Platypus Gravityworks Water Filter

Camping or hiking with a group? This gravity water filter does 4 liters in 2.5 minutes with out any pumping…

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“I walk slowly, but I never walk backward.” ~ Abraham Lincoln

If you are backpacking, camping or hiking with a group, share this Platypus Gravtyworks water filter.  As a group you save weight and there is no need to do any pumping.   Just hang this from a tree and Isaac Newton does the work.  It will filter 4 liters of water in 2.5 minutes with out any pumping.  It has a flow rate of 1.75 liters per minute. 

The system weighs 10.6 ounces and filters to 0.2 microns.

click rei from purchase to here

Kickboards & Scooter Luggage

You no longer have to drag your hand luggage and yourself through the airport!

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“I don't know who my grandfather was; I am much more concerned to know what his grandson will be.” ~ Abraham Lincoln

Bored with dragging your hand luggage and yourself through the airport? Micro luggage is designed for the frequent flyer who needs to move quickly and effortlessly. Instead of pulling your luggage, how about riding on it to the gate? Micro luggage is a specially designed Samsonite case with a built-in Micro scooter allowing you to move quickly and easily. When folded, it fits in standard size overhead bins. When you are done scooting, the scooter folds up turning it into conventional wheeled luggage. The handlebar also retracts for carrying or placing in the overhead bin.

End of Winter Gear Review

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“All that is gold does not glitter; not all those that wander are lost.”~J.R.R. Tolkien

So winter is finally over, although here (in New Jersey USA) yesterday April 1st we had a bit of a snow storm.  Still, I’m putting away my winter stuff.  So I’ll make a few comments about things I liked the most.  I came across a few new interesting things:

Somehow out of the blue Columbia Sportswear ask my wife and I to test a couple of jackets from their new Omni Heat line.  I’m sure by now you all have seen this stuff, jackets with a silvery metallic lining on the inside, said to increase warmth by about 20%.  It does actually do this.  The technology reminds me very much of the New Balance FUGU jacket I reviewed on this blog long ago (here is that post).

The Columbia Omni Heat line is nice, although so far I don’t see any jackets in that line particularly designed to be light-weight and so not so good for backpacking.                 

My wife tested the women’s Heat Elite Jacket Omni Heat Jacket. She liked it very much but did find the sizing to be a little tight considering it’s main use other than day-to-day wear would be as a ski jacket.  The jacket is a soft shell; wind resistant, breathable.  Nicely soft to the touch.

They sent me a Grade Max Full-Zip Sweater. The thing is extremely warm comfortable and I find myself wearing it quite often.  I don’t think I would take it backpacking simply because of it’s weight and it wouldn’t pack down well.  I have used it on several day hikes and it breaths well.

Gloves is an area where I’ve seen some improvement but you have to search carefully. Ideally I would like a glove that is warm, water-proof, but not to bulky so that you loss finger dexterity.  I found two sets that fit this: The Serious Xtreme all weather – these are top quality and really are warm (done to very low temps) and water-proof.  The other set of gloves I like for not so cold weather (not below 20 degrees F) is the UA Extreme Coldgear running glove. They say it is “water-proof” by I would say it is more like “water- resistant” so long as you don’t' get them to wet.  The fit – “like a glove”; extremely comfortable and give you great dexterity.

 

 

Interesting New Products

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""I would rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself than be crowded on a velvet cushion." ~Henry David Thoreau

I came across a few new interesting things:

JetBoil CrunchIt

Finally an easy way to recycle those metal gas canisters. The device screws on to gas stove canisters then punctures a whole in the empty canister like a can opener. So far I’ve only seen it for sale as part of a Jetboil set at REI.com but hopefully they will be around in stores soon separately.

Bear Grylls Survival Series Ultimate Knife

This new Gerber Knife, tagged with the logo of Bear Grylls “Man vs Wild” fame; will start shipping November 15, 2010, you can get is on Amazon.com for $59.99 (retails at $79.99).

Cheap Quality Rain Gear

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"Well done is better than well said.” ~ Benjamin Franklin

So this past week I was on a family vacation, part of which included a few days in Ocean City, MD at the beach. The first full day there we wake up to pouring rain.  I think my wife may have been secretly happy about this as it created an excuse to go to the factory outlet stores.  Having left anything that resembled rain gear at home, I agreed and off we went.

After looking around in various outlets and not finding anything reasonable I decided to opt for an umbrella and spotted the “Totes” outlet.  I knew I could find a good quality small micro umbrella in there.  But what surprised me was top quality light weight rain jackets for the entire family.

Normally when I backpack I bring my Marmot PreCip Jacket which is a great piece of rain gear.  It weighs about 12 ounces (336g), has a “breathable” coating, big zipper pockets and pit zips. It sells for about $99 (REI link on photo).

I know lighter rain jackets are available, some as light as 7 or 8 ounces made of Gore Tex Paclite or Event.  But so far I have not been able to bring myself to spend the additional hundreds of dollars to save 4 or 5 ounces. 

I was pleasantly surprised to find such high quality rain jackets at the totes outlet.  I purchased one that felt ‘light’ – turned out to be 11.5 ounces (medium).  It has a nylon shell and polyester lining, netting on the inside top half, vented back. Velcro wrist and rain pocket closures, a nice hood and a waist tightening cinch pull.  Unfortunately no pit zips. But guess the price? $14.

Bug Hunting With Kids

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"Be who you are & say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind. - Dr. Seuss

This is a guest post by Debi Huang; Check out her blog at:
Go Explore Nature

Bug Hunting With Kids

While it’s true not all kids like bugs, going on a bug hunt is still fun – especially if you take along some friends. After all, the more eyes looking out for critters, the better! Here’s how to make your next adventure a success, even for the most squeamish among you.

1. Bring the right tools.

A bug container, bug tweezers and a magnifying glass are pretty much essential. The kid-sized tweezers make grabbing fairly simple, even for little ones. Store your catch in a bug container long enough to examine it close up without fear of it crawling or flying away. Just be sure to release it before heading inside!

2. Know where to look.

Backyard bugs can usually be found under things, like potted plants or other heavy items. If you’re on the trail, look for bugs in flowers and trees or near water.

3. Take your time.

Bugs are easy to miss if you’re walking too fast. Most are small and many have the gift of camouflage, making them tough to spot at first glance. Take it slow and let your eyes roam the area for anything that moves. You might even want to pick one place and hang out for a while.

4. Search for signs of bugs, too.

Finding bugs is thrilling, but so are signs of bugs or bug homes. Spider webs and vacated cocoons are good examples. My kids are also enthralled with dead bugs, so don’t be too quick to discourage curiosity in whatever form it comes.

5. Try to stay quiet.

I know what you’re thinking – how is staying quiet possible with kids? But you’d be surprised how willing kids are to listen and be still when looking for bugs and other wild critters. And once you’ve spotted one – and you will, trust me – even the littlest of kids seems instinctively to know to be still and enjoy their new toy. At least for a little while!

Debi Huang is a Los Angeles-based wife, mom and adventure guide for two young boys. Her blog at Go Explore Nature is all about getting kids and families outdoors and connected to nature.

Evernew DX vs Trail Designs Caldera Cone; Comparison tests

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"I like long walks, especially when they are taken by people who annoy me." ~ Noel Coward

For a couple years now I’ve been using the Trail Designs Ti-Tri Caldera Titanium Cone as my main backpacking stove.  It is an extremely efficient light weight design.  For those of you not familiar with the Caldera Cone; it is an ultralight alcohol stove with an aluminum (or in this case titanium) cone.  The cone drastically increases fuel efficiency and is both the pot stand and the wind shield.  With the titanium version you can burn wood as well as alcohol (you can also burn Esbit, thus the ‘Tri’ in the name).  This design allows the hiker to carry much less weight in the from of fuel. 

Overall I’ve been happy with the Caldera Ti-Tri system.  There are a few things that still bug me about it and caused me to look for better alternatives.  The first is that it takes up a lot of space in my backpack.  There are a few ways to store the thing, Trail Designs sells it with with a plastic container (food quality that can double as a cup).  The trouble with the plastic container is that it is not light and the second time I used the stove I ripped a slit in the top (good bye usefulness as a cup).  The edges of the titanium cone are very sharp (that’s how I ripped the top of the container) and so I need to be very careful not to cut myself.  Not something I want to be worried about in the wilderness.  On my particular cone the pot gets stuck in it, giving me trouble getting the hot pot out of the cone.

The stove I’ve picked to use now is the Evernew Ti DX set.  Again it is made out of titanium and can burn alcohol, word or Esbit.  It packs down much smaller than the Caldera Cone (I store it in my pot).  The Evernew stove has no sharp edges and has a very high quality ‘feel’ to it.  Unlike the Cone, the Evernew is not fuel efficient. It burns hot and fast.  Boil time for the Evernew is 4 minutes, 30 Seconds (2 cups 68 degree water) versus the Caldera Cone boil time of 6 minutes, 5 seconds.  So you can get your water to boil fast – an advantage.  The disadvantage is it burns hot – burn out time on 20 ml of alcohol was under 5 minutes whereas the Caldera Cone burned for over 8 and 1/2 minutes on 20 ml of fuel.

The Evernew wins on weight; The entire DX set is only 3.2 oz. (92g); My Caldera Ti Tri is 2.4 oz (68g) but including the plastic container it is 5.0 oz (143g).  Note: Each Caldera is a different weight depending what pot they are made for.  Mine is for a 700 pot which weights 3.2 oz (92g).

The Pot I use for the Evernew is a 1 Liter Evernew Pasta Pot that weights 4.1 oz (116g).  Since the Evernew is not custom made for specific pots I have much more flexibility here, which is another reason I now prefer the Evernew DX. 

So my entire setup including the larger pot with the Evernew is now 7.3 oz (208g); The Caldera was 8.3 oz (234g); so I also save an ounce by switching.

Here is a video testing the two stoves side by side:

Related reviews:

Evernew DX Ti Alcohol Stove Review

Evernew DX Ti Stove Burning Wood