What did you buy today?

My biggest purchase in the last couple years has been a couple spare Pilot ink pen cartridges which I use on my backpacking trips as writing pens for keeping my trip journals.
82810

JUST KIDDING!!!

My biggest purchase has been ordering and getting a finished Dan McHale backpack which took about 18 months from first email to finished product---but it was worth it.

82811
The load monster pack arrives!

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The pack in action on the Nutbuster Upper Slickrock Trail.

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The pack is mostly 500 red cordura with spectra lid and yellow spectra back pocket.
 
Tipi Walter said:
My biggest purchase in the last couple years has been a couple spare Pilot ink pen cartridges which I use on my backpacking trips as writing pens for keeping my trip journals.

JUST KIDDING!!!

My biggest purchase has been ordering and getting a finished Dan McHale backpack which took about 18 months from first email to finished product---but it was worth it.

The pack is mostly 500 red cordura with spectra lid and yellow spectra back pocket.
Click to expand...

Give us some more information on your pack.
 
regehr said:
after finding myself unhappy with basically every other way to get clean water in the backcountry: https://www.platy.com/platypus/filtration/gravityworks-4.0l-water-filter-system/03135.html?srd=true
Click to expand...
I may be going for one of those soon too. Been using a Sawyer Mini since I first started backpacking, but after sharing it with one other person on a 3-night trip, I'm not a fan of how slow it is.

scatman said:
Give us some more information on your pack.
Click to expand...
x2 on that request @Tipi Walter. Volume? How much weight do you carry in it when it's fully loaded?
 
random rant: the ratio of useless, expensive toys to good stuff at REI continues to increase.

today I thought I'd pick up a couple of those unbreakable long plastic spoons they used to have in a bucket for a buck or less each. of course these are no longer there (they people I talked to couldn't even remember having ever seen them) but instead they carry some nice long individually-wrapped titanium spoons (like $10 each) and then also some individually-wrapped long spoons for $5, but from a brand that I don't remember the name of, but the last time I had a product from them it was a spork that just outright snapped in half under normal usage. ugh!!
 
Jackson said:
I may be going for one of those soon too. Been using a Sawyer Mini since I first started backpacking, but after sharing it with one other person on a 3-night trip, I'm not a fan of how slow it is.
Click to expand...

yeah I have a sawyer, since at that price why not, and wow is that a frustrating piece of equipment. on a buggy trip last summer my kid and I finally said "never again" and used chlorine dioxide pills the rest of the trip.
 
The only reason I went the McHale route was because my usual Mystery Ranch G7000 load hauler's hipbelt was poorly designed with plastic stiffeners digging into my hips.

The McHale comes in at around 8,000 cubic inches which is what I need for my 21-24 day backpacking trips w/o resupply, i.e. an expedition pack. The back spectra pocket is huge and can be detached for shorter trips---see pic---along with a few other frame configurations to turn the big pack into a smaller pack.

I commonly start a trip with 85 to 100 lbs in the pack---and by the end it's about 30 lbs.
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The best feature of the pack of course is its harness system---the bypass shoulder straps and the simple yet comfy hipbelt.

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Here's the start of a typical trip with about 90 lbs---

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regehr said:
random rant: the ratio of useless, expensive toys to good stuff at REI continues to increase.

today I thought I'd pick up a couple of those unbreakable long plastic spoons they used to have in a bucket for a buck or less each. of course these are no longer there (they people I talked to couldn't even remember having ever seen them) but instead they carry some nice long individually-wrapped titanium spoons (like $10 each) and then also some individually-wrapped long spoons for $5, but from a brand that I don't remember the name of, but the last time I had a product from them it was a spork that just outright snapped in half under normal usage. ugh!!
Click to expand...

Sea to Summit long titanium spoon? If you eat freeze dried meals it's great. Sturdy too. I think I could take out a bear with it.
 
Tipi Walter said:
The only reason I went the McHale route was because my usual Mystery Ranch G7000 load hauler's hipbelt was poorly designed with plastic stiffeners digging into my hips.

The McHale comes in at around 8,000 cubic inches which is what I need for my 21-24 day backpacking trips w/o resupply, i.e. an expedition pack. The back spectra pocket is huge and can be detached for shorter trips---see pic---along with a few other frame configurations to turn the big pack into a smaller pack.

I commonly start a trip with 85 to 100 lbs in the pack---and by the end it's about 30 lbs.
View attachment 82817

The best feature of the pack of course is its harness system---the bypass shoulder straps and the simple yet comfy hipbelt.

View attachment 82818

Here's the start of a typical trip with about 90 lbs---

View attachment 82819
Click to expand...
Thanks for the details. What a cool pack.

I don't think I can comprehend what it would feel like to carry 90+ pounds on my back! I start to groan with 30-35 after a couple days. But that amount of weight makes sense for your kind of trips, so that rocks you've got such a solid pack that can handle it. And also the conditioning to shoulder it for so long!
 
Jackson said:
Thanks for the details. What a cool pack.

I don't think I can comprehend what it would feel like to carry 90+ pounds on my back! I start to groan with 30-35 after a couple days. But that amount of weight makes sense for your kind of trips, so that rocks you've got such a solid pack that can handle it. And also the conditioning to shoulder it for so long!
Click to expand...

I *might* be able to fathom carrying 90 pounds but I cannot in my wildest imagination figure out how you would get it from the ground, up, and onto your back. (Yikes!)
 
Perry said:
I *might* be able to fathom carrying 90 pounds but I cannot in my wildest imagination figure out how you would get it from the ground, up, and onto your back. (Yikes!)
Click to expand...
I met a dude on the AT carrying 120 lbs. He put the pack on the ground with straps facing up. Laid on the pack, put his arms through the straps, and rolled over onto all fours. Then up onto his feet. Tipi is that what you do as well? Or mad upper body strength?
 
regehr said:
yeah I have a sawyer, since at that price why not, and wow is that a frustrating piece of equipment. on a buggy trip last summer my kid and I finally said "never again" and used chlorine dioxide pills the rest of the trip.
Click to expand...
My Sawyer mini lasted 48 hours before getting clogged with some particularly nasty Colorado Plateau water. Not even backflushing it did the job. Went a week+ with no water treatment and didn't get sick (yay!), and vowed never again to rely on a filter.
 
LarryBoy said:
Went a week+ with no water treatment and didn't get sick (yay!)
Click to expand...

When a water source looks good I have no qualms about drinking untreated water. Haven't gotten sick yet. I feel like the "no untreated water" thing is a fine starting point, but that's as far as it goes.
 
LarryBoy said:
I met a dude on the AT carrying 120 lbs. He put the pack on the ground with straps facing up. Laid on the pack, put his arms through the straps, and rolled over onto all fours. Then up onto his feet. Tipi is that what you do as well? Or mad upper body strength?
Click to expand...

I have a 3 Step procedure---

** Stand pack upright and sit down on side of left foot to tighten shoulder straps.
** Lean forward and lift pack onto back and rise off left foot and place foot flat on ground.
** Rise off left leg using right leg too.

I made a joke video once at the start of a trip---got a few laughs---because my companions were not sure I could function with such weight so I tottered like an idiot---

 
regehr said:
When a water source looks good I have no qualms about drinking untreated water. Haven't gotten sick yet. I feel like the "no untreated water" thing is a fine starting point, but that's as far as it goes.
Click to expand...
I've never gotten sick from choosing not to treat water. There are certain sources that are so pure and wonderful, it's almost criminal to treat them. If I get sick from them (possible but extremely unlikely), so be it. I'll take my chances.

OTOH, I ran outta aquamira for a few days by accident this summer, had to drink from a couple of questionable sources, and came down with giardia symptoms two weeks later. To your point, not all water is created equal.
 
Tipi Walter said:
My biggest purchase in the last couple years has been a couple spare Pilot ink pen cartridges which I use on my backpacking trips as writing pens for keeping my trip journals.
View attachment 82810

JUST KIDDING!!!

My biggest purchase has been ordering and getting a finished Dan McHale backpack which took about 18 months from first email to finished product---but it was worth it.

View attachment 82811
The load monster pack arrives!

View attachment 82812
The pack in action on the Nutbuster Upper Slickrock Trail.

View attachment 82813
The pack is mostly 500 red cordura with spectra lid and yellow spectra back pocket.
Click to expand...
My knees ache just looking at it.
 
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