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I'm confused why people are so loving duped about the polyester industrial complex saying that wicking fabrics keep you cool. They never ever keep you cool. There is literally no fabric better than cotton for hot summer months for shirts and pants/shorts. If you want to jabber about hypothermia or your wet crotch, fine w/e
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May 13, 2017 02:58
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Picnic Princess posted:Everyone being deliberately dense about cotton: knock it the gently caress off. Know what environment you're getting into and dress appropriately. I trust all of you are smart enough to be aware of the reasons why cotton is good for some environments and not others. They invent "new technologies" not to make anybody's life any better, but for you to vomit out another 50 dollars for new-age bullshit wicking fabrics when literally any polyester shirt and fleece will do fine for weather conditions. Congratulations, we had a mid-May Blizzard with 6 inches of snow and rain at 3k feet and much worse higher up while working. Shockingly enough, my 16 dollar 65/35 dickies survived even though they aren't ripstop wicking ultralight invented-name bullshit that REI sheep just eat up. I work backpacking 6 months a year, and most of you should be concerned less with jerking each other off about your latest goretex-covered 1.1 pound down bag you're buying for 700 dollars and more with getting absolutely everybody you ever see to go outside. (USER WAS PUT ON PROBATION FOR THIS POST)
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May 19, 2017 09:10
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Suspect Bucket posted:Does anyone have swamp camping advice? The trick is outfitting for hot, wet, HUMID conditions. A hundred degrees ain't nothing when it's breezy and dry and evaporation is a thing that happens, but 90°/90℅ is miserable. And that will be in October sometimes. Does anyone have suggestions for surviving a florida expidition without getting malaria (besides 'go in winter')? I don't know where you're at exactly in Florida in October but it should be rare to get that hot. I live in the lowcountry of SC off and on and a standard summer day will be 80 @100% in the mornings then 60%@100 degrees. early to mid-October it turns into 70s and 80s during the day, and far lower humidity. The further south you go the more tropical it'll get and poo poo like line drying clothes will be hard so w/e but you shouldn't be that bad off. We did hurricane cleanup from matthew last year starting early in October around Charleston and we just slept in tents, and other than the first week it was never absurd.
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Jun 3, 2017 19:46
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I use a kelly Gunnison 4.3 and their outfitter pro 3-man exclusively for our trail work for the larger tents. The Gunnison lasts a solid 2 years of use (maybe 180 nights a year we're in it), and the outfitter pro is even more durable with a heavier duty zipper and waterproofing. Neither one should ever need a separate ground tarp. They're cheap enough and very durable. I like the brand a lot but I also bought one of their 2-man tents and it didn't work out at all. It might have been a trail ridge actually, and I found it dimensionally way too small for 2 actual people and lengthwise I'd want to be at most 5'10 to fit in it. Right now for a 2-man I bought REI's 2 plus whatever the model is named. It's kind of stupidly designed for the rain fly and and setup. Less than 3 months of actual use from the last one and I returned it from the ground and tarp both showing micro holes via wear but it's roomy enough for 2 people and a dog. I went ahead and rebought it at the beginning of work season, will probably end up returning it again but we'll see.
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Jun 5, 2017 21:59
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My third prolite thermarest has failed in the past 2.5 years, all at the same weak spot, with the valve starting to leak and then get worse until 3-4 hours in it becomes flaccid. REI rep said the REI branded stuff has at least not been a manufacturing problem. It may not matter for you weekend warrior types, but for 120 dollars I'd think cascade would do a better job of QC
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Jul 11, 2017 23:11
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ASSTASTIC posted:Cascade designs should stand by their poo poo if you keep getting a leak in the same spot. If you got the mattress from REI, just return to them. If you got it from somewhere else, try to contact CD directly and get them to fix the problem. REI took them back, after that it's not my responsibility. I don't return poo poo to companies directly unless it's so egregious that I'll never buy stuff from them again, outdoor companies have been getting shittier and shittier since I started backpacking 25 years ago. Their margins are so tight that it's generally accidental if they make a solid product. I'm annoyed with cascade because MSR has always treated us well. I end up having to return maybe 30% of my poo poo back within a year due to general hosed upedness. For instance, I used to be a total pussy about something gross like boots going back until they started getting huge defects too. In absolutely basic poo poo like "no lumps on the foot platform". Patagonia is about the only clothing company I'll buy poo poo from and never return. What failed was the valve seal, where you'd blow it up to hold air and it'd be fine, then you lay on it and around 4 hours later lose all compression. It's a commonplace return reason according to the dude I talked to, and if REI knows anything it's returns
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Jul 25, 2017 03:26
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khysanth posted:Andrew Skurka posted on reddit and said there are many times he doesn't treat water at all (in CO and the CA Sierra). I never knew people did this... I guess it's probably safe most of the time? Still seems like a silly risk. We don't treat. It's overall a total waste of time if you're avoiding people and use a modicum of common sense to avoid point source human pollution. We avoid extremely popular lakes and the massive watersheds. I haven't treated since 2006 in a wide variety of areas. Never gotten giardia or cryptosporodium. But we are not working on extremely popular BLM and NPS areas. For instance, I'd never countenance unfiltered at somewhere like Glacier or Yellowstone. There's an entire industry centered around making people scared of their water supply, especially considering how strong a healthy human's immune and digestive systems are. Why are you guys shocked at horror stories trying to scare you into hundred dollar filtering systems?
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Jul 31, 2017 00:58
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Leperflesh posted:OK well I'll take the CDC's recommendations over yours, sorry. And my new filter was $19.99 so that's alright. I also don't use toilet paper and as of yet I haven't managed to poo poo all over my hands. Know your limitations
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Jul 31, 2017 04:42
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Levitate posted:While I agree you can certainly go without treating or filtering in plenty of areas, I kind of hate the whole "it's an entire industry trying to scare you into doing a thing!!!" I'm actually not sure I've heard many horror stories telling us how we must filter/treat everywhere no matter what or we'll die. It kind of makes you sound like Glenn Beck. I announced what we did and why we do it, with caveats such as "I don't drink from the salmon river after rafters have been pissing and making GBS threads in it for miles". You people act like there isn't historical evidence that drinking from most water sources isn't going to kill you or get you deathly ill. I never argued that precautions aren't necessary, my precautions are "I use my brain". Since 2006 we've been backpacking at least 150 nights a year every single year. I've now exposed myself to an unlikely event almost certainly 10x as much as any of you. We're far more likely to be attacked by a confused/starving/injured bear, but I don't see anybody arguing that firearms on the trail is a good or necessary idea. Make sure to shoot logical holes while equating 3 days of watery shits with injury or death from ejection of a car at speed though, always a good plan.
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Aug 1, 2017 02:29
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OSU_Matthew posted:
That guy was right, I run a business doing trail construction and maintenance. Jobs run the gamut but the large ones are almost exclusively USFS. Right now we're working in the Frank Church and Selway Bitterroot Wildernesses in Bitterroot and Nez Perce NFs out of Darby south of Missoula MT but this spring we'll be working out of El Yunque NF in Puerto Rico and possibly out of Virginia this fall (bid decision not made yet). We're getting old for maintenance contracts though, and it's difficult to gross more than 2k a week (for each of us)without soul crushing amounts of misery, so almost certainly 2019 will be our last maintenance year and we'll focus only on construction.
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Aug 3, 2017 01:52
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bongwizzard posted:I don’t have that exact model but 50 lm is not terribly bright, especially if you are used to a 200 lm headlamp. I use a petzl pixa 3, its waterproof and simple to use. 2 AAs. I backpack 180 days a year though, and petzl tikkas aren't even close to water resistant. Black diamonds are just as poo poo even though they say waterproof and routinely the led board would go bad so the controls wouldn't work. The control locks off when I turn the lamp around, which was the only thing black diamond did well. A year in and it's still 100% but who knows. It's also got a physical switch rather than the touch poo poo which I've always hated
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May 19, 2018 00:54
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you don't need an ultralight to save a couple pounds on your tent. https://www.amazon.com/d/Handsaws/Gyokucho-721-Kobiki-Pruning-Saw/B0034YZUNQ I'm not sure how much lighter than your saw this is, probably just a couple ounces, but it is by far a superior wood saw than anything you'll find elsewhere. The wood sheath will split if you leave it in the rain after a few weeks since it's unfinished on the inside, so I put a few rounds of gorilla tape around it. There are cheaper places such as japanese woodworker that sell this, but it's extremely lightweight and the blade is more durable than any silky I've used. An entire summer of using it every day I usually go through 2 blades, which last I bought replacement blades were something like $27 each. Saws are somewhere between 40 and 50.
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May 6, 2019 05:26
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REI stopped manufacturing their own brand of pack, I actually liked theirs more than ruffwear but the ruffwear packs hold up pretty well. Waterproofing doesn't last very long though, so find a waterproof solution if you bring dry food. I usually double bag freezer ziplocs, but I was having them carry enough food for 10+ days. My dog would also pushes up against brush and trees to scratch her sides, but even then they held up into a third summer of 150 days of backpacking before the material got thin enough to replace.
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May 8, 2019 03:35
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Everything is poisonous or monstrous in size or both in that roasted hellscape
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Aug 23, 2019 01:48
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Regarding dog packs, I use a ruffwear for my dog while we're doing 12 day trail work hitches, it works fine. I got her used to an empty pack because it'll rest funny on the front, and none of my 3 dogs have since chewed the packs off. I do use higher cal dog food and generally I water the food. I've had a lab and 2 35 pound mutts and they all have done comfortably with 10 days of dog food for themselves. None of the dogs were overweight though, if your dog is a fat gently caress I'd probably have them carry less. Waterproofing isnt very good on the ruff wears though and the dwr coating wears off in a month or so, so make sure to double ziplock dry food if they're gonna swim crossings.
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Sep 16, 2019 15:24
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I can tell you guys from personal experience the ursack is pointless. We had a problem bear at work near Missoula, and she ended up both stretching the sack to approximately 150% of its normal size (it was initially tied to a tree) and then smashing everything in it to powder small enough so it would leak out the end. She was abnormal as I've never worked in an area so far from development/ extremely heavy use that had a habituated animal in active hunting territory, but I have no doubt anything interested enough would gently caress up anything you've got in one of them.
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Sep 29, 2019 07:16
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SwissArmyDruid posted:Definitely using the 20% REI coupon before it expires this time around. I use the venture 70, I have to recharge phone/inreach/GPS/Cameras for 2 week runs, and even though one has been completely submerged and both have been damp or wet, they're both managing fine. I have a nomad 20 that works fairly well with it, but usually don't have both with me. Overall much better than any other existing power bank or solar setup I've used before.
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Nov 18, 2019 06:23
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I also don't like trashbagging up a sleeping bag because any dampness, even if it's just condensation will mildew quickly
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Feb 27, 2020 07:16
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Pham Nuwen posted:I took a quick look at REI after posting and saw this: https://www.rei.com/product/110923/rei-co-op-radiant-19-sleeping-bag-mens I'm in my sleeping bag most nights of the year because of my job, and I use the radiant and so does my partner. I bought my first radiant in 2013 and it was a pile of garbage, but for the products they continue to make REI makes continual quality improvements and their modern ones are great. I don't know what marmots are like now but I was so displeased with the last down bag I got in 2010 I said I'd never buy anything else by marmot again.
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Mar 12, 2020 05:37
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I did just want to say, if you're in the US be aware of where you're going and what you're doing outdoors. The USFS people I've talked to uniformly said the outdoors is busier now than they've ever seen it, so places you might think of going you probably want to think again unless they're really out there, and try to find places less known. In the west that's not so hard but eastern forests are getting slammed, so if you're trying to disappear like most people, really disappear.
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Apr 1, 2020 14:02
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Internet Wizard posted:REI does a pretty good job of actually wanting feedback on their products and incorporating that into the next year's model. Found that to be the case also, problems I found with previous years with QA or just poor design got fixed
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Apr 5, 2020 22:27
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TurdBurgles posted:Any opinions on the Garmin 66s vs 64x? The 20% off would stack nicely with some saved gift cards. The 66s has phone integration and Bluetooth, which I don't care about. The 66s has a tougher rating but also has some negative reviews and would need me to buy maps. It seems like the 64x makes more sense, but this is a once in a decade purchase and so I don't want to make a poor choice. I have a 64x I use for work, it's fine. I thought about getting a 66i since we have a bucket of inreaches we use for employees but I read battery life isn't great and the explorers last 3ish days even if you leave them on the whole time
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Apr 7, 2020 00:40
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Unless you're only spending a couple days max out, dehydrated meals won't do poo poo for you. It's just not enough calories. You can start discarding macro content too, because it's all about calories per gram. High fat meals like quesadillas or poo poo like cheese ravioli, or those cheese noodle things I forget the name of, are gonna keep you fueled for the longest period of time and they're totally compact. Even in heat, 1 pound tubes of ground burger will keep for up to 4 days. On longer trips I always carry some lean protein, but I consider it in the same vein as carbs, a snack to mix things up. If you're just weekend warrioring then it doesn't matter too much, you can always just overeat when you get back. A lot of people will eat less than they normally do when they're backpacking, which is what happens to me. Both are bad habits to get into because any time you do a longer distance trip your blood sugar can get low enough you'll start gettin lightheaded or pass out, which is also what's happened to me.
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Jul 17, 2020 19:04
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Chard posted:that has to be a joke right? no one is carrying warm chubs of raw ground beef four days into the backcountry right??? Not ideal, better when we get into september and the nights are cold. Helps that we're in low humidity so shade keeps things cool. I prefer cooked sausages but sometimes you get tired of the same protein over and over again. Like, our business doesn't operate like you guys. I wouldn't even contemplate mountain home or other garbage meals you guys uniformly seem to jockey over because we're packing 35 pounds of tools, and have to stay out for up to 12 days. But I mean good luck with all that
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Jul 17, 2020 21:06
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FCKGW posted:but are you eating raw beef from the tube so you guys don't carry stoves and pots?
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Jul 17, 2020 21:32
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The Wiggly Wizard posted:I don't think he ever implied that. Nah I do, all the wacky poo poo we get into is ludicrous half the time. Last year my partner hired an 18 year old who'd just done a summer for the SCA or something, and without my knowledge he somehow convinced her to do a 10 day run with no tent. He doesn't use tents at all if he's alone, he just sleeps under trees. We can get away with that in a lot of the inland west. And the reality is drinking unpurified in a lot of areas is just unsafe, and the only reason I don't use TP is because it takes up too much room for long runs when we're already maxing out space on food, I thoroughly enjoy wiping my rear end with paper products and taking a poo poo on a toilet. Honestly don't mean to be cranky
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Jul 18, 2020 01:47
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Flatland Crusoe posted:Has anyone gotten hands on an MSR Habitude 4 or 6? I'd highly recommend canvas whatever you choose, if I remember I spent 700 on a 12x14 wall for when it gets utterly lovely in october and november, and the stove alone makes it night and day vs nylon. I've used the gigantic nylon tents before and they just uniformly ended up being bitterly cold no matter how many people you cram in there. If you're careful with UV exposure (plastic cover if you leave it up for months in summer) and moisture that should be a one time purchase. There's a ton of small canvas manufacturers in idaho, montana, wyoming, colorado. I think they're almost all reputable, and most of their business is from outfitters who may have 10 or more tents at their base+outer camps. I got mine from montana canvas in Missoula, if it matters. thatguy fucked around with this message at 00:20 on Jul 21, 2020 |
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Jul 21, 2020 00:10
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Flatland Crusoe posted:I have zero desire to have a canvas wall tent, full stop. Yeah that won't work for you then, it's rare that I encounter private hunters that aren't going out strictly from road access, and those that do are always using stock with a months long camp setup, but we're primary elk, mule and the occasional moose tags.
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Jul 21, 2020 01:36
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Bilirubin posted:yeah according to their site the SOS function is still working (but the app is not) so I'll at least have that. I do like texting from time to time but this hike should get us into cell reception at the top of the ridges so its less essential. I recieved an SMS a few days ago from our guys in Idaho so I'm assuming that's working, just not the web map
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Jul 26, 2020 22:55
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taqueso posted:two friends of mine have taken to carrying tiny little cast iron pans with them One of my inspectors a few years ago, 60 year old grizzled old USFS dude. He used one, he can't do heavyweight backpacking anymore so he usually runs with stock and used one. It keeps you just a few inches off the ground but he said it was a lifesaver, his hips couldn't take the abuse and a regular packing mattress wasn't enough. I remember lifting it up and it weighed probably half what a standard thermarest does, although he used both. I don't remember the brand.
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Jul 31, 2020 05:22
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Sockser posted:the WalMart knockoff yetis are surpringly good and I think the one that'll hold like 4 cases of beer is only $100 I have that, it's a LIFETIME. Their largest. Legit keeps ice for 5 days, drain is durable, seal works, latches work. I've had it for almost 2 years now. It's heavy but it's no heavier than any of the injection molded coolers, and I use it a lot of days a year. Highly recommend it imo thatguy fucked around with this message at 04:32 on Aug 16, 2020 |
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Aug 16, 2020 04:30
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I have no idea why people are recommending coleman products at all. I don't care if their stoves are $45, they're utterly garbage. Basic poo poo like stamped metal warped from the box, outlet holes for the propane tank not fitting with the actual outlet, latches not holding the stove closed. Like I have great nostalgia for them and all, I grew up on all their 80s stuff and my dad still has 3 of their 70s white gas stoves, slept in a coleman tent in a coleman sleeping bag in boy scouts, but everything they sell now is cheap junk.
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Aug 19, 2020 19:39
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armorer posted:Okay so I just dug up an old alpine climbing planning spreadsheet, and my pack weight was 51 lbs (23 kg). That includes a full rack with doubled cams in most of the range, nuts, alpine draws, etc, 60m rope, 3L of water, water filter, bivvy sac, PLB, go pro with accessories, 3 changes of clothes, rain jackets, puffy, alpine boots, crampons, etc. A lot of gear, all loaded up in a 45L pack with the rope slung on top. My climbing partner carried the food to offset the weight of me carrying the gear. He could have carried a lightweight 2 man tent if needed, rather than me going with a bivvy sack, and still come in around a similar weight. What all are you carrying that's getting you up into the 35+ kg range? Hand tools, 14 days of food while trying to eat 5000+ calories a day or else body weight drops precipitously. On runs that demand it, up to 12 quarts of water because water in Idaho is sometimes sparse. Generally I can get new run weight down to 70-80 pounds but crosscuts are heavy. We use old generation arcteryx bora 80 and 95s, and one of us has a mystery ranch
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Aug 19, 2020 22:26
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armorer posted:Are you out there doing trail and climb maintenance then or something? Bolting remote cliffs? I think if I had that kind of a load I would try to stash my tools and excess water in a crate somewhere, so I could at least hike in and out without having to carry them too. That is only an option if you're doing a lot of work in a somewhat localized area. If you are constantly in new places that's obviously not going to help. Trail maintenance. Generally you can only do 3-4 miles a day on average, so what would be a normal easy trip turns very slow, and routinely we'll be 15 or 20 miles in from a trailhead so its not effective to go in and out with lighter loads. The 5000ish calories is a requirement because while I'm fat and I just lose weight, a lot of my guys don't have body weight to lose. If you talk to wilderness rangers or any of the GS4/GS5 trail crews, they run into similar problems. We always plan the runs around water issues so its not like we're hauling 30 pounds of food with 12 quarts or w/e, but because we're going so slow we're not always along water and dropping 1500 feet to get more water suckkkks thatguy fucked around with this message at 14:53 on Aug 20, 2020 |
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Aug 20, 2020 14:48
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I dunno you just get kind of used to it. You have to walk the trail twice anyway if you're doing maintenance since its impossible to work with your pack on. And really, halfway through a run it's pretty nice when it gets below 50 pounds. Sleds won't work the trails are too rough. In 2011 I met this guy hauling his kayak on a one wheeled contraption at least 20 miles from navigable water. Turns out he rode halfway down the Salmon River, then he was halfway through with portaging over to the Selway River. Where I met him I'm not sure which trail he'd headed up, but regardless of where he went that's at least a 40 mile portage and has at least 5000 feet of climb just out of the Salmon. Absolutely insane
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Aug 20, 2020 17:18
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Ihmemies posted:What about mules or other pack animals? Those would have been probably more common in old times though.. Thats been our biggest option, but stock are expensive and have to be watered at least once a day and twice unless its unavoidable. Carrying feed to supplement graze also adds on to the weight. Outfitters out there routinely do it but they also spend weeks sending men out with loads of supplies, and they go to very specific areas that they already know of. Goats are actually the best option, mainly because you don't carry any food and as long as you raised them theyll just follow you around and the males can actually carry like 40-80 pounds depending on how big they are. And if id have a use for them in the off-season I probably would have gotten a couple and seen how it worked out.
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Aug 20, 2020 19:58
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Morbus posted:lol well that sucks. Yeah i use an 80L arcteryx. I have a lot of the old 75+ packs. I bought 3 new old stock arcteryx bora 95s a couple years ago for 400 apiece, which I was so proud of. I even have one of the largest old Dana designs which is barely used, and one of my guys bought a mystery ranch which he swears by, with some kind of bizarro load bearing system on the back which looks like voodoo to me
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Aug 21, 2020 05:53
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Pham Nuwen posted:Guy with the crazy heavy pack, have you looked at hunting packs? They're built with the assumption that you'll eventually be packing out 100 lb of inconveniently-shaped dead animal. yeah most hunting packs are pretty cheap. The ones that aren't, especially with the load bearing magic are about as expensive as high end custom packs and they're usually built so you can spray your pack out but aren't concerned with protecting the stuff you're carrying. I can manage to attach most hand tools to 75L packs, especially if they've got ice axe loops on the top compartment. I mean I just hauled a broken jackhammer a mile out today up a trail we've been building. Sometimes you just can't avoid lovely
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Aug 22, 2020 00:09
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Math You posted:Any good consensus on satellite communication devices? I have 3 inreach devices on the company flex plan or whatever, it's basically one 35 dollar activation fee, then I pay 20 dollars per device per month for 10 messages, and it's .50 a message for every message over that. I found out quickly that's far cheaper than paying for the unlimited plan which is like 65 a month. When I'm not using it, I pay a $5 a month storage fee or whatever they call it. It works for us because we use them for 6ish months at a time. They have a couple rules about activation/deactivation but they're not hard, and all I do is sync up the device and it immediately starts working once I activate them. Their site isn't great but it isn't horrible, and I've had 2 emergency situations they were used for, one was for evac for somebody else my guys came upon and the other we were able to solve without so, useful enough. thatguy fucked around with this message at 21:21 on Aug 27, 2020 |
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Aug 27, 2020 21:18
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| # ¿ May 2, 2024 18:57 |
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George H.W. oval office posted:So whats really the difference between cold weather and hot weather shirts? You compare the two and its all the same material (usually like 100% polyester) Is it simply cold weather is form fitting while hot weather is a bit looser? Thickness? One you buy for summer and it's 50spf rated and the other one you buy for winter and it doesn't come with an spf rating (it's 50)
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Aug 29, 2020 23:39
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