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We're leaving for the NFCT trip in 10 days and I was just all over upstate NY, the entire region is crazy flooded. The car ferry across Lake Champlain has high water danger signs, roads were closed due to river flooding, and the town I was in had issued flood warnings as well. Uhhhh should be fun I guess. We weren't planning on running any rapids anyway, lots of little portages, but uhhhh yeah goddamn.
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May 24, 2019 19:45
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I take a bunch of pills each morning. What's a good way to keep each bunch of pills separate from the others, clean, and dry while backpacking?
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May 24, 2019 23:15
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A pill box? there are some neat gear hacks but for something like that, a standard multi day pill separator might be the easiest. Maybe a small fishing tackle box the size of an altoid tin with internal dividers. I'm sure plano makes something. Otherwise I would just say put them all in one pill bottle.
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May 24, 2019 23:26
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Nalgene travel bottles. They sell them as small as 1oz. Their site only sells them in big stupid combo packs but if you hunt around on amazon you can get one offs in whatever quantity you want.
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May 24, 2019 23:34
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Vivian Darkbloom posted:I take a bunch of pills each morning. What's a good way to keep each bunch of pills separate from the others, clean, and dry while backpacking? Ziplock bags nestled within ziplock bags.
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May 25, 2019 00:22
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xzzy posted:Nalgene travel bottles. They sell them as small as 1oz.  but smaller bottles mean more wasted weight on plastic, relatively speaking. Stuff them all in a 1oz or 2oz. Surely you know to "take one of each color"?
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May 26, 2019 01:39
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I use small
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May 26, 2019 03:12
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Kaal posted:Ziplock bags nestled within ziplock bags.
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May 28, 2019 22:06
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What about those little drug baggies like drug dealers have?
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May 28, 2019 22:30
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They do the job but I avoid baggies because one poorly timed breeze and you're chasing litter. No matter how careful I think I'm being, napkins and plastic bags are my nemesis.
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May 28, 2019 22:35
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Yeah I had the same thought. Little bags are cool until you find out that they're not waterproof and they generate lots of pieces of trash. My other idea, but I couldn't find a good retailer: Veterinary gelatin capsules. Put all your drugs in a  pill.
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May 28, 2019 22:45
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I just throw everything into an old allergy pill bottle, but if you want to keep lots of different pills separate, I saw someone who had 3-4 different small plastic test tubes (with caps) and put several pills of each time in a separate tube.
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May 29, 2019 05:26
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I haven't planned anything at all yet and I'm going to start out with camping but I have a pack from maybe 2006 and I believe it might be a bit small. I want to go backpacking sometime for maybe 3 days 2 nights. The one I have right now is the REI Catalyst 35L. Obviously it's 35 liters. I'm not an ultralight person at all and I've never been backpacking before despite owning a pack for over a decade.  When I go car camping next I'd like to fit everything that I need in my pack and be able to live out of that. I tried last time and there was no way that was happening with my current pack. I always WAY over pack though so I'm sure there is a lot of trimming I can do. This is the pack. They don't sell it anymore and I'm having issues with imgur right now so here's a link to the pic. https://www.rei.com/media/product/718346 Any ideas about a pack that fits my needs? Big enough for 2-3 days/nights, not $400... I don't know really. I have no idea what I need lol. Pennywise the Frown fucked around with this message at 09:26 on May 29, 2019 |
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May 29, 2019 09:24
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Pennywise the Frown posted:I haven't planned anything at all yet and I'm going to start out with camping but I have a pack from maybe 2006 and I believe it might be a bit small. I want to go backpacking sometime for maybe 3 days 2 nights. The one I have right now is the REI Catalyst 35L. Obviously it's 35 liters. I'm not an ultralight person at all and I've never been backpacking before despite owning a pack for over a decade. REI has some excellent bags in the 40-60L range that would be just fine for you. I wouldn't go much beyond that unless you've got a mountaineering expedition planned. This isn't so much due to an ultralight obsession, as it is recognizing that bringing an overly large bag just encourages overfilling it. You want your bag to be full when you head out - but not filled with 45 lbs of emergency clothes and food. Check out their REI brand series, in particular the Flash 55 Pack for $200 which should be plenty large for your needs. Trying it on in a store with someone to help you fit it would be ideal. Alternatively, they've got some good online backpack deals like a North Face Terra 50 for $120 if you're fine with the back and forth of online shopping. Kaal fucked around with this message at 09:51 on May 29, 2019 |
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May 29, 2019 09:47
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Kaal posted:REI has some excellent bags in the 40-60L range that would be just fine for you. I wouldn't go much beyond that unless you've got a mountaineering expedition planned. This isn't so much due to an ultralight obsession, as it is recognizing that bringing an overly large bag just encourages overfilling it. You want your bag to be full when you head out - but not filled with 45 lbs of emergency clothes and food. Check out their REI brand series, in particular the Flash 55 Pack for $200 which should be plenty large for your needs. Trying it on in a store with someone to help you fit it would be ideal. Alternatively, they've got some good online backpack deals like a North Face Terra 50 for $120 if you're fine with the back and forth of online shopping. It's possible for me to go to REI but it's in Madison and that's a 2 hour drive. I was thinking that the best thing would be to get fitted but I'm not sure if I want to go all the way out there. I should of course. I'll look on the website for now to see what they have. Also, what kind of hats do you guys wear? I have a really small head and and most hats come down to my eyebrows because the inside is so high. Or they fit just fine around my head but it's so tall I look like an idiot. I managed to find a regular baseball cap on Amazon but it took a lot of digging through reviews to see if someone had the same issue as me. Otherwise I just don't wear hats at all.
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May 29, 2019 10:42
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I really like my Osprey Exos 58, though as I've trended toward light/ultralight gear I've often thought about picking up a 48. It's over a pound lighter than the REI flash and has a bunch of nice quality of life features. I immediately detached the "brain" from my pack as well to lower its volume and weight. It adjusts better and in more places that work for me, but both models I looked at were a few years old. The newest flash looks pretty solid. When I did the NY part of the AT I hiked with two thru-hikers, one of whom had the Exos since georgia. If you are worried about making the trip to REI and feeling time limited, or forced to make a purchase - buy everything from them shipped to your home and make one trip to return what you don't want, rather than driving and feeling committed to having to buy something. I bought a flash and returned it for the exos after a few days of walking around my house/neighborhood with the tags still on. Make sure to load the pack up with ~25-30 lbs of stuff and walk around, upstairs, off camber, etc. I do not wear a hat while hiking because I am incredibly sweaty, but I often wear a bandana or a sweat band. Canoeing I wear a $10 Frogg Toggs waterproof boonie. The secret to not overpacking is lightweight multi use items. A bandanna and a spare is more compact than a hat, is easier to clean, to wet down, use as a rag/towel or even a pot holder. Not that a hat is large, but it doesn't pack as well. Generally if an item requires no engineering and is just "an item made out of material" you can buy it on Amazon/AliExpress/whatever. Like stuff sacks, camp towels, all of that stuff there's absolutely no reason to get name brand. bus hustler fucked around with this message at 12:12 on May 29, 2019 |
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May 29, 2019 11:47
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charity rereg posted:If you are worried about making the trip to REI and feeling time limited, or forced to make a purchase - buy everything from them shipped to your home and make one trip to return what you don't want, rather than driving and feeling committed to having to buy something. I bought a flash and returned it for the exos after a few days of walking around my house/neighborhood with the tags still on. This is a really good idea. If it doesn't fit I can then make my drive out there and get properly fitted just in case.
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May 29, 2019 12:42
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Anyone ever heard of the “Rhinowolf” or have any thoughts about it? My girlfriend discovered these while looking at tents for us to use on bike trips and is super excited about them - she backed the 2.0 version on Kickstarter yesterday to get us each one. I’ve read a little bit about people’s experiences with them and the biggest complaints seems to be about bad condensation. Is there something similar I should tell her to look at that might be better or are all-in-one systems like this a poor choice in general? https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/rhinowolf/rhinowolf-20-the-all-in-one-attachable-super-tent
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May 29, 2019 14:20
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Gimmick attachments aside, there's no way a 1 wall tent with a built in air pad and down bag is going to be as good as dedicated well built pieces individually. And yeah, condensation is going to be miserable in that depending on climate. It's also pretty drat heavy for a 1 person setup and insanely heavy for a 2 person combo. I'd put the money towards a 2 person ultralight tent (Lanshan 3f gets a lot of hype, uses a simple hiking pole setup), 2 real sleep pads (Klymit is a good entry point), and 2 good down quilts. That will be a great entry point for 2 people, weigh a lot less, and last a lot longer. http://www.3fultralight.com/product/3f-ul-lanshan-ultralight-1-2-person-tent-3-season-professional-15d-silnylon-rodless-tent/
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May 29, 2019 14:31
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Bundling all that stuff into a single product should have been a huge red flag. The tent centipede gimmick is sort of interesting but I can't imagine a world where the feature ever gets used as designed.
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May 29, 2019 14:35
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That's some music festival garbage
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May 29, 2019 14:50
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Pennywise the Frown posted:Any ideas about a pack that fits my needs? Big enough for 2-3 days/nights, not $400... I don't know really. I have no idea what I need lol. Massdrop has a version of Granite Gear's X60 for $120. If I was starting from scratch it's what I'd do, especially for that price. It generally gets decent reviews and I'd buy one if it wasn't already close to the ULA Circuit I already have. Jato posted:Anyone ever heard of the “Rhinowolf” or have any thoughts about it? My girlfriend discovered these while looking at tents for us to use on bike trips and is super excited about them - she backed the 2.0 version on Kickstarter yesterday to get us each one. I’ve read a little bit about people’s experiences with them and the biggest complaints seems to be about bad condensation. Is there something similar I should tell her to look at that might be better or are all-in-one systems like this a poor choice in general? I've never seen one in the wild, but it looks super gimmicky and I personally wouldn't use it. A Half Dome 2 ($230, 5 lbs), 2 full size z-sol pads ($45, 14oz ea) and a couple economy burrow quilts would be a lot better and last years of heavy use.
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May 29, 2019 15:01
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Pennywise the Frown posted:It's possible for me to go to REI but it's in Madison and that's a 2 hour drive. I was thinking that the best thing would be to get fitted but I'm not sure if I want to go all the way out there. I should of course. I'll look on the website for now to see what they have. Having your pack fitted is super important for hiking comfort but if you or a friend have half an idea what you are doing you can take care of it yourself. I'm sure there are videos on the tube that could help
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May 29, 2019 15:11
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Guest2553 posted:Massdrop has a version of Granite Gear's X60 for $120. If I was starting from scratch it's what I'd do, especially for that price. It generally gets decent reviews and I'd buy one if it wasn't already close to the ULA Circuit I already have. A z-sol is not a replacement for an air mattress if that's the sleeping system you actually want (it would never work for me in a million years), but a Klymit is basically the same price (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B076J1QJQR/) or even cheaper on their ebay store I think. And the air mattress isn't even part of it? It's just a lovely polyester air mattress they've included at massive markup. You can get lovely air mattresses for a few bucks on ebay. edit: In fact I'm almost positive it's this one or a derivative? https://www.ebay.com/itm/Ultralight...2wAAOSwdXdangxO And the standard sleeping bag is rated to 59F which is basically nothing at all, I'm pretty sure at 60F I could sleep in my long johns. Even scarier is that most companies overstate this... bus hustler fucked around with this message at 17:11 on May 29, 2019 |
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May 29, 2019 17:08
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Jato posted:Anyone ever heard of the “Rhinowolf” or have any thoughts about it? My girlfriend discovered these while looking at tents for us to use on bike trips and is super excited about them - she backed the 2.0 version on Kickstarter yesterday to get us each one. I’ve read a little bit about people’s experiences with them and the biggest complaints seems to be about bad condensation. Is there something similar I should tell her to look at that might be better or are all-in-one systems like this a poor choice in general? I thought this was cleverly marketed garbage at first, but then I watched the video at the top of that link and discovered it’s actually garbage with insultingly dumb, obnoxious marketing as well.
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May 29, 2019 22:03
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charity rereg posted:A z-sol is not a replacement for an air mattress if that's the sleeping system you actually want (it would never work for me in a million years), but a Klymit is basically the same price (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B076J1QJQR/) or even cheaper on their ebay store I think. I'll throw out that this is a personal preference thing, people regularly use this for 3-season camping. I have one of them as well as an insulated kylmit pad anyways, so it's not an either/or thing. I use the inflated pad when it's cooler or backpack space is an issue, z-sol otherwise. The insulation value on the rhino sleeping pad is pretty lovely by comparison though, it's essentially summer use only. I also didn't know sleeping bag ratings went as high as 60F  Unrelated: new lighterpack for a new season. This is the heaviest I'm likely to ever be since i don't usually need down, fleece, and rain gear at the same time. Eff me up, people. e: vvvv that was $200 each, so they'd still come out ahead with that setup. Guest2553 fucked around with this message at 18:32 on May 30, 2019 |
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May 29, 2019 23:15
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Jato posted:Anyone ever heard of the “Rhinowolf” or have any thoughts about it? My girlfriend discovered these while looking at tents for us to use on bike trips and is super excited about them - she backed the 2.0 version on Kickstarter yesterday to get us each one. I’ve read a little bit about people’s experiences with them and the biggest complaints seems to be about bad condensation. Is there something similar I should tell her to look at that might be better or are all-in-one systems like this a poor choice in general? I wouldn't slam this as hard as some of the others here have, but it does seem oriented towards car camping or festival events. It might work out well as a starter kit for mild weather bike trips, but you'll probably eventually want to upgrade. But if your girlfriend is excited about it then I wouldn't push back too hard about it. Maybe figure out how much a similar set of alternatives might cost as a comparison. For example you could get an REI Camp Dome 2 for $100, a pair of Z Lite Sol sleeping pads for $35 each, and a pair of REI Trail Pod 30s for $80 each and you'd probably be pretty happy. But that would run you $330, rather than $200.
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May 29, 2019 23:31
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you didn't link to your gear, just the LP homepage that site kinda suck, the only "share" option is export to an embed code that you can't even pull the URL out of. It's dumb as hell and you have to edit the url to get yours
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May 30, 2019 01:16
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After making GBS threads on the Rhinowolf I feel obliged to offer some actual constructive advice. Here is a selection of gear for two people that comes in at a cheaper price, weighs less, is warmer, and is more comfortable. Tent Blanket Sleeping Pad
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May 30, 2019 04:29
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I'm looking on the REI website for what they have and apparently I'm still a member after maybe 13 years!  Looking at the reviews and everything I'm really thinking about the Osprey Atmos AG 65 Pack. It's $270 which is definitely in my range now that I finally looked at my finances. I have literally everything on direct deposit and rarely buy anything or do much at all so I don't check my bank account all the time. I have some uh... extra spending money. Over $1,000 which I'm definitely not willing to spend on a bunch of stuff but that expands my options but a lot. I'm an extremely frugal person (cheapskate). Extra cheese for $1??!!! Are you out of your mind? No thank you!Anyway it looks pretty nice. I did a rough sizing for me but I could get a better one with a friend to help me. I'm about maybe 19ish inches so that'd be a solid medium. What really gets me is the stellar reviews. That's one of the first things I always look for when I purchase anything. Even when I'm in a store buying a toaster oven I look it up online to check if it's garbage or not. This one is the top pack on REI for men's backpacks in the 51-75L range. Anyone have any experience with these or have heard any stories? I'm getting a bit antsy so I have to try to chill out a bit. I'm already starting to build a list of not necessary stuff on Amazon which is something I always tend to do when I start going hypomanic. Also, food. I know I'm asking a lot and food is a HUGE topic but that's the biggest thing I'm always concerned and interested about. I generally go car camping and bring Mountain House stuff or MREs. Actually I don't bring any snacks which I should. I love beef jerky and make my own sometimes. What do you guys usually bring for food on a standard 2-3 day trip. Again I know this might be a  but it's a fun topic in my opinion.
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May 30, 2019 06:34
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Pennywise the Frown posted:I'm looking on the REI website for what they have and apparently I'm still a member after maybe 13 years! I own this pack and it is excellent. If you get a sweaty back, you will appreciate spending a little extra (weight and price) for that "anti-gravity" back panel, which keeps the pack from sticking to your back. It's not as ultralight as is theoretically possible but overall it is great for a trip of up to 8 days or so. But you can do better on price if that's important to you. You just missed REI's big sale but this site seems to sell the same bag for $70 less.
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May 30, 2019 06:59
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Think it's worth the $70 savings compared to being able to bring it back to REI?
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May 30, 2019 08:04
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Considering Osprey has an excellent lifetime warranty yeah just go with the cheapest option
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May 30, 2019 09:46
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Oh wow that's cool. Yeah I might just go with that then.
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May 30, 2019 10:15
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Pennywise the Frown posted:Oh wow that's cool. Yeah I might just go with that then. If there’s anywhere nearby where you can try on packs, it’s worth it to get a sense of which brands fit you best. That Osprey pack is beloved by most, but doesn’t feel right on my body, so I ended up with a Gregory Zulu, which has a similar design but slightly different ergonomics. Hard to know until you strap them on with some weight.
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May 30, 2019 10:24
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I'd also recommend making the drive to find a pack that fits comfortably. Most packs have either no back length adjustment or a very small one, so nailing that dimension is super important and a "fits backs 18-20" doesn't always tell the whole story. Also, back panels and shoulder straps all have very different shapes that don't always play nice with your specific body. I'm another person that wanted to like the Exos but didn't find it comfortable. I have a few other Osprey packs (an old Argon 85, and a Talon 44), and found that it's not safe to assume that just because some packs from a manufacturer fit comfortably in a certain size that they all will. I had the opposite experience with Gregory. I always thought they made packs that were torturous to wear due to the lumbar pad, but bought a Z55 (precursor to the Zulu) that I've been super happy with.
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May 30, 2019 14:35
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The guidelines for a pack that fits aren't some secret code though, though I won't argue that having a knowledgeable person help with your first fitting makes it a lot more efficient. The belt rests snugly against the top of your hip bone, the back straps conform around the top of your shoulders and curve downwards towards the backpack, and the lift straps slope downwards towards your shoulder at about 45 degrees. If all three of those is true the bag "fits" so it comes down to whether you prefer one model over another. One big advantage to buying in store at REI though is that they will let you swap in the belt from a different sized pack. That's a really cool thing.. probably not often necessary but nice to have the option.
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May 30, 2019 15:20
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Tacier posted:After making GBS threads on the Rhinowolf I feel obliged to offer some actual constructive advice. Here is a selection of gear for two people that comes in at a cheaper price, weighs less, is warmer, and is more comfortable. This gear looks good, but it looks like it would cost $456, making it more than the basic REI gear and twice the cost of the $200 Rhinowolf. Unless there's some sort of discount that I'm not seeing.
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May 30, 2019 17:30
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Kaal posted:This gear looks good, but it looks like it would cost $456, making it more than the basic REI gear and twice the cost of the $200 Rhinowolf. Unless there's some sort of discount that I'm not seeing. His GF bought 2 of them
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May 30, 2019 18:00
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Bottom Liner posted:His GF bought 2 of them Ah I didn't notice that. Well that's certainly more expensive than I realized then. At the $400 price point there's a lot of options available. I'd keep looking, if that's the case, unless the girlfriend feels strongly about it. The reviews for the tent are fine, though they temper expectations about it dealing with more than summer weather. But the biggest reason to buy this tent would be if you're planning to do a group camp somewhere. If you aren't focused on that, then I'm not sure it pencils out. https://gearjunkie.com/rhinowolf-zip-together-camp-tent https://mountainsforeverybody.com/rhinowolf-all-in-one-tent My only other suggestion is that personally I prefer the flexibility of having two one-person sleep systems rather than a single two-person system. Kaal fucked around with this message at 18:31 on May 30, 2019 |
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May 30, 2019 18:23
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