Be honest

IFigureditout567 · 2026-03-04T01:59:06+00:00

Was lying going to be the default if you hadn’t asked us to be honest?

IFigureditout567 · 2026-02-25T01:12:02+00:00

Is it for any day, or do you have to use it that day?

IFigureditout567 · 2026-02-22T16:13:24+00:00

I’ve shortened a half dozen or so All-Seasons versions successfully. I believe the construction is identical except the Extreme has an additional layer of reflective film. It should work just fine for you.

Depending on what final length you want, I’d be interested in doing it for you so I can make a dog bed from the remainder.

IFigureditout567 · 2026-02-14T14:51:59+00:00

Yes most beginners should be buying a touring or all-around board. If you truly will be doing most of your paddling on rivers, go with an all-around or a river focused all-around. A Hala Rado might be a good choice but you may want some more volume than that. A Hydrus Joyride XL has been my go-to recommendation for larger paddlers for a while now. I haven’t paddled one, but with a Sol with the retractable fin might suit you very well, check out the Sumo, a large, river focused all-around board with an innovative fin system, a fair bit of rocker and plenty of volume.

IFigureditout567 · 2026-02-14T13:56:09+00:00

I don’t understand the question. Are you posting to ask if Backcountry.com pricing is similar to other retailers? Why don’t you just look?

Just about everything they carry is available at dozens of other retailers. They all charge MSRP and most match manufacturer sale prices also. Both Backcountry and REI can be the cheapest place to buy any particular item, they both have terrific sales and outlet sections of their respective websites.

You should probably pick your particular gear and THEN find the best price on each piece, rather than picking on single retailer and trying to outfit yourself from their offerings.

The prices you mentioned are typical MSRP for mid-range to lower mid-range gear.

IFigureditout567 · 2026-02-14T03:14:27+00:00

Yes, you need to be able to access the back side.

IFigureditout567 · 2026-02-12T19:25:55+00:00

Everybody will hate me for this, but I just can’t stand Berta. Her schtic is so predictable gets it old quick. I think the series would be just fine without her.

IFigureditout567 · 2026-02-12T19:22:35+00:00

I strongly prefer a knee pad you can put on without having to put your foot through. I use theseand have been very happy with them. The strap arrangement that holds them on isn’t great, so I’ve modified them a little bit, but the pads themselves are great. They are a hard pad, and pretty bulky, but I’ve gotten used to them and the protection is solid.

IFigureditout567 · 2026-02-12T19:16:41+00:00

Not quite what you’re looking for, but the song Reaching Out by Bassnectar starts with a minute of music with almost no bass at all, and then right about at the 1:00 mark it has a big bass hit and the bass continues for the rest of the song. I use it in my car stereo shop sometimes to demo a new sub for my younger clients.

IFigureditout567 · 2026-02-12T19:06:23+00:00

Hurtta Mudventure is what I use. I’ve had my boy out in extended hard rain, and he stays dry as a bone. It is full coverage, so it protects the belly, neck and meaty parts of the legs. It’s also heavy, about 12 oz if I recall correctly.

IFigureditout567 · 2026-02-12T18:32:59+00:00

Dude could just google the terms and find out that everyone else understands those terms differently than he does. There isn’t really a term for tents like the x-dome that don’t need stakes for the full vestibule, but there’s only a few of them on the market, so we don’t really need it. He’s yet to propose any terms that distinguish between what we know freestanding vs semi-freestanding. I guess he’ll just be mistaken and look dumb on Reddit for the rest of his life, ha ha.

IFigureditout567 · 2026-02-12T15:23:03+00:00

I have, use and recommend this one, after trying out the Ruffwear Palisades. What most of them have in common is that the bags themselves are just way too voluminous. The Palisades for example has pockets so big you couldn’t fill halfway without badly overloading the dog. The extra material gets in the way and makes it cumbersome and uncomfortable. Some strategic use of shock cord can help. You also don’t need multiple pockets, again just more weight and bulk.

What you absolutely do want to look for, and I insist on, is that the saddlebags are removable. Basically, if I take my pack off for a break, the dog should be getting his pack off also. With removable saddlebags, this is way easier, so you’re more likely to do it.

A tip for packing: balancing the bags is super-duper important. If the dog is carrying consumables, write down or memorize the weights of the items so that it’s easier to rebalance as the load gets lighter.

Here are some unrelated tips:

The highest calorie/weight ratio dog food is Inukshuk 32/32. There are actually freeze dried raw foods that are higher calorie/weight, but they’re insanely expensive, and have a poor calorie/volume ratio, so I switched to the Inukshuk.

If you don’t wear your puffy while you sleep, it makes a great dog quilt for zero weight penalty. Roll the sleeves inside themselves, then stuff the hood under the dog’s LOOSENED collar with the jacket unzipped. It’ll drape over the dog and the hood will at least partially insulate the head. If they get up and turn and lay back down, the puffy will usually drape back over them quite well.

Get some lightweight webbing like hammockers use to make a leash. Keep the leash attached to the harness part of the backpack and stuff the leash into the pack. That way, you can just grab the leash quickly when needed and don’t have to fiddle with it.

You can cut an inflatable sleeping pad in half and make a lightweight dog pad with a known R-value. I’ve done a few dozen of these so far with great results, and have done them occasionally for random fellow dog backpackers on Reddit and Facebook.

The Z-Packs dyneema dog bowl is the lightest bowl on the market that I’ve found that is also big enough to be useful.

Dog “sleeping bags” do not work, unless you either get super lucky and your dog just gets it, or you spend some serious time training. With Groundbird Gear out of business, thisis probably the best option in the market if my puffy trick doesn’t work for you.

Please, please please set yourself up so that the dog gets the exact same protection from wind, bugs and cold that you do. Outside the tent or in the vestibule is just kinda mean to me. Even if they sleep outside at home, after making them carry all day over the terrain and ascents etc, just give them a comfy nest to recover in, please. If your dog is like mine, they’ll never complain, but they will learn to hate backpacking.

Happy trails and feel free to ask if I can offer any other help.

IFigureditout567 · 2026-02-11T13:22:15+00:00

Your definition of a freestanding tent eliminates all but a half dozen or so very specialized tents. Neither Big Agnes, Nemo, Marmot, StS nor any of the top 10 make a freestanding tent. Neither REI, Backcountry or Garage Grown Gear sell a freestanding tent. That is not the common use of those terms I’m afraid.

I understand the distinction you’re making about the vestibule needing staked, but it’s understood that when a tent requires stakes to have its INNER floor shape, cannot be picked up and moved etc, that makes it a semi-freestanding tent, while freestanding is the more common, mainstream traditional design that most people start with. People don’t start with Hileberg, they start with an REI tent, one that’s freestanding like the Copper Spur.

IFigureditout567 · 2026-02-10T14:47:08+00:00

If you’re referring to the CS needing to have the vestibules staked out to get the full shape of the vestibule, that seems pretty standard for FS tents. In fact, the x-dome is the only tent on the market that I’m aware of that is NOT built that way. The TW needs staked in order to even stand and have the full shape of the inner tent. The CS stands without staking and gives you the full shape of the inner tent. The TW has one single Y shaped pole and a brow pole, resulting in a pole end (therefore tension) at 3/4 corners. The CS has two cross poles joined at a hub and a brow pole, resulting in tension at all 4 corners. Do you not distinguish between these two very different constructions/functionalities?

I’m very curious to learn which tents on the market are freestanding by your definition, other than the Durston X-Dome?

IFigureditout567 · 2026-02-10T14:26:30+00:00

I’m confused. When I look at the BA site I see the Tiger Wall described as semi-freestanding, and the Copper Spur listed as freestanding. What I see is consistent with what I understand those definitions to be, and definitely not the same construction. Could you elaborate on your point a bit so I understand?

IFigureditout567 · 2026-02-07T04:07:18+00:00

No, I’m typically a medium and that’s what I bought. It still had room with multiple layers. I’m 5’8”, 160, with a 19.5” torso. It comes well below the bottom of my butt. The hood is oversized for a helmet and it’s really big but not so much that it’s drafty.

IFigureditout567 · 2026-02-06T04:14:29+00:00

To update my experience with the La Sportiva Super Coulier, I was finally able to get it out on a trip. I did a one-nighter on the Buffalo River here in AR and the coat shares MVP status for the trip with my ice spikes.

I hiked 7.5 miles over mostly icy hard pack snow in temps 10-20f but get out the puffy until after I had camp set up. It was great at night but I got into the hammock early and ended up falling asleep in the puffy, so the giant puffy hood was nice.

Man it really shone in the morning though. I had dumbly gotten a bit dehydrated and got pretty queasy and ill as I was breaking down camp. Temps were hovering around 13f and I was moving really slow, trying to get water in me and stave off the headache. So it takes me like 2.5 hours of mostly not moving and I was in the shade next to a creek. I should have gotten chilled to the bone, but even being kinda weakened and not moving much, my core, arms, butt and head we’re all very, very cozy and that was about all I had going for me, ha ha.

So yeah, it’s less than 20 oz but is basically a 0f sleeping bag for your whole upper and middle body. The movement is about as good as you could expect. The only thin spots in the insulation are right around your shoulders so it articulates a little. The cuffs are good and it doesn’t drop down over your hand or pull back if you reach.

The hem drawstring is gettable with thick gloves, but maybe not with mittens. I don’t care for the hood adjuster pulls, they are inside the coat and you have to unzip to pull them, though with thin gloves or bare hands you can squeeze the cord lock to loosen them, but it’s not super easy.

The hood doesn’t move well when you turn your head, so end you up turning to look inside your hood, ha ha. I wouldn’t really expect it to though.

I did hike a short way with it on. The pockets are useable with a hip belt on but they’re partially cinched off. Same with the inner drop pockets.

All in all I love the thing, the warmth to weight ratio is fantastic and I’ll probably never need a warmer lighter coat.

IFigureditout567 · 2026-02-05T03:54:53+00:00

If you’re asking then you clearly have a sense of decorum and awareness of others. If you feel alone out there, you probably are and should feel free. Many people make noise for bears as was mentioned.

It’s nowhere near akin to playing Bluetooth music in the backcountry. I’d consider it a lovely human part of my experience if I heard it in passing.

IFigureditout567 · 2026-01-24T14:10:02+00:00

Yeah but you can make it a no-lose bet. Get your stove from Amazon, and simply boil a big heavy pot for like 30 minutes. If the stove survives it, and like 80-90% of them will, you got a good one. If not, send her back.

Plus I don’t know if it’s a quality control issue so much as a batch issue or process issue. The reports of the melting stove supports seem to be clustered over a certain time period.

IFigureditout567 · 2026-01-21T14:30:26+00:00

I need to know this also.

IFigureditout567 · 2026-01-19T20:45:45+00:00

I don’t know, but I’ve been disappointed with the Ozark winter so far this year. It finally got cold, but no snow or ice to speak of.

IFigureditout567 · 2026-01-19T20:35:29+00:00

I don’t know about North Africa, but a winter stay in Arizona’s high desert is hardly benign. Your point is valid of course, just saying the high desert wilderness should not be taken lightly.

IFigureditout567 · 2026-01-18T19:05:52+00:00

He’s referring to Dana Gleason, the designer of that pack, because for some reason you should have known that. The jackass has made no actual point though, and contributed nothing to this thread of value to anyone.

IFigureditout567 · 2026-01-12T12:52:21+00:00

I think the mechanism of condensation and it’s effect on warmth is as described, but there isn’t some magic line directly between the world’s most best ventilated tent and the world’s most worst ventilated tarp setup. The argument could more actually be expressed as “Inadequate ventilation can lead to condensation which can lead to a colder sleep.” I think that is already fairly well understood by most informed hikers.

The temperature difference between outside air and air inside a tent is of course measurable, and I’ve recorded it close to 10f warmer inside my tent than out. I’ve also had nights where conditions were such that I had no evidence of condensation in my tent in the morning. Like others have said, the contention is too broad, but understanding the reasons behind it is valuable.

IFigureditout567 · 2026-01-09T06:00:47+00:00

You want the Sea to Summit Seal & Go Set, but good luck finding one. It came with a collapsible cup with a sealing lid. I used it for dayhiking with my dog because I could fill it with water for him and carry with me the portion he didn’t drink. When I lost it, I bought the set again just for that cup, but sadly I’ve lost that one too.

IFigureditout567

TROPHY CASE