I have a life straw. It works pretty well, but you get what you pay for. You're not going to be purifying large amounts quickly.
How long are we talking about? I mainly just am looking for an option to refill a Nalgene like bottle for the hike out. Whether I have a separate filter or just replace the normal water bottle with a integral filter bottle.
https://www.outdoorgearlab.com/reviews/camping-and-hiking/backpacking-water-filter/sawyer-squeeze I have a lifestraw, Sawyer Squeeze, and iodine tablets. Typically I backpack in the Sierras so waters pretty clear and I just use Iodine tabs. Otherwise I roll with the Sawyer squeeze its decently versatile can fill things up quickly or attach to basic plastic water bottles non nalgene.
We did the first week of June in Yellowstone/Teton in 2015 and it was awesome. Waterfalls were everywhere.
anyone here have a van? did an RV trip in Scotland last week ( I live in the UK currently) and fell in love. Starting to think towards the future about getting a camper van for camping/climbing purposes, with the option of taking seats in and out as we think about starting a family in the next 5-7 years. VW is releasing an all-electric in 2022 that looks like it will be pretty sweet.
Crunchy style, pimped out, Mercedes vans are my new porn. I'm not yet delusional enough to enter an IG giveaway but I'm close.
yep, I don't have (or want) the lifestyle to be a real van bum and buy something cheap and fix it up while I live in it. Admittedly, plan to be more of a weekend/ week warrior that gets one as one of my ideal treat yourself luxury purchases in life. either that or a new Bronco with a pop-up tent. excited to follow the options that pop up in the next 3-5 years. PS if you get the chance, Isle of Skye in Scotland is other-worldly beautiful.
About to start buying gear (starting from nothing) and doing some short stays nearby to test it out. Plan is to take a weeks-long road trip doing a combination of car and dispersed camping sometime in the near future. I'm researching and reading the articles out there now. Any general recommendations/things you wish you would have known/wastes of money to share? Really wish I could search this thread but it looks like that's still broken. Sorry if it's been discussed but browsing a 53-page thread sucks.
I tried to good-enough it at first and learned that it cost me more because I bought the cheap stuff for say $25 then spent the $60 on the good one pretty soon after anyway.
The main waste of money is what racer said -- trying to save a few bucks on a cheaper item, and then having to replace it in 1-2 years, instead of spending a little more on the front end for an item that will last 5+ years. Jetboil is like $99 and is the best for boiling water, imo. A lot of good water filtration systems out there, I prefer katadyn. Spend some coin on a nice tent and sleeping bag, imo. Figure out how cold the weather will be to determine how cold-rated you need your bag to be - if you're staying in the South shouldn't need 0 degree stuff.
considering a flight to Portland and spending a weekend in Bend in the coming months. Or a flight to seattle and doing the hike into Stehekin.
Sawyer Squeeze or Katadyn BeFree. Light, simple, easy to use. Just don't drop them or let them freeze. Get a cnoc vecto bladder and ditch the useless bags they come with.
I’m scared the 30 won’t be enough bag for the cold and too much bag for the warm. Am I wrong (I sleep cold)
Looks like the 15 will be 30% off when the sale starts https://catalogs.rei.com/2021-Anniversary-Sale/8/
Got the sale mailer yesterday. Some great deals upcoming. Need a couple new nalgene water bottles, and they'll be 50% off. Going to use the 20% off one item on some trekking poles, but ended up buying an Osprey Stratos backpack on Moosejaw today thanks to a 20% off code plus 4.5% cash back on Rakuten (thanks DuffandMuff)
Does anyone have recommendations for hiking boots for a not super serious hiker? Like I want to invest in some decent boots that I'll have for a long time but at the same time they won't get a ton of use so I'm not trying to break the bank.
Whatever goes on sale that gets good reviews. Can use Moosejaw, REI, Backcountry, and OutdoorGearLab to look at reviews.
I don't really know. I mean I can afford what I need. If there is a big quality difference by going from 100 to 150 then I'm okay with it. I'll check that brand out. General use. I'm currently planning some hiking in NorCal for August but I'd like to get a single pair of boots I can use for everything. Right on. TMB for the win. 3 replies in like 10 minutes
A lot of this thread are longer on the trail runners train than me. I recently went from boots to Hoka Speedgoat 4. Much lighter and more comfortable. I’m a big guy and have had zero trouble.
I have both low and high ankle hiking boots. Never used trail runners. The lows share a similar shape/structure to typical sneakers but are more rugged, semi-weatherproof, etc. They are not cumbersome by any means. They were <$75 from a Columbia outlet. Even though Columbia is considered a budget outdoor brand, I've never had any longevity/workmanship issues with their gear. I usually don't have a need to get out the high ankle pair.
If you've got good ankles, trail runners are the way to go IMO. Even if I had bad ankles, think I would just wear braces. Lighter and really no break in time. I'm 210 ish and I've backpacked with 30lb packs with no issue. Really liked Altra until they got bought out and they get trashed too quick. Using Topo's and they seem to be holding up better.