19°C Spring Heatwave. Red rubber boat.



News & Various:

Tom wrote The Hiker's Guide to Twitter. Yeah, you should check that one out.

Tim and Robins keep us in the loop on Outdoor Gear Give-a-ways and Contests.

The Appalachian Mountain Club gives us The Long and Short of Synthetic Insulation.

Fly Fishing Mystery Theater video.

Mark wants to know Who is the lamest of them all...?



Gear Addicts Confess:

Dave gives us an update on his North Fork pack, which is a brief treatise on pack design and construction.

Chris Townsend wrote and article about Colin Ibbotson’s Tramplite backpacks, and asks "Is this the future of ultralight backpacks?". On Chris' blog there are more photos.

I know you love gear and reading pack lists. Thus head over to Skywalker & Mee's Gear List for the John Muir Trail.

Ross enlightens us about the gear of George Washington Sears aka Nessmuk.

I had fun with Sanpo's CF Stove, a new alcohol stove from Japan.

The Jolly Green Giant found a lightweight water filter.

Don did some magic Caldera Cone Packing, though Sam's comment rang true with me =)

Nick shares a list and his thoughts on the gear used on his Carn an Righ Wild Camp.

Dondo shares his first impressions on the Exped Synmat UL7.

Ryan has pants for the long haul.

Leki CorkLite Aergon Speedlock Trekking Poles video by Chad.

A minute to pray, a second to die.

Charlie reviews the Inov-8 Bare Grip 200.


Self portrait while packrafting.

People who actually go out hiking:

Shrubbery, decent trails, a deer and a terrorist. Dave's adventure on the Pasayten.

Adam shares superb photos from Denali National Park with us.

Alan hiked from Moffat to Peebles. Lovely dawn and big horns!

The Coastrider rides on the Berwickshire Coastline.

The Rambling Hikers give Scafell Pike a second chance.

terrybnd had a revelation in the Upper Derwent Valley

Marcel started to write up his E5 hike.

Perkunas had an easy Easter, showing the beauty of the Finnish landscape in Spring.

Alan Sloman and friends didn't see a single wind mill. Not sure if they're disappointed or relieved ;)

Roger took out his Backcountry Boiler from Röstånga to Klövahallar.

PTC wakes up in the freezing cold to take fine photos for us.

Spring in Northern Ireland looks fine! Also Richard took his Backcountry Boiler for a spin. And some radio stuff which I don't understand anything about.

John and Liz visited Standing Bear Farm, an awesome looking hiker hostel.

Thomas and Carolin visited the Hardangervidda and skied from Finse to Haukeliseter. An epic winter adventure which you should check out.

Red rocks. Yellow flowers. Dog. Bike. Sunshine.Red flowers. Bare trees. Purple flowers.

James, on the other hand, went backpacking the far western Yorkshire Dales.

Karl hiked the Cumbria way.

James went for a solo Lochaber Traverse.

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I recently received a new alcohol stove from Japan, a wonderful little masterpiece.


Closed stove and pot stand.

I'm not too much of an alcohol stove user, as I prefer wood (Backcountry Boiler, anyone?). However, I was so intrigued by this stove that I decided to buy one and rekindle my interest in alcohol stoves.

It is a carbon felt stove, and the flame can be extinguished and then the rest of the alcohol can be safely transported in the stove - that is something which remembers me of my Trangia from earlier days. Very nice and useful, a reason for me to get it.


The four parts of the stove.

The craftsmanship is superb, as you would expect from something from Japan, as I also say in the video. A lovely little unit, and at 53 g together a pretty light setup. A windscreen, like the Clikstand Ti windscreen, would add 21 g to this, though apparently there's even lighter ones around.



Outside, at 5°C ambient temperature, and a slight wind, and 500 ml of water, I estimate the time till a rolling boil will be around 12 minutes - less if you use a windscreen (I stopped after 10 minutes and as the first bubbles started to rise - I had to get home for dinner =). Testing it in my kitchen I had a rolling boil (600 ml this time) after 7 minutes 45 seconds, this is respectable. I'm never in a hurry when hiking, and don't mind waiting for a while to get my water - enjoying the scenery, having a chat or being are good things to do while waiting for the water to boil.



In my kitchen test the stove was burning for well over 20 minutes with the circa 25 ml of alcohol I poured in it, pretty nice. Thus if you actually cook on the trail, then this could be a good tool for you, as in my tests so far it is pretty fuel efficient.


Watch the Youtube HD video here.

This are only my initial impression with this great little stove, I'm looking forward to taking it out to the trail and see how it performs there. Moonlight Gear sells Sanpo's CF Stove if you want one. Google translate is your friend ;)

A day late.



News & Various:

Help Andrew Liveris plant a billion trees by donating $1 to the Nature Conservancy to plant 1 tree.

Learn how to cast and present flies with tenkara.

I'd like to welcome the Outdoor Warehouse on the blog, your online source for such fine lightweight brands like Haglöfs, CAMP, Rab, Montane, GoLite, OMM and many more. Check them out!

Addie interviews Mike Clelland! Yes, you should read this.

Jack provides us some fine reading. For free. Around the World on a Bicycle – Google eBookstore is his latest find.

Here's a pretty nifty map of Andrew Skurka's Alaska Yukon trip.

A pilgrimage to Fusiyama.

Tim and Robin lets us in on their spring cleaning. For Gear. Trekking Poles, to be exact.

Chris went for another Tenkara fishing trip, testing the Henry's Fork.

Jörgen took two of everything to Finnmarksvidda. Well, almost. He only took one Joe =)

Markus reviews the Icebug Celeritas. And you should read it.

Mark went to see Andrew Skurka at Midwest Mountaineering Expo.



Gear:

There's two Inov-8 Bare-Grip 200 Review available this week: 1. and 2.

Backcountry Boiler vs. mKettle video. An epic clash of boilers.

Eugene shares his first impressions of the TrailLite Designs Singletrack Pack with us. If you're looking for a new pack, check this one out.

Dave knows a lot about stoves. He also knows a lot about Super Duper Ultralight Windscreens. He is also so kind to share that knowledge with us.

Need a suitable tripod for backpacking? Read my Joby GorillaPod Review and stop searching!

Alaska Backcountry Camping Techniques - A Learning Experience video.

The Vaude Norrsken mat got two reviews this week, the former by PTC and Carsten compares it against the Exped Synmat 7.5 UL.

Robin gives us the Dartmoor gear roundup.

Chad makes some good arguments for the Six Moon Designs Skyscape.

Maz takes a first look at the OMM Cypher Smock.

Joe talks serious winter gear. More specifically, about the Black Diamond FirstLight.

Stephanie and Dustin also talk tents. For two people. They like the Big Agnes Copper Spur UL2. And so might you.

The Coastrider has a Fatbike Trailer. I'm sure you now also want one.

Casey tried Orthotics in a Minimalist Shoes. And liked it.

Basti tested the Tech4o Traileader one.

Chris reviews the Columbia Heat Elite Jacket.

Matthias shares his Pacific Crest Trail Gear in a video.

A introduction video of Sanpo's CF Stove rounds out the videos I made this week.



Trips:

Lower Dirty Devil Flash Tour. Bikes. Packrafts. Utah. Recommended Read.

Steven visited the Sitting Bull Falls in New Mexico. Sunshine and waterfalls should make any outdoor enthusiast smile!

Mike went for a little light bagging around Easedale.

What spring doesn't look like in Finland.

Next time you go for a hike, visit a cemetery. They're lovely. Like the Old Springdale Cemetery.

Antti went for a Sunday walk.

Dondo has Flyin’ Shoes.

Gavin went for a lightweight Epiphany in Glen Affric.