Oh, man! The t-shirt pillow holder is going to be great. I bet it works a lot better than my previous method of repeatedly cussing at it and slamming it down on the pad really hard. I have a Thermarest pillow of some sort and ordinarily I just tuck it into the head hole on my sleeping bag, but depending on the temperature I might use a rectangular bag or quilt that doesn't have one and the pillow just slides around everywhere. I can't believe I never thought of using my t-shirt to hold it in place like that.
Two years ago a friend gave me two SERIOUSLY small hand towels for Christmas. Yesterday I sewed them together on three sides to stow my EDC in (it's getting a little bulky, not too much but the velcro no longer meets. The EDC fits sideways into it PERFECTLY with enough space to wrap it up comfortably. So now I have 1. A great towel. B. An extra bag to put things in. C. A bag to put stuff in and make a PILLOW. I'm a great believer in making one item perform three functions.
Agreed, a Sawyer Squeeze water Filter is the gold standard by which all other water filters are measured against. I still prefer a water bladder, drink tube, bite valve instead of so-called "Smart" water bottles. Space on my backpack shoulder straps are occupied by pockets holding my GPS on the left shoulder strap & my camera inside a pocket on the right shoulder strap. I, too, repack my Peak Refuel Freeze Dried meals into freezer grade ziplok baggies after equally dividing the food into 2 equal portions. I don't have the stomach capacity to eat all the food at one time. For the record, I've made my own home-made Koozies out of reflectix around my 750ml cup. Keeps my food HOT HOT right down to the last sporkful. I wear my Buff Headgear around my head/face/neck when I crawl into my sleeping bag & lay my head onto my Sea to Summit inflatable pillow. I wear a thin pair of silk socks next to my feet. Merino wool socks are my outer sock. This way I get virtually no friction between my foot & outer sock. HACK - I wear Goosefeet 100% overfilled Down booties to keep my tootsies comfy warm & cozy when inside my sleeping bag. Warm Regards from Reno, Nevada
For your water bottle clips, just add a small bungee cord to the bottom of the bottle to make it more secure. You can easily attach some stretchy bungee cord to the backpack.
Good tips, thank you! I’ll add one. This summer I was hiking exclusively at desert conditions and high temps. My #1 learning was to preload salt. It really made a difference. *The endurance exercise outcome is to postpone fatigue, not replace all the fuel, fluids, and electrolytes lost during the event.* - For moderately-warm climates, take about 1/2 teaspoon of salt before your workout - For hot climates, consider the range of 1/2 - 1 teaspoonful of salt preloading - For very hot climates, you may benefit from 1 - 2 teaspoons of salt in a pre-workout In addition, your sweat contains approximately 0.1% sodium, which is why it tastes salty. Since 1 liter of water is 1,000 g, you lose about 1 g (1,000 mg) of sodium per hour of exercise. The results showed that sodium significantly lowered core temperature and average heart rate during exhaustive exercise. Edited to add: Our body loses water and electrolytes faster than it can absorb.
Informative video...thanks for sharing. The trail runner camp shoes hack is such an obvious hack yet, I never thought of it. Brilliant because it is practical and and aids in drying out the shoes. I have been struggling for years to find the perfect set of camp shoes and they have been on my feet the whole time. 😂
Nice way to keep your pillow on the pad. I use a button-up shirt that's not stretchy, so it may not fit over the pad. I'll try and see. I remove my insoles at camp, as you do, but since my feet get cold easily, I put on dry socks and use plastic bags (like bread bags) between socks and shoes. Great video, thanks!
Väldigt inspirerande videos, funnit intresse i denna hobby för någon månad sedan. Har köpt utrustning och börjat planera helgvandringar här nere i Skåne 😊
Hej 👋🏻 och välkommen till kanalen och stort tack för dom fina orden 🙏🏻Skåne är ju fantastiskt, vandrat där några gånger! Önskar varmt lycka till i din nya hobby och hoppas du kommer gilla den lika mycket som mig 🥰 ha det gott//R
I always carry a Rehidrat with me. It's a little sachet of ORT powder (Oral Rehydration Therapy). Its a mixture of electrolytes and sugar. The sachet I carry makes 250mls of mixture but I also carry an empty 300ml juice container with a 'teat' on it.
Thank you for all your content. I appreciate the hack/tip with t-shirt & buff. I have never seen wettex sponge before. I am Canadian. I will look online.
Thanks 🙏🏻 happy you liked it! And yeah, totally recommend the Wettex, the only rag/cloth I use since 100 years… maybe not that long but my entire life anyways 😄 tried others but always go back!
An eighth of a teaspoon (1 gram) of salt per liter of water is all most people need. (Of course, those same people should be supplementing magnesium as well.) If you want to get fancy, then use "lite salt" (50% NaCl and 50% KCl). I mix regular salt to lite salt 2:1, then add to my water as above. In the US we call Wettex, "Swedish dish clothes". Thanks for the brand name, it saved me a few dollars. +1
If I’m expecting a hike with a lot of rain I will bring a pee bottle 😄👍🏻 not a lot of fun going out there and have to put on rain clothes in the middle of the night! Thanks for the tip
The sleep system tips are great, especially using a shirt to keep the pillow in place. You recommending bottle pouches followed talking about socks has made me think that I can use a sock as a bottle bag and hold it to my back pack strap sewing on abit of velcro tape. It's a way of getting some use out of the 100's of pairs of socks that I've been given for Christmas, birthdays and fathers days over many years.
Hi Robert, I'm following you for long time and love your tips! Regarding food and bags. Been thinking about IKEA Zip bags. They rate them to 55 °C, but LD-PE (material they are made of) melting point is 105 °C. In field we will never reach this temperature. Have you ever thought is it safe ? :) I wonder why all dry meals are in Food-Grade Metallic Mylar. More durability ? Easier vacuum? Greetings from Västerås !
Thanks and glad to hear you like my content! 🙂👍🏻 regarding the IKEA bags I don’t know, I wrote TOPITS about there bags and got a good answer so maybe it’s better to ask IKEA if it’s ok to add boiling water into the bags or not. Safest way I think and then you know! For short when it comes to TOPITS freezer bags… 👉 100C for 15 min 👉 70C for 2 hours 👉 passed food security test So yea, plastic bags are safe (at least from TOPITS) And yes, the strong bags you get when buying REAL and others are most likely chosen for its durability for easier vacuum and handling when pack/shipping.
Niez, save your money. Instead, next time keep the bags your food came in when you did your grocery. I'm referring to the bags with a zip closure. They're food grade, VERY durable, very flexible, they keep the odor inside (not the ziplocks!), and you'll be recycling and saving money. Besides that, keep in mind that those bags are new plastic and there's an heavy carbon consequence because of the transport, storage, etc.. So save money and recycle! One thing tho, make sure the bags didn't kept the scent of the food that was in it. Mylar is very lightweight and easy compressible when vacuuming. But Mylar will keep the odor! the other day i had a friend running a store selling natural product in bulk. They receive the spices in those bags and 9 bags out of 10 still had the smell in it. so they're pretty much "one time use" only. the best for long term food storage, but not the best for hiking.
The buff as pillowcase is gonna come in handy! I use a hammock with a pad sleeve so I have no way to hold my inflatable pillow in place. I’m gonna use the buff and put a magnet inside it, then a magnet under the pad sleeve. Tysm! And the tshirt hack is awesome for when I need to ground camp
Hej Robert, I live in Florida but sometimes visit areas in the US that require winter clothing. One item that I don't see much of are discussions about gloves that will not only keep your hands warm, but also dry. Any suggestions as to which brands I might want to purchase?
Good question, much depends on the temperatures and Cold dry or cold wet. But as a general recommendation just use the layering principle where the inner is wool and the outer water/wind resistant. Thickness of the inner depends on temperature and the outer could be a thin layer to block wind and moisture. The more moisture the more important using an outer with higher water resistance and if colder the more importance using a thicker inner. Just my two cents.
Chris, the best gloves, and by far, are the AUCLAIR brand. However, I don't know if they sell in the USA (Canadian company), so you may have to buy online. Then you have North Face and OR that are very good too. I suggest you having a pair of liner gloves too. SmartWool makes some, but they sell for $40-$45 where the same gloves from KOMBI sells for half the price. And remember, gloves made of fleece won't protect you from cold wind.
Bottle clips are bad. Real bad. Bottles keeps dangling and it's very annoying. They can also unclip by itself and fall to the ground. Is it true? Every major trail in North America have hiker boxes at every major stops. It's a box where hikers discard the gear they don't want anymore while doing a thru-hike. Waterproof boxes, dry mashed potatoes and... the bottle clips are among things discarded. All experienced hiker goes for pouches and not clips. And remember: the more mechanisms, the more chances of failure. Storage bags All dry food is coming in sealed bags with a ziploc-style closure (in case you don't eat all of it). Keep your food in it. It's sealed and it's a guaranty your food will stay good for your whole trip. Once used, you can use them to carry your trash. Also, buying freezer bags is very bad for the environment. It's brand new plastic, and *there are two major drawback/danger* with freezer bags: they let the odor through, so dangerous in bear country and those closing with a slide does NOT seal 100% because of the slider, so they will leak. don't believe me? do the following tests: Fill the freezer bag with marshmallows then leave it on the table. come back in an hour (or less) and I guaranty you that you'll smell the marshmallows through the bag. Next test: Add ice cubes to a freezer bag closing with a slide, then leave the bag in the sink and come back later. Magic happened! Ice cube and water ...almost gone! Numerous food bought at supper market comes in much more durable bags, ultra-light, very pliable, keeping the odor inside, and with a ziploc-style closure. It's food grade, and recycling at its best! Again, that's what most experience hikers are using. Warning: some food will leave a very strong odor, so make sure your recycled bag is odorless. If you still insist in using new plastic and contributing to pollution, then dry or room temperature food in them only (those bags will release chemicals if used with boiling water). Bottom line, save money and recycle! Pillow: Do you really want to overstretch the pricey Merino t-shirt you just bought? Or any other t-shirt for that mater? Instead, just add one drop of ShoeGoo or Seamgrip to each corner of your pillow (or more drops if you want). And Tada! Magic! Sea-to-Summit includes a Velcro for free with their sleeping pads. If you bought the StS pillow only, send them a nice email and they will send you the Velcro for free. Camp Shoes: Barefoot? Hell no! 90% of the people sweat from their feet and if that happens, your shoes are done. Microbes will develop and then it's almost impossible to get rid of the bad smell. Why do you think some companies makes a fortune selling "odor removal" stuff? Also, nothing is better than changing shoes once at camp. Your feet will thank you for that. Pro-Tip: If you see a lake, a river, or a stream. Take a pause, remove your shoes and dip your feet in the water. You'll then look at the sky and say "Thanks Diablo!". INJIJI SOCKs Since when those socks are allowing for a better movement of your feet? It doesn't. The only difference is they have toes. Socks have nothing ergonomically to affect your movement (blood circulation only). The shoe itself and/or the sole affects your foot's movement. This clarified, the BEST socks, whatever the style or brand, are Merino wool socks. Among the best brands are: Darn Tough, SmartWool and IceBreaker. And the best of the best? All three have a lifetime warranty! Before buying Merino socks, verify make sure the socks have at least 70% Merino. Some cheap ones are branded "Merino" and have less than 30% in it. It's a scam! Merino wool helps regulate your feet's temperature and traps microbes inside its fibers. You can wear Merino wool socks for 3-4 days without any scent. They also dry way faster than any socks made of cotton. PRO TIP: Always have LEUKO tape with you. It's what every thru-hiker is carrying since it's the best when you have blisters. Pro Tip #2: Always try your new socks for a couple days of long hour walk before using them on the trail. It's not because someone loves a pair of socks that it'll fit you best. Everyone is different. So much, that some people love socks liners and it works great, and for some other it doesn't work at all. So much that the liners is a cause of blisters for those people. So test before you go! Pro tips #3 In cold weather, never use the socks you had on your feet all day when going to bed. You think they're dry? They're NOT! Have a pair for sleeping only. And the best are those with a very loose fit so they won't compress you leg/feet. This allows a better blood circulation, so warmer feet. Lightpack It's amazing and very useful. But what if the site closes? What if the Internet is down? You'll have spent hours in vain. In my case it'd take days since I have a room 5 meter squares +, packed to the top, full of gear plus more gear in another room. I use Lightpack, but I also have a spreadsheet at all times. Wettex Very good tip to get rid of condensation! However, that brand is very, very hard to find in North America. I have one and I've bought it at a small shop selling "natural stuff". What you can also use is a small micro-fiber towel. It makes wonders and even better in wither time. THE best hack of all wasn't mentioned: Bring Duct tape! Gorilla is very good, Tyrex even better. You can fix anything with that tape: Jacket, shoes, tent, poles, etc... It's a must in your backpack.
Never in my life would I have ever dreamed of having the need for an app to help me figure out how to keep the weight of my pack down. People seem to be obsessed with having to have technology telling them what to do 24/7 365. As Aldous Huxley said, "People will come to love their oppression, to adore the technologies that undo their capacities to think."
