Friggin' Pumped! 4 New Pieces Of Backpacking Gear That I'm Excited About 

Haha thanks! I'm excited to be back to doing my thing. Yes, it was a perfect trip :) Sorry to hear yours got cut short! That's just how it works sometimes, I supposed. I'm glad the trucker's hitch worked out for you though! I learned everything I know from Andrew Skurka (through videos, not personally lol)

Thank you very much!

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it!

Thanks so much for the kind words, Cord! I'm so glad you've been enjoying the videos!

Thanks so much!

I'm so glad glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for the kind words and for watching!

Nice! Yeah you really can't go wrong with either.

Toyota, always and forever haha

Thank you so much for the kind words! Feel free to reach out through and Instagram message!

Dude it's revolution in my overall comfort on trail haha

Thanks, Mat! Oh nice - I have the video saved to watch later. Excited to see your take on them!

@@timbschwartz Thanks so much! Let me know if you have any questions about them.

Haha thanks! Don't be disappointed if it isn't in the next video.... It's getting hot out!

@@timbschwartz completely understood haha

Sweet! I've been debating between one or two charging ports on the brick for a hypothetical long distance hike that I'm planning. Any thoughts there?

@@timbschwartz this one really depends on what you carry and your usage patterns. My electronics consist of an InReach Mini, a NiteCore NU-25 headlamp, and an iPhone. The InReach is only there for SOS and a nightly “made it to camp” generic message with location, which goes to the wife and partners of anyone who is on a trip with me that doesn’t have their own InReach. As such, unless there’s more than one OnReach in the group that’s been split up, I only turn the InReach on when in camp, and I set it down with a good view of the sky. The signal is sent before I’m done pitching my shelter, and once I see the signal is sent I turn the unit off. The InReach monitor brightness is set to the lowest setting with no backlight and the shortest time set to turn the screen off. Used this way, the InReach will last weeks before needing a recharge. The headlamp is rarely used for night/pre-dawn hiking. Really just for chores around camp in the dark (medium light) and for in-shelter use (low light). Used in this manner, I can get a week of use, easy, out of the headlamp. The iPhone is used primarily for photos. If I get a data signal I will get an updated extended WeatherUnderground forecast. Maybe a call home every few days, but the wife won’t get upset if I don’t call. If the area is covered by FarOut, I’ll take a screenshot of the day’s planned elevation profile, but I don’t need to keep checking where I am. Even then, NBD as the phone is in airplane more (for those that don’t know, GPS on phones works in airplane mode). The phone itself is in airplane mode with no WiFi or Bluetooth. Screen is set to dim. Sound is off. I turn WiFi on if my InReach indicates I have a message or I want to send a message. Also to connect to my thermometer when I’m curious how cold it is at night. I do take photos, a few hundred a day. I’d say I have to recharge the phone every 2-3 days. Here’s the pro tip - don’t charge your phone above 85-90%. You’ll get to 85-90% in under an hour, but that last ten percent, and especially five percent, takes a lot more draw from your portable battery. I don’t think it’s efficient to charge to 100%, based on the fact that the 90-100% doesn’t last any longer than any other given 10% on a healthy battery, but it does take longer to charge. A 10k mA battery will charge my phone about four times. Thus, a 10k mA battery will last a solid ten days on trail, if day-1 starts out with the phone charged to 100%. If the phone needs charging, it gets plugged in as soon as I wake up or before I go to sleep. I check it in 45 - 60 minutes of charging and unplug at 80-90% charged. Everything charges so fast that there’s no need for multiple ports. It’s not a game changer. If I had a need for a 20k mA battery I would probably carry two 10k packs, as that would offer redundancy. I would reserve one 10k pack for my camera and mic, and the other for my phone, headlamp, and InReach. With a fast charger I would just charge each battery one at a time. It’s not like a single 20k mA battery would charge faster than two 10k mA batteries if progress was monitored. Based on the gear lists or heavy use vloggers that I monitor, 20k mA seems like plenty, unless a tablet of some sort is also carried for post-production editing in the field.

@@timbschwartz I’ll also add that, on a long-distance hike, I’ll be at a resupply with a power outlet I can use well before I run out of juice. Ten days is probably the most I would have to carry - thinking of the JMT from VVR to Whitney Portal.

He, Sue! Thanks for the kind words and glad you're enjoying the vids! I'm pretty new to using a bidet, but I've been using some soap and doing a good scrub like at home in the shower to make sure everything is good and clean. In terms of drying I just shake like a dog and most the water comes off haha. The rest dries pretty quick. Will need to come up with another plan for the winter months, though. Check out Kula Cloth - they make a product for this situation.

Awesome! The Nashville cutaway seems to be a hot item. Makes me wish my Burn would wear out faster so that I can pick on up - damn MLD and their indestructible gear.

I was looking at that one. From the perspective of a thru, do you see any value in getting one with two ports so that one can charge two devices at once?

Oh and please let me know how it goes with the mosquitoes - Lynne would love that if it works!

Yeah I'm interested to see how it well it works with my phone, satellite messenger, and camera. Used it over this past weekend but I only needed to charge my phone.

I have two in my pack. I think the true mAh is more like 6000. There’s a giant spreadsheet on the ultralight subreddit that compares a bunch of characteristics between a bunch of batteries. Better info on there

Oh good to know! I really went back and forth between the two and decided to save the $30. Guess I'll need to break this one...

@@timbschwartz honestly it’s probably fine as long as you don’t toss it off a cliff lol. I’m just a bit paranoid so went with the peace of mind but yeah the price is steep for sure

Thanks for watching, Pedro! I share your enthusiasm for bidet culture.

I was waiting for someone to call me out on that!

Those are all great additions, Andrew! You know I'm fond of mids haha. I totally hear you on the camp cooking - I've been working on upping my meal game as well. I'm working on a solid rotation of 5 meals, all prepared at home using regular store-bought ingredients, so that I can make them in bulk and reduce culinary boredom on longer trips. Let me know if you have any faves that work for you! I've recently stumbled across the number 10 cans of Mountain House beef and chicken (there's also egg and sausage) - so just the protein without an seasoning or anything - that I can use as the basis of meals and build out from there. Hell of a lot lighter than packaged tuna or chicken.