Category Archives: Accessories

Personal Locator Beacon (PBL) Saves Climbers

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In my last post I discusssed how a Personal Locator Beacon could be a life saver — if you are out by yourself or with a group and someone gets seriously injured, trapped by poor weather or gets lost in the wilderness.

The three climbers rescued from Mt. Hood on President’s Day credited their beacon with saving their lives.

Here’s the a bit of the Associated Press story this morning:

GOVERNMENT CAMP, Oregon (AP) — Thanks to a high-tech gadget and a warm dog, three climbers who were rescued from Mount Hood are expected to be fine.

They were found at about the 7,400-foot level on Monday and hiked down the mountain with their rescuers.

“I’m really glad they were there for us,” Matty Bryant, one of the three climbers, said of the rescue teams. “They did an incredible job. They were amazing.” (Watch the dog and rescued climbers after coming down the mountain )

Searchers credited the group’s rescue to two things — Velvet, a black Labrador mix dog who provided warmth as the three climbers huddled under sleeping bags and a tarp, and the activation of an emergency radio beacon the size of a sunglasses case that guided them to the group.

“The most important part of this rescue is that they did everything right,” said Lt. Nick Watt of the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office.

The ACR – Aquafix Personal Locator Beacon with Internal GPS may be the best friend a lightweight backpacker ever had.

Be light. Be safe. Be one with the pack.

Backpacking Essentials – Emergency Light

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Solo backpacking is against conventional wisdom, but don’t tell that to the purists who love to get ultralight, go fast and go far.

The reason you aren’t supposed to backpack, hike or otherwise be in the wilderness alone is because it is wilderness and if you get sick or hurt, there’s no one to help or go for help.

Makes sense. Amy Racina of “Angels in the Wilderness” and Aron Ralston of “A Rock and a Hard Place” ignored conventional wisdom and nearly died. Of course, they lived to tell about it and make a bundle of money to boot. But you may not be so lucky.

Yes, life is full of risks and many people feel the solitude of solo wilderness travel is worth the risk.

If that’s you or you’re a newby or oldie thinking about going alone, you might also consider carrying a rescue light.

At a meeting of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary I recently attended, we saw a search and rescue equipment demonstration that included the ACR 3995.3 FIREFLY 3 STROBE emergency light and strobe – all 3.8 ounces of it. It’s meant for use when you fall into the sea or are cast adrift in a life raft because it sends out a bright strobe light visible for two miles and will blink 60-75 times a minute for up to 12 hours on two AA batteries.

If you want to go alone, be smart: tell people where you are going and when you will return. Leave a note on your car dash, telling people your whereabouts. And carry emergency gear.

Be light. Be one with the pack. But also, be Safe.

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Lightweight Soap – New Wrinkle on Backcountry Hygiene

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My wife, Gerry, always keeps an eye out for new ultralight and lightweight backpacking gear and accessories.

Her latest find: Paper Soap For Clean Up On The Go, a .5 ounce container with 50 sheets of soap. There is also paper shampoo.

You pull out a sheet, add a tiny bit of water and you’ve got soap or shampoo.

Of course, you can get a tiny plastic bottle and add a small amount of liquid soap. But paper soap is a lot less messy.

Be light. Be safe. Be clean. Be one with the pack.

Go Go Ultra Light Tooth Brush

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I was hanging out at a local chain drugstore waiting to pick up a prescription when I came across Preventive Dental Products new ready to use toothbrushes with pre-pasted bristles.

Each brush weighs one half ounce and is three inches long. You get four in a package for $2.99.

Best part: the handle is already cut off so you don’t have to drill holes or get out the saw.

Check it out.

PS. I am keeping one for myself and have given one to a friend. I’ll send the other two to the first two people who comment on this post.

Be light. Be safe. Be one with the pack.

Review – Apple iPhone for Outdoors?

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Apple announced its new iPhone yesterday and backpackers are already considering as essential outdoor gear.

Dave Lewis of Canada wrote his impression in the G Spot on Backpackinglight.com:

I’m not a cell phone user… never owned one… and don’t plan to buy one anytime soon… but this is a pretty amazing product. The multi-touch input is pretty cool… two finger pinch or stretch to zoom in or out… and a quick brush to scroll… very nice. They filed 200 patents for this thing. It’s really more of a pocket PC with a ‘next generation’ touch screen / gestural interface than a phone. And of course… it has Apple’s great software and user interface. Some minuses people are pointing out…

Here’s a link to Apple to check it out.

Be light. Be safe. Be one with the pack.

Ultralight Backpacking Scope

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I just rediscovered my ultralight backpacking monocular, great for watching wildlife or checking out landscape in the distance. Even looking for lost companions.

I bought it some years ago in my quest to go lightweight and noticed an updated model recently at Out of This World, a local store in Mendocino, California where I live.

It’s doubles as a spotting scope and magnifying glass.

Made by Nikon, the 6 x 15 power optical marvel has a 9x magnifier, is 3.25 inches long, 2 inches wide and weighs just 1.7 ounces.

You can hang it around your neck and you hardly even notice it. You can also easily use it one-handed.

Be safe. Be light. Be one with the pack.

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Lightweight Lights – It Clips Onto Your Hat

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My backpacking pal Wild Bill just purchased a new kind of headlamp — one that clips onto your hat. It’s called a Master Vision Cap Light. With batteries, only 1.24 ounces.

I’ve had others that clip on – single diode versions that were pretty powerful, but this one hooks right onto the bill of the hat and seems pretty sturdy. There are three diodes. The one linked above has three green lights, apparently great for reading maps or charts at night and will not “upset animals.” Hunters are the apparent target for this, but ultralight backpackers will like it, too.

Here is a description from the company:

“The Master Vision Cap Light Hunter is the original Cap Light enhanced with very bright green lamps. This color allows colors to be distinguished on a map or chart, yet will not upset most animals.

“Like all Cap Light models, the Hunter is lightweight, compact, engineered to withstand extreme conditions and use, and powered by 4 lithium coin cell batteries for approximately 20 hours of ultra bright light from 3 LED bulbs with 10,000+ hours of burn time each. Water resistant. Attaches to cap for the most practical, hands-free light source available.”

Be light. Be safe. Be one with the pack.

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Review: Icebreaker Men’s Oasis Crewe SKIN200

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At Shasta Base Camp, an outdoor store in Mt. Shasta City, California (70 miles north of Redding), I recently purchased my first non-polypropylene under layer for lighweight backpacking.

I suspect I am behind the times because Icebreaker, the New Zealand manufacturer of 100% pure merino wool clothes, has apparently been turning out their product line for a couple of years.

Better late than never. I tried on and immediately purchased the Men’s Oasis Crewe SKIN200, lightweight thermal top. Not only does it fit great, but it’s real wool so it stays warm in cold weather, cool in hot weather and keeps you warm if it gets wet. According to Ben, one of the new owners of Shasta Base Camp, it also (this is big) doesn’t smell — ever, no matter how long you’ve worn it. He said the company test was on a guy who wore it for 190 days straight–so long that his chest hair was growing into the material.

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I guess you could call it “retro” since wool was the original clothing material of choice. In the old days, however, wool was big, bulky and weighed a ton. Now it is ultralight and extremely comfortable.

One more thing I like: the company’s marketing department has a sense of humor:

“Each year we procure the best merino wool in the world, directly from the best growers in the world, up high in the very pure Southern Alps of New Zealand (not the inferior wool of lowland sheep). If the fibre didn’t work, the animals would die every time it snowed. But it does, and they don’t … we have built a platform to prove that nature is cool, and not everything has to be made of plastic.”

Be safe. Be light. Be one with the pack.

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Consider a Lightweight iPod for Backpacking

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All the new, constantly changing gear is enough to make John Muir turn over in his grave. After all, he apparently carried a rucksack, some hard biscuits and little else.

Today, we go lightweight or ultralight and we go fast. And electronics are getting to be a big part of the lightweight backpacking experience, including GPS devices and digital cameras.

I have one more to add: the new .55 ounce, 1.62 inch by 1.07 inch Apple 1GB iPod Shuffle. It holds 240 songs or you can use it to play audible books. Works on both Mac’s and PC’s with iTunes 2.0.3, a free dowload at Apple. Just clip it anywhere on your clothes or pack, plug in the ear buds and you’re ready to go.

On the trail, you may love the quiet, only drowned out by the sounds of nature. On the other hand, you might enjoy a little jazz, some classical or the songs of the humpback whales as you stroll through the backcountry.

But on rainy, snowy or short fall and winter days when you could spend 12 hours or more in your tent, this is a handy device to have as you’re lying wide awake for hours. That’s exactly what happened to me several years ago in the Ohlone Wilderness in the San Francisco Bay Area. It started pouring at 2:30 p.m. and was snowing by 2 a.m. We were in the tents about 15 hours.

If you’re a real purist, perhaps you could justify the iPod by loading an audible book such as The Yosemite by John Muir. Or just add your favorite music and relax. I’ve used the original iPod shuffle for exercise and for backpacking trips the past two years because it is extremely light and can hang around your neck on a lanyard.

Another Lightweight option is Apple’s iPod Nano, which weighs 1.41 ounces and 3.5 inches high by 1.6 inches wide by .26 inches thick. The Nano also holds up to 25,000 digital photos (the 8 gigabyte version).

Be light. Be safe. Be one with the pack

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Manzella Windstop Fleece Gloves – 4th Time the Charm?

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On my recent vacation to visit friends in Madison, Wisconsin, I dropped into an outdoor store and found a new pair of gloves. As I have confessed in previous posts, I own multiples of just about every kind of backpacking gear, so I guess it isn’t surprising I would have three (now four) pairs of gloves.

I have tried many combinations trying to get the right flexibility, fit, dexterity, warmth and, of course, lightness. One combination included thin liners with a wind and waterproof outer outer shell. At the time, the two-piece approach seemed ideal. In reality, the two layers weren’t warm enough, even though they did keep my hands dry. I had tried this approach after hiking with good quality fleece gloves that got wet during a rainstorm which caused the temperature to drop and my hands to get quickly numb. So numb, I could barely work the clips on my pack’s chest strap.

A New Experiment

I had good reason to buy my fourth pair: my current gloves are a bit thin and starting to wear out, in addition to providing very little protection against cold and wind – the times you really need good gloves.

To remedy this situation, I bought a pair of Manzella Men’s Polartec Windstop Fleece Gloves with Goretex membrane. As you might expect, they are lightweight at 3 ounces for both gloves.

They also are three times as thick as my current pair, yet allow good dexterity (you need to be able to perform basic chores around camp without taking off the gloves). To help with grip, the palm, thumb and two fore-fingers are covered with what the label calls “Pittards World Class Leather.”

The label also claims they are four times more wind resistant, provide warmth without weight, have a water-repellant surface, are breathable and machine washable.

I’ll let you know how they work on the trail next time I’m out.

Be light. Be safe. Be one with the pack.

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