Camping - Jetboil PCS

There are many different camping stoves on the market today with various features and designs. Of course, choosing one is completely dependent upon the situations that you are going to encounter in your travels. Fortunately, Jetboil has created a very universal and effective tool in their PCS model. This Personal Cooking System is not the lightest model on the market (total system weighs about 15oz.); however, when used correctly can severely cut down on the total amount of weight you are going to have to carry in your pack. Most effective with dehydrated food, this stove will allow you to cut down on the weight of food because dehydrated food is so much lighter. It also doubles as a mess kit allowing the user to eat or drink directly from the pot. The only other food related item you may need is cutlery.
Not only is this system great for cutting down on weight, it also has fantastic compatibility and stability. The PCS uses a small burner that attaches directly to the fuel source and also to the one liter pot that completes the system. As this is an innovative idea, the pot is quite unconventional, appearing more as a mug than saucepan. Everything conveniently stacks with connections that are quite stable. Every piece of the structure fits neatly inside the pot; making for easy storage and allowing the user to quickly locate the stove in a pack.
When out of doors, one often and easily may become fatigued and hungry, particularly while trekking over a distance. Luckily, speed is yet another attribute that is included in this stove. The burner output is 4500 BTUs per hour and can boil half a liter in 2 min. Coupled with quick and easy setup, a hearty meal can be created within minutes.

-Posted on July 12th, 2007
By Adam Bishop

Fitting Your Trekking Poles

This guide is designed to help you find trekking poles that conform with your unique body build and activities in which you use poles. We will discuss various benefits and features of different poles in order to help you find yourself the perfect match.

If your hiking/backpacking experiences are anything like mine, you're used to getting to camp at night with a lot of aches and pains. Whether you ache from too heavy of a pack, rugged and uneven terrain, or just plain out of shape, you can reduce the discomfort by using properly fitted and activity specific trekking poles.

Trekking poles can be anything from a stick you find out in the woods to a new aluminum, ergonomically engineered, trekking pole from a manufacturer such as Leki or Black Diamond. The whole purpose behind using a trekking pole is to reduce the pressure and discomforts in your body by distributing the weight of your load throughout your whole body and not just on your legs. Trekking poles also increase your endurance and power up steep inclines and provide stability on uneven terrain.

With so many benefits to using trekking poles, it wouldn't make much sense to not have them fitted properly in order to maximize your trekking poles' performance. There are a few basics that everyone should know when it comes to fitting your poles.

First, unlock both sections of one of your poles. Extend the bottom section all the way and then lock it. The new Black Diamond poles have what they call the Binary System. It shows a red dot when extended fully and locked in place.

Second, stand straight with your shoulders nice and relaxed. Place the pole about 2-4 inches under your armpit, depending on what feels most comfortable for you, and lock the upper section of the pole.

Finally, place the first pole alongside the second and fit accordingly as to make them identical. This height will be your poles optimal height in relieving your legs of stress and distributing the load throughout your arms and upper body.

Many brands such as Leki and Black Diamond recommend adjusting the poles length as you travel across various terrains. For example, going uphill you would want to shorten the poles’ length to accommodate the slope of the mountain and vice versa for downhill. This logically makes sense but more often than not is very time consuming and becomes an annoyance. I tend to leave them at their normal lengths unless I’m going across a long traverse. In this case I recommend shortening the uphill pole and lengthening the downhill pole. The amount you will want to change the length depends on the angle of the slope. A good way to do this is by standing sideways, with one foot downhill of the other, and doing the 2-4 inches under the armpit trick again. This will give you a good idea of where to adjust the poles to.

A few last things you should look for before buying or using trekking poles is that many poles feature a shock absorber. This is a great feature for hiking and backpacking but for skiing is actually a hindrance for your technique and can cause more stress than it relieves for your joints. If you are looking for a universal pole that you can use backpacking in the summers and backcountry skiing in the winters, make sure to buy one that allows you to lock out the shock absorber. The Leki Classic Airergo trekking pole is an example of a pole that has a lockout suspension system.

I hope this guide has been useful to you as you go about exploring the comforts and luxuries of using trekking poles in the backcountry. Remember to take advantage of every little benefit and feature that they have to offer. Check out the full listing of Leki and Black Diamond trekking poles at the gotyourgear e-bay store. Keep on Trekking!

Camelbak - Mule

There's not a whole lot more that can be said about Camelbak that hasn't already been said. It's one of those brands that is tried and true. Its products have been put to the test year after year and it's still the industry leader in hydration packs.

A few years back I was given a Camelbak - Mule for my birthday to take with me on my long mountain bike rides. I had always just used water bottles because I didn't like the idea of having a backpack while riding and having that extra weight on my back bouncing around. In all honesty though, you can hardly tell it's even back there and 2 summers later, I don't leave the house for a bike ride or a hike without it. Since my original Mule, I've purchased other various sizes and models of Camelbak because I've been so impressed.

I recommend the Camelbak Mule for anyone that wants to purchase a hydration pack that is extremely versatile. It's made as a mountain biking specific pack but if you want one for skiing, biking, hiking, etc. and can't afford one for each individual activity, the Mule is your model. It comes with a 100 L bladder and a 549 cu inch pack. The pack is just large enough to throw a shirt in when you start to de-layer or to throw some food in for a day hike. It also conveniently comes in 4 different colors. I would suggest the Mule for anyone who wants a universal, versatile, and very handy hydration pack.

Rating - ****

Overall - Very versatile and size efficient. If you want a pack that will work for biking, climbing, hiking, etc., this is your pack.

-Posted on July 9th, 2007

by Trevor Thompson