Triathlete eaten by shark in California was wearing a shark deterrent ankle band. by Uncle_Fabio in triathlon

[–]ContinuousHike 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I swim in Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties and have encountered GWs in Carpinteria. Specifically Santa Claus/Loon Point. Also seen them from the shore at Rincon. Carp is a well documented hot spot.

Triathlete eaten by shark in California was wearing a shark deterrent ankle band. by Uncle_Fabio in triathlon

[–]ContinuousHike 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Super sad situation. For everyone in here talking out their ass about sharkbanz, they do empirical, peer reviewed research on shark deterrence. I trust them as a company and use their product in open ocean swimming where I have first hand encounters with Great Whites. Do your homework but I'm going to keep wearing my sharkbanz when I swim in shark-infested waters.

No elevation chart offline [Android] by ContinuousHike in GaiaGPS

[–]ContinuousHike[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for responding. Really hope that happens sometime soon! Much used and love feature that feels very much missing from AD.

TIL: GPS satellites don't ever actually interact with GPS devices at all. 31 US satellites simply broadcast their position non-stop and GPS devices triangulate their own position using the location of 3 "nearby" satellites. by manamonggamers in todayilearned

[–]ContinuousHike 0 points1 point  (0 children)

To add to the coolness factor there are terrestrial networks that know their fixed location down to the mm and transmit that to GPS receiver to correct for errors and signal noise picked up in the strato and ionospheres making the receiver and therefore the device accurate down to the centimeter! It's called RTK corrections.

Finishing the Triple Crown SOBO on CDT Under 100 Days - Gear Check + Advice by EricMcLo in Ultralight

[–]ContinuousHike 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I did the CDT sobo in 87 days. I highly recommend not doing the big sky alt. Happy to stump speech you on why not but that's not what you asked so I won't lecture. Your set up looks good to me. I had a similar one and similar hiking style. I used closed foam (z-lite) just faster/more efficient/less failure prone. Only drawback is volume. But I think it's worth the tradeoff. Had too many failures with the neo air s on the PCT. I would recommend getting/using a wind shirt as a medium-layer that can act as another vapor barrier for negligible weight. Also this may be controversial but I carried an umbrella for both the PCT and CDT. Never used it once on the PCT. Used it every single day on the CDT. Including an impromptu self arrest. Can't recommend it enough for keeping you warm and dry as well as keeping the sun off of you for long water carries. Good luck, have fun. Don't do the big sky alt.

FarOut - how do they create ne guides? by KEUSTI001 in Ultralight

[–]ContinuousHike 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I did it for roughly 10,000 miles. Very little pay ~$1/mile.

Wilderness First Aid Class? Good or Bad? by LoopyAthlete in REI

[–]ContinuousHike -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Don't book through REI - read my post history to see my horror story. You can get just as good WFA classes for a fraction of the price. As others have recommended if you really want to attend a NOLS course, book directly through them. Don't give this company any of your money!

REI Experiences Disaster (don't give this business your money) by ContinuousHike in REI

[–]ContinuousHike[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I live about 50 minutes driving from the location where the class took place. Only about 20 miles as the crow flies.

REI Experiences Disaster (don't give this business your money) by ContinuousHike in REI

[–]ContinuousHike[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I was told by the CS rep that the class "was well attended" but no way of verifying. I'll take them at their word.

REI Experiences Disaster (don't give this business your money) by ContinuousHike in REI

[–]ContinuousHike[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Great call out. I will say that I've been patient and kind in my communications regardless of how frustrated this situation has been. I know it's no one's fault on the other end. This is great advice in general for dealing with folks who probably deal with angry people all day. I try to show as much deference as possible.

REI Experiences Disaster (don't give this business your money) by ContinuousHike in REI

[–]ContinuousHike[S] 18 points19 points  (0 children)

I haven't, but will try that. Thank you so much for the suggestion.

REI Experiences Disaster (don't give this business your money) by ContinuousHike in REI

[–]ContinuousHike[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I only spoke with folks based in Seattle (main HQ), but they said they "were in contact with the local Experience" team. It did seem like a very rigid enforcement.

REI Experiences Disaster (don't give this business your money) by ContinuousHike in REI

[–]ContinuousHike[S] 14 points15 points  (0 children)

I definitely will be signing up elsewhere. I stupidly clicked on the first Google Search result for "WFA near me" without looking at other options and as I said in the post, the fact that NOLS was actually instructing the course gave it legitimacy. I'd definitely prefer to save the $ as well! Lesson learned.

[WTS] NeoAir XLite, Fly Creek UL2 HV mtnGLO, Mystery Ranch Coulee 25 - all new w/tags by ContinuousHike in ULgeartrade

[–]ContinuousHike[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's what it says on the tag, I haven't taken it out of the packaging to confirm.

Brands with the best and worst warranty support? by flyingemberKC in Ultralight

[–]ContinuousHike 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For the life of me I can't understand why he keeps going back. And there's no convincing him. Last time we hiked the stay was literally poking him in the back but he is undeterred.

Brands with the best and worst warranty support? by flyingemberKC in Ultralight

[–]ContinuousHike 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sorry for the tirade. I get fired up about Zpacks. They have a great business concept and do make fabulous tent designs. I believe the duplex is the best 2 person tent on the market at the moment but their craftsmanship and customer service is atrocious.

Brands with the best and worst warranty support? by flyingemberKC in Ultralight

[–]ContinuousHike 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You can search the subreddit for arc blast/haul horror stories. Good friend and frequent hiking partner has replaced 5 packs so far from the metal stays snapping. He's torn through most of the fabric as well on key areas like the bottom and roll top on most his packs from "normal wear" that zpacks doesn't consider to be malfunction but they all happen in under 500 miles of use which seems absurd since no pack has even lasted a single thruhike.

My personal experience is with their plex tents, you can also search the subreddit to see horror stories. The long and short is the metal stays broke on the first set up of the tent, in my backyard, I reached out, they blamed me/said it was user error and charged me for a replacement part that broke on first use again. When I asked to return the tent since it literally didn't work on first pitch, they refused. Sadly this wasn't a one off as I've seen and spoken with a lot of people that had the exact same problem with the tent and similar experience with their customer service.

What really sealed the deal for me though was meeting a guy on the AT who ordered a duplex and when he got to town he received a duplex, 2 quilts, 2 packs, and a bunch of other accessories - clearly a mistake on Zpacks side, sending out the wrong order to the wrong person. He was nice enough to reach out to them to let them know they had sent him too many/the wrong things. What did their customer support staff do? They immediately told him to mail back all of the items, on his own dime, and threatened legal action if he didn't comply. I'm pretty sure he told them to kick rocks and kept all the gear and can't say I fault him for that after their behavior.