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Rab SilTarp 2 Review
The Rab SilTarp 2 is an 8 feet by 10 feet silicone nylon tarp targeted at the fast and light crowd. Rab uses a 30-denier, 1.1 oz. parachute, rip-stop nylon impregnated with 1/4 oz. of silicone. This level of impregnation gives the nylon the ability to withstand 1 lb. per square inch or the equivalent of 2 feet depth of water pressure. They claim thatโs enough to withstand leaks from even strongest rainstorms. The tarp has 16 nylon webbing loops sewn to the corners and at 2-foot intervals along the edges. A ridge-line seam, that needs seam sealing, runs 10 feet down the center of the tarp. An additional tieโฆ
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Kelty Noah Tarp Review
If youโre looking for an easy-to-pitch, inexpensive tarp to use as a camp kitchen or shelter near the campfire, then Keltyโs Noah Tarp is it. The Noah Tarp is a catenary cut, easy-to-pitch tarp. It features 12 guy-points, tapped seams and quick-adjust line tensioners. It ships with a long but narrow stuff sack and guy lines. Stakes are sold separately. Noah Tarp is Easy to Use The tarpโs sides measures 9 feet by 9 feet, and although its sides measure the same, the diamond shape limits the usable space, which makes it good for a kitchen or dry area near the fire but not large enough to sleep comfortably under.โฆ
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Snow Peak Penta Tarp Review
Snow Peak bills the Penta Tarp as a lightweight, pentagon-shaped shelter for one or two canoeists or kayakers. To help reduce weight, itโs possible to leave the pole behind and set the Penta up with a canoe or kayak paddle and six stakes. The tarp is made from a pleasant mustard-colored 75D Polyester Taffeta with a minimum waterproof coating of 1,800mm and a Teflon water-repellent. Without a pole, it weighs 1.9 pounds. Iโve owned a Penta for over seven years, but have only used it on about 30 days of trips. I found it easy to set up. You insert the paddle into a specially designed sleeve, stake out theโฆ
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GearPods Survival Pro Review
Background: GearPods are โmodular, lightweight adventure and survival gear to help the outdoor enthusiast to prepare for the unexpected.โ Their systems combine interconnecting, containers with pre-selected survival gear. Users combine any containers and gear to arrive at a customized kit, something like my emergency ditch kit. I tested GearPods Wilderness system, which includes first-aid, survival gear, a lightweight stove, and the GearPods Shelter. Because the system is modular, Iโm reviewing each part separately. The GearPods Survival Pro includes items geared towards helping you survive an emergency in the woods. GearPods claims the kit can handle navigating, emergency signaling, starting a fire, purifying water, fishing and snaring, repairing clothes and equipment,โฆ
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GearPods Health Kit Review
This second review of components in the GearPods Wilderness system looks at the included GearPods Health kit. GearPods offer โmodular, lightweight adventure and survival gear to help the outdoor enthusiast to prepare for the unexpected.โ In all their systems, they combine interconnecting, โwaterproofโ containers with survival kits. Because the system is modular, Iโm reviewing each component separately. Iโll wrap-up the reviews in a final overview and opinion of the products with a separate post. Because a first aid kit is only used when an injury occurs, Iโm looking at the parts of this kit without having to use them. The kit is contained in a small nylon pouch inside ofโฆ
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GearPods Shelter Kit Review
GearPods, a company based out of Polson, Montana, manufactures โmodular, lightweight adventure and survival gear to help the outdoor enthusiast to prepare for the unexpected.โ Their gear systems combine interconnecting, waterproof containers with pre-built survival kits. Users combine any number of containers and gear to arrive at a customized kit, something like my emergency ditch kit. Iโm currently testing out GearPods Wilderness system, which includes first-aid, survival gear, a lightweight stove, and the GearPods Shelter. Because the system is modular, Iโm reviewing each component separately. Iโll wrap-up the reviews in a final overview and opinion of the products with a separate post. Because, I travel in lightweight style, I preferโฆ
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New National Geographic Maps Cover the Boundary Waters Canoe Area
Thereโs a new player in town for Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness maps, and itโs National Geographicโs excellent Trails Illustrated Maps. The current players in the BWCA map field include McKenzie Maps, Fisher Maps, and Voyageur Maps. Each of the current vendors follows the philosophy that more detail is better. To cover the entire BWCA, they require 25, 32, or 10 maps, respectively. Trails Illustrated does it with 2! Trails Illustrated Boundary Waters maps are printed on double-sided waterproof and tear resistant 27โณ x 39โณ paper. When folded, the maps reduce down in size to approximately 4 1/4โณ x 9 1/4โณ. They weigh 3.3 ounces each. The scale of 1:70,000โฆ
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Review: Jetboil Stove
Jetboilโs Personal Cooking System, now called the Flash Cooking System, includes a compact stove, windscreen, bowl and pot. When combined with a 100-gram fuel canister, the components create a small cooking system for one person. Jetboil designed the stove and fuel canister to perfectly nest into the pot. This creates a system that when packed is about the size of a Nalgene bottle. The compact nature of the stove drew me to it, and about a year ago, I received one from Jetboil to use on an expedition. Over the course of a year, Iโve used the stove for over 50 days, and feel confident in reviewing it. Using aโฆ
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Lightweight Camping Cups
I was walking through an REI store, and I noticed that they offer a plethora of different camping cups. They caught my eye, because when Iโm traveling lightweight, I tend to just carry along lightweight platypus bottles, but I like to drink a cup of hot chocolate spiked with a little Baileys Irish Cream and in the morning, I like to start the day with instant coffee. I hate using my platys for this type of drink, because the bottles end up tasting like whatever you put in it, so I considered buying a lightweight titanium camping cup. I just couldnโt stomach the titanium options, because they were so expensiveโtheyโฆ
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10 Classic Canoe and Kayak Books
Canoeist and kayakers should start off the new year and a new decade by resolving to read a few books. In the past Iโve done round-up reviews of boat building books and paddling books, but itโs about time for a new round-up. These 10 stand out as the paddling books you should read in 2010. Kayaking Books Sea Kayak Rescue, 2nd: The Definitive Guide to Modern Reentry and Recovery Techniques (How to Paddle Series) First published in 2001 and updated in 2007, this guide presents the most up-to-date rescue, reentry, and recovery techniques for sea kayakers. The book is well-written, easy-to-understand, and laid out in a progression that instructors couldโฆ
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Paddle to Seattle Kayaking Film
J.J. Kelley and Josh Thomas built a couple of plywood kayaks. Then they paddled from Alaska to Seattle via the Inside Passage in the plywood kayaks that they built. During the trip, they filmed everything. After the trip, they whittled all the footage down to an 80-minute movie. Everyone from Paddler Magazine to Outside Online is raving about this new movie. Youโll see why after watching the trailer. Paddle to Seattle What intrigues me is that they took the time to build their own kayaks, invested the extra work into filming the movie, they got sponsorships, but they come across as just a couple of guys on an adventure. Theyโฆ
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Review ChemFire Capsules Fire Starter
Part of the Nessmuking philosophy is being proficient in fire starting in all conditions. Many products attempt to address the needfor this skill, but none are as interesting as ChemFire Fire Starting System. The Reaction ChemFire uses a combination of potassium permanganate and glycerin. When these two chemicals are combined they react to produce fire. These items were/are often found in military survival kits and in many emergency kits sold in Europe. Back in the day, potassium permanganate was used to treat water and as a disinfectant, but itโs messy and stains skin and clothing purple, and if mixed incorrectly it can lead to death or violent illness. The Productโฆ
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Tarptent Double Rainbow Review
Tarptentโs Double Rainbow, introduced in 2006, received consistently good reviews on the Internet, so late in 2007, I decided to purchase one. During 2008, I used the tent exclusively. This tent has some good and bad points. Initial Thoughts Upon Receiving the Tarptent When I decided to purchase the Double Rainbow, I noticed a waiting list, so I exchanged emails with Henry Shires, the owner of Tarptent. He quickly answered all the email I sent to him before the purchase, so I made the assumption that the customer service would be quite good. Settled on a long wait, somehow my Double Rainbow showed up at the door a little earlierโฆ
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Igdlorssuit: Free Kayak Plans for the Boat Before Anas Acuta
Igdlorssuit: Free Kayak Plans for the Boat Before Anas Acuta
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Review: Orikaso Fold Flat Bowl
A review of an innovative new product designed to help save weight in the kitchen, a place where saving weight is needed.
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