Gear
A client on one of my 5-day guided trips in Colorado recently asked: In this case, the client has a 8′ x 8′ flat tarp. But I’m going to expand my answer to include all common backpacking shelters: tents, mids, A-frame tarps, flat tarps, and hammocks. These recommended lengths assume that you’re using my recommended guyline…
At my Outside Online blog I have shared clothing recommendations for racing in cold rain, inspired by the recent Boston Marathon during which runners endured 40-degree temps, a 10 to 20 mph headwind, and an inch or rain. I wasn’t at Boston this year (or, fortuitously, Barkley, which also suffered from difficult weather), but I’m…
By applying normal pressure to the SOS button on my inReach, I can initiate a SOS message despite the lock switch being properly engaged. Can you?
Overnight I received this question from reader Bob B.: This question — and just about any other that you can imagine — has been answered previously in my previous posts about the Garmin inReach SE+ and Explorer+: Preview: New Garmin inReach SE+ and Explorer+ 12 FAQ’s: inReach SE+ & Explorer+ || Incl, Will old devices…
How to purify water from backcountry sources There are four basic techniques for treating water: Boiling Filtration Chemicals Ultraviolet light Boiling is time-tested, but impractical as a regular treatment: it consumes time and fuel, and hot water is normally unsatisfying to drink. I rely on this method only when I’m heating up water anyway for…
Last November my heart rate monitor was not working properly. Readings were regularly inconsistent and inaccurate during training runs. I use the Suunto Smart Sensor and Suunto Ambit3 Peak (long-term review), which I purchased together in August and used together without incident for the first 150 hours. Here is an example of its behavior: The readings are…
Last summer I used a prototype of the new Sierra Designs Animas Pillow ($25, 2.1 oz) for about 30 nights. It was a similar experience to when I first used a Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XLite (instead of foam): it’s hard to imagine reverting back to my old approach, which included sleeping on my: Soft-sided water bottles (full…
My shoe-de-jour changes with the season and the training cycle. Last summer while training for 100-mile mountain ultras and undertaking high routes I was most excited about the Salomon S/Lab Sense Ultra (my review) and La Sportiva Bushido (my review). In the lead-up to the Houston Marathon in January, I put hundreds of miles on the Hoka…
From reader Matt. P of Knoxville: The value of poles in an ultra depends on: Individual fitness, Course length, and Amount of vertical climbing. Essentially, the more hiking you expect to do, the more valuable they will be. Participants in the middle and back of the pack will hike more than the front-runners, but some…
The new Trail Designs Kojin competes head-to-head with the Zelph Modified StarLyte, which for several years I have used as the burner in my go-to solo alcohol stove system. They have similar weights and size, and are both designed to work with a cone-style stand/windscreen like the Trail Designs Sidewinder. After an interview with Russ Zandbergen of Trails…