You know how when you are trying to light a fire (or Brasslite Stove – as pictured) with a cigarette lighter how you burn your fingers? A strip of bicycle inner tube will hold a Mini Bic (such as I carry – in a snap lock bag to keep it dry) in the On position […]
130 grams is not very much to carry to save your life, these GPS Personal Locator Beacons look very useful: http://www.equipped.org/blog/?p=284 See also: http://www.theultralighthiker.com/get-lost-get-found-plbepirb/ http://www.theultralighthiker.com/the-poor-mans-satellite-phone/
These 25K Vicmaps are GREAT and value @ $8 ea: http://services.land.vic.gov.au/maps/content/topo30wizard They can be viewed with full georeferenceing functionality (ie GPS, etc) with this great App on your phone, tablet etc: http://www.avenza.com/pdf-maps You need never get lost and can safely plan your next adventure, eg to walk the ‘Upper Yarra Trail’ from Warburton to Walhalla
While you’re looking at ‘ruta locura’s’ web-site (Sp = crazy journey; I like!) you might notice their ‘Tenkara Trout Fly Rod Conversion’ for a hiking pole. Now that’s a good idea if you’re a keen fly fisher (as you ought be!): http://www.rutalocura.com/Tenkara.html The Clarkii rod is a telescoping Tenkara fly rod that attaches to a
I notice these folks have nice (light 113 grams) three-piece carbon fibre poles which telescope to 50cm thus fitting in your pack when not in use. I managed to lose one of my two-piece poles pushing through thick bush on the Mt Darling Track last week http://www.theultralighthiker.com/snowy-bluff-mt-darling-wilderness/. I was carrying it on the outside of
Gerber Knives: For lightness (and cheapness) I recommend Gerber’s LST series knives, the ‘big’ one is around 34 grams, with a blade of 6.7cm (2¼”) & the ‘little’ one is around 17 grams, with a blade of 5cm (1.9”) & I also like their Pocket Sharpener at around 14 grams. Both knives plus the sharpener shouldn’t set you
Baggage: Most folks (seem to) like nothing better than lugging vast chunks of stuff around. They require huge boxes (buildings) to cram it into, and huge wheeled thingummies to cart it all around in, all of which usually means they WASTE vast chunks of time acquiring, paying for and maintaining it all (worrying about whether
The Leatherman Micra is the greatest mini-tool I have encountered so far (@51 grams). I always have one in my pocket AND in my hiking pack. NOTHING I have discovered is as good for cutting one’s toe-nails – a vital safety precaution on multi-day hikes when toe-nail problems can lead to disaster! http://www.leatherman.com/20.html If you
I bought these watch bands on eBay for $1.99. I think they are great because you don’t lose the watch if you snag it on some brush or a vine and tear out one of the pins (which happens). I also added a wrist compass ($3.99) which makes this Seiko auto-winder ($49.99) set-up just about
Two reasons some people don’t like camping: it is wet AND cold, and uncomfortable. This does not have to be. A properly positioned tarp and a fire will take care of the former: the usual 1m tall hiking tent which you are forced to retreat to in the event of rain will make your trip
