If you’re on a hike, and it starts raining, the last thing you want to do is spend the time to find a place to sit, undo your hiking boots, put on a second layer waterproof pant, and get your hiking boots back on.
Given that, I was looking for a second layer water proof pant that was able to zip fully, so I can get into and out of them without taking my hiking boots off. Continue reading
When it comes to devices that charge your gadgets on the go, there are tons of external battery options out there, tons of portable solar panels and transportable solar panels out there, and finally, many crossover devices that are portable solar panels with built in external batteries. Continue reading
UPDATE
I’ve now gone on two trips with this backpack, and what I can say clearly is that….so far, so good.
I have about 35lbs of gear in there, and tested carrying that weight. It held up really well. Continue reading
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
There really isn’t that much to say about this emergency stove. It is what it is.
The photo shows the walls vertical at 90 degrees, but there are notches in the hinge that allows the walls to lock at 45 degrees, which is better for smaller items like a cup instead of a kettle, and probably helps in windy situations. Continue reading
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
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
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
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
This is not a knife sharpener for daily use of course. But it’s good to leave in your pack in a pinch, because when you need to sharpen an overly dull knife in the middle of the woods, it’s always a good idea to have something handy to sharpen with. Continue reading
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 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
I just got this and already had occasion to use this when my wife burnt her hand getting food out of the oven.
It’s better than I expected. She is accident prone and her blisters are usually pretty big when she burns herself, but this time, instead of just cold water and an ice pack, we used the gel, and it made a world of difference. Continue reading
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
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
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.
Considering how small this axe/maul is, it’s pretty amazing who well it splits wood.
The blade is sharp and angles out ridiculously wide, with a sledgehammer-like round back, so when splitting especially large diameter wood, you can use another hammer to push the blade in further if you can split the wood in a single blow. Continue reading
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
Great kit, everything listed was included, as far as I can tell.
The bag is pretty high quality too
The one time use pocket cpr should really be replaced with an ADC ADSAFE Pocket Rescusitator + pump, and the burn kit should include burn gel, but at least they’re room in the bag to add these items. Continue reading
Camping Stoves and Other Gear Reviews 