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GearPods Shelter Kit Review
GearPods, a company based out of Polson, Montana, manufactures “modular, lightweight adventure and survival gear to help the outdoor enthusiast to prepare for the unexpected.” Their gear systems combine interconnecting, waterproof containers with pre-built survival kits. Users combine any number of containers and gear to arrive at a customized kit, something like my emergency ditch kit. I’m currently testing out GearPods Wilderness system, which includes first-aid, survival gear, a lightweight stove, and the GearPods Shelter. Because the system is modular, I’m reviewing each component separately. I’ll wrap-up the reviews in a final overview and opinion of the products with a separate post. Because, I travel in lightweight style, I prefer…
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New National Geographic Maps Cover the Boundary Waters Canoe Area
There’s a new player in town for Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness maps, and it’s National Geographic’s excellent Trails Illustrated Maps. The current players in the BWCA map field include McKenzie Maps, Fisher Maps, and Voyageur Maps. Each of the current vendors follows the philosophy that more detail is better. To cover the entire BWCA, they require 25, 32, or 10 maps, respectively. Trails Illustrated does it with 2! Trails Illustrated Boundary Waters maps are printed on double-sided waterproof and tear resistant 27″ x 39″ paper. When folded, the maps reduce down in size to approximately 4 1/4″ x 9 1/4″. They weigh 3.3 ounces each. The scale of 1:70,000…
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Review: Jetboil Stove
Jetboil’s Personal Cooking System, now called the Flash Cooking System, includes a compact stove, windscreen, bowl and pot. When combined with a 100-gram fuel canister, the components create a small cooking system for one person. Jetboil designed the stove and fuel canister to perfectly nest into the pot. This creates a system that when packed is about the size of a Nalgene bottle. The compact nature of the stove drew me to it, and about a year ago, I received one from Jetboil to use on an expedition. Over the course of a year, I’ve used the stove for over 50 days, and feel confident in reviewing it. Using a…
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Lightweight Camping Cups
I was walking through an REI store, and I noticed that they offer a plethora of different camping cups. They caught my eye, because when I’m traveling lightweight, I tend to just carry along lightweight platypus bottles, but I like to drink a cup of hot chocolate spiked with a little Baileys Irish Cream and in the morning, I like to start the day with instant coffee. I hate using my platys for this type of drink, because the bottles end up tasting like whatever you put in it, so I considered buying a lightweight titanium camping cup. I just couldn’t stomach the titanium options, because they were so expensive–they…
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10 Classic Canoe and Kayak Books
Canoeist and kayakers should start off the new year and a new decade by resolving to read a few books. In the past I’ve done round-up reviews of boat building books and paddling books, but it’s about time for a new round-up. These 10 stand out as the paddling books you should read in 2010. Kayaking Books Sea Kayak Rescue, 2nd: The Definitive Guide to Modern Reentry and Recovery Techniques (How to Paddle Series) First published in 2001 and updated in 2007, this guide presents the most up-to-date rescue, reentry, and recovery techniques for sea kayakers. The book is well-written, easy-to-understand, and laid out in a progression that instructors could…
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Paddle to Seattle Kayaking Film
J.J. Kelley and Josh Thomas built a couple of plywood kayaks. Then they paddled from Alaska to Seattle via the Inside Passage in the plywood kayaks that they built. During the trip, they filmed everything. After the trip, they whittled all the footage down to an 80-minute movie. Everyone from Paddler Magazine to Outside Online is raving about this new movie. You’ll see why after watching the trailer. Paddle to Seattle What intrigues me is that they took the time to build their own kayaks, invested the extra work into filming the movie, they got sponsorships, but they come across as just a couple of guys on an adventure. They…
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Review ChemFire Capsules Fire Starter
Part of the Nessmuking philosophy is being proficient in fire starting in all conditions. Many products attempt to address the needfor this skill, but none are as interesting as ChemFire Fire Starting System. The Reaction ChemFire uses a combination of potassium permanganate and glycerin. When these two chemicals are combined they react to produce fire. These items were/are often found in military survival kits and in many emergency kits sold in Europe. Back in the day, potassium permanganate was used to treat water and as a disinfectant, but it’s messy and stains skin and clothing purple, and if mixed incorrectly it can lead to death or violent illness. The Product…
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Tarptent Double Rainbow Review
Tarptent’s Double Rainbow, introduced in 2006, received consistently good reviews on the Internet, so late in 2007, I decided to purchase one. During 2008, I used the tent exclusively. This tent has some good and bad points. Initial Thoughts Upon Receiving the Tarptent When I decided to purchase the Double Rainbow, I noticed a waiting list, so I exchanged emails with Henry Shires, the owner of Tarptent. He quickly answered all the email I sent to him before the purchase, so I made the assumption that the customer service would be quite good. Settled on a long wait, somehow my Double Rainbow showed up at the door a little earlier…
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Igdlorssuit: Free Kayak Plans for the Boat Before Anas Acuta
Igdlorssuit: Free Kayak Plans for the Boat Before Anas Acuta
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Review: Orikaso Fold Flat Bowl
A review of an innovative new product designed to help save weight in the kitchen, a place where saving weight is needed.
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How to Pick a Bell Solo Canoe
How to pick a Bell solo canoe.
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Review: A Comparison of System Three MetlWeld and WEST System for Metal Bonding
When Charles E. Campbell built his he found out that many of the small metal parts he needed for the rig weren't available, so he had to make his own. In the process he tried System Three's Metlweld.
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Review: Brunton Firelight
From reading the advertising copy on the back of the box, you learn that “The Firelight combines the convenience of a small, compact, windproof lighter with a bright white LED flashlight. The light is located on the bottom of the lighter, and with a simple twist you’ll be able to find the trail or search for your dropped car keys in the dark. Need to start a fire? The lid opens 180° so you can get the flame where you need it. The gas flame can even withstand winds up to 80 miles per hour. Truly a unique tool you would want to have in the mountains or in the…
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Review: Moleskine
These lightweight high quality notebooks and cahiers are about the best that money can buy and perfect for keeping a journal on while on a trip.
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Review Terramar Transport Micro-Mesh T-Shirt
A review of one of the best T-shirts in the world. The Terramar Transport Micro-Mesh T-Shirt is reviewed.
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