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(M) Storm Resistance of Ultralight Shelters: Part 1, Introduction
This article introduces a new long term initiative at Backpacking Light: to analyze existing standards of design, manufacturing, and materials of ultralight shelters and relate these standards to observed performance in response to adverse environmental conditions.
Shelters of interest to the ultralight backpacking community may be characterized by one or more of the following attributes:
- The use of lightweight fabrics to save weight;
- The use of construction techniques that are less reinforced to save weight;
- The use of construction techniques that are less sophisticated due to the lack of availability of commercial equipment, the desire to minimize labor costs, or design and/or manufacturing inexperience.
- The use of minimal structure (e.g., pole supports) to save weight and increase simplicity.
The combination of these factors results in a product market that is challenging to analyze, because of the wide variability in materials, style, design, and manufacturing quality. In addition, because most of these products are sold direct via the websites of cottage manufacturers, the consumer doesn't have the ability to carefully inspect the products prior to purchase.
Finally, as the trend towards ultralight backpacking continues to expand, users are either trying to extend their ultralight shelters into "shoulder seasons" and even winter, or they desire to add another ultralight shelter to their inventory to handle stormy conditions that may challenge a shelter's design. The two primary storm conditions we are interested in include snow loading and wind resistance.
Thus, we embark on a new journey to investigate the storm resistance of ultralight shelters.
ARTICLE OUTLINE
- Introduction
- Modes of Failure
- Design Considerations
- Snow Loading
- Wind Loading
- Failure Limitation Hypothesis: It's All About the Fabric
- Inadequate Staking
- Pole Breakage
- Seam Failure
- Fabric Panel Failure
- Designing for Fabric Panel Tension
- Testing Methodology
- Summary
# WORDS: 4290
# PHOTOS: 7
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(M) Deep Freeze: A Cold, Hard Look at Winter Stoves
Little problems during a winter trip can be a lot more serious than the same problems in summer. There's not as much room for error in winter, and it's not the time for marginal gear. If your body isn't producing (or your insulation isn't trapping) enough heat, you need a source of external heat. You also need that heat for melting snow or ice for water, cooking up some meals, as a general source of cheer... A winter stove needs to work in deep cold, and it needs to be dead reliable. The purpose of this report is to investigate the lightest-weight options on the market and assess ease-of-use, reliability, fuel efficiency, and time to boil, along with other factors.
Although we all know winter as "the cold season," "cold" is relative. January in Los Angeles averages around 60 F, while over in Duluth it's averaging around 0 F. For our purposes, then, note that we conceptualized winter as having low temperatures ranging from -20 F to 20 F. We set out to objectively test the lightest stoves marketed or conceived as "winter stoves." Although primarily a state of the market report on ultralight white gas stoves, remote and upright canister stoves were tested alongside the white gas models. You might be surprised by some of the results!
ARTICLE OUTLINE
- Introduction
- The Methods to the Madness
- The Results
- Primus Express Lander
- Lighting Up
- Soto Muka
- Lighting Up
- MSR SimmerLite
- Lighting Up
- MSR WindPro
- Lighting Up
- MSR Reactor
- Lighting Up
- Conclusions
# WORDS: 6210
# PHOTOS: 10
# VIDEOS: 18
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(M) Mountain Laurel Designs TrailStar Shelter Review
The 17-ounce (482-g) Mountain Laurel Designs TrailStar claims to be the "first shaped tarp with five low-angle sides and no doors that combines the performance of a traditional pyramid shelter with the open and multi-function pitching of a tarp" (manufacturer website on December 20, 2011).
The primary purpose of this review is to push the TrailStar to its performance limits and find out under what scenarios this and other manufacturer claims start to break down.
My first experience with the TrailStar came in the midst of the coldest weather Montana has seen thus far this winter season - a few days where mountain lows dipped below 0F (-18C) and nightly snowfall ranged from a few inches to more than six inches (~5 cm to over 15 cm) per night.
I first camped with the TrailStar during this spell on Big Creek in the Gallatin National Forest, west of Emigrant, Montana, where temperatures were low (-1F to +1F / -18C to -17C) overnight lows), snowfall was minor (less than 6.0 in / 15 cm per night of low-density snow), and wind was nonexistent.
ARTICLE OUTLINE
- Part 1: Preview
- Summary of Initial Perceptions
- Pitching
- Snow-Loading
- Usability
- First Impressions
- What's Next?
# WORDS: 1290
# PHOTOS: 1
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(M) Clikstand T-2 Alcohol Stove System Review
Alcohol stoves have long been a standard of contemporary ultralight backpackers. Their virtues are well documented. They can be somewhat to extraordinarily lightweight, typically have no moving parts to break, clog, or otherwise misfire, fuel is cheap and easy to purchase, they are silent while operating, and so forth. Aside from cold temperatures, the case for the utility of alcohol stoves need not be made. What might need some justification is an alcohol stove system that costs $127.00 and doesn't even include a pot. Considering the popularity of alcohol stoves for ultralight backpackers was built upon the backs of tuna can stoves, which were in essence free, there better be a good reason for such a tony unit.
In the case of the Clikstand T-2, there may be reasons to consider dropping that kind of coin on a stove with no moving parts. First, consider that this is the same design which, way back in 2005, was one of the best stoves Will Rietveld tested. The T-2 is virtually identical, with the virtues unchanged: excellent stability, easy to use, compact, and excellent wind protection. The T-2 however, goes to 11. It is, you guessed it, made 100% of titanium, and thus lighter and better in every way. The Clikstand T-2 stacks up with leading edge alcohol stove systems fairly well in boil time and weight, and boasts unrivaled versatility. The wide range of possible uses may not appeal to all users, however.
The Clikstand is indeed a system, and must be evaluated as such. I tested what Clikstand calls their Sierra Titanium combo, which consists of an Evernew titanium alcohol burner, ti Clikstand pot stand, ti foil windscreen, and burner adapter. The ti burner is Evernew's lightweight version of the classic Trangia burner, a time-tested and powerful design. The Clikstand itself is the centerpiece of the system and consists of a triangular, four-piece stand which snaps together with authority. It cradles the burner an optimum distance from the pot, serves as a stable, broad based pot stand, provides a rest for the foil windscreen, and serves as the second layer of defense against the wind. The whole thing is quick and easy to assemble or disassemble and fits together well as a unit.
Calling the windscreen "foil" is a bit of a misnomer, as the ti is quite sturdy. The windscreen has a few bends built into it that allow it to hook together at two different widths, to best suit different pots. It then rests on hooks built into the stand. The burner adapter is a pentagonal bit of wire intended to give the Evernew burner better purchase inside the stand. The burner is only just wide enough to sit inside the stand, though my sample was stable enough, and I never found the adapter necessary. The whole thing goes together emphatically and inspires confidence.
ARTICLE OUTLINE
- Introduction
- Comparison and Assessment
# WORDS: 1110
# PHOTOS: 2
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(M) Nemo Obi Elite 1P Tent Review
The Obi Elite 1P is Nemo's lightest tent construction yet, and it sets a new standard for lightweight double-wall tents with 10 denier nylon fly and interior fabrics and weight-saving design. The minimum weight of this one-person double-wall tent is right at 2 pounds (0.91 kg) measured weight, which matches the weight of many poled single-wall tents (single-wall tents that utilize trekking poles for support are lighter). We have reviewed quite a few new ultralight tents in the past, only to find their weight reduction was accomplished by making the tent smaller; so does the new Nemo Obi Elite 1P really stand out or not?
ARTICLE OUTLINE
- Introduction
- Specifications
- Design and Features
- Performance
- Comparisons
- Assessment
# WORDS: 2100
# PHOTOS: 11
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(M) Prospects for 2012: New and Noteworthy Gear
As we enter a new year, we can't help but wonder when winter will release its grip, and we can once again replace our titanium crampons with zero drop shoes and leave the handwarmers at home as we begin the process of planning trips for the coming year.
With that trip planning comes a twinge of excitement, perhaps, for what new gear will be released this year, starting with this coming week's announcements from the Outdoor Retailer Show. Unfortunately, missing from Outdoor Retailer (and rightfully so, considering the massive costs of renting a booth) is news from the cottage industry.
So, here are a few new and noteworthy pieces of gear from smaller manufacturers that were either released late in 2011 or are coming in 2012. Keep these items on your radar as you prepare for the coming season.
ARTICLE OUTLINE
- Summary
# WORDS: 2600
# PHOTOS: 13
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Ultralight Tip of the Week
ARTICLE OUTLINE
# WORDS: 240
# PHOTOS: 1
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(M) Hyperlite Mountain Gear Porter / Expedition Pack Review
Some ultralight backpackers have developed an unquenchable fetish for packs that are measured in ounces, seemingly with no regard at all to what the pack has offered with respect to durability, comfort, or aesthetic design.
Small manufacturers continue to feed this small market. The market for such packs may exist for several reasons. Perhaps some users are overly simplistic about their gear requirements, and they only desire to meet some arbitrary weight specification (e.g., "I know this guy..." - ahem). Perhaps some customers lack sufficient education and experience about lightweight backpacking and assume that lighter is always better. Others might be living out their narcissistic tendencies (c'mon, you know we all have them) on the internet by drawing attention to our gear lists and the latest and greatest gear that they own and you don't. Maybe some hikers just don't carry that much weight - ever - and thus never have an opportunity to tax their backpack. Regardless, a market for "SUL" gear remains, however small or large it is. What this really means is that there may be significant opportunity to design gear based on ultralight principles at a much higher standard of performance, for only a little bit of extra weight. We believe that the Porter and Expedition packs are targeting this objective.
The new Porter and Expedition are the latest pack offerings from Hyperlite Mountain Gear. They are built using the same Cuben Fiber/Nylon hybrid material as the their other packs. Both models have been designed with additional padding in the shoulder straps and hipbelt, as well as stiffer aluminum stays compared to the smaller Windrider. The packs have also been built without external pockets on the body or hipbelt in favor of more modular daisy chains. This allows the user to attach their own pockets or lash on gear as necessary, and in order to maintain the pack body's high water resistance, the interior face of the daisy chains has been taped. The difference between the Porter and the Expedition is their respective volumes. The Porter swallows up 3400 cu in of gear while the Expedition adds a longer extension collar and more circumference in order to hold 4400 cu in.
ARTICLE OUTLINE
- Preface
- Introduction
- Specifications
- Description
- Performance
- Comparisons
- Hyperlite Mountain Gear Packs
- Similar Packs
- Assessment
- What's Good
- What's Not So Good
- Recommendations For Improvement
- Conclusion
- Rolling Review
# WORDS: 1440
# PHOTOS: 4
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(M) MSR Lightning Flash Snowshoe Review
The new Lightning Flash is the lightest snowshoe in MSR's Lightning series of snowshoes that have a distinctive vertical flat aluminum alloy frame. These snowshoes have what MSR calls their "360 Traction Frame;" unlike other aluminum frame snowshoes, the frame has teeth on the bottom side, plus two toothed cross-members. The Lightning arguably has the most traction of any snowshoe out there. In this review we compare the Lightning Flash with a lightweight conventional tubular aluminum frame snowshoe, the Northern Lites Elite.
ARTICLE OUTLINE
- Introduction
- Specifications
- Description
- Performance
- Comparison with the Northern Lites Elite Snowshoe
# WORDS: 1320
# PHOTOS: 8
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(M) Sony NEX-7 Digital Camera Review
The subject of this review will be to discuss the merits, usability, performance, and suitability of the Sony NEX-7 for wilderness travel. Based on a comprehensive review of the state of the digital camera market today, we hypothesize that the Sony NEX-7 is capable of capturing higher image quality for less weight than (1) any other camera body equipped with a digital sensor smaller than full-frame; (2) any other camera body lighter in weight than the full-frame sensor equipped Leica M9; and (3) any compact mirrorless interchangeable lens camera body. Thus, one important goal of this review is to evaluate this lofty thesis, which could have significant implications for the backpacking photographer.
This is a rolling review that will be released in several parts during the review period:
- PART 1: Introduction
- PART 2: Sony NEX-7 in use with manual focus lenses - OLED viewfinder - Focus peaking - Exposure control
- PART 3: Lightweight lens options for the Sony NEX-7 - Manual focus rangefinder lenses - Sony 16/2.8 - Sony 18-55/5.6 (pending)
- PART 4: Comparing the NEX-7 to other interchangeable lens systems (pending)
- PART 5: Shooting HD video with the NEX-7 (pending)
- PART 6: Unique benefits and limitations of the NEX-7 - Final review rating (pending)
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(M) Rab MeCo Baselayers Review
Like many other backpackers in the last decade, Kristin and I have switched from synthetic to Merino wool baselayers. Merino wool is soft, handles moisture comfortably, and has natural anti-microbial properties. I like that wool is a renewable resource, and therefore prefer it to petroleum-derived synthetics. However, wool is generally more expensive and it doesn't last as long. I tend to get holes in my lightweight (150-200 g/m2) wool layers after 120 days of use.
Synthetic fabrics have superior wicking ability, quicker dry time, better durability and are generally cheaper. Some companies, like GoLite and Patagonia, have started to address the environmental concern by using recycled content in their fabrics.
So, which one should a backpacker choose?
Well, it may no longer be a choice between one or the other, as Rab tries to bridge these two worlds with their new MeCo baselayers. Rab combined Merino wool and Cocona to create a fabric that wicks and dries like a synthetic, but smells and feels like wool. We tested these baselayers to see if they live up to Rab's claims.
ARTICLE OUTLINE
- Introduction
- Description
- Performance
- Environmental Concerns
- Weight Comparisons
- Assessment
- Specifications and Features
- Weights of Tested Shirts
# WORDS: 1970
# PHOTOS: 9
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2011 Backpacking Light Staff Picks
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(M) Cottage Stagnation and Recent Gems
ARTICLE OUTLINE
# WORDS: 1320
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(M) O Canada!
Once we left the snow behind, we really picked up momentum. As I mentioned in my last article, Teresa and Butterfly began following us with the car in northern California. This plan had two possibilities. It could either slow us down while enjoying family time or give us a little wind in our sails. I think we struck a good balance there. Because we were "slack packing" often, we could hike higher miles in fewer hours, not to mention the carrot of seeing the family many nights.
This strategy sometimes became tricky, because roads marked on the map weren't always open or even still in existence. When a rendezvous looked questionable, we would add sleeping bags and dinner back into our otherwise fairly empty packs. The day before crossing the California/Oregon border we tested that measure. Teresa was supposed to meet us at Alex Hole Spring at 4:00 PM after a 28-mile day. It was hot, and we arrived two hours late, excited for dinner and cold drinks. However, Teresa and Butterfly were not there. I realized that either something out of her control happened or the muddy road was closed to traffic. Though snow was no longer a hindrance to hiking, there were still many large drifts left over that could easily close a road. I decided that we had better keep moving and really hoped that we would see her on one of the rough logging roads spider webbing across the forest ahead. As we walked away, I realized that there was a high possibility that we would be camping on the trail with no tent that night. I wasn't very excited about that idea, but continued to push on. While I was grumbling loudly, not quite to myself at mile 34, I spotted our little blue car as we emerged from the forest. They had dinner on and camp set up. Teresa explained that the map was way off, and she had spent much of her day lost. We woke up bright and early the next morning, (August 12) excited to reach Oregon in just two miles.
During the first several days in Oregon, we ate lunch with Teresa and Butterfly often, depending on where the jeep roads crossed the trail. The hikers around us appreciated this as well, because Teresa was able to help them throughout the day with rides, replacing equipment, cold drinks, and snacks. We began reading in others' blogs that this had earned her a new trail name of "Mother Teresa." She didn't really care for this, because it was a grade school nickname that kids would tease her with. I tried to explain that it was better than her previous trail name of "Jelly Butt," which she gained by sitting on Sunshine's open PB&J several years earlier.
Butterfly was able to hike with us for two to six miles at a time, allowing Teresa some quiet time while waiting at the next road. The three of us had so much fun together, and Butterfly did a great job keeping up and even leading at times. I was even able to con her into carrying my pack for four miles. Her company on the trail made the first few days in Oregon really feel like home.
With this steadfast support system, we were really able to start making up lost time from the Sierra. We hadn't had a day off in over a month. We were making great time, but by mid-Oregon, the hike was becoming lonely and arduous, with high 20- and even low 30-mile days. We hadn't seen many of the friends we'd started out with since the last 200 miles of California. We realized that the hike had transitioned from "happy fun time" to work. We did however, enjoy meeting many new friends among the "front runners" and seeing very familiar sights, while passing through our "backyard." We had several friends and family members come out to visit us along the trail as well. We promised ourselves a well deserved day off at the Washington border, longing for a "zero day," but we also didn't want to lose momentum. As we got closer to Washington, we became acutely aware that we would be hiking well into September. We had hoped to avoid this, as Washington is known for rain and even snow throughout that month.
ARTICLE OUTLINE
- Reaching Oregon at last!
- OK, OK, maybe we should take some time off.
- We're almost finished with Oregon.
- At last, Washington!
- The final stretch!
- All done?
- What are we doing now, and what's in the future?
- The long-awaited PCT gear review.
- Balls' Gear Review
- Sunshine's Gear Review
- Sponsors
# WORDS: 4550
# PHOTOS: 20
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(M) Altai Skis: The Hok Ski and X-Trace Universal Binding Review
It took me decades to really care about skiing. Growing up in flat Ohio didn't help, but even on trips further afield the lift-served, in-area alpine skiing never resonated. I usually got bored before my legs gave out or the lifts stopped running. Cross-country skiing was more my style, but I inevitably wanted to venture away from golf courses and groomed trails, where the floppy boots and skinny, plastic edged skis made the steep and narrow woods exciting in a way only enjoyable by those young people yet to realize their own mortality. Hiking, mountain biking, and kayaking always seemed like a better use of my time outdoors. I went to college in Iowa, and after graduation escaped further west to Utah and Arizona. I skied occasionally, at both alpine and cross-country areas, but as before failed to see the possibility inherent in skiing which made so many so fanatical about it.
Three years ago, I moved to western Montana to attend graduate school.
Even before the move I knew I'd need to learn how to actually ski. The most interesting areas for a wilderness traveler - the mountains - are in western Montana under snow for over half the year. A wilderness traveler has three options: stay home or in the lowest and most civilized valleys, get snowshoes, or learn to ski. I wanted to learn to ski, not primarily as a means of exercise or of kinesthetic enjoyment, but as the most efficient way to move around the snowy wilderness. Snowshoes are easy to use, but if driven with a modicum of skill, skis are almost always a faster and more elegant way to travel. Or at least, that was what conventional wisdom had to share with me, the unstudied newbie.
So I bought some short alpine touring skis on closeout and got some telemark boots and bindings. I went skiing, a lot. I got new boots and new skis; Karhu Guides, then the widest metal-edged waxless (fishscaled) ski available. I skied more, flailed a lot, got frustrated, and had a lot of fun. It didn't take me long to realize that not only did none of the existing ski gear fit my needs particularly well, but that virtually all of the momentum in the market was concentrated on two distant ends of a spectrum. I wanted to ski along in the middle of that range, going from one point to another as I did on dirt during the summer, and there wasn't much gear at all suited to doing so.
The ski market as it exists today largely caters to pure alpine skiing or pure Nordic skiing. Alpine skiing is, to steal one company's jingle, all about the down. Folks spend cataclysmic amounts of money to visit places to ride lifts so they can ski back downhill around lots of other people and then do it again and again. The equipment reflects this, being great for difficult, chopped up snow and knee-dislocatingly heavy. Virtually all backcountry skiing gear, be it alpine touring (heel fixed for downhill) or telemark (heel freed) is dedicated to doing what is in essence the same thing. The gear is lighter, increasingly much lighter, in order to make climbing slopes to ski down faster and more enjoyable, but skiing relatively steep terrain is still the raison d'etre. Even ski mountaineering race gear, where the application of technology has facilitated ski/boot/binding pairs which weigh less than a pair of alpine boots, is still circumscribed by the necessity of descending steep slopes quickly.
Cross-country skiing hasn't changed much, in focus or application, since my youthful golf course exploits. Even the heavier boots and wider, metal edged skis meant for "Nordic backcountry" or "rugged touring" look and ski like fat Nordic race gear. This gear can be quite light, and in the right hands and under the right conditions travel through the woods impressively fast, but the not-right conditions slow such gear to a crawl, and these conditions, namely weird snow, breakable crust, ice, and tight trees and brush are all too common if your winter interests involve approximating summer backpacking routes. What was good snow last night will be miserable in the morning, and sometimes you'll get all of the aforementioned in one place, together, a state of affairs which, in reasonable folks, engenders swearing and crying in equal measure. Quite simply, skis may be the best way to backpack in deep snow, but the skis and ski gear yet produced are not designed with such ends in mind, and their application in the arena of winter backpacking reflects this.
ARTICLE OUTLINE
- Introduction: My Short History as a Skier
- Fast Shoes Defined
- The Hok Examined
- The Limits of Universal Bindings
- Conclusion and Applicability
# WORDS: 4910
# PHOTOS: 13
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(M) Jacks âRâ Better Sierra Stealth Quilt Review
The Jacks 'R' Better Sierra Stealth Quilt is an ultralight summer quilt designed "with the ground sleeper in mind." As the lightest of three wearable quilts available from JRB, the Sierra Stealth has a resealable Velcro head hole in the center that allows the quilt to be used as a serape around camp - eliminating the need for a lightweight jacket in addition to sleeping gear. Like other JRB quilts, one end can be formed into a foot box for ground sleeping and six lacing tabs on the sides can be used to secure the quilt around yourself or under a hammock. This review focuses on the quilt as used for ground sleeping.
ARTICLE OUTLINE
- Introduction
- Technical Details
- Specifications
- Field Assessment
- Summary
# WORDS: 1910
# PHOTOS: 4
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(M) Lightweight Alternative Rainwear: State of the Market Report - Part 2: Overview of Individual Products
The following chart is a reasonably complete listing of all the lightweight alternative rainwear available today. Given the profligacy of cottage backpacking shops, I no doubt missed at least a few products. Most of the products I was able to test in the field. Due to constraints of time and finances, some products reviewed in detail by BPL in the past were not reviewed, and for similar reasons some noteworthy new products were also not tested. All products are listed here for the convenience of the consumer.
All field testing took place in northwestern Montana during the spring and summer. While we get plenty of sun here, especially in the summer, Pacific Northwet (not west) type weather fronts often grace us for days at a time, bringing frequent rain showers, foggy drizzle, humidity, cold, and heavy, wet snow. I experienced all of these during testing. Thanks to this often-intense precipitation, our non-alpine terrain (especially that west of the Continental Divide, subject to orographic lifting) features dense, tall, intense brush. The only thing that will soak you better than the mixed rain and sleet going over the pass in June is the soaked, head-high brush down below. It should be obvious that rain gear gets used rigorously in my hiking.
I am 5'11", around 160 pounds, have a 38" chest and wear 33" inseam jeans. The majority of my backpacking is done solo, and I like to hike quickly and hike all day. I am not in the habit of canceling or rerouting trips due to weather, and, because I usually have to be back for my real job on Monday, I do not sit out bad weather. I produce a lot of heat and sweat - what I consider to be an unusual amount, even for someone who prefers to hike as hard as I do. Prior to this test I almost always used a WPB anorak and windpants for raingear, with the typically chilly local conditions driving a preference for weatherproofness over venting. All of these biases should be kept in mind while reading the following.
ARTICLE OUTLINE
- Testing Conditions and the Tester
- Rainwear by the Numbers
- Simple Poncho-Tarps
- Complex Poncho-Tarps
- Alternative Upperbody Rainwear
- Alternative Legwear
- Recommendations for Use
# WORDS: 5970
# PHOTOS: 11
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(M) Lightweight Alternative Rainwear: State of the Market Report - Part 1: Introducing and Defining Alternative Rainwear
While some form of rain-proof clothing is almost always a necessary safety measure for wilderness travel, the performance of jackets and pants made from waterproof-breathable fabric is typically a compromise. Such garments serve a single purpose, are often relatively heavy, and on many occasions their purported virtues (breathability in particular) do not meet expectations. For many backpackers, rainwear beyond WPB jackets and pants can be a cheaper, lighter, more effective solution. These articles survey the current options available in lightweight alternative rainwear and evaluate a number of them based on field testing.
On many occasions the only thing worse than a steady, cold rain in the backcountry is having to wear and carry the jacket and pants necessary to guard against it. Rain can, via convective and evaporative heat loss, quickly turn a mild day of hiking into a potentially life threatening situation. Ryan Jordan's essay on Thermoregulation details the various ways in which body heat is lost in the backcountry, and it should be no surprise that getting wet plays a large role in many of them. In balmy conditions a hiker can safely choose to just get wet, but if conditions dictate the use of any insulating clothing, you'll need something on top of it all to keep the rain out. As Jordan concludes '...there is no fiber in existence, be it natural or manmade, that can fairly make the claim that it is warm when wet.' Ergo backcountry safety usually demands raingear.
That being the case, what to bring? The standard answer for the past three decades has been a jacket, and in especially cold and wet conditions, pants made from a waterproof-breathable fabric. Gore-Tex invented the category, and claims of a magical ability to keep liquid water out while venting perspiration have seen this product category bloom spectacularly. Virtually every outdoor clothing company has a range of WPB garments at the core of its product range. They come in many weights, fabrics, cuts, colors, and are aimed at every conceivable user group. They are also somewhat-to-very expensive.
ARTICLE OUTLINE
- Introduction: The Necessity and Failure of Rain Gear
- Alternative Rainwear Defined
- A Note on Hydrostatic Head
- Next Week
# WORDS: 1780
# PHOTOS: 4
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(M) Seek Outside VersaShelter 6-Person Tipi
For families who want to do overnight backpacking trips or groups who need to set up a base camp, a larger tent is usually required. In both cases, this is a common scenario: the group carries their gear to a central location where a camp is established, from which day trips are launched. Tents used for this purpose are selected for their space, features, and comfort. They should be lightweight (if you are the parent you might have the whole thing in your pack), suitable for backpacking, easy to set up and enter/exit, and possess good wind stability, bug, and storm resistance. Tents in this category can also be used for car camping.
The Seek Ouside VersaShelter is a single-wall, three/four-season, tipi-style shelter. The largest tipi in the VersaShelter line, the 6-Person Tipi has almost a third more protected area than other shelters we have tested in the same weight class. A significant amount of the weight savings comes from the use of an all carbon fiber pole.
ARTICLE OUTLINE
- Introduction
- Specifications
- Design and Features
- Performance
- Comparisons
# WORDS: 2250
# PHOTOS: 8
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(M) Kahtoola MTN 28 Snowshoe Review
With their Mountain Series of snowshoes, Kahtoola has come up with a two-part snowshoe system to cover a wide range of backcountry winter use. Incorporating a stand-alone trail crampon that works along with the snowshoe itself, the Mountain 28 eliminates the need to carry a separate traction device for conditions that call for grip, not float. I put it to the test over a two-week period to see how it performs for winter hiking.
ARTICLE OUTLINE
- Introduction
- Specifications
- Design and Features
- Performance & Assessment
# WORDS: 2740
# PHOTOS: 5
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