We use a lot of gear, so much so that our storage room is nicknamed “The REI.” Some of the gear holds up, some of it heads for the trash heap. This is where we tell you about the winners and the losers.
If we are are affiliated with a retailer that sells a product we like, you will see a purchase link at the bottom of the review. We only provide purchase links for things that we have used ourselves, and that have proven their worth in the field.
We have used the Marmot Trestles 40-Degree Rectangular Sleeping Bags for two excursions, now — Corcovado National Park in Costa Rica; and the Na Pali Coast in Kauai, Hawaii. I originally purchased these bags because we needed something for warm weather, the price was good (under $100), and I had previously owned a Marmot mummy bag that I liked quite […]
During years as an infantryman in the Marine Corps, I always used rolled up clothing, my body armor, or my pack as a makeshift pillow. A true pillow seemed like a frivolous luxury. But nowadays I want a little more comfort; and I fantasize about a lightweight, space friendly, yet super-comfortable backpacking pillow. I have used the Cocoon Synthetic Travel […]
We both used Mountainsmith backpacks during our December 2009 backpacking trip in Costa Rica’s Corcovado National Park. I used the Circuit 3.0 pack, and Jen used the Boundary pack. Neither of us liked our packs, the primary problem being the waist belt, which rubbed large raw spots on both our hips. In my case, the skin was still repairing itself […]
In Costa Rica’s Corcovado National Park, and again in Kauai’s Na Pali Wilderness State Park, we used a Eureka Pinnacle Pass 2XTA tent. In Corcovado, it sustained two hours of serious, serious rain without so much as a single drip. The only negatives are its weight at over 6 pounds, and that the stitching gave out on one of the recesses […]
The Hiker Pro Microfilter is easy to use and lightweight. We have used it in Costa Rica and Kauai, sucking water from streams, and neither of us has gotten sick. So, it works. The only down side is the eventual need to replace the filter element, which is the bulk of the filter’s size, weight, and cost. Katadyn also makes […]
We love this stove. It burns everything, uses little fuel, and heats water in no time. An absolute winner. An update to this review, written on September 18, 2015: After four years of ownership: and many hours of use in Hawaii, Southeast Asia, Australia, the Bahamas, the California high desert, and the Sierras; the pump unit has started to […]
This is a fantastic workhorse of a pack. I have used one all over the globe, weighted down with cold weather gear and ammunition and weaponry and radios and all things imagineable. You can drop it fully loaded off a 5-ton truck and it just doesn’t care about it. Damned near indestructible. The suspension system isn’t fancy, but under extreme […]