As The Crow Flies

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.

I’ve been getting e-mails from my buddy, Pinball, on the Continental Divide Trail.   He’s sitting around on cold frosty mornings darning his socks.  He should have bought Fox River Off Road or Fox River Endeavor socks.

I bought a pair of each in early June of 2008 and they are still going strong.    Besides my neoprene socks, these are the only two pairs of socks I have worn in 16 months.  I have hiked over 3000 miles in them and a lot of those miles were wearing them with sandals.

For the average person, I would guess two pair  would last their entire life.

My new pack, the Osprey Atmos 35.  I have only hiked 480 miles with it but here is what I think of it to date:

The tag says it weighs 2lbs 9oz and that it holds 2100 ci.

It holds all my gear and food beautifully and makes a nice neat little package.   It will also carry my bear canister.

I like the big stretchy pocket on the front.  That is were I stuff my tent.  If it is wet it keeps it away from my other stuff and it makes it accessible without opening my pack.

I like the big hip belt pockets for carrying snacks, headlamp, cellphone, water treatment, etc.

It is a sturdy well made pack.   I’m not easy on gear and it is holding up well.

I like the way my pad straps on to it.  It’s not hitting me in the butt or hitting me in neck.

It’s white inside so it’s easy to see your stuff.

One cool thing about this pack is it has these, “stow and go” trekking poles straps.  So you can stow or get to your trekking poles without removing your pack.   I don’t carry a trekking pole because I like my hands free most of the time,  but with this feature, I’m considering starting to again because I could just bring it out when I need it and put it back when I don’t without stopping.

You can put stuff in the mesh back but you have to  accesses it from inside the pack… I would have liked it better if you could access it from the outside.

The bottom, where the pack holds the frame is showing a little wear, I think they should have reinforced it with rubber or Kevlar.

I like it being a panel loader because it’s easier to access my stuff,  but it could be better if they had made the zipper go further back and over the top and done away with the top zipping pocket.

I put a couple of  shoulder strap pockets on it that I got from simblissity.net One holds a 20 oz bottle of water and the other my GPS.   I would like to see this pack come with shoulder pockets or bungees.

Osprey gives it a life time warranty.  They say they don’t care if you bought your pack in 1974, they will do a quality repair job for free.

So far, I really like this pack.