I don’t understand the continued use of white gas stoves, such as the iconic MSR Whisperlite, on wilderness trips. White gas stoves are the standard at Philmont, Northern Tier, and among many scout troops. As far as I can tell, there are only two advantages of white gas stoves: Outside of these rare scenarios, canisterContinue reading “Why Canister Stoves Beat White Gas Stoves (or why White Gas Stoves suck)”
Category Archives: Gear Reviews
Preparing for Philmont: Gear
The foremost rule for gear is to go as light as possible and not take unnecessary stuff. Your base weight should be 21-22 lbs or less, equating to 30-35 lbs once loaded with food, water, and crew gear. If your pack is more than that, it is too heavy. Philmont recognizes that people bringing tooContinue reading “Preparing for Philmont: Gear”
Superior Fleece Alpha Direct Hoody Review
The world of outdoor clothing is dominated by large companies with questionable manufacturing practices. But fortunately, there is a whole ecosystem of small companies making great gear. One is Minnesota-based Superior Fleece. I have no connection to this company other than as a customer, and I only discovered them from a mention on a RedditContinue reading “Superior Fleece Alpha Direct Hoody Review”
Coros Pace 2 GPS Watch
Finally, someone made a simple, cheap GPS watch with good battery life.
Guide Gear 18′ Teepee: Good Huge Tent
For car camping, we have had the REI Base Camp 6 tent for fourteen years. The current iteration is $470. It is bombproof and has survived storms with winds over 40 knots. Even after a decade of use, the only problem is that the plastic windows on the rain fly are shot, but this isContinue reading “Guide Gear 18′ Teepee: Good Huge Tent”
Outfitting Scouts for Backpacking
There are plenty of resources on lightweight backpacking for adults. But there is not much on outfitting kids, particularly late-elementary and middle school kids, for practical backpacking. As the den leader for a bunch of 5th grade Cub Scouts, this post explains the gear we have found to be useful for backpacking trips. Note thatContinue reading “Outfitting Scouts for Backpacking”
Old shoes never die, they just fade away
Recently a friend new to running asked how often I replace my shoes. She had heard that they should be replaced every 250 miles and was surprised when I told her that some of my shoes last over 700 miles even though I do lots of running on rough rocky trails. Throw out any “replaceContinue reading “Old shoes never die, they just fade away”
In Praise of the Humble Pop-Up Camper
After six years of faithful service, we sold our old pop up camper last month. Pop-ups occupy the extreme modest end of the RV spectrum. Think of it as an awesome big mobile tent rather than an apartment on wheels and you will have an accurate picture. But for a family on a budget, aContinue reading “In Praise of the Humble Pop-Up Camper”
Biking with the Kids
One of our favorite family activities, particularly in coronavirus time, is the neighborhood bike ride. I have taught all four of my kids to ride big kid bikes. Along the way, I learned that there is a hard way and easy way to do this. This post explains how to get the family riding. Note:Continue reading “Biking with the Kids”
Light it Up
Adventures don’t stop when it gets dark. When you are depressed and cold at 3 am on a lonely trail you don’t want to be messing with a dimming light. That’s when you want t he spotlight they have on police helicopters. The kind of light that causes people across the valley to wonder, “WhyContinue reading “Light it Up”
Vamonos Baby! 