For I liter water bottles a Sharpie, marking middle of the bottle, then middle of top and bottom halves, and so on can give you a pretty good system of measurement in 8 or even 4oz increments. No sticker needed. Mark all your bottles before a trip.
@@wobblysauce not sure why more dont understand this... his 500ml mark is at the line where "magnesium" is basically. just remember thats for 500ml and no need for a sharpie or reusing same bottle every time. the labels on all those bottles should be in same spot so no need to have anything extra to mark it. simple and requires nothing but pouring your desired amount in to see where it lines up once. and a memory that works i suppose.
@@turdferguson7686 Something I also do with the making of breakfast oats, water to mark on the outside and add oat and stir till I feel the resistance I want and done.
I've got a repair tape made from a strong adhesive and waterproof fabric, intended to repair tents and other things, and repaired a sleeping bag some years ago and it is still as functional as the first day. That tape is magic.
So I know this is difficult in the US. But stick with me and I'll explain it for you. 1L divided by 2 is 500ml. If you need a 500ml measure and you only have a 1L bottle, you can divide the bottle in two and you get a 500ml measure. If you want to translate this back to imperial. Your 33.814 fl oz bottle can be transported into a 16.907 fl oz bottle by dividing it by two. No sticker needed!
I agree but I think "Smart Bottles" are actually 1.1L (because why not). At least this is how they are in Romania. So maybe that's why it's a tad difficult for them.
I live in Maine. The bugs are fierce. Picaridin actually works with blackflies, deer flies, moose flies, and gnats, as well as mosquitoes. Nothing else I’ve ever tried works with blackflies. And it won’t hurt your gear, unlike deet. I’m not crazy about using chemical repellents - they make me feel a little ill, so I think bug nets are best for above the waist, and cedar oil spray works well for ticks, too. But sometimes you need something strong and easily available. Picaridin has changed my outdoors life.
Garlic oil capsules have worked for me nationwide. Actively repels mosquitoes, ticks chiggers fleas biting flies and leaches. One or two capsules per day works for me.
Also from Maine... The trick is Permethrin on your clothes, Picaridin for exposed skin and a bug net (with a hat) to keep them out of your face. If you have been out during black fly season, you know they will literally crawl into your eyes! and no bug juice is going to stop them! Most times I can get away without the net, but other times it is essential.
@@myrddin77 yes, I love the bug net best for black flies. But the mosquitoes will go right through the little holes if it’s close to your skin. And some of the moose flies I’ve seen are terrifying.
Thanks for turning me on to Natural Atlas, glad you got paid to do it. :D I'm a canoe / kayaker, and the natural atlas app actually performs better than the Garmin Connect App - it doesn't have any problem at all following a stream bed, whereas Garmin only understands roads and trails. I've been recommending it to all my paddler friends.
@billpetersen298 not exactly. You plan ahead, download a map area when you are connected and then it's available offline when you are in the backcountry
@@vipe650r Because you dont have to buy a sticker i thought that was incredibly obvious. Or you could always use your eyes and just fill half of the bottle if you want 500ml.. or a quarter for 250 etc.
To get the label off a Smart Water bottle, fill it with HOT tap water to soften the glue, peel the label off, then rub the remaining sticky glue with vegetable oil and a paper towel or plastic scrubber. It will take A WHILE but the oil will eventually soften the glue till it can be washed off with dish soap. This works for most labels.
I think Natural Atlas is really cool, but I feel that it deserves mentioning that it only works on trails in the USA. I plugged a very popular backpacking route in Banff National Park into it, and even though the trail was visible on the map, none of the other features work. I just wish I just wish i hadn't paid the $30 first
@@MyLifeOutdoors oh probably, but I like what they are doing and the cost was not overwhelming for me, so I considered it a "donation" to the cause of them expanding to Canada someday.
@@aurtisanminer2827 I mean after you are out? I do backpacking and bikepacking, I know about packing for the weather. I just check the forecast pack accordingly and adjust on the fly as I go.
@@shalakabooyaka1480 Agree. Weather forecast is more important than knowing what the actual temp is once you are in the backcountry. What you have in your pack is what you have. And even if you go back to the same location in the future, the temperature is not gonna be the same.
I've been using Stick Stashers for over 800 miles on the PCT and Camino del Norte and they're mostly wonderful. They work especially well on maintained trails that don't have a lot of brush. My only issue has been that dirt catches on the magnets really easily and are impossible to get out because it gets stuck to and eventually interferes with the magnet. This was especially an issue on the desert PCT sections.
Yep there's loads of ferrous metals/rocks in soil, they should have a little cut out that allows you to scrape the metals off. One option is to have a thin bit of plastic which can catch the metal but I doubt this would last long and would reduce the magnetism. I'd suspect a stick whittled to a little sharp scoop could help, or a very stiff brush.
that's exactly what i said. also it's not like it's making plastic explosives. it's a powdered drink. you could add it in whatever proportion you like. those stickers are the fussiest most unnecessary thing i've ever seen.
I think cup or oz marks would be the most useful since that's what I see most on meals. You could just use a measuring cup at home to find and sharpie mark your own lines
Great overview - quick and to the point. Thanks. Water bottle capacity marks: I use a permanent marker to show various important water levels, then cover each mark with scotch tape to keep it form rubbing off. Can be done pretty quickly. If you make a mistake, pull off the tape, rub off the marker ink and re-mark.
The modern little rechargeable air pumps are great! I used to air up my stuff the old fashioned lung-based way but they're able to pack a lot of power into a tiny package, and are definitely worth carrying. As a long-time DEET enthusiast (being highly tasty to mosquitoes for whatever reason), I have switched entirely to Picaridin/Icaridin based bug sprays. They're the only non-DEET repellent I've ever tried that actually works just as well as DEET on mosquitoes (just about any other purported bug spray that isn't DEET or Picaridin based is useless), and it doesn't melt plastics the way DEET does. Highly recommend.
@@joelface The smallest ones are extremely tiny and weigh only a few ounces; they're definitely worth considering for backpacking for the effort they save and the moisture they keep out of your inflatables.
@@dylanisley4873 Permethrin is good, but it's NOT a bug spray like deet/icaridin for your skin (breaks down when applied to your body). You can apply it to clothing to prevent ticks and such though. Make sure to keep it away from cats, which are particularly sensitive to it.
@@joelface The pump is really small and only weighs a few oz, not much heavier than a standard fabric pump-sack. I _do_ use the light as a lantern in my tent or hammock, so it is multipurpose, as all our gear should be. ;-) I do take it backpacking and bikepacking, where space and weight are at a premium. Even using the light, the pump is still good for many inflations (I've tested it to 5 inflations of a Regular/25-in/2.5-in mattress + 3 nights with 5-10 mn of illumination each night, with still power left over at the end of the trip.)
You can hang the tiny pump from the center of your tent - a lot of tents have little loops inside to hang things - and it's a great lamp for the inside of the tent. I bought some tiny titanium caribeeners that I use the hang the tiny pump/lamp from the inside of my tent's ceiling.
When I roll up my mattress leaving camp it lets out the damp air, then at home I let it self fill at home to get dry air in there. Repeat if necessary. It also prevents the foam from separating, causing a bubble.
Modern backpackers may try to cook outside in cold wind or risk their lives cooking inside without a chimney using their so called 4 season equipment. Usually they are at home waiting for good weather. All over the world there are people who follow their animals living in portable shelters, not one of them cooks outside in the wind. It is impossible for anyone to survive a winter cooking every day out side with so called 4 season equipment. Using a chimney makes camping in any weather a comfortable pleasure. A tarp pitch can be the best 4 season shelter. It has to go tight to the ground on all sides and have a wood stove inside if it is going to be any good in a winter blizzard. Stove and chimney 24 ounces, shelter near 2.5 lbs. The whole outfit cannot weigh more than 5 lbs. if backpackers are going to use it. A 10’x10’ tarp only needs to be pegged on the 4 corners with as many pegs as it takes to be secure in any wind. No grommets are needed. It has cramped space for 3 cooking, lots of space 4 sleeping. The chimney can serve as one of the 40” long corner poles. Sticks that have a small nail driven in both ends (head pinched off). One end stays put on the ground, the other end through a reinforced point exactly in the corner 40” from the edges of the tarp. All sides can be raised forming an umbrella to cool off because of heat from the tiny cookstove or summer sun. This is what 4 season equipment is all about.
This is why I always wear camo when backpacking . When you hear somebody like this "used car salesman" approaching, you can quickly step back into the green background and become invisible! Your backpacking trip will not be ruined, and you can be on your way. Pro tip...backpack and travel to areas that weenies, lookiloos, and Trail Day attendees are unlikely to frequent!
Always great videos. My ears pricked up when you mentioned that you sleep on your side. Me too and never comfortable so any content that goes more into that(if you haven't already) would be amazing. Keep up the good work
I have those Spuds holders on my Mariposa 60, they attach right above where the shoulder straps meet the belt and hold my poles perfectly. Great for road walking or when you need your hands free for check a map, snack, or drink!
@@MikeycatOutdoors Weird, because they're specifically made for BD poles (16mm). I use them on my Fizan poles, it only fits on the middle section but that's worked okay for me.
@@Andy-Mesa I saw they uploaded the info on the garage grown gear page to indicate the 16mm diameter size and which poles its known to work with. I might try the mid section of my BD alpine carbon poles. I definitely know my cnoc poles are way too large.
Well, those magnetic Trekking Pole clips, I dont know... Most times I want to stow away my poles quickly for a short while is when I need to climb, which often is in places poles tend to get caught anyway. So if the connection to the backpack isn't that stable and my poles get ripped off my pack they're gone, I'd guess. The idea is great though, but the method is not sufficient for every use case, I'd say.
Back when Therm-a-Rest came out with the NeoAir. Shortly thereafter I got one of the Microburst inflates from Camp-tek. It sure beats trying to blow up the mattress with the bag or heaven forbid , by mouth. Attach it and in less then 3 minutes the bag is inflated.
I do not enjoy the flavor mixes designed for 16oz bottles mixed at full strength. I normally mix them in a full 32oz hydroflask and it's just about right. Gets me drinking more water as well!
I have used my thermarest pad for years only with a pump bag, never inflated it by blowing into it…and still have the mold inside the pad. I think it is related to the dew point when the air cools down at night and separates water from the air. I read it can be avoided by hanging it up a tree or so, the next day with the valve facing down so that water can run out. No idea if it works though.
My husband and I inflate our air mattresses (NOT using our breath) when we get home after our backpacking trips. We let the mattress sit for a few hours that way at room temperature so that the water inside evaporates. Then, we deflate the pad, letting out the moist air.l We go through 2-3 cycles of that and we have absolutely no mold inside our thermarest neoairs!
thank you for this! just a suggestion for the trekking poles, the stow on-the-go feature of osprey is a more secured way. if your pack is not osprey, just put 2 shock cords - one on your backpack strap and one on your waist belt pocket or side compression straps if you don't have waist belt - and there you have it! you can now stow your trekking poles easily
I have a sea to summit pad and their stuffsacks double as the inflation bag and they are better than any information bag i ever saw. It literally only takes 2.5 fillings to inflate the pad, which means less than 30 seconds.
I make an adapter for those flextail's so they can inflate big Agnes and Nemo pads without you needing to hold the pump on the pad with that rubber adapter. Let me know if you'd like one to review!
don't know how i've missed your channel! found my way here from the video Justin just posted. on my smart water bottles (and talenti jars/gsi mugs) i fill to fairly precise, mark with a sharpie..repeat for whatever graduations you want. when done cover with a piece of scotch tape or packing tape.
I would rather just use a clip though on a water bladder if I was to use water bladder I don't unless I would be in an environment where there's less water. But i prefer to have a compass just primitive little compass and I worry about those clips on backpacks that have magnets the whistles great sometimes but the clips makes me wonder if that would throw off the the compasses accuracy. Maybe not maybe so there's other things that could throw it off to expose. I would say for me when I clip things are like to use a lot of rope or paracord and I like rope carabiners and connect like a speaker to my lapel of my shirt or my backpack so I can have it right there and be a little bit more aware and it gives you a chance to share your music LOL. You just turn it off if you're around people that you don't want to have be offended or don't need to hear your music. Do you have any experience in or background in mixing or music you do well with your videos and the music in the background isn't as far as I can tell so common that it's in every video out there which is a plus. Having a background in music or media creation does give an edge to making more quality videos. Although it seems we're in a point-and-shoot era of video making LOL
I have one of those Flextail air pumps. I had a hard time trying to inflate my Klymit StaticV2. Maybe it was me, but I couldn't get any of the adapters to fit well enough to inflate the pad.
I don’t carry any of the adapters. I just hold the pump up against the inflation valve. Have even used it with Static V but not the v2. Does the v2 have a different valve?
Was hiking in pictured rocks a few weeks ago and my girlfriend got a tick on her while using the picaridin lotion. Ive only heard positive things about the product, so my guess is you need to apply it very heavily, fyi.
