Emerald - Tropical Trail Mix Granola

Friday Food Find: My wife actually picked these up at a local grocery store because they were on sale and she knows that I am always on the lookout for new snacks to test on my backpacking trips. Our whole family have been big fans of Emerald products and especially their nuts for quite some time. The granola trail food was a bit of a surprise though.

I like to take granola with me when I go hiking. It's very light weight, packed full of good stuff and really easy to make at home if you want to save money. Making your own granola is also a great way to control the ingredients that you include.



What impressed me most about the Emerald mix is that the pieces of fruit actually taste like dried fruit and not like piece of candy. There's also a good balance of ingredients with just enough clusters of granola to match the fruit and nuts. If I had my way I'd increase the granola proportion slightly, but fr an off the shelf package it's pretty darn good.



As usual be careful about the amount number of portions in a packet. This one serves 2 but after the first bite it's hard to accept that you should only eat half of it. When I'm on the trail I don't worry quite as much as the extra calories are much needed. I'm much more aware of the freeze-dried meals like Mountain House, which have outrageous amounts of sodium and typically serve 2 people per pouch - watch out for those.

I mostly dehydrate my own meals or individual ingredients now, but being able to grab a bag of tasty granola out of the pantry and be ready to go is a beautiful thing.

Continue Reading >>

Follow @bfgreen

Ultralight Backpacking Boot Camp

The Ultralight Backpacking Boot Camp is a six - nine week online course designed for beginner-to-intermediate backpackers. It covers everything including philosophy, gear, and techniques to give you the confidence to explore wild places with a pack that weighs less than 10 pounds!

The course is being offered by Ryan Jordan - ultralight backpacking guru, CEO of Backpacking Light, fisherman, photographer, and scout leader. Put simply, Ryan has forgotten more about light weight backpacking than most “experts” on the topic will ever know! With a slogan like "Explore your wild side, without having to drink your pee!" you know it's going to be something worth being part of.

In addition to the content developed by Ryan, a handful of individuals have also contributed to the course materials based on their specific areas of expertise. I have contributed a section (Creating a Gear List) and will likely be writing more. If you sign-up for the course, not only will you be receiving world-class instruction from Ryan Jordan, you will be supporting me and my family through Ryan's affiliate program.

Enrollment is now open for the Summer 2011 Boot Camp – July, August, and September.

What You Will Learn:
Ultralight Backpacking Boot Camp is a six-week course where you learn:

• Fundamental principles and philosophy of ultralight backpacking
• Ultralight trekking and camping techniques
• Managing inclement weather with ultralight gear
• Ultralight trekking case studies
• Applying ultralight gear and techniques to other activities

Three Levels of Enrollment:

• Self-Directed (Non-Mentored) – 6 Weeks. $150.
• Directed (Mentored) – 6 Weeks. $450. Includes email mentoring with Ryan (enrollment is limited).
• Directed (Mentored) + Expedition Trek – $1,350. A 9 Week Online Course + 5 Day Trek – includes email mentoring with Ryan, live conferencing, and participation in an expedition with Ryan and one or more other instructors (enrollment is very limited) as part of Backpacking Light’s Wilderness Trekking School.

Registration officially opens today but enrollment is limited, so make sure you sign-up now to take advantage of this amazing opportunity!

Sign Up Now!

Continue Reading >>

Follow @bfgreen

Terra Nova Laser Ultra 1 - Smashes Guinness World Record

Terra Nova has smashed the Guinness World Record for the lightest commercially available tent, with the Laser Ultra 1. The company recently received confirmation that the tent, which weighs just over 21 ounces (600 grams), is now the record holder. It snatches the title from the Terra Nova Laser Photon, trimming over 7 ounces (200 grams) or 26% off the record in the process.

Terra Nova was awarded the Guinness World Record for the Lightest Tent Commercially Available for the first time in 2004. The Terra Nova Laserlite was a one person tent weighing just over 35.2 ounces (1 kilogram), the same weight as a bag of sugar. Seven years and four Guinness World Records later, the Laser Ultra 1 weighs nearly half of that.

The Laser Ultra 1 has been designed for short duration ultra events. Although its style follows that of the popular Laser tent range developed by Terra Nova, the most striking difference is the color; the silver translucent Ultra fabric used for the flysheet is incredibly lightweight but strong.

The Laser Ultra 1 tent won a Gold European IF Design Award when it was launched to the trade in July 2010 at the Outdoor Show in Friedrichshafen, Germany. Managing Director, Andy Utting said, "It is great to see our investment in new technologies paying off. When we launched the Laser Lite, people were skeptical of the robustness of such lightweight tents, seven years later, a single person tent has to be less than 35.2 ounces (1 kilogram) to be considered light, and our designs have become the blue print for the competition."

Terra Nova is distributed in the United States and Canada by Sport Hansa LLC of Louisville, Colorado.

About Terra Nova Equipment
Terra Nova Equipment has been designing award winning tents and outdoor equipment for over 25 years. Its tents have been used all over the world from the summit of Everest to the North and South Poles. More recently Terra Nova has successfully developed superlight backpacking tents and rucksacks and holds the Guinness world record for the lightest tent in the world. The company owns three brands: Terra Nova - best in class expedition and backpacking equipment, Wild Country tents - high specification backpacking and family tents, and sleeping bags and Extremities - a GORE-TEX licensed technical clothing accessory brand.

Continue Reading >>

Follow @bfgreen

Ultralight as a Lifestyle?

Have you ever noticed how the ultralight, minimalist mentality seeps into almost everything that you do? Or maybe it's that you were always a minimalist and are just now applying that to your passion for backpacking and hiking? Either way you may have noticed this in other things that you do and when you make purchasing decisions.

For example, when I travel for business I am acutely aware of how much I am packing and what I really 'need' to take, to the point where I can now carry a small laptop backpack with me for a two-day business trip. That let's me easily stow it in an overhead compartment on a flight without having to worry about checked any baggage. My work colleagues are often surprised by this (Kim).

All this got me thinking about other ways in which the ultralight/minimal mindset have impacted my everyday life. One very obvious area, and one that I continue to look for improvements with, is my wallet.

I dislike carrying things in my pockets, so having to carry a wallet at all is a nuisance for me. For that reason I have always tried to carry the thinnest wallet that I can get away with. I've tried lots of different wallet with vary degrees of success. Right now my favorite is the Maxpedition Micro Wallet.



The Micro Wallet measures 4.5 x 3 inches. When opened it offers a single ID window and two card slots. There is a single division running along for bills. When closed the Micro has a small pocket on the back, there is no closure mechanism, no Velcro or anything to keep it closed. Simple! The construction is very strong in Cordura nylon with double stitching along the edges.



However, I recently received a business card holder/wallet from Gossamer Gear as part of my Trail Ambassador business card package. To my astonishment the wallet/holder that they included was significantly thinner and lighter than my beloved Maxpedition Micro!



The business card holder (it's not strictly a wallet) that GG sent me was from a company called ALL-ETT. According to their website they are makers of the world's thinnest wallets and card cases. The card holder I received is made out of incredibly strong but light weight rip-stop nylon. There is also a true wallet style version of this same holder that has a proper ID card window, so I'm now considering getting one of those to replace my Maxpedition wallet.



The ALL-ETT wallets were a new discovery for me and I have to thank Grant and Dave at Gossamer Gear for sending me one with my business cards. My guess is that there are even more ultralight or minimal wallets out there that I haven't come across and if you know of one or have one to recommend, please leave a comment below. What other things has the ultralight mentality changed about your everyday lifestyle?

Disclosure: The author owns the Maxpedition Micro Wallet and paid for it using their own funds. Gossamer Gear provided Brian's Backpacking Blog with a complimentary All-Ett wallet as part of their Trail Ambassador program.

Continue Reading >>

Follow @bfgreen

Terra Nova Ultra 20 | First Look

The Terra Nova Ultra 20 is the first ultralight backpack made by a mainstream manufacturer to use Cuben fiber. Until very recently, Cuben fiber (called ULTRA fabric by Terra Nova) was the mainstay of ultralight cottage manufacturers like Gossamer Gear, Zpacks, MLD, and others. None of the more conservative mainstream manufacturers seemed willing to take a gamble on producing gear that looked so ridiculously flimsy as Cuben fiber. Not only is Terra Nova the first mainstream manufacturer to take the Cuben plunge, they are a UK-based company competing in an American dominated market.

Terra Nova are definitely not novices jumping on the latest Cuben fiber bandwagon. They have have been producing excellent lightweight backpacking equipment for many years. However, the Ultra 20 represents a significant milestone in the evolution of their product offering.



First Impressions
I received the Ultra 20 in the mail just last week. It arrived in a bubble wrap flat-pack envelope. It is the first backpack that I have ever received in the mail in an envelope! That should be the first indication that this pack is extremely light weight. On my scales, fully configured, the Ultra 20 weighed 138g (4.8oz) which is just 2g more than the listed weight.



The next thing that I noticed was that it's small. The name alone should have been a giveaway, but my mind completely failed to register that this was going to be a 20L backpack. Here is the Ultra 20 alongside my favorite pack, a Gossamer Gear Gorilla pack which holds between 39-46L and weighs 23.2oz. As you can see, the Ultra 20 is tiny by comparison.

Suspension System
The Ultra 20 is a frame less pack. In most other packs that I own there is at least some form of minimal frame to provide stability and transfer the main portion of the pack's weight to my hips via the hip belt. With a frame less pack like the Ultra 20, you have to somehow produce the same effect by other means.Put another way, when using a frame less pack, the gear that you pack inside becomes the frame. By properly loading your gear inside you can produce the necessary rigidity to make the pack comfortable.



With my GG Gorilla pack (shown above) I can do this using my either my ThinLight sleeping pad in the external rear pocket or by using my ThermaRest Z-lite pad inside the main compartment. However, the Ultra 20 is too small to hold either of those items and I wouldn't be carrying them with me if I was only using the Ultra 20 as a daypack. Therefore the only way to add rigidity to the pack is by making sure it is fully stuffed.

The hip belts of the Ultra 20 are almost non-existent. The wings of the hip belt are short (8 in.) and barely bridge the gap between the base of the pack and my hips. This is especial true when the pack is stuffed full and resembling a round "tube" profile. There are no pockets on either side of the hips belts and no foam padding for added comfort. Attached to each hip wing is a length of 3/4-inch webbing.



For some strange reason, Terra Nova have decided to use a whistle buckle as the attachment point for the hip belt straps. These types of whistles are typically used for sternum straps where you can easily reach them up to you mouth in an emergency. Having the whistle attached to the hip belt makes no sense at all and is unusable when the pack is being worn whether the hip belts straps are fastened or not. I'll no doubt be swapping this over with the sternum buckle when I get a few spare minutes.



The shoulder straps of the Ultra 20 are constructed using the same Cuben fiber as the main compartment with a mesh fabric backing sandwiching a very thin layer of foam padding. The padding is so minimal that it's hard to notice that it's even in there. I personally prefer to have a little more padding in my shoulder straps, but considering if you are using the pack as a daypack it probably isn't necessary.



The right-hand shoulder strap has three elasticated keeper loops for attaching gear or securing a hydration tube, whereas the left-hand shoulder strap only has the one keeper.

External Features and Storage
In keeping with the ultralight weight of the Ultra 20, the pack boasts very few external features. The main compartment features a draw string closure at the top with micro cord lock. There is a cover or flap that can be pulled over the draw string in order to provide basic weather protection.



The top cover or flap, I'm not sure what else to call it, is secured at both outer corners by means of the cord and micro lock from the side compression straps. This makes it slightly trick to snug the cover/flap tight because you have to ensure the compression straps are pulled tight before hand. It is a clever design and great use of a feature serving double duty.



There are no pockets or additional pockets inside the main compartment of the pack. In fact, despite there being several keeper loops on the right-hand shoulder strap, there appears to be no opening or port for a hydration tube, which is rather curious.



The base of the main compartment is covered with a lightweight silnylon ripstop material. This is no doubt to provide some additional puncture and wear protection to the Cuben fiber. The silnylon base is attached over the top of the Cuben fiber and does not replace it. When I look down inside the main compartment I can see that the Cuben fiber goes all the way down to the bottom seam.



On both side of the main compartment there are small elasticated mesh pockets measuring six inches deep. These are just deep enough to hold a water bottle or a few small items that need to be accessed quickly. no matter how hard i tried, I couldn't reach the side pockets when I was wearing the Ultra 20. I had to remove the pack or would have to rely on my trail partner if I were on a hike.

Running the full length of the main compartment on both sides of the pack are compression cords. As mentioned earlier, these are connected at the top of the pack to the cover flap.

Capacity
With just 20 liters (1,220 cubic inches) of storage, the Ultra 20 couldn't hold all of the gear I typically carry for an overnight trip. Despite several recent weight and size reductions in my gear and getting my load down to almost 15lbs, the Ultra 20 was still too small to hold everything I needed. It's a shame that Terra Nova didn't make a 30L or even a 35L version of the Ultra to provide just that little bit more storage capacity. That could have been all it would have taken to make the Ultra design and material choices cross over into the backpacking category. Maybe there are larger models in the pipeline - I certainly hope so.



Overall
Despite all of my criticisms, the Ultra 20 is an exceptionally well made daypack. As with my other Terra Nova packs, the quality and workmanship is second to none. While I can't ever see myself using the Ultra 20 for an overnight trip, or anything longer, it makes a great daypack, which is exactly how Terra Nova have positioned the Ultra 20. However, I'd have to still question the usefulness of an ultralight Cuben fiber daypack? If I'm not backpacking on a multi-day trip with overnight gear and lots of consumables, what is the real weight advantage? It's still an ultra cool looking pack though.

I could see the Ultra 20 being a superb summit pack. It could be scrunched up super small and shoved inside of my Gorilla pack, then used for a short same-day summit attempt where I only have to carry a minimal amount of gear. I might consider this for my upcoming trip to Mt. Whitney in August.


Disclosure: Sport-Hansa gave Brian's Backpacking Blog a complimentary Ultra 20 for this review.

Continue Reading >>

Follow @bfgreen

Keychain Multi-Tools Revisited

I recently had a pretty poor customer service experience with the makers of the Screwpop keychain tool. I had lost the original 1/4" hex nut driver that came with the tool and had tried to replace it using a standard 1/4" hex nut driver that I had spare. To my utter amazement it didn't fit.

In fact, none of my 1/4" hex nut driver bits fit in the Screwpop. I reached out to Screwpop to ask if they were aware of this and they admitted that their 1/4" driver bit is not a standard size (?) and none of the ones available from hardware stores will fit. The solution? Buy a new Screwpop! Yup, that's what they told me I should do. No thank you. However, I should add that despite the somewhat flippant initial response from Screwpop customer service, they did offer to send me a complete replacement free of charge if I ordered a new bit from them. So they did try to fix the situation.

This recent experience made me decide to take another look at all of the other keychain-type tools that I own and do a quick feature and weight comparison.



My all time favorite keychain tool is the Swiss Tech Util-Key. It epitomizes what a well made and carefully thought through multi-tool should be. It has all the features that I want and none that I don't. I've owned and carried several of these for over a decade. I say several because TSA like to confiscate them when I forget to remove them from my key chain before traveling. !@#&$!



The tool I 'love' the most is my Peter Atwood G2 Gasbaby. Hand-made by Peter, limited in number, superbly made and highly functional. The only reason I don't carry it all the time is that it's just a little bit too heavy, but to Peter's defense he does make a thinner titanium version that weighs almost nothing. Unfortunately, I've never been lucky enough to snag one. His tools sell out within minutes of being made available!



In addition to these two tools I have a handful of other well know mini tools that I've been given or purchased over the years. Without going into detail about each one, here is how they stack up when compared on the number of functions and their overall weight.

Here is a table showing all of my mini tools sorted by weight, heaviest to lightest. It's not surprising that the Leatherman Squirt is the heaviest, but I do find it interesting to see how many functions you get for the weight.




To further illustrate this point, here is the same table (below) with the mini tools sorted by the number of functions they each have as identified by the manufacturer. You can easily see why the Swiss Tech Util-Key with 6 functions and weighing less than any of the other mini tools is such a popular tool. The form factor is brilliant too. It looks like a key and doesn't get in the way of your other keys when it's on your keychain.




I'm also a huge fan of the Swiss Tech Micro Tool because it is one of the smallest tools I know of that has a functioning pair of pliers and wire cutters. At 45g it is slightly heavy though and you'll definitely notice the extra weight on your keychain. Not listed here is the legendary P-38 can opener. I have so many of these that I take it for granted that I will always have one with me wherever I am, usually on the same neck cord that I carry my whistle and microlight on. I sometimes even put a small ranger band around it to stop it clinking.



There are a lot of well designed and beautifully made keychain sized tools available on the market. If you are going to invest in one make sure that you determine what you are going to use it for. In the example of the Screwpop, the majority of its weight is in the heavy loops that makes up a bottle top opener. While that might be perfect for the occasional weekend camp out, it's a complete waste of space as a serious tool. In fact the bottle top opener on my Util-Key does a much better job of popping open a cold one. But as others have mentioned, how useful or necessary is a bottle opener? Not very in a backpacking situation. At least a P-38 can hack open a can and do a myriad of other things.

For now, on my keychain at least, I'm going to stick with the Util-key. What has your experience been with keychain tools? Do you find them useful or a total gimmick? If you carry one, what do you favor? Please leave a comment below.

Disclosure: The author owns these products and paid for them using their own funds.

Continue Reading >>

Follow @bfgreen

Ruff Wear Bark'n Boots | Field Test

A few weeks ago I wrote a blog post in which I mentioned that I was considering getting a set of hiking boots for my trail buddy, Coco the chocolate lab. I had noticed that on longer hikes the pads of her feet pads got sore to the point where se was reluctant to keep going and we'd have to rest up.

Don't get me wrong, she's a totally trooper and would have kept going if I had pushed her, but I don't like to and it's always nice to stop and take in some scenery.

I've been scouring the web and local outdoor stores looking at the various doggy boot options that are available on the market. After a lot of research, some hands on testing, and advise from several very knowledgeable dog owners that are also well respected hikers, I settled on the Ruff Wear Bark'n Boots Grip Trex as Coco's hiking footwear of choice.



The first thing I had to do was to measure Coco's paws to make sure I got the right size. Doggy boot sizing is based on the width of your dog's paws and not how large they are. Fortunately the online sizing chart and instructions at BackCountry K-9 made this very easy. Coco on the other hand didn't want to play along, she wanted to make it as much fun as possible. She thinks she's funny.



When the boots arrived I opened them up expecting to see some goofy looking dog gear, but to my surprise these things are as well made as any trail shoes that I own. It's amazing how technical dog footwear has become. For example; the Bark'n Boots have an air-mesh upper that is breathable and will drain water in bad weather. The boots also have a genuine Vibram high-grip soles for stability and traction. They'll definitely provide great traction with comfortable paw protection which is why I wanted to have Coco give them a try.



The boots are fairly easy to put on, if you dog is in a co-operative mood. Coco is a great dog with a lot of patience from being around my two young kids, so she knows how to stand still and do as she is told. The boots have a Velcro grip cuff that  opens up very wide to making them easy to put on and cinches securely around the ankle to hold them in place.

On the advice from Jason at BackCountryK9, I had Coco try the boots on indoors just in case they were not the right size and I might have to return/exchange them. What happened next about made me wet my pants. Coco was high stepping around the house like nothing I had ever seen before. I'm sure she would be terribly embarrassed if she knew that I was sharing this video, but it's too good not to show you.



Apparently this is perfectly normal and expected behavior. The feel of wearing the boots for the first time is totally unnatural to dogs and it freaks them out a little. It may look cruel but trust me it isn't and I would never do anything bad to my trail buddy. After about 5 minutes of the Monty Python ministry for silly walks skit, she got used to them and was fine.

You may have noticed that one of her boots came off in the video. Her rear left boot to be precise, more on that later. At this point I assumed it was owner error in putting them on and that I would have to snag them up better next time.

On the Trail
The next day I took Coco out on a nearby, gentle trail to put the Brak'n Boot through a more strenuous test. To my surprise she was excited to see me take the boots out of the bag and put them on her. This time I took much more care in putting them on her paws and making sure they were cinched around her ankles properly without being too tight. She went through her inital "high-stepping" routine again for about 30 seconds this time and then gave me a look like "okay I can get used to this". Then we were off!



Like most Labs, Coco loves to chase balls. So I thought the quickest way to get her mind off the boots and focused on moving was to play a few rounds of fetch with her favorite tennis ball. Almost immediately as I threw the ball she went bounding off to fetch it without a care in the world - the boots weren't an issue. I was pleased to see that she had gottent used to the fell of them so quickly. To be fair she really didn't have a chance of not running in them, when a ball is throw it HAS to be retrieved - ha!

We played a few more games of fetch with her ball and allowed her the usual pleasure of being of her leash and sniffing out all the delightful scnets of the outdoors. When she came close to me I noticed that the boot on her hind left paw was twisted upside down (remember the video?). I fixed it and made sure it was tightened properly. However, 5 minutes later I noticed the same thing, that one boot was upside down. This time I swapped it out with one of the other boots thinking it was possibly defective and we continue on.

Not much further along the trail I noticed the same hind paw had a boot on upside down, even after I has swapped the boots around. I was pretty sure it wasn't the boots at this point, but concerned that my dog had a defective leg! I removed all four boots so that we could finish off the trail unimpeded, but made a note to contact Jason to ask him what he thought might be wrong.



Jason responded to my email within hours with a very unusual (to me) response. He asked me to measure Coco's hind left paw to see if it was smaller than her other paws. According to Jason, a sure indication of bad fitting dog boots is that they turn around like the one paw had done on Coco, and it's not at all uncommon for dog to have some paws smaller than the others. This was news to me.

I measured Coco's paws again, this time much more carefully. Jason was right! Her left hind paw is a full half inch narrower than her front paws (2.5" compared to 3") and her hind right paw is a quarter of an inch narrower (2.75"). So it definitely wasn't the fault of the product or the dog, it was an owner error in measuring Coco's paw widths accurately enough. In fact the doggy boot sizing chart has quarter inch increments so it vitally important to make sure you get the right size for you dogs paws. The size (width) is measure with you dog putting a full load on their paw on a hard surface.

Some new, smaller sized Bark'n Boots are on the way for Coco and as soon as I get them we'll both be back out on the trail to see if they make a difference.

Disclosure: BackCountryK9.com provided Brian's Backpacking Blog with a complementary set of Ruff Wear Bark'n Boots to review.

Continue Reading >>

Follow @bfgreen

Winner of the Kupilka Starter Kit...

The response to my Kupilka Starter Kit Giveaway was phenomenal, far greater than anything I had expected. After going through all of the emails I received to determine if they were complete or not (I did respond to everyone that forgot a photo even though UI said I wouldn't), I received a total of 144 eligible submissions!

Thank you to everyone who took the time to respond to the questions and attached a photo of their cooking kit. Unfortunately I didn't have time to post very many of the responses, but there were a lot of excellent ones. Time permitting I'll share some more so we can all see what cooking kit is being used.

So, the real question on everyone's mind is - who is the winner? As with all my other giveaways, there is just no good way for me to personally pick a winner, so I turn to Random.org to do the dirty work for me. Here's how it went down...



Congratulations to Joslyn Davisson! Please contact me blog-at-briangreen.net so that I can get your shipping address and send your Kupilka goodies off to you. My condolences to those of you that took the time to enter but did not win. I will be having more giveaways later in the year in an effort to clear out my growing gear closet - so stay tuned.

Continue Reading >>

Follow @bfgreen

Kupilka Giveaway - Closed!

Well the wait is almost over. The Kupilka starter kit giveaway is officially closed and all of the entries have been received. I won't be able to select a winner until another day or two, so the suspense will have to continue.

I'd like to thank all of you who took the time to submit your detailed entries and great gear photos. I apologize that I didn't have time to publish more of them, especially as there were a lot of really great entries. As soon as I have collated all the submissions and picked a winner I will post the result here. Soon, I promise...

Continue Reading >>

Follow @bfgreen