My Hiking Gear

Saturday, October 11, 2014

My Day Pack - Outdoor Products Skyline 8.0

My last post made me think that I need to write a quick gear review of my day pack.  I love my day pack.  I love that it was cheap yet it's been amazingly durable.  I love that it fits great and carries a day's worth of gear effortlessly and feels great on my back.  I love that it thumbs its nose at more expensive brand name packs.  Sometimes you stumble on a cheap-o product that works great and keeps on chugging - this is one of the few items I've bought that has endeared me to it thoroughly in that regard.  You get what you pay for but sometimes you get more than what you paid for.

Outdoor Products Skyline 8.0

Never heard of Outdoor Products?  Think maybe that's a type-o and I meant Outdoor Research?  Well, no, it's not a brand name and it's not a brand that many self respecting, "serious" hikers would consider.  Wal-Mart sells Outdoor Products gear.  As does Big 5 (home of not-quite-household name gear but enough big names to make you think that the off brands are major brands).

The Skyline is a frameless bag with a big (for its size) main compartment, a long narrow front compartment (perfect for maps), two water bottle pockets, two hip belt pockets, and a large hydration sleeve. It also has a side zipper hidden by the left side water bottle holder that you can use to access the main compartment to retrieve small items without going through the top.  It's made of tough ripstop fabric that is lined with waterproofing.  Neither of my backpacking bags have this level of waterproofing.  One of my favorite features is the clip on the left shoulder strap for the hydration tube.  None of my name brand backpacks have this. For fit, it has a pretty respectable hip belt, sternum strap, load lifters, and two side compression straps.  I've carried as much as 15 pounds in it and it supports that kind of load admirably.  I'd imagine you could carry about 20 pounds comfortably with it.  Anything above that and the frameless nature of the bag would be apparent - but who carries that much in a day pack anyway?  I should also say that it's not technically a "frameless" bag -  it does have a single aluminum stay that keeps it from sagging or crumpling.

Even though it does have a lot of nice features for the price, it has many strange features - what I like to call the "WTF??" features of the bag. Features that seem to be there because a "backpack engineer" at Outdoor Products saw some pictures of hiking backpacks and decided to throw some stuff on the bag that look good (I guess) but have no real use.  The #1 weird feature is the stretchy not-quite-net thingy on the top.  I can see no reasonable use for this feature.  If it was bigger and lower on the bag, you could maybe use it to stow rain gear but where it is, it makes no sense whatsoever.  My other favorite non-features are the two gear loops on the bottom of the pack.  What on earth are you going to secure with these things?  Trekking poles?  Maybe, I guess.  Ice axe? Um no.  Finally, are you wondering what the 8.0 in Skyline 8.0 means?  Yeah me too.  Liters?  Kilograms?  No idea.  I guess it just sounds cool. Outdoor Products has other bags with "8.0" in the name so maybe it's the 8th iteration of the backpack.

I've had the bag for about 5 years and it just keeps on trucking with absolutely zero wear.  Originally I bought it to carry my gear for work but it's slowly crept into being my go-to day hiking bag.  Even carrying as much as 15 pounds, I put it on and forget it's there.  The sleek design means my arms have full range of motion and it compresses down and stays put on my back.  I've worn it in some pretty serious rain and it hasn't leaked yet.  I keep waiting for the top zipper to fail but it hasn't.  The Skyline is still available but it's now all black, which I don't find as attractive as my blue and grey model. I'm sorely tempted to order one of Outdoor Products framed backpacking bags for overnight hikes.  The Outdoor Products Stargazer is only $60 at Wal-Mart.



What on earth is this supposed to do?

Gear loops.  Yeah right.

September 13, 2014

Post Hike Gear Review - The "Big Three"


The "Big Three" - tent, backpack, and sleeping bag.  Probably the three most expensive and crucial pieces of equipment you'll have with you.  Here's what I took with me:

Tent
REI Quarter Dome T2+ and Sierra Designs Flashlight 1

I used two tents on the trail because I was with Jeff in the beginning and solo'd the final leg of the trip.  I bought the REI Quarter Dome T2+ on clearance and I don't think they make it anymore, so keep that in mind.  I bought the tent primarily because it was pretty light for a big two person tent - about 5 pounds.  That sounds like a lot but because Jeff and I split the shared gear, it really didn't weigh that much.  Jeff carried the tent, which was probably about 3 pounds and I carried the poles and stakes.  We loved our two man tent.  The T2+ is wider and longer than the regular T2, so it was plenty roomy inside.  On rainy nights (of which we had several), it was easy to get all our stuff either under the two vestibules or inside with us.  The tent has two doors, which is awesome since I tend to get up in the night to pee.  It also has pockets on the interior for stashing little things like eyeglasses and headlamps.  I can't really review how it does in bad weather because aside from a few minor rain showers, we didn't experience any bad weather.  I did use it on an over night hike at Lake Tahoe and can vouch for the fact that it does fine in the wind - you just have to make sure you set it up with one of the ends facing into the wind.  At one point, a big gust hit the tent and it buckled slightly but then it bounced right back up. I have zero complaints about this tent and would recommend it highly except for the fact that they don't make it anymore.

Update - As of September 2014, REI is still selling the Quarter Dome T2+.  I think they're only selling them through their outlet though.



On the other hand, I have mixed feelings about the Sierra Designs Flashlight 1.  It's a non-freestanding, single wall tent and it definitely has all the issues that come along with that kind of tent.  I bought it primarily for the weight.  I can use my trekking poles to set it up, which reduces the carried weight considerably.  I think it was just over 2 pounds.  Nice. The lightness and the fact that it could squash up into a 6 x 8" ball were wonderful.  It was also very easy to set up, although the toggles for the foot poles were a little tricky at times.  When the conditions are ideal, this is a great tent.  Soft ground, away from water, I loved it.  The biggest issue with single walled tents is that they condense badly inside and it's no fun dealing with a wet tent.  I found that this was only a problem when I camped near a body of water.  The humidity would cause really bad condensation on the inside walls.  But if I camped in a dry spot, I never had condensation problems - even when I had the tent completely zipped up during a rain storm.  When the conditions were less than ideal, I was less than enthused by it.  The biggest problem I ran into was setting it up on hard or rocky ground.  Because it's not freestanding, you have to use the tent stakes on all points or it won't stand up.  There are 7 anchor points and I had two nights where I couldn't get any of the stakes to go into the ground more than an inch.  It made for a droopy tent.  I have to admit though that on one of those nights, I got hit by a pretty fierce thunderstorm and the tent withstood it even though it wasn't properly staked.  Inside, the tent is plenty roomy and I could sit up without any issues.  The vestibule is tiny though and probably only good for shoes.  But I could bring my backpack inside no problem.  The tent has lots of features that were designed to cut weight yet still offer a nice shelter.  For example, the side walls are mesh and you can only zip up the walls 3/4 of the way.  I think they did this to deal with condensation issues and to make the tent lighter.  But the roofline of the tent juts out far enough to keep rain from getting inside. I experienced one bad rainstorm in this tent and I didn't get wet.  As with the REI tent, it's important to set it up with the "head" side into the wind.  I had ZERO problems with the weather in this tent.  I would recommend the tent for people looking for a light one person tent but with disclaimers about the non-freestanding and single wall issues.  Overall, not half bad for the price.


Backpack
North Face Stamina 65

I'm a little hesitant to review my backpack because North Face discontinued this pack years and years ago.  I bought it in 2000 at the North Face outlet in Berkeley.  I've been waiting a long time to use it and didn't want to drop a bunch of money on a new backpack and, in the end, I'm so glad I kept the pack all these years because I ADORE it.  For its time, the North Face Stamina was probably top of the line. I think it retailed for $280, which was a lot in 2000.  I got mine for about $180 and, at the time, I felt like that was a lot of money.  Despite its age, the pack only weighs about 1 oz. more than a comparable Osprey pack of today.  Not bad for a nearly 15 year old bag.  There are so many things I love about this pack, I'm not sure where to begin.  First of all, its rugged.  The materials used to make it are TOUGH.  I scraped it against trees and rocks and it never showed any wear at all. The frame is also super strong. I would think this pack could handle loads up to 65 pounds easily. It's BIG.  What I love the most about it is that it's a big, simple pack.  It doesn't have very many pockets and doesn't have gizmos for hanging things off the pack (like trekking poles, water bottles, etc.) but it makes up for that by being voluminous inside.  I don't like things hanging off my pack and the big size of the pack meant that I could put everything inside, no problem.  The top lid is similarly big.  I could put tons of little things in it.  The lid also has two mesh pockets that were great for organizing small things.  Everyone who sees my pack comments that they wish they had those little interior pockets.  The lid also has a "secret" pocket for storing stuff like wallets and cell phones.  It has a HUGE sleeping bag compartment that is reinforced with extra water proofing. And it's a true extra compartment in that it's completely sealed from the rest of the bag.  The back pad and hip belt get huge props for making this an incredibly comfortable backpack.  The back pad isn't fancy like today's bags.  It doesn't have vents or air channels.  It's just a thick sheet of super comfortable foam and I love it.  It molds perfectly to my back.  The hip belt is hefty and padded with nearly 2 inches of foam.  I never got sore spots on my hips, which a lot of backpackers complain about.  The only issue with the hip belt is that it's the old school side pull type, so getting it adjusted was kind of an ordeal.  The shoulder straps are a bit spartan though and I did get sore spots on my arms where they rubbed.  Inside, it has a big hydration sleeve that easily accommodates a 3 L Platypus.  I only have two complaints about the pack.  First, it has two side pockets that are nearly useless.  They're long and skinny and when the pack is full, it's really hard to get anything into them.  I used them to store my rain gear and my toiletries and they did OK.  The pack also has an odd feature in that it has one water bottle holder on the right side.  It really needs one on each side to keep your load balanced.  It's a complete mystery to me why North Face did this.  Also, when the side pocket on the right side is full, you can't use the water bottle holder very easily because there's not enough room for a tall water bottle.  If this bag was still available I would recommend it highly.  I love, love, love my backpack.


For scale, I'm 5'3".

Sleeping Bag
Big Agnes Fria 15

This is my first ever down sleeping bag.  I got a 15 degree bag because I tend to be a cold sleeper.  The bag has tons of nice features, the best one being a built in pillow compartment.  I stuffed my extra clothes in there at night to make a pretty decent pillow.  The weather in Oregon was generally pretty warm, so I mostly just opened up the bag and used it as a blanket. The bag was far too warm on most nights.  But I did have two nights that got really chilly - one night I actually zipped the bag all the way up including the hood. I never got cold.  

To cut down on weight and bulk, Big Agnes doesn't put insulation on the bottom of their bags.  I have mixed feelings about this.  The idea is that your sleeping pad should provide insulation on the bottom, thus you don't need down on that side.  The bag has a sleeve for inserting your sleeping pad to keep it in place.  But at the end of a long day, I generally didn't want to wrestle with this feature and when I did, I found it difficult to roll around at night.  Having your sleeping pad attached to your bag makes it almost impossible to lay on your side because the bag and hood don't move and you end up suffocating or getting weirdly half twisted in the bag.  In addition, when I didn't use the sleeping pad sleeve, I could easily roll over and have the non-insulated side exposed.  Brrr. I also found that the Z Lite sleeping pad and the Big Agnes bag were not a good match because the lack of insulation on the bottom of the bag meant that I was sleeping directly on the not-so-soft bumps of the Z Lite.  Plus the Z Lite is only so-so insulation wise. This sleeping bag is best used with an air pad, in my opinion. In a way, my sleeping bag is a bit like my Flashlight 1 tent.  When used in exactly the way the manufacturer intends you to, it's great.  But deviate from that and it only works so-so.  I also wished the bag would compress down a bit more than it did.  But it's a 15 degree bag, so it's only going to get so small I guess.  I will be trying a 25 degree bag next time and save the Big Agnes bag for cooler temperatures.


Saturday, September 13, 2014

Gear Review Continued - Other Necessities


Some people review every bit of gear they have.  I'm not going to do that because 1) I bought a lot of my stuff on clearance and it's probably discontinued now and 2) stuff like clothing is a very personal choice and anyone planning a big backpacking trip should wear what's best for them.  I also didn't use some of my stuff in earnest.  Like my rain coat.  It never rained hard enough for me to really need it.  I did wear it for most of one day and I liked it fine but I don't think I can give it a thorough review.  And some things I brought but some people might choose to go without.  Like a hat. I wore a hat every day because my scalp burns easily and I didn't want to carry sunscreen.  And again, I think a hat is a very personal choice and what worked for me may not work for everyone.

In no particular order here's some of the necessities I carried:

Water Filter
Sawyer Squeeze Filter

I used this every single day I was on the trail and I loved it.  A lot of the other hikers were carrying chemical treatment or steri pens but I was super glad to have an actual filter.  I've had giardia twice and I'd really rather not get it again.  Pretty much any water treatment process should remove giardia but I wanted my water to look and taste good on top of being sterile and this is where the Sawyer filter really shines. Jeff and I had to get water at a super nasty reservoir with tons of floaties and the filter made the water taste and look perfect.  The filter is also nice because it's small - about the size of my palm.  You do have to carry a water bag to use with it but most people bring a collapsible Platypus bag anyway.  I also carried two 1 L Aquafina bottles, which made collecting water at shallow sources easy.  Again, most everyone brings these anyway, so it wasn't like it was extra gear.  Filtering 2 L of water generally took about 3-4 minutes, sometimes longer if the filter hadn't been cleaned in a while.  I didn't find this to be too onerous since it's nice to sit down and take a break. I backflushed the filter every chance I got, which wasn't too often as it turns out.

In addition to the Sawyer filter, I purchased a quick fill adapter for my hydration hose.  I could unsnap the bite valve, clip in the adapter and filter water directly into my hydration bag.  This was SO nice. It meant that I didn't have to remove my hydration bag from my backpack every time I needed to put water in it. I highly recommend this if you get the Sawyer filter.

In all, I think I spent about $50 on my water filter and adapter.  Not bad at all.


Kitchen stuff

My kitchen amounted to a JetBoil stove, a cup with lid, titanium spork, and an Ursack.  I ended up not using the JetBoil as much as I thought I would.  Mostly we used it to heat up water for dinner.  It only boils 2 cups of water at a time but that's perfect for Mountain House meals, which only need 2 cups.  It worked great.  I never had any problems with it.  But next time I do a big backpacking trip, I might try to go stoveless to cut down on the weight and bulk.  But the JetBoil is about the size of a 1 L Nalgene bottle, so it's really not bad.  I bought my cup at the grocery store.  It has a sealed, locking lid and I found it adequate for my needs.  It's made by a company called Sistema.  I used it for everything from cereal, to stew, to mixing Gatorade.  The little locking parts had a tendency to come loose but you just snap them back on.  Jeff gave me the Light My Fire spork.  It's titanium, so very light.  I wish I'd had a longer utensil for digging food out of deep bags but whatever.  It's a food shovel, what more needs to be said?  I liked having the Ursack.  A lot of the thru hikers had light nylon food bags, which have the benefit of weighing almost nothing.  But I liked having the Ursack because it kept rodents out of my food.  I was never bothered by bears, so didn't test it in that way.  The Ursack can probably accommodate a week's worth of food but the most I ever had was 5 days.  It's heavy and doesn't squash down easily but you also won't find your food stash ravaged by animals.


Sleeping Pads

I used two sleeping pads.  I started out with an REI Air Rail pad.  It was luxurious and made for a great night's sleep.  It's the only full length sleeping pad I've ever owned and it folded down pretty small and weighed 1 lb 9 oz.  Not too bad for the benefit of good sleep.  It blows up pretty fast and deflates super fast.  I switched to the Thermarest Z Lite pad when I was solo'ing because I needed the extra room in my pack for my tent and wanted to shed pounds.  The Z Lite weighs a full pound less than the Air Rail.  The only downside for packing it, is that it doesn't fold down very small so you have to strap it to the outside of your backpack.  Aside from the lighter weight, one of the best benefits of the Z Lite is that you can plop it down anywhere and use it as a sitting pad.  This was a nice change from sitting in the dirt or on bumpy logs.  Setting it up was also easy because you just unfold it.  Fold it up in the morning and that's it.  It takes about 1.5 seconds.  But for me, it just didn't cut it, sleep wise.  I'm a side sleeper and I could not get comfortable on it.  If I slept on my back, it would have been perfect.  But sleeping on my side made my hips hurt unbearably.  I finally found a position where I slept kind of on my stomach and that was OK.  But mostly I think I was only able to sleep on it because I was so exhausted I could have slept on anything.  I'm going to try a Neo Air next time.


Me with the Z Lite strapped to the bottom of my backpack.  
I had to lash it vertically when I needed my rain cover.


Footwear
Salomon XA Pro 3D Ultra WP
Thorlo socks
REI scree gaiters

I reviewed my shoes previously but I'd like to give them a post hike review.  I wore Salomon XA Pro Ultra 3D WP trail running shoes.  I loved them.  They were incredibly stable.  I never got a single blister! They're waterproof and the waterproofing helped to keep my feet clean.  The Ortholite insoles that come with them are extremely comfortable. The traction is fantastic.  Durability was surprisingly good, although I did get one tear on the side of one shoe.  They even survived miles of lava pretty well.  Beyond highly recommended.  I will be wearing them again.  My current pair has another couple hundred miles left in them but I'll be buying another pair when they wear out.

 Before the trip.

 After the trip.

The one tiny hole I got. 


Fantastic traction with these things and the soles have a lot of life left.

For socks, I wore Thorlo crew cut light hikers.  Thorlo socks are all synthetic.  Lately I've been finding that wool blends give me heat rash, so I switched to the synthetic and never got it again.  Thorlos are very heavy socks, so the light hikers were the perfect weight for me.  Also, see above about NO BLISTERS.  The socks proved to be tough and comfortable.  Will definitely be buying more.

I wore gaiters nearly every day.  Unfortunately, my decision to wear shorts was very last minute, so I didn't have time to do research regarding gaiters.  I ended up buying my gaiters two days before I hit the trail and was stuck with buying the only pair in my size at REI.  They're REI scree gaiters.  I like them OK and they work well. I never got any rocks or debris in my shoes and they kept my feet a lot cleaner than if I'd gone without them.  On the day that I stepped in dog poop, I didn't wear them because I didn't want to get poop on them.  My feet were absolutely filthy that day.  So yeah, they worked well but they were kind of a chore to get on. They fasten with velcro and a snap at the toe and it was a daily struggle to get them on just right.  The velcro could also scratch against my leg if I didn't get them fastened right. I'll be trying Dirty Girls next time.


Sunday, September 14, 2014


Gear Review - Personal Care

If I could have done one thing better, it would have been to take better care of myself.  Mostly I would have drank more water, taken supplements, and eaten better.  I did get a few things right and I had a few personal care items that I'd like to recommend - and one that I recommend but only with several cautionary statements.  This could get a little personal, so be forewarned!

Cleanliness
Coleman Biowipes
Crystal Body Deodorant Wipes

Staying clean and reasonably stink-fee is a real challenge.  After a while, you have to just live with it.  No amount of rinsing off in lakes or wiping down with wet wipes is going to change the fact that you are dirty, stinky, and probably a little uncomfortable.  But it is VERY important that you keep certain areas clean.  Chafe is a bad thing and keeping chafe-prone areas clean(ish) is one of the best ways to deal with it.  I used Coleman Biowipes to help with personal cleanliness.  They're great because they're pretty big (8x10") and they're biodegradable.  If you're a conscientious, Leave No Trace kind of hiker, you will be packing everything out but if you had to leave one behind (for whatever reason), it will biodegrade.  Just bury it deep people!!  My only complaint about the Biowipes is that they're not terribly moist.  But they get the job done.  They come in packs of 30 and a full pack weighs 8.4 oz.  That's pretty heavy but I think having wet wipes along is crucial.  I will never hike without them.  I got mine at Wal-Mart.


The other item I brought was Crystal Deodorant Wipes.  Dealing with body odor is probably a mostly losing proposition but I chose to fight it as best I could.   I didn't want to carry a stick of deodorant because it's too bulky and can melt, making a huge mess.  I bought a box of 40 individually wrapped deodorant wipes online and packed one for each day I was on the trail.   These deodorant wipes were AMAZING.  I was pretty skeptical that they could combat BO on the trail but they worked extremely well.  I tried to remember to use one every morning but sometimes forgot.  If I noticed a funk coming from my pits, I'd stop and use one and it ERASED any BO.  What's more, my husband used them too and he normally stinks horrendously - seriously, he could give a skunk a run for its money.  Jeff never smelled of BO the entire time he was with me.  They take up almost no space and are biodegradable.  I packed mine out but if you had to bury one you could (see above about Leave No Trace).  They're not cheap though, about $0.75 per wipe.


Bandanas

Pretty much anyone who hikes knows that a bandana is a crucial piece of equipment.  They have so many uses, it's ridiculous.  I carried two.  Before the hike, I had heard about girls using bandanas as pee rags.  I've never done this, always having been a "drip dry" kind of girl.  But after a friend strongly recommend I bring a pee rag, I conceded, convinced that I'd never use it.  Well, I used it and I'm extremely grateful to my friend for insisting I bring it.  Girls -when you pee outside day after day with no hope of a shower, things start to get a bit rank - namely your clothes.  Add to that a little drip of pee here and there and it gets super rank, fast.  I cannot stress enough how important it is to do whatever you can to stay just a teensy bit clean.  I will always carry a pee rag from now on, even on day hikes.  I kept mine tied to the back of my pack with a caribiner alongside my orange trowel.

I carried a second bandana because I used it for wiping the sweat off my face and blowing my nose. I kept it tied to the shoulder strap of my pack so it was always accessible and had a chance to dry.  I'm sure I looked a little silly festooned with colorful bandanas but I loved this set up.

That Time of the Month
Diva Cup

Menstruation is something all girl hikers have to deal with and it's never fun.  I did a lot of research on this and decided to go with the Diva Cup because you can use it on its own and it's small  (rather than carrying a lot of tampons and pads) and there's no trash to pack out.  Sounds great right?  Well, in my opinion, using the Diva Cup for hiking is for experienced users only.  It does have many benefits but there are certainly many, many drawbacks if you use it on the trail.  I STRONGLY suggest you get to know your Diva Cup extremely well before using it for backpacking or hiking.  I had only used mine once before taking it to Oregon and although I did OK with it, it was not easy to use.

Beyond the normal learning curve that comes with using a menstrual cup, I had some pretty serious concerns with it on the trail.  1) When hiking it's really hard to keep your hands clean and with the Diva Cup, you're going to be doing some serious rooting around in your private parts. 2)  You're going to get some blood on your hands, so be prepared to wipe them off somehow.  3) It's really hard to get the cup clean unless you're prepared to spare some of your precious drinking water to rinse it out.  4) You'll need to find a very private place to deal with emptying it and re-inserting it.  Taking a poop is one thing, letting it all hang out while you struggle with getting the cup in and out is a whole other thing. 5) Keep in mind that you have to squat for a long time to deal with it and when you're legs are already tired from being on the trail, it can be really hard to squat AND relax at the same time.  And trust me, if you don't get your internal muscles to relax, you ain't gettin' that thing in.  One tip regarding inserting the Diva Cup -  relax your jaw and your kegels will relax too.  Don't ask me how but it really does work.

And one final warning - the makers of Diva Cup will tell you that you only need to empty the cup every 12 hours.  Well, if you have a heavy flow, this can actually be reduced to 6 hours.  That's better than a tampon but if you're thinking how nice it will be to only deal with it twice a day, think again.

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