Navigating Without a Compass - Part 3

This is the third post in my three-part series on navigating without a compass. In part one I described how you can use easily identifiable constellations to locate the north star, Polaris. In part two I showed how you can use an analog watch and the sun to quickly determine North and South. In this third part I will explain how to use the Shadow Stick Tip method to get a reasonably accurate reading of compass direction.

The sun always rises in the east and sets in the west, but not exactly due east or due west. In the northern hemisphere, the sun will be due south when at its highest point in the sky, or when an object casts no discernible shadow. In the southern hemisphere, this same noonday sun will mark due north. In the northern hemisphere, shadows will move clockwise. Shadows will move counterclockwise in the southern hemisphere. With practice, you can use shadows to determine both direction and time of day. 



Shadow-Tip Method
Find a straight stick about three feet long. Look for a level spot on the ground that is free of brush and debris where it will cast a distinctive shadow. Place the stick or branch upright into the ground. Mark the shadow's upper most tip with a small stone, twig, or other means - I am using a small stick in this example. This first shadow mark is always west - everywhere on earth.

Wait for approximately 10 to 15 minutes until the shadow tip moves a few inches. Mark the shadow tip's new position in the same way as the first, you can see my second small stick.



Use your straight stick or, if possible, draw a straight line through the two marks to obtain an approximate east-west directional line. Now stand with the first mark (west) to your left foot and the second mark to your right foot and you will be facing in a northerly direction.



To test this, I placed my pocket compass in the direction I was standing to confirm that I was indeed facing north - as indicated by the red arrow on my compass. I should note that a compass gives a reading of magnetic north whereas this shadow stick method provides a reading of true north because it uses the sun. Even with that said, this technique provides a reliable and accurate method for quickly determining your direction with nothing more than the things laying around on the floor.

Do you use any other methods to navigate without the use of the compass?

Gear Links: Eastern Mountain Sports | REI | CampSaver | Patagonia | Altrec

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Wishing John Hayes Good Luck with E4

You may or may not have already heard about John Hayes' upcoming E4 long distance walk across Europe, so I wanted to mention it here on my blog - partly because he's a fellow Brit, but mostly because it's for a great cause.  In three days, John will be setting off on what sounds like a historical walk across Europe from southern Spain to Budapest.

From John's Blog: Having worked non-stop for over thirty years I have now decided to do something completely different. I'm going to walk from Tarifa, the most southerly point in Spain, to Budapest. I'm following the route of the E4 European Long Distance Walk and I think I might be the first person to do it. As well as an enjoyable personal adventure it would be great if I could raise money for charity. To help in the money raising process I want to see if I can generate some interest in my walk.

John says that there is not much of a collective memory about the E4, or the E network as a whole. He would like to contribute to changing that, and, by walking from two particularly iconic points along the route, start to develop the tradition of "thru-walking" which characterizes the Appalachian Trail (AT) or the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT). So beginning in March 2011, he will walk from Tarifa in Spain all the way to Budapest in Hungary.

I'd like to wish John the best of luck and safe travels on his walk.  I'll be tracking his progress via his walk diary updates, you might want to check it out too.

Good luck John!

Gear Links: Eastern Mountain Sports | REI | CampSaver | Patagonia | Altrec

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Inov-8 Roclite 320 | Trail Runners

For the last eight months I've been wearing a pair of Inov-8 Roclite 320s as my primary trail shoe. I had been watching the trend towards switching to lightweight trail runners instead of more traditional hiking shoes/boots with great interest, but I have been slow or reluctant to make the move myself, until recently.

One of the main reasons I chose the Roclite 320s was for support. I am flat footed, which means that my ankle rolls inward when I walk, called pronation. The 320s are a very stiff shoe, even now after a couple of months of wearing. They were initially too rigid in the arch and took few days of hard wearing to stop giving me a sensation of pressure in my arch - a problem I have with a lot of shoes unfortunately, but it did go away eventually.

John Roan (Mountain Ultralight) recently wrote about his experience wearing his "hideous looking" Mizuno Wave Cabrakan trail runners, and by all accounts they sound like another quality brand.

Even though it took me a while to make the switch to trail running shoes, I'm pretty sure I could never go back to traditional boots. I feel like I'm a little late to the game, but my feet are grateful that I finally caught up with the latest foot technology, which is pretty hard to admit to as a self-confessed geek.

So, now I'm wondering, what other brands and models of trail running shoes are worth taking a look at? John has piqued my interest in Mizunos for sure and there are a lot more styles of Inov-8 shoes to consider.  What other types or brands of shoes are you all liking/using right now? It would be great to know what shoes are working and what ones aren't.

Disclosure: The author owns this product and paid for it using their own funds.

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Plastic Soda Bottle Lid Capsule

A couple of months ago I stumbled upon a discussion board that talked about and showed a small, lightweight reusable container made out of the necks and lids of two plastic soda bottles.  I haven't been able to find that same post ever since, but remember enough about it to want to give it a shot for myself.

I started with two identical plastic soda bottles to make sure that they would match in size. I cut the necks of the bottles off using a small hacksaw making sure that I kept the large flange that would be used to glue the two necks together later.

I used a vice to hold the bottles still while I cut through them. If you don't have a vice you can still do the same thing by hand,but be very careful and take your time.



Once I had cut off the neck of each bottle I used a flat file to smooth down the rough saw marks and left over plastic.  The idea is to remove all the rough edges until you have a flat surface level with the large flange as this will be where you will glue the two pieces together.



Once I had filed the rough edges down and made sure that the edges were level it looked like this (below). I used a little 600 grit sandpaper to smooth the edges a little more than what I was able to do with the file.



Here are the two sections of bottle necks ready to be glued together. I made sure that they were both clean and free from any rough edges that would stop good contact.



I applied a small amount of super/crazy glue to the flat edges and then, using a small clamp, squeezed them tightly together to set. This type of glue only takes a minute or two to set, so after five minutes and a fresh cup of coffee I released the clamp to inspect my handiwork.



The final result is a small water-tight container with two ends that can be open via the lids. The total weight of the container is 0.5oz and it took about 10 minutes to make including the time to let the glue set.



It was a quick little project and a lot of fun to make.  My six-year-old son, Jack, helped me with some of the steps and watched throughout the entire process.  He thought it was pretty cool to make a little piece of gear out of something else.  I probably won't be making a lot of these or using them for everything, but it is a useful little container and is very strong.  I could see this being used as a container and float for a small fishing kit.



If you have some time and a few spare plastic soda bottles laying around, give it a try.  After making this one I made another one with an additional flat piece of plastic sandwiched between the two necks that created a dual compartment container. I think I'll use it for salt and pepper!

What other uses can you think of for this neat little capsule? Or can you think of any ways to improve on it?  I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Quick Update:
I wanted to provide this really nice update from a reader and fellow Gossamer Gear Trail Ambassador, JJ Mathes (JERMM'S outside). JJ took this idea and made several nice variations of her own, including one with a sealed divider that makes a double compartment capsule - brilliant! Here is a link to JJ's blog post and a great photo of her capsules below. She has a really good description (and great photos) of how to make the capsule divider - check it out!



Gear Links: Eastern Mountain Sports | REI | CampSaver | Patagonia | Altrec

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Kupilka 21 Cup Giveaway

I mentioned in an earlier sneak-peak post that I would be giving away some Kupilka 21 cups and here is the first of the giveaways.

Toward the end of last year I played a very small role in connecting Kupilka with some backpacking distribution options within the United States in an effort to help them expand.  I love their product and was happy to help in some small way. I certainly didn't expect anything in return for what I had done, after all it was nothing more than a few emails. However, Michael Negele (@kupilka) and the wonderful folks at Kupilka wanted to say thank you by sending me some sample cups. These are the cups that I am now very happy to give away to my readers.



I am giving away one brand new, boxed Kupilka 21 cup to the winner of this drawing. I will have future giveaways for the remaining cups, so there will be more than one chance to win!

Just like the recent Bud-Light stove giveaway, I'd like to keep this as simple as possible. So there are no lengthy gear lists to provide or complicated eligibility requirements. This will be a completely random drawing using Random.org, except that you now have the ability to earn multiple ‘entries’.  Here are the basic rules for the giveaway:

• One Entry: Submit a comment below on this blog post - that's it!  No gear lists to provide, or reasons why you deserve to win. Only comments on this post count (in other words, comments that you left on my blog a few years back don’t count)
• Two Entries: There are three different opportunities to double up on entries.  In addition to posting a comment below, just can put a link on your blog (if you have one) to this giveaway post.  Or the second option is adding your Twitter account as a follower of Brian's Backpacking Blog and re-tweeting the original contest giveaway announcement.  By simply spreading the word, you get an extra entry.  (Note: If you’re already a follower of my tweets, simply re-tweet and you'll get credit).  The final/third option for non-Twitter/Blog folks is to Share the giveaway post on Facebook instead. Everyone has a Facebook account, right?  There's even a link below this post to let you share it on Facebook.
• Three Entries: This is easy – just do all three of the above!  Twitter (or Facebook), Blog/site, and Comment.  The maximum I'll allow is three entries per person :-)

That's it. You have to let me know how many entries you have in the comments below as there is no real way that I know of to track things like Facebook 'shares', this is an honor system. The giveaway will be open until midnight on February 28th - which also happens to be my birthday. Good luck to everyone who enters!

Gear Links: Eastern Mountain Sports | REI | CampSaver | Patagonia | Altrec

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Fisher Space Pen Refill | Ultralight Hack

I know a lot of people that carry a Fisher Space pen refill (not the whole pen) as their ultralight writing solution for taking notes along the trail. Let me first say that I'm not a big fan of the Fisher pressurized ink refill, it constantly globs up and is slow to dry, but it does work every time I need to write something and it certainly lasts for a very long time. Of course the Fisher Space Pen refill is well known for being able to write on almost any surface, at any angle, and even under water - it's definitely earned a great reputation there. 

However, I find that trying to hold just the thin refill in my hand is a pretty uncomfortable experience and not a particularly great solution for writing anything more than a few short words, I definitely wouldn't want to be writing a long trail journal with it.

I like the overall idea of carrying just the Space Pen refill, but it needed just a little improvement to be more comfortable to use. So, I came up with a really easy "why didn't I think of that before" type of duct tape hack. For this hack you will need:

• A Fisher Space Pen refill (SPR4 - PR4)
• A small length of duct tape (the color is entirely up to you)
• A pair of scissors or sharp knife

Instructions:
Cut off a one-inch strip of duct tape and lay it down on a flat surface, sticky side up, with the shorter sides at the top and bottom. Take your Fisher Space Pen refill and lay it horizontally across the middle of the strip of duct tape so that the tape edge starts at the thicker part of the refill and extends down towards the end.

Now cut a second one-inch strip of duct tape and place it exactly on top of the first piece so that the two sticky sides make contact.  You will need to smooth the tape flat around the barrel of the refill so that it is snug and secure.

The final step is to use a pair of scissors or a sharp knife to round off the corners of the tape and make it a little bit more presentable - after all duct tape hacks have to look good, right? That's all there is to it. You can do the hack a heck of a lot faster than it took me to write this blog post, but I like to share :-)



I find that the tiny flap of duct tape that this hack creates, provides just the right amount of additional purchase for my fingers to be able to hold the refill more comfortably without getting cramp or fatigue in my hand. If you try it and like it be sure to let me know. If you have any other ways to hack a Fisher Space pen refill, let me know that too. Happy Hacking!

Gear Links: Eastern Mountain Sports | REI | CampSaver | Patagonia | Altrec

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Taking The Tarp Plunge

I've been toying with the idea of switching over to a tarp as my primary shelter for quite some time, but for reasons that escape me right now, I have never quite been able to fully commit to taking the plunge. My current solution is a Hennessy Hammock Expedition Asym, which is by no means a bad shelter, but it's not an especially light weight one either. The Expedition Asym weighs in at 2lbs 12oz.

Saving weight is probably the main reason why I have wanted to make the switch to an ultralight tarp, but I've also wanted to have a shelter that would allow my dog to sleep protected from the elements during the night, which is something that I can't do if I am using my hammock. I feel bad making my dog sleep out in the open while we're on the trail. She's a great trail companion, but she's not use to being outdoors at night and spooks easily.



So, a few weeks ago I took the plunge and started practicing with a Gossamer Gear SpinnTwinn ultralight tarp. I had expected there to be a lot of disadvantages to using a tarp, which was a large part of the reason I had never fully committed to the switch. However, I discovered that once I got into an established routine I could set up the tarp in almost no time at all and have been able to stay dry and warm with no major issues. In fact, one of the biggest mental hurdles of sleeping under a tarp (the exposed open ends), turned out to be a positive benefit by providing fantastic views of my outdoor surroundings.

The SpinnTwinn is incredibly light weight. After seam sealing and including all of the guylines, corner linelocs, and stuff sack, it weighs an incredible 10.4oz. That's over a 2lb saving on my hammock. I really liked that the SpinnTwinn came with all of the linelocs already attached and 25 feet of EZC-2 orange cord for use as guylines, although you will need to cut the guylines to length and attach them - but that is all explained in detail in their online manual (PDF).



Tarps are definitely new to me so I've had to experiment with all sorts of different ways of setting it up and taking it down. Things that I never had to really take into account with a hammock, like pitching the low end into the wind, make a huge difference when setting up a tarp. With a tarp as light weight as the SpinnTwinn you don't want to be fighting with the wind. I've also noticed that the spinnaker cloth material used to make the SpinnTwinn can be quite noisy in the wind if it isn't pitched very taught.



Even simple things like the color-coded front and back ridge-line tags make set up almost idiot-proof. The SpinnTwinn uses red (head) for the front ridge-line tag and blue (bottom) for the rear. Once you know this and what height to set your trekking poles to (45 inches for the front and 32 inches for the back - again explained very clearly in the PDF manual) you're equipped with all of the information you need to set up the tarp, well pretty much.

There's also a lot more room underneath the tarp than I ever had in my hammock, which sounds obvious now but I just hadn't thought about it before. The SpinnTwinn is large enough to easily accommodate two people and all of their gear. With just me and my dog there is plenty of room. Funnily enough, from the very first time I set up the tarp my dog took a liking to it and seemed to instinctively know that it was for her to get underneath too.



I'm still not 100 percent comfortable with the additional exposure that comes with using a tarp, so I've ordered a MLD bug bivy to hang up underneath the SpinnTwinn. The bug bivy has a full bathtub floor so I'm not sure if I will need to invest in a waterproof ground sheet just yet. If I'm not using the bug bivy then I think a ground sheet would be very useful. I'm still working out the kinks in my setup.

I'll write a more in-depth longer term usage review of the SpinnTwinn after I've had some more time to get use to my new tarp and have gotten more comfortable with setting it up and taking it down.  For now it's safe to say that I'm completely hooked. I've got the tarp bug and I'm looking forward to the arrival of my MLD bug bivy to see how that compliments the SpinnTwinn. Good times are definitely ahead!  If you have any advice or tips and tricks for an ultralight tarp newbie, feel free to leave a comment.

Disclosure: The author owns this product and paid for it using their own funds.

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Bear Bags: Are The Bears Getting Smarter?

In more and more areas, bear canisters are becoming a requirement. The problem is, they're bulky and heavy. Whenever possible I prefer the PCT method for hanging my food overnight because I need to carry very little gear for it and it's a relatively easy and reliable technique. Or is it?

I've witnessed first hand and heard numerous stories about bears getting smarter and figuring out that if they mess with the single line attached to the tree, the food hanging above them will likely fall down. Game over! Bear wires (where available) offer a nice alternative, but I've seen mice and other rodents climb down the wires and chew right through food bags, causing all sorts of damage.Is the PCT bear bag hanging method becoming less and less effective at protecting food or are there things we can do to improve this technique and make it less vulnerable to bears and rodents?

For example; would using a super-thin, but strong, bear bagging line like Aircore 1 Spectra Cord or Aircore 2 be the solution? In other words, a line so thin that it would be too hard for rodents to maintain a grip on it and shimmy down. Do I need to start using some sort of rodent stopper on my line just above the food bag? Would that same super-thin line make it harder for bears to mess with the free hanging line?

What has your experience been with the PCT bear bag hanging method? Have you come up with any improvements, hacks, or modifications to deal with the issues mentioned above? If so, please leave a comment. I'd like to know if it's just me or if we are all struggling with the same issues.

Gear Links: Eastern Mountain Sports | REI | CampSaver | Patagonia | Altrec

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Kupilka 21 Giveaway - Sneak Peak

Do you want to be one of the first few to get your hands on a brand new Kupilka 21 cup before they become available in the stores later this March? Well, thanks to the very kind folks at Kupilka, I have some brand new Kupilka 21 cups to giveaway to my readers.  I'll post the full information next week, but don't forget to check back for your chance to win.

I wouldn't normally have back-to-back giveaways on my blog, but these nice little cups just arrived and I wanted to give you all a chance to get one before they are in the stores.

Gear Links: Eastern Mountain Sports | REI | CampSaver | Patagonia | Altrec

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Helle Harding Knife Review

The Helle Harding knife is a pleasure to look at and a pleasure to use. I've wanted to get my hands on a Helle knife for quite some time after reading and hearing very good things about them, I'm glad I was finally able to.

The Helle Knife company has been hand crafting knives since 1932 and enjoy a reputation for being one of Norway's finest knife makers. I've read that it takes up to 45 different manual procedures to complete a single Helle knife, which I find refreshing and fascinating in a time when automated mass-production is commonplace.

Helle blades are created using a triple laminate stainless steel which, according to Helle, makes them almost impossible to break. I wasn't about to put the Harding through a full on blade destruction test, but I will say that after significant usage the polished blade appears almost untouched. The center portion of the laminated blade is made of a high carbon stainless steel, hardened to 58-59 HRC. This is the harder part of the blade that holds the razor sharp edge. The outside layers are described as a tough 18/8 stainless.



Nicknamed "The Helle beauty", the Harding was designed by Erling Opstad in 1986 and has been in production ever since. The overall knife measures 8.5 inches not including the tang stopper on the end of the handle and has a 4-inch drop point blade. That sounds like a lot of knife but it feels oddly much smaller in my hand than I thought it would going by posted measurements alone. Here are the full specifications:

• Blade Length: 3 7/8 inches
• Steel: Helle triple laminated
• Grind: Scandi
• Overall Length: 8.5 inches
• Blade Thickness: 0.13 inches
• Handle Material: American Walnut, leather, curly birch
• Weight: 5.125oz (knife 3.375oz, sheath 1.75oz)

A Lightweight Workhorse
I wanted to specifically mention the weight of this knife because it feels and is very light weight for its size, which may be a surprise to a lot of people, it was to me. For example; Mora/Frost bushcraft knives have a solid reputation for being affordable quality knives that are also very light weight. For comparison purposes, my KJ Eriksson Mora Knife #711 weighs a total 4.375oz (for sheath and knife). The Helle Harding is less than one ounce heavier! I think that Helle achieves this through careful use of a thin but more than adequate blade which has a rat-tail tang instead of a full tang (more on this and the blade below). Also the handle, though made of wood and leather, is very light weight. It may be because of kiln dried wood - I don't know for sure.



Leather Sheath
I have several knives that have leather sheaths and have to say that both the quality of the leather used and the fit and finish of the Helle sheath is by far the best I have seen. I don't know why other knife manufacturers pay so little attention to the quality of their leather sheaths. Seeing that a knife comes with a leather sheath has often turned me off the particular knife because my past experience has been less than satisfactory, but the Helle sheath is in a class of its own.



After several months of pretty hard use in all weather conditions I haven't noticed any of the loosening that can sometimes happen with leather sheaths. The knife still fits very snug and secure. In addition to the secure fit the Harding knife comes with an extra flap of leather at the top of the handle that serves as a fastener to snap over the brass pommel that is attached to the end of the blade's tang. This provides a second level of security to ensure that the knife is not going to come out of the sheath by accident. I'll confess that I don't always attached the extra strap to the knife when it is being carried, but it's there if I need it.



The belt loop on the back of the sheath is wide enough to accept even the largest of my belts. I've measured the size and it appears able to accept belts up to 2 1/4 inches wide with no problem. The belt loop is attached with a single large, sturdy, steel pop-rivet.



Handle
The handle of the Harding is where you really start to notice the craftsmanship and attention to detail that has gone into producing this knife. Carefully stacked sections of American walnut, leather, and curly birch make for an exquisite but highly functional handle material. The sections are put together in the desired order, clamped very tight, then held in place using a brass pommel that is hammered onto the end of the blade's protruding tang.



The handle is then shaped and sanded down to a traditional form that fits very comfortably in my hand. It is a pleasure to hold when compared to more expensive knives such as my Koster Bushcraft knife that required several hours of sanding to shape the micarta-scaled handle. My only complaint about this knife is around the handle itself. As beautiful and functional as it is, there is a very rough and abrupt finish to the end of the handle that looks as though it was not quite finished. I've seen many more Helle knives that have this same rough cut end, so I know that's how it is intended to be, but I can't help wanting to smooth it off, which I might end up doing. Helle, please consider this as an improvement suggestion.



Blade
The Helle laminated steel blade is polished to perfection. I'm not usually a fan of polished blades because I tend to feel bad about scratching them up, but I really haven't been able to do a lot of damage to the finish of the Harding blade even after making dozens of feather sticks and batoning through my fair share of fire wood. I don't know enough about metallurgy to know if the polished surface help protect the blade or not, but it seems to work for this knife.

The center layer of the blade which is a high carbon steel holds an edge extremely well. The Harding came to me with a razor sharp polished edge. Sharper than any of my other knives. In fact I haven't had to re-touch the edge since I got it and it is still sharp enough to slice cleanly through a sheet of newspaper - a benchmark that I know a lot of people use.



I've heard this knife, and other Helle knives, referred to as having a full-tang blade. That is not accurate. It has what is known as a rat tail tang. In a rat tail tang blade, the tang section narrows significantly as it goes through the handle and is typically held in place with a pommel that secures the blade to the handle. So technically, the blade does past through the entire length of the handle, but it does not retain the full width of the blade as it does, therefore it is not a full tang design. That said, there is still no play in the blade what so ever.

Overall
The Helle Harding is the lightest weight and highest quality finished knife of all the fixed blade knives that I own. It is not necessarily the best all round knife, because the Fallkniven F1 is practically bomb proof, but it is certainly very high up on the list. The fact that this is such a lightweight knife means that I hardly have to think twice when throwing it into my pack or attaching it onto my belt for a trip. I had thought that I had given up carrying a fixed blade knife because of the weight, but the Helle Harding has given me a great option of having a little extra "comfort" but at the same time keeping my overall pack weight down.

If you are trying to go lightweight, but are reluctant to make the switch to a small SAK of other folding knife, take another look at the Helle range of knives. They make some even smaller models that would be even lighter. I wish that the weights of each knife were more clearly listed some place.

Disclosure: Makais.com provided Brian's Backpacking Blog with a complementary Helle Harding Knife to review.

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Winner of Bud-Lite Stove Giveaway...

If you were a Twitter user and you re-tweeted my original blog post Tweet, then you might be the winner! Thank you to everyone who entered the Bud-Lite alcohol stove giveaway, there were some great comments shared on the post.

There were 37 eligible entries to the giveaway according to those of you that double or triple posted. I put all of the entries into an Excel spreadsheet and used the Random.org random number generator to pick a winner. So without further ado the winner is Section_Hiking with their Twitter re-tweet below.

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Congratulations to Section_Hiking (please contact me blog-at-briangreen.net) and commiserations to those of you that entered but did not win this time. I have plenty more Bud-Lite stoves and other gear goodies that I'll be giving away this year in an effort to thin out my gear closet, so stay tuned!

Gear Links: Eastern Mountain Sports | REI | CampSaver | Patagonia | Altrec

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