Loft Bag Review

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HighPeakDuraLoftBag

Edit:  Dec 2011

Two camping trips in, I’ve learned a little more about this sleeping bag. The short answer is, it’s not nearly as warm as advertised if used flat on the ground. But then, from the research I’ve done, very few sleeping bags are if you lay it on the ground flat. For those who haven’t experienced it yet, it’s beause insulation works when there’s air in the insulation, but the bottom of the sleeping bag is compressed because of your weight, thus, no insulation and therefore cold. Continue reading →

Kelty Teton 2 Two-Person Tent Review

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KeltyTetonTent IMG_5946
I’d been looking for a 2 person tent for quite a while now. and it seems that there are two major factors affecting price these days: lighter weight and 4 season toughness. I didn’t need 4 season toughness, but I wanted a tent as light as I could get. Surprise surprise, every pound in weight you drop, the price skyrockets to another tier. I was unwilling to deal with 6 lbs and was very reluctant to deal with 5lbs. 4lbs was my goal since anything under jumped to about $250-$400 and I wasn’t willing to pay that. Continue reading →

Gear Aid Seam Sealer Tube, 2oz Review

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GearAidSeamSureWaterbasedSealerTube

This seam sealer is highly recommended so I got it to use on my tent. The brush is useful, but take note, the liquid is like elmer’s glue, but more runny so even a few drops will follow gravity quickly. As such, make sure the brush is always facing down, just above part you want to run the sealer over. Trying to do it sideways or upside down is laughably impossible as the liquid just runs down the bottle. Best way is to turn your tent inside out to seal the inside seams.

As for quality, it comes highly recommended, tho I won’t know till I field test it.

Garmin External GPS Antenna (BNC) Review

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Garmin External GPS Antenna

I recently purchased this item for an old GPS that was going strong in most ways but suffered from a weakish signal. By purchasing this antenna, I was hoping to dramatically improve the signal, thereby turning an old mil-spec’d Garmin GPS V into a useful emergency GPS for my bug-out bag.

Since the original factory installed antenna is bnc, changing out to this antenna is a simple affair. Continue reading →