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45 ACP CURES NAZIS posted:Also I was looking at compasses at REI and none of them had both a rear sight and front sight wire. At most they would have some sort of front sight but no rear sight to align it with Sooooo...... Are you looking to buy a compass? When I went to college, part of my "common semester package" was a Suunto MC2. This was a college with Forestry, geology, fish/wildlife biology courses etc, and everyone was taught to read/use orienteer and whatnot with said compass. Of all the poo poo that came in that package, the compass seems to be the only thing that wasn't the cheapest thing they could find. Comes with the ability to adjust for declination etc. Seems to be sturdy and well built etc.
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Jan 6, 2019 18:59
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45 ACP CURES NAZIS posted:Also I was looking at compasses at REI and none of them had both a rear sight and front sight wire. At most they would have some sort of front sight but no rear sight to align it with If you're looking to buy one, I've got 2 Cammenga 3H's in the garage. I'll send you one of them for the price of shipping.
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Jan 7, 2019 20:02
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45 ACP CURES NAZIS posted:Also I was looking at compasses at REI and none of them had both a rear sight and front sight wire. At most they would have some sort of front sight but no rear sight to align it with Unless you're calling in artillery or otherwise need to relay very accurate bearings to distant objects, such features aren't really necessary and it's nice to have a compass that sits flat in a pocket and doesn't weigh 8 lbs. The realities of backcountry navigation are such that you will not be able to follow any bearing to better than a couple degrees anyway (and sighting error is often not the dominant systematic error in the first place). When traveling by foot over long distances some sort of catching feature, handrail, landmark or other reference is mandatory to navigate to within the distances where minor variance in compass bearings would matter. The compass bearing is only part of a broader navigational strategy and as long as it's accurate to within a few degrees it won't be the limiting factor. So in general, sighting from the waist is sufficient. That said, I do think that the flimsy sighting mirrors on most recreational models are worse than useless. They don't work at all in windy or stormy conditions and reading a bearing with only a front sight is not any more accurate than reading a bearing from the waist imo. They are kind of nice when paired with a clinometer but that's about it. So I'd say either save the weight/bulk and get a compass with no sighting mirror or cover at all, or get a heavy military / lensatic style compass if you really want a sighting system. Morbus fucked around with this message at 06:00 on Jan 8, 2019 |
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Jan 8, 2019 05:48
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As long as you’re not in a green tunnel, the key to backcountry travel is to use the compass to align the map, then use terrain features to identify where you are. Then you can plan your route, which won’t be in a straight line anyway. In hilly or mountainous terrain, an altimeter is extremely useful for finding your location, in conjunction with a map and compass. Better than shooting back-azimuths, especially if visibility is bad.
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Jan 8, 2019 12:45
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Business of Ferrets posted:As long as you’re not in a green tunnel, the key to backcountry travel is to use the compass to align the map, then use terrain features to identify where you are. Then you can plan your route, which won’t be in a straight line anyway. Yeah I get that I'm just curious if any of of the more modern clear compasses with built in declination adjustments also have a front and rear sight for azimuths
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Jan 15, 2019 17:46
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So I'm thinking of making a gear share Google spreadsheet to invite friends to add things that they have that are available for loaning out. Curious if anyone has set something like this up or seen one anywhere? Reason I wanted to set this up was I'm going up to the mountain with some friends and wanted to go snowshoeing but none of these friends have snowshoes. I know that in my immediate friend circle I probably have plenty of people happy to loan out their snowshoes I just don't know who they would be without asking a bunch of people. Seems like a thing that could be handy to have as reference for all of that outdoors gear you aren't realistically using every weekend of the season.
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Jan 15, 2019 19:44
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45 ACP CURES NAZIS posted:Yeah I get that I'm just curious if any of of the more modern clear compasses with built in declination adjustments also have a front and rear sight for azimuths Some mirror baseplate compasses have at least some kind of rear notch or sight in addition to the front notch/wire. Suunto MC-2G for example, probably some others. These compasses often have adjustable declination and, like all baseplate compasses, can easily transfer bearings to a map (with a lensatic/military style compass you need a protractor for that usually). This particular model costs like 8 million dollars but I'm pretty sure I've seen some cheaper baseplate+mirror compasses with a similar rear sighting notch or post. For whatever reason most lensatic style compasses don't have adjustable declination but I think there are at least some. The only one's I'm aware of are the US M-2 artillery compass and clones. Those usually have declination adjustable up to 180 degrees and have a lensatic style sighting system with a rear aperture sight.
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Jan 17, 2019 08:56
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Any goons rolling with that $16 pocket rocket knockoff from Amazon? My old stove is super corroded after 10+ years in storage
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Jan 17, 2019 16:46
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The Wiggly Wizard posted:Any goons rolling with that $16 pocket rocket knockoff from Amazon? My old stove is super corroded after 10+ years in storage I have one. I got a real pocket rocket after a couple trips. The piezoelectric ignitor gave up really early and the arms aren’t very stable - a roiling boil always made me concerned my pot would tip over. It never did though. Not a bad get, really, but for ~$50 the MSR version has a lot more quality.
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Jan 17, 2019 17:18
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I’ve never used Trekkinn.com but they seem to have the Pocket Rocket 2 for 32 bucks. I love mine. Very solid.
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Jan 17, 2019 19:38
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Pocket Rocket 2 is great. I recently switched to a Soto Amicus and I'm in love. The design of the burner head means you don't need a windscreen at all. It's so much more efficient than just about any other design out there. You'd need a closed system with heat transfer like the JetBoil to beat it, and for that you're paying a big weight/size penalty.
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Jan 17, 2019 21:12
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Rolo posted:I’ve never used Trekkinn.com but they seem to have the Pocket Rocket 2 for 32 bucks. I've bought from trekkinn before and gotten some amazing deals, never had a problem.
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Jan 17, 2019 21:26
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khysanth posted:Pocket Rocket 2 is great. Same, I'm really digging this stove. Campsaver has them for ~$35 w/ no tax. REI has a bundle with the stove and a small and large pot for $50 too.
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Jan 18, 2019 06:47
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FCKGW posted:Same, I'm really digging this stove. Thanks!! Campsaver had an additional coupon for 20% off stoves
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Jan 19, 2019 08:19
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Someone itt posted they had picked up the oru folding kayak - how is that holding up at this point?
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Jan 25, 2019 04:46
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No problems so far, went out a dozen or so times. It's pretty wet, the plugs at each end don't stop water from coming in, just reduces it.
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Jan 25, 2019 18:21
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What sort of water would you be paddling? Honestly, it seems like few people really stick with straight up flat water paddling unless they live very close to water and have a nice setup. Is there a kayak/canoe club near you? I live in a place where I can join a club for not that much $$ that has all sorts of boats stored right down at the river. If you can store a full-size kayak, you can buy racks and a used kayak for less than a new folding kayak.
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Jan 27, 2019 16:43
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I'm between Sacramento and Santa Cruz CA, so yeah mostly flatwater paddling and fishing/birding/camping. The issue is storage and something that tranformers down to a briefcase is appealing on that basis.
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Jan 29, 2019 04:05
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Hey cool, someone else has an Oru! I’ve had mine for a few months shy of two years now, and it’s still holding up great, despite a good amount of dragging over rocks and crap in streams that were occasionally up to my ankles. I mostly paddle around Ohio, and I’ve even taken it out to Lake Erie (though on a sheltered bay on Kelley’s Island). I shudder at the thought of trying to roll the boat or get back in it. It even worked great on the Roanoke River Trail, where we paddled through the Roanoke river through the great dismal swamp and kayak camped on platforms in the mangroves for several days. Storage was tight, but manageable for food, water, and camping gear. Definitely planned and packed down to the nth degree to make it work, but it did. Setup and tear down wise, it’s just as fast for me to unload and assemble/pack up as it is for other people to unstrap and pull their kayaks down and drag them to the river. It’s a fun boat, and the weight and size are awesome, especially if you want to do some cool stuff with it. It’s held up to my rock dragging, but I wish I had bought a less expensive boat for the destructive paddling I get into. I also wish it had a hatch for easier to access water. Hope that helps!
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Jan 30, 2019 13:49
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If youre hiking and have a solar charger, and are using it to keep a battery pack charged up, the panels usually come with some small carabiners and have loop holes in the corners. Just hook it onto your pack, plug in your batter and stick it in one of the bags pockets. 
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Mar 4, 2019 03:33
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There’s no such thing as over-compressing a sleeping bag, right? The stuff sack that came with my REI trail pod is fine for storage but compresses into an awkward short and fat blob. I got a more cylindrical 10L stuff sack to pack it in so it fits better in my bags sleeping bag compartment but it’s a serious workout to get that sucker in there and it’s hard as a rock when I get it strapped down in place. I won’t be leaving it like that when I’m storing it between uses. I’m good, right?
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Mar 8, 2019 21:54
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Rolo posted:There’s no such thing as over-compressing a sleeping bag, right? The stuff sack that came with my REI trail pod is fine for storage but compresses into an awkward short and fat blob. I got a more cylindrical 10L stuff sack to pack it in so it fits better in my bags sleeping bag compartment but it’s a serious workout to get that sucker in there and it’s hard as a rock when I get it strapped down in place. Make it as small as you can but I wouldn't put your full weight into pulling straps or anything. You don't want to rip fabric or cause a seam to burst or something.
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Mar 8, 2019 22:01
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Verman posted:Make it as small as you can but I wouldn't put your full weight into pulling straps or anything. You don't want to rip fabric or cause a seam to burst or something. The actual compression is just arm and hand strength, so I think I’m ok. The straps are just for holding it down in its compartment and I’m not going crazy with those. Me saying “hard as a rock” was definitely an exaggeration but it’s very stiff when it’s all stuffed in the backpack.
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Mar 8, 2019 22:21
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Down bags can be compressed pretty much as hard as you can compress them without being damaged or suffering irreversible loss of loft, but you may have to shake out and fluff the bag after unpacking it to prevent clumps / cold spots. Synthetic bags inevitably lose some loft over time and, in theory, compressing them a lot over and over again can accelerate this process. That is more of an issue with short staple synthetic fibers than with the continuous fiber insulation commonly in use for sleeping bags, though. In practice, I don't think it's a huge issue. For what it's worth, I've found I can always pack (much) more efficiently, in terms of volume, by just stuffing my bag at the bottom of my pack (usually around my cooking/food and other heavy camp stuff), vs. using a compression sack.
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Mar 9, 2019 07:26
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Morbus posted:Down bags can be compressed pretty much as hard as you can compress them without being damaged or suffering irreversible loss of loft, but you may have to shake out and fluff the bag after unpacking it to prevent clumps / cold spots. So what I’m doing now is stuffing it into a cylindrical stuff sack then taking that burrito and stuffing it parallel to the ground at the very bottom of my backpack. The sack and pack are almost the same exact width at that point so my pack holds it very tight. 2 straps keep it from popping out of place and everything else goes on top of that. Most of the tension as it settles goes onto the bottom sides of my Osprey bag, but I don’t see that thing bursting a seam. This way saves me like 3 inches of bag depth.
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Mar 9, 2019 15:38
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Yeah I don't think you need to worry about your bag or pack. I think the reason I've switched to stuffing is just that, even though the volume of the bag has to be larger vs. a compression sack, the bag can fill all the gaps and dead space around or between rigid objects like pot, tent poles, fuel canister, stove, bear can, etc. This makes it very easy to divide my bag into a bottom "camp section" which gets completely surrounded and encased in compressed down, and an upper "daypack" section, which is just the clothes and things I need during the day, A folded tent or tarp usually gets placed in between, and can act as sort of a piston to help my compress the bottom half during packing. It's basically impossible for anything from the top part to sink down into the bottom. I started doing this after trying to pack for an intro winter mountaineering course, and being bewildered at how some people were able to cram everything they needed into a 35-40L pack. That's less than what I used for summer backpacking, it just seemed impossible. Ultimately the trick that made the big difference was using the sleeping bag to fill dead space rather than putting it in it's own container. As a bonus, this method results in a firmer pack with smoother shape and no space for things to rattle around or shift--this makes it far more comfortable to use a simple, frameless pack. These days I rarely use more than a 35L pack for anything, and for summer backpacking can get away with 25L.
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Mar 9, 2019 22:19
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OSU_Matthew posted:
Two years later but thanks for this, I received a nice Field & Stream gift card and almost grabbed an ENO today despite knowing they're 30 bucks less on Amazon, between the price and the mixed reviews I'd rather just wait for them to get a few more brands in or spend it on ammo. I know F&S's camp gear is mostly marked up cheap imports, but has anyone found a decent brand of hammock there? Maybe I'll get the hammock there with a bug net, or maybe just the hammock and buy the bug net and straps online. I'm just worried about the fit and seal if I mix and match companies for the net. Anyone have any experience with Grand Trunk Skeeter Beeter Pro Hammock? $79.99 right now with the built in net and free shipping. Slightly better reviews than an ENO. And then I still need a quilt or something for heat half the year here. extra stout fucked around with this message at 04:57 on Mar 11, 2019 |
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Mar 11, 2019 04:40
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extra stout posted:Two years later but thanks for this, I received a nice Field & Stream gift card and almost grabbed an ENO today despite knowing they're 30 bucks less on Amazon, between the price and the mixed reviews I'd rather just wait for them to get a few more brands in or spend it on ammo. Cool, glad it’s helpful! Hammock wise, if I were buying again, I would just buy the Warbonnet Blackbird XLC from the onset, because of the built in foot box, shelf, mosquito net, second layer for a pad, and the suspension is just stupid easy to set up and adjust. This is one of those rare pieces of gear that for me completed the upgrade cycle so I could stop digging that endless hole. Oh, and it’s super comfortable to boot. That’s the high end though. If I didn’t have that budget, or were just starting and weren’t even sure I’d like hammocking I would check out Dutch’s gear: https://dutchwaregear.com/ I’m a Dutch Gear fanboy because everything he does is really clever and well thought out, and I’m intrigued by his new chameleon hammock system. I think you would do exceptionally well to buy a system from there. Otherwise, one of the other cottage vendors would also be a good buy. But, if you’re just looking at stuff like ENO or Grand Trunk, you might as well just hop on vipon.com and get a chineesium hammock for 4$, tarp for 7$, and see if you even like hammocking. I see that they currently have an ENO alike for 9$ and a bugnet for 15$. Slap an inflatable sleeping pad on there for bottom insulation, unzip and use your sleeping bag as a top quilt, and find a good tarp, and you’re all set! Vipon just gives you a coupon code to order Ali Baba crap on amazon for China direct pricing. You might do great, you might get something that breaks the first use, who knows? But for the price you don’t really have much to lose, and I think that’s a great starting place because you can’t even buy nylon taffeta material to make your own hammock for that cheap. The hammock may not be as large so it may not be as comfy, so that’s just something to watch as well. Over the years I’ve spent stupid amounts of money getting “so-so” gear I don’t quite like and want to upgrade. As a result, I’ve just found that I’d rather buy it once, but it right and save a few bucks in the end if it’s an activity I’m committed to. It’s just all up to your personal preference... one of the guys I backpack with enjoys finding the cheapest gear and fiddling with it to make it work, and that’s what he really enjoys, the whole “boy-scout” mindset. The last thought in hammocks, is that the actual hammock is the least expensive part of the setup. The underquilt, top quilt, bugnet and tarp/suspension all add up. You can reuse your ground sleeping gear (pad, sleeping bag) for insulation at the expensive of weight and a little comfort, which can be really helpful for getting started and finding what you like.
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Mar 11, 2019 08:30
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Morbus posted:Yeah I don't think you need to worry about your bag or pack. Seconding this, this is exactly what I do. I just keep my quilts in a big loose laundry bag and stuff it in loosely around everything else, which makes packing up camp super fast and easy rather than fighting with a stuff sack while everyone else is waiting around for you to get your rear end in gear. Morbid hit it on the head with materials, they’ll cram down just fine so long as you don’t leave it like that between trips. Plus the cram it in style of stuffing prevents wear seams and thin spots from forming from repeating creasing along the same lines. Probably not as big a deal since we tend buy new gear so often, but it’s a bonus.
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Mar 11, 2019 08:36
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Happy Dividend month! I may have a problem when my REI cut on its own buys me a new backpack, but it happened with good timing. My really old camel bladder starting seizing up and leaking while my REI flash 22 has become very uncomfortable in the shoulders from complete lack of padding. Killed 2 birds with an Osprey Skarab 30 
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Mar 19, 2019 04:05
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Rolo posted:Happy Dividend month! I may have a problem when my REI cut on its own buys me a new backpack, but it happened with good timing. My really old camel bladder starting seizing up and leaking while my REI flash 22 has become very uncomfortable in the shoulders from complete lack of padding. Woof, that is a nice looking pack! Very much a fan of the lightweight Osprey Packs, the Talon 22 day pack I have is just about the perfect pack for anything short of an overnight. I’m going to hafta see what my dividend looks like this year, a lightweight 30L pack would be absolutely perfect for summer trips. Less poo poo = more happy
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Mar 19, 2019 09:53
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Don't forget folks that you can cash out your dividend for cash if you would rather that the dividend money and spending it on something lighter at a cottage vendor. REI is fun. I still love just walking around being surrounded by quality outdoor poo poo. But the more I get into this hobby and the lighter my pack gets there is much less at REI that I would actually prefer to buy over a cottage vendor. Car camping poo poo, though, I could go ham at REI.
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Mar 19, 2019 12:41
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OSU_Matthew posted:Woof, that is a nice looking pack! Very much a fan of the lightweight Osprey Packs, the Talon 22 day pack I have is just about the perfect pack for anything short of an overnight. Yeah my current goal is to turn this into a warm weather overnight bag. I think it’s possible if I either get a more compressible sleeping bag or just get a quilt/fly for my hammock.
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Mar 19, 2019 15:00
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I did a test pack the other day and between my 0 degree sleeping bag and my Half Dome 2+ tent, there wasn't a lot of space left over in my pack. I'm keeping the poles separate from the rest of the tent, but the bag they give is so generously-sized that the tent just puffs up and takes up a lot of space. Should I look for a smaller bag? Find some straps to cinch it down?
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Mar 19, 2019 15:21
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I usually lay the tent, footprint and fly flat and fold it to be about the square footage of the bottom of my bag, then lay it flat on top of my sleeping bag and under everything else. Saves me trying to fit one more tube-shaped thing awkwardly in the bag.
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Mar 19, 2019 16:08
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Rolo posted:I usually lay the tent, footprint and fly flat and fold it to be about the square footage of the bottom of my bag, then lay it flat on top of my sleeping bag and under everything else. Saves me trying to fit one more tube-shaped thing awkwardly in the bag. Good tip, I'll try that! I loving hate trying to roll a tent into the right length to fit in the sack anyway. The only one I can pack consistently is my cheapo single-wall 1-man tent which is actually pretty great for desert camping but has zero room for anything except me.
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Mar 19, 2019 16:25
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We just stuff the tent in the pack, it'll never fit right if you put it in a stuff sack anyway.
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Mar 19, 2019 16:47
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Yeah I only use my stuff sack for storing it at home. It’s too awkward to try to pack another large cylinder, the most inconvenient of shapes, into my bag. I saved so much space when I realized factory containers aren’t mandatory.
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Mar 20, 2019 00:02
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Having some kind of bag for your tent to go can be helpful since tents can often be damp in the morning. But I just fold mine into a convenient and mostly flat shape and put it into a relatively loose silnylon bag with a drawstring. Once folded it tends to hold its shape (especially once loaded into the pack) and cinching it down in a compression sack isn't necessary.
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Mar 20, 2019 04:48
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If things are going to be dirty/moist I just use a trash bag  I reuse it when I get home so I’m not wasting plastic.
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Mar 20, 2019 07:11
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