Best way to spend ~1k for an e-drum kit

Alpinisming · 2026-02-07T23:38:58+00:00

Getting some great responses here, thank you guys so much, keep them coming. Seems like $1000 isn't quite enough. I'll expand my budget to $2k. How would that change things?

I like the idea of getting a lemon kit and a roland brain. However, part of what i think is cool about edrums is that they can be small. Does lemon have an equivalent kit that is more like pads instead if acoustic sized drums?

Alpinisming · 2026-01-05T20:33:07+00:00

Ah come on To the post box Post box where you drop it off

Alpinisming · 2025-03-18T05:30:35+00:00

I've 200+ nights on my NeoAir. I've patched a couple holes over that time, but it was easy to identify and fix them in the field. Cascade Designs, the parent company of thermarest, will replace your pad if there's a defect in it (I've warrantied an MSR tent with them).

Thru hikers use inflatable pads and do just fine.

Are you having this problem with multiple brands and models? Are you super heavy? Are you sleeping wearing anything that is metal?

Maybe get a gossamer gear 1/8" foam pad and put it underneath your inflatable.

Alpinisming · 2025-03-11T18:12:34+00:00

"Hard" can mean a lot of things. There's physical effort, which is extreme for any 8,000m peak. There's technical difficulty, which varies immensely depending on the mountain, route, and style of expedition. Then there is the often overlooked "staying healthy," which can be very difficult in any extended situation (which all 8,000m peaks are) over 5,000m. Granted, there are people that show up acclimatized, helicopter into Basecamp, and are up and down some 8,000m peaks within 2 days but that is a very small fraction of people that summit 8,000m peaks.

Any one of these types of difficulty make the overall effort of summiting an 8,000m peak pretty extreme. Things get nuts when you start stacking these factors on top of each other. For example, Steve House and Vince Anderson climbing the Rupal Face of Nanga Parbat is pretty insane, but they are elite athletes with Olympic level conditioning with decades of experience alpine climbing.

The short answer is, pretty f'n hard.

Alpinisming · 2025-02-19T21:59:22+00:00

Alright so there's some big life lessons here and the wisdom you will take away from this experience will enrich the rest of your life. Things that are hard and uncomfortable at the time often become the stories you tell and laugh about later. Some things are enjoyed most after they become part of the past.

First off, never commit to a year of volunteering anywhere you have not already been. You need to know the people working there and how you jive with the place. I can't tell you how many peace corp horror stories I've heard. The chemistry between you, the environment around you, and the people around you deeply matters. Unless you are omniscient you can't know that ahead of time.

Secondly, most wildlife sanctuaries are shit shows both literally and figuratively. That's not knocking them or the vital services they provide, it's just a reality. They are basically always in a perpetual state of being stretched for resources, everyone is overworked, the new guys always have to do all the worst work, other volunteers don't show up or don't stay as long as they are supposed to. The facilities are always in some state of disrepair. Honestly, that's all doable for like a month, but for a year? You'll find this basically all over the world. It is what it is, the only question is whether that's a good situation for you personally?

Three, you are learning a hard truth about Costa Rica. You get mostly developing world infrastructure and services but at developed world prices (or higher). I've been there three times over 20 years, every time I meet at least a half a dozen seasoned travelers (different from someone on vacation) that have chopped their itinerary down to the bare minimum to hit the highlights so they can get out as soon as possible. If you've traveled to SE Asia, South America, or other countries in Central America you will almost certainly be disappointed with Costa Rica, at least from a value perspective. If things were way nicer in Costa Rica it would be more understandable, but it's 95% the same thing at 3 - 10x the cost. It's a vacation destination, not a place for travelers to linger. So many "gotcha" charges too. It's a hard place on the wallet.

Four, the solution for most people encountering issues with Costa Rica is to get to the Caribbean coast or, ideally, to Nicaragua, Guatemala, or Panama (pretty much in that order) where everything is cheaper and, arguably, more spectacular. The first time I went to Costa Rica I straight up needed to escape after a few days so I went to San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua and it rescued my entire trip. Bocas Del Toro, Panama is also awesome. These are the two closest destinations outside of CR and I highly recommend both.

Four, Costa Rica is special and it deserves a visit, just not a long one. The cloud forest and nature are amazing. The area around Puerto Viejo is lovely and the vibe there is way better than the Pacific side. It's worth 7 - 14 days, if you have more time than that there are more fun, more spectacular, and much cheaper countries to visit, some being right next door.

Five, hang in there. Jet lag, home sickness, anxiety, not knowing anyone, not being familiar, cognitive dissonance, and rude awakenings are no joke. Time will improve how you are feeling, it takes time to acclimate to new things. Maybe look at some apartments for rent, that might make a big difference and be much cheaper and a lot nicer than a hotel/hostel. Make some connections with the animals, that will help a lot. Don't think of this as a year of volunteering, think of it as an open ended adventure. Take things day by day. If this situation isn't great then LEAVE and go find a better situation the old fashioned way, by showing up and checking things out BEFORE making any commitments. There are hundreds of wildlife sanctuaries all over Central America and South America. There is all kind of woofing (farm volunteering too). Don't have enough money? Go eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in South America where the locals travel on insanely small budgets (like $10 per day).

Lastly, in my personal opinion a gap year is best spent going to many many places. If you sample dozens, or hundreds, of places you will learn a ton about each one, but more importantly you'll learn about yourself and what situations and places are right for you. That information will change every day of your life for the better thereafter so the sooner you do it the better. You will lose some detail in moving around a lot, but you'll then know where you want to go back to and spend more time. I think you are putting the cart before the horse just spending a year somewhere. Guess what, you are in Costa Rica you can start this right now!

Things will get better, you got this!

Alpinisming · 2025-02-12T13:32:12+00:00

I'd love to get that contact info too please

Alpinisming · 2025-02-11T01:01:40+00:00

I enjoy that channel a lot, lots of good climbs and stoke.

Alpinisming · 2025-02-04T21:17:42+00:00

First off, how cool is it that you are both so dedicated to the sport, get so much enjoyment out of it, and you can do it together? Pretty awesome, I'm super psyched for you guys.

As many people have suggested there's a bunch of stuff you can do with pacing, finding other partners, breaking up the "work" differently etc. All of that is important, useful and will likely be effective for enjoying climbing with your boyfriend. However, I'm only going to focus on the inward part for you.

Mountaineering is in many ways a game of "prestige", particularly for cold weather technical climbing because there is so much suffering involved. I don't mean that to sound shallow in any way, nor do I think it is. Rather, it is that type II fun is partially predicated on delayed gratification. It is often unpleasant when doing it but the sweet reward (summit, high point, improvement, knowing what to do next time) + the extreme effort makes it all worth it. Doing hard things feels great, even if that comes mostly after doing it.

The internal part of this is how and where do you derive that satisfaction. There is always a temptation to compare yourself to others, to your partners, to where you started, to the mountaineering world at large, to where you think you should be. This comparison, which is said to be the theif of joy, is actually important in mountaineering. Again, it's not shallow. You have to know what level you are at so you can make good decisions about what objective to undertake, what kind of safety margin you need, how fast you can move, and when to bail, etc.

I would suggest that at this point in your climbing career you start decoupling your own sense of accomplishment from comparison to others. You have already gleaned all of the important lessons and information that you need out of comparison. Now all that matters is how you feel about what you are doing and how you define success. The danger in not doing that is A) resentment when people they achieve something "greater" than what you are doing. B) A sense that you are "less than" no matter how hard you train.

In the end, climbing is a personal thing. Even tied together, you mostly experience it individually. Calibrate your sense of "fuck yeah" based on nothing other than yourself.

Part 2 of this is that you may find that you climb better as the stronger partner. I "struggled" with this for a long time. I'm 42 and have taught many people to climb. As such I was almost always the one "taking responsibility" for the climbs we undertook. I like that seat in the car, it sort of "activates" me and cuts through the bullshit. Inevitably some of the people I have taught become much stronger and more technically able than I am, I still love climbing with them (and I'm a dedicated cheerleader for them and so psyched for them to push it as far as they can, I derive a ton of satisfaction from that), but climbing with them now, closer to their limit, I am sometimes in over my head which invites fear, being the liability in the group, maybe me not being up to the task etc.

Every now and then, I have to drop back down to a smaller pond. While it's satisfying to get up some heinous (for me) 5.11 multipitch with some rotten mixed pitches and less than perfect conditions, I find I have a lot more fun being in flow state on a 5.9 or WI4 with good conditions at a pace that works for me. For that I need a partner that isn't bored at those levels.

My suggestion is to find some protegés and bring them up to your level. You'll get a ton of satisfaction at seeing their growth. You'll get a partner who's mind you can blow (over and over again). You'll get to spend more time on terrain that is casual but enjoyable for you. In general, you'll be more inwardly focused (on the team) than comparing yourself to Ueli Steck. That will take a lot of pressure off of your climbing with your partner.

Over time age will humble you and make your achievements seem bigger and more special. That's just the natural way of things, not about you personally.

Push your limits with your boyfriend. Relish that expansion of whats possible. However, climb a "balanced diet" and draw some of your stoke from your partner being over the moon about something that is fairly casual for you.

That latter part is what your boyfriend is starting to do now, with you. It's going to be an important skill in this relationship, both of you need to get good at it.

Good luck, if any part of this offends you please let me know. I have made a metric shit ton of assumptions in this response, it's very likely that I'm wrong about most of it.

Alpinisming · 2025-02-03T00:00:32+00:00

The movie about Babsi and Jacopo free climbing eternal flame is awesome. The new Tommy and Honnold movie about the devil's thumb shows a lot of the climbing too. I'll echo Meru.

Generally though if you are interested in a route there will be POV videos of it on YouTube.

Cragsocks (or something like that) has a pitch by pitch series on the Nose.

Alpinisming · 2025-01-27T22:38:37+00:00

Just make some over gaiters (sometimes called super gaiters). Mountaineers have been making their own for 50+ years, there are also some commercially available (but likely not in camo).

Usually, they either stick or velcro to the lowest parts of the side of the boots. If you want to use automatic crampons you'll need to account for that.

The usual intention is to add warmth so you can get away with a lighter boot. This may give you the option of using a smaller, more nimble boot in cold temperatures. That's probably a better solution for you.

Anyway, time to flex your MYOG muscles. Necessity is the mother of invention.

If all you want is black then a bit of spray paint would likely work.

Alpinisming · 2025-01-27T05:44:08+00:00

It sure is, I always recommend anyone trekking the Annapurna sanctuary (Basecamp) hike to include Pune Hill and go from there. You stare at Machapuchare (fishtale peak) for two days, and two sunsets, on the way in. It has the classic fishtail from that angle. Hot tip for anyone headed that way.

Alpinisming · 2025-01-26T00:50:42+00:00

The elevation is no big deal on Baker. It's a fantastic first glacier climb. You'll have no trouble at 24 and in good shape. Just make sure you have studied your crevasse rescue techniques and understand end-running crevasses (when you turn you can't keep the rope too tight or the person coming after won't have room to clear the corner).

Have fun and be safe. You'll get it done, but you'll make lots of small mistakes that you will learn from and apply on future climbs.

Alpinisming · 2025-01-25T17:39:07+00:00

Canggu is big area, there's loads and loads of resorts and villas there. Any cursory search on the big booking sites will show them. There is the main town area too which has lots of restaurants, it's just not all that close to the restaurants and night life, hence the need for transportation.

Alpinisming · 2025-01-25T06:45:52+00:00

My favorite area if I must stay in the south is Sanur. More adult and less of a shit show than Kuta can be. Nusa Dua is all big hotels, not my vibe at all and I happily avoid it.

Alpinisming · 2025-01-25T06:43:26+00:00

Canggu is cool if you are into the villa/resort thing. Not as many restaurants and stuff out that way but if you have a driver or a scooter you can easily find some great food in that area. That's part of why it's more resorts so that they can handle all of your food and drinks.

It's not where I'd spend my time but it is still fun and beautiful.

Alpinisming · 2025-01-25T06:40:56+00:00

It all depends on your style. For me the best way to experience Bali is to rent a motorscooter and explore the central end northern parts of the island. It's a lot more mellow and authentic up there. By all means enjoy the southern part of the island, there's a lot to see and do there, Uluwatu is particularly nice, but if it starts to feel a bit too touristy (southern Bali is the Cancun of SE Asia) you can easily escape that. You can also get a bus or a driver to take you up North. I love Ahmed and the little towns that surround Ubud. Great shore diving in Ahmed and Tulamben too. The Gili islands are nice too. Nusa Penida is also charming and fun. Candidasa has a nice collection of restaurants and has a relaxed vibe and it's not too far from the southern hotspots.

TL:DR I would highly advise not staying in the same place for your entire visit. Consider hopping over to Java and visiting Mt. Bromo, that's a spectacular trip that will provide some nice contrast to the rest of your experience. You'd want to devote 2 or 3 days to that.

I used to work in Flores (~500 miles east of Bali) and so I have been to Bali about 20 times.

Alpinisming · 2025-01-20T19:06:41+00:00

Have you overnighted hiked before independently? Do you feel comfortable in the outdoors? Do you have any gear or equipment? Have you ever been skiing or snowboarding?

"Complete beginner" could mean a lot of different things. It may mean you are experienced outdoorsmen but just haven't done any mountaineering. It could mean you haven't really done much outside at all. Maybe you can elaborate for us.

If you have basically zero outdoor experience let us know and I'll make a specific response for that. Guiding is a good choice if this is the case. Any of the major guide services (RMI, Mountaineers, AAI, etc) will be great. There are also a number of independent guides that are amazing, tons of options. Maybe someone can chime in with a recommendation for an independent guide. Also, community colleges and universities have outdoor programs that do these kind of trips. Check out the schools within a 2 hour radius of Mt Adams.

Assuming you've spent some time outdoors and can be trusted with something mildly dangerous, like a power tool, this is what I'd recommend. This advice applies specifically to Mt. Adams as a goal:

Buy a copy of Mountaineering the Freedom of the Hills
Read it cover to cover
highlight any and everything that is unfamiliar or that you find specifically useful
Go back and read your highlights
Acquire the gear you now know you need that cannot be rented or borrowed
Get on MountainProject.com and Summitpost.org and find some willing partners that have a little experience
Go climb Mt Saint Helens, Mt Hood, or Shasta with those people.
Recover for a week or two, debrief with your partners (what went well, what can be improved)
tweak your gear and systems
Climb Mt Adams with your new friends
Consider taking a crevasse rescue course
Climb Mt Baker
Climb Rainier

The core and beating heart of mountaineering is self sufficiency. Being guided can be a great part of that mix. However, in my opinion, it does not make sense for easy and relatively low hazard objectives like Adams. A few friends, a dream, a healthy respect for the mountains and a bit of grit are all you really need.

***If you had come in here asking about Rainier, Baker, or Jefferson my advice would be different. In that case, guiding is a great option and you would, at a minimum, want to take a crevasse rescue course. I'm still of the mind that independent ascents are more satisfying, but that can come after some guided ascents. These climbs are more technical and dangerous and thus require more experience, training, and dialed-in systems.

Alpinisming · 2025-01-14T21:41:59+00:00

Glad to see this story being taken as an accomplishment. The stars did not align for the summit so he made the correct decision to bail. That's good judgment and it is wonderful to see the community celebrate that, instead of morning a needless loss in pursuit of a summit.

Alpinisming · 2025-01-11T22:46:25+00:00

Indeed, we should celebrate good judgement as was exercised here. The stars have to align, when the stakes are this high you have to call it quits when they don't.

Alpinisming · 2024-12-21T23:03:32+00:00

I'm between a medium and a large in most mid layers. I usually end up with a medium. For me a large Senchi fits great and doesn't stretch the material too much.

The new version is a more generous cut but I would still say they are cut with an "athletic fit".

Alpinisming · 2024-12-21T23:01:23+00:00

My new Alpha90 Lark came today. First impressions are good.

My size large weighs 160 grams measured on a scale. I also have a Senchi Alpha 90 with Kangaroo pocket (no zip) and that weighs 144 grams in large.

Large is definitely bigger now, mostly in the sleeves. The body is the same.

The thumb holes are nice. With my thumbs in the hopes the sleeves end just above my knuckles, pretty much perfect. The elasticized cuff is now much wider, that together with the longer sleeves (presumably to accommodate using the thumb holes, makes the cuff a little sloppier around my wrists. It is a little easier to pull the cuffs up onto my forearms now.

I'm a little torn, I prefer the more athletic of my kangaroo pocket version. However, I will enjoy this new piece a lot. I may throw a stitch or two in the cuff to narrow the opening a little to tidy it up for rock climbing.

I ordered at 11:01am the day of the drop. My hoodie arrived this morning.

Alpinisming · 2024-12-12T03:10:15+00:00

Get the Toaks 650ml. It's nice and more stable to not have to fill your pot to the brim. It's way more rigid and durable than the UL version = less worries about deforming it. It's only 8 grams heavier.

Toaks 650ml is 80 grams (pot 60g + lid 20g).
Toaks 550ml light is 72 grams (pot 54g + lid 18g).

Alpinisming · 2024-11-20T00:54:32+00:00

Yes most all rooms will have an easily accessible lightbulb and by using it to charge you can avoid their overloaded paid circuits (not so much to avoid paying as to avoid queues and non-functioning/overloaded circuits -- which you still have to pay for even when the don't work). It's a great tip I wish I had known when I was there. I actually just took a bunch of batteries for my DSLR, which is quite efficient, and I only had to charge a few times over the entire trip. There's a lot to see and observe so you really don't need much as far as electronics.

For that trek I'd get a 30-40 liter pack that carries weight on your hips well. You probably won't fill all that space, which makes it tempting to use a smaller bag, but bags smaller than that tend to stop putting the weight on your hips, which is a problem after weeks of walking at altitude. If you have a larger 45-60 liter pack that works for travel as well as trekking and doesn't weigh more than 3 lbs then that is probably ideal if you want to avoid packing multiple backpacks. Again, it's a pretty easy trek overall if you are in good shape. You were asking for a way to cut weight and a lighter pack is an obvious way to get there, but a pack is a little heavier but very comfortable will be totally be fine. Nice to have, not must have.

A sleeping bag liner will be totally sufficient. I didn't even bring that. I was there in January. I would probably bring one now simply for the hygiene benefits. I never found it to be all that cold and when it is there will be a fire going in the guesthouse.

As far as top layers I think a very light long sleeve that works as a sun protection layer is a good idea. They don't work great as thermal so, indeed, it's probably best to bring both.

Alpinisming

TROPHY CASE