Category: Adventure gear and techniques

My buddy Pinball writes that his power food is Powerbar Triple Threat Fusion bars.   I remember in 2007 he was hot on these bars too.    Every time I look at the energy bar aisle I think of his enthusiasm for Fusion bars.

But they never did it for me and I have gotten so I can’t hardly stand to eat energy bars.   My power food is butter toffee nuts.

Usually they are hanging from a rack with other cheap bulk candy and can be found at almost every little store.    They cost  1.99 for a 9.5 ounce bag, making them one of the best “resupply as you go” buys.

They are a good source of protein, carbs, fat, and salt.    The stores sometimes carry other kinds of  butter toffee nuts like cashews and almonds but they usually cost more.

Calories per ounce varies from 120 – 150 depending on the brand.

Comparison of Power bar and butter toffee peanuts per ounce:

Name	calories	protein	fat	carbs	sodium	price	taste
Power Bar Triple Threat Fusion	115	5 grams	4.5 grams	15.5 grams	110 mg	$1.00	Meh
Butter toffee peanuts(King Henry)	120	3 grams	5.6 grams	15.1 grams	42 mg	.20¢	Yea!

I put red reflective tape and bright flagging tape on small pieces of gear that would be easy to lose.   Neither of them makes a recordable difference in weight.

I got the red reflective tape at Walmart in the auto supply aisle.   They probably have flagging ribbon as well; most likely with the tools.  But flagging ribbon is also easy to attain  hanging from trees in the wilderness; help your self.

Related post:  No-lose ‘em Tent Stakes

I buy a lot of my gear at REI.    They don’t have everything for lightweight backpackers but they are getting better.

The reason I shop there is they take back any gear that fails you—you don’t have to deal with the manufacture.

You pay 20 dollars for a lifetime membership, then at the end of every year you get about 10% back of the money you spent there.

If you loose your card they will look it up for you.  So you don’t have to worry about hanging on to it.

They also have a record of every piece of gear you bought from them so you don’t have to save receipts.

They are friendly about taking back your gear.

This is the REI guarantee:  If you’re ever dissatisfied with an item, you may return or exchange your REI.com or REI-OUTLET.com purchases at any REI store or through mail order.

I used my Black Diamond Spot headlamp every day for 2 years and then it quit working.   It had a 3 year warranty, so I brought it back to REI and since the price had gone down, I got a new headlamp and some money back.

Some people kind of push the envelope, like one guy I know returned his backpack because a mouse chewed a hole in it.

There are  people that say REI stands for Return and Exchange Indefinitely.

When the trail doesn’t supply you with fruit, it’s a good strategy to carry some fruit with you when you are backpacking, particularly in the desert.   It’s like a having a spare orb of concentrated water;  a 6 ounce orange or apple will revive me far better than 6 ounces of water.

The Peace Pilgrim walked over 25,000 miles– sometimes walking 50 miles a day, yet she didn’t carry a water bottle.   She says,  “Water is something you think of in hot weather, but I have discovered that if I eat nothing but fruit until my day’s walk is over I do not get thirsty. Our physical needs are so simple.”

1. Find some shade and go to sleep.
2. When you wake up it will be cool and you won’t be thirsty anymore.
3. Get up and hike to the next water source.

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When I quit caring a stove, I quit caring a wide mouth nalgene.  I replaced it with a 20 ounce “Vitamin Water” bottle. I wanted a wide mouth bottle because it’s easier to  add drink powders to them.

I carry mine in a little  strap pocket I got from simblissity. com, so it’s always handy to grab a drink.   I’ve seen other people rig up a bungee system on their straps to hold their  bottle.

I have been using the same bottle for  years.  That’s the thing about “single use” plastic bottles, I don’t care how many years I have carried the same bottle, nor how many times I have dropped it, nor how rough its life has been.   I have never, ever had a “single use” plastic bottle fail me.

They are light, dependable, and cheap.  “Single use” plastic bottles are what I use for all my water carrying needs.

Related post: Why I don’t carry a plastic water bladder

I have been wearing the same Casio Solar Atomic  Pathfinder #Paw1200 Watch  for almost 3 years now.  That’s 2  more years  than any other navigational watch has lasted me.

The greatest thing about it, is it never needs batteries–it’s solar powered.  On most navigational watches the batteries need to be changed every year; this one just keeps running.    The specs say it can go 6 months without seeing the sun and still run.  It’s nice to be able to use the compass feature and not worry about running the battery down.

The altimeter is the most accurate I have ever used.

It’s called atomic because it sets the time using some big clock in the sky or something… totally unnecessary.

Setting the compass declination is different than for most navigational watches.  I use it without setting the declination; it’s close enough.

It has a ton of features.   I use the alarm, compass, altimeter, stop watch, time, date,  and once in awhile the thermometer.

There are a lot of different Pathfinder watches. Mine might be a little too features rich.    The important features, to me, to look for are: Solar powered with an altimeter and compass.

Pros: Dependable, sturdy, accurate, never needs batteries

Cons: A little more complicated than other watches… comes with a 150 page manual.  I would like it better if you could just set the declination like other navigational watches. Has too many features.

Other navigational watches I have used:

Suunto: quit being waterproof after one year.

High Gear: quit working after one year, replaced batteries still didn’t work.

I always carry a camp towel.   It’s a viscose towel that absorbs 10 times its weight in water, then you ring it out and it absorbs more water —like a sponge.    It’s great for sopping up puddles in your single walled sil-nylon tent or wiping off after a shower.

So one time I’m hanging out in a motel room watching TV, when on comes an infomercial  selling camp towels– except they were called “Sham Wows!”  and claimed to pick up 21 times their weight in water instead of the measly 10 times as my camp towel.

“Wow!”  I  enviously thought, “That Sham Wow is twice as good as my camp towel.  I would really like one of those.”

Well,  dreams do come true,  as one day I’m walking through the dollar store and I see the coveted “ShamWow! —as seen on TV– absorbs 21 times it’s weight in water”  and it’s only a dollar.

I brought it home, cut it down to to the same size and weight as my camp towel, and set about to document the  vast improvement over my old camp towel.

Results: Both towels weighed .75 ounces and absorbed pretty much the same amount of liquid–8 ounces.

The ShamWow was only a buck and the camp towel was 10 dollars and I think the brighter color of the ShamWow will make it less likely to get lost, but if you already have a camp towel, no need to covet the ShamWow! because, despite its claims, it’s  an ordinary camp towel.

Tip: Use a safety pin to hang your wet camp towel off your pack to dry.

Related Post: Keeping the inside of your tent dry

I have been using Sonny MDR-ED21LP Fontopia In-the-ear headphones for 8 years or so.   I’ve tried a lot of different ear buds but these are the best.   Here’s why:

They are a good cross between ear buds and in-ear phones.   The have a little “silent cap” that confines the music to the listeners ears and more importantly keeps the ear phones from falling out every time the wind blows.

The earphones are also “open air” which allows ambient noise to be heard–important so you can hear people, animals, and other noises you should be aware of.

They are light weight: five grams (.18 ounces), yet sturdy.  I’m hard on stuff and a pair will last me a whole thru-hike.    I get a new pair every year.

Tip: put a small piece of red reflective tape around the right earphone… makes it harder to lose and you immediately know which one goes into which ear: Red=Right

I have worn a Summer Buff constantly since March of 2007.    It’s like a bandanna except it’s a tube so it stays around your neck and you never lose it.    It stretches so you can easily pull it up over your nose and mouth when stinky dust producing horses go by.    You can also use it as a head band,  balaclava,  pirate hat, or filter the floaties out of your water.

I use it to blow my nose on; it’s always there  around my neck.

It’s a continuous tube made out of Cool Max fabric– no seams, no hems.  For some reason they charge twenty three dollars  for it; the profit margin must be staggering.

Here is a site selling 1 dollar tubular bandannas; they say they are like Buffs but I have never tried them.    Some of them are 19″ perimeter and some are 22″ perimeter.   For me I would prefer the 19″  for a snugger fit when wearing it as a headband.   The postage is high for one but  seems to be the same if you are ordering 1 or  a dozen.

If you want to make your own get some stretchy lightweight  fabric ( like an old t-shirt?) 19″ X 17.5″ and make a tube out of it.   17.5″ is the long measurement 19″ is the around measurement.

Related post: Summer Balaclava

I have been carrying a cinch strap  garbage bag for a  rain skirt since 2001.   It’s light,  comes in different sizes, offers great ventilation, is cheap, and works perfectly.

The picture is of Laen, sporting a 33 gallon sized Hefty cinch garbage sack weighing 1.6 ounces.

I often wear mine even if I’m wearing rain pants, because it has been my experience that all rain pants eventually leak but a trash bag is dependable.

Some people make or buy a rain skirt out of sil-nylon.   They are more expensive, less water proof, and heavier.

I’m thinking of improving my garbage bag skirt with a better cinch cord.  I’m also thinking of trying out the 39 gallon size for a longer skirt.

Related posts:

Hiking in the rain

Improving my rain skirt

In 2007 , just before I entered wet and cold Washington, I replaced my ripped up  12.99 DriDucks with a 120.00 dollar rain coat from REI.     It blocked the wind better than my Dri Ducks and was more durable, but it also weighed more.

Then, this  year I was hiking in the rain and it didn’t keep me one bit dry.

I brought it back to REI.    They asked me if I ever washed it.  “Nope, ” I proudly said.  They said you have to wash raincoats or they quit keeping you dry.  Something about dirt and oil clogging the pores.

They told me to wash it in Nikwax Tech Wash and then use some Nikwax spray-on water repellent treatment on it.

I did it but I haven’t tried it out since.

The Tech wash and the water repellent cost more then a new set of Dri-ducks.

I’m thinking of going back to  Dri  Ducks and garbage sacks.