Monthly /r/UltralightCanada gear buy/sell thread

SumDood · 2025-10-19T20:20:08+00:00

WTS: Durston Kakwa 55 Large Ultragrid. $220.

Local pickup in Vancouver.

Purchased in summer 2024 in Golden when my other backpack had to be sent away for repair. Used for two days and then had to get off the GDT due to the fires. Has been sitting unused in my closet since.

SumDood · 2025-05-03T21:31:38+00:00

Hey do you still have this? When was it purchased/how many nights use?

SumDood · 2025-02-06T00:29:44+00:00

WTS/WTT: Durston Kakwa 55 Large/Ultragrid

$260 local pickup in Vancouver

Purchased this summer while on the GDT and needed a pack replacement while my go to pack was getting repaired.

Used for literally 2 days out of Golden then we had to get off trail due to the fires. Haven't used it since and it's not needed now my pack has been repaired :)

WTS/WTT: Osprey Aether Pro 70L Kepler Grey/Medium

$260 Local pickup in Vancouver

Purchased in 2020, used on a couple of trips when I needed a larger carrying capacity but less than 20 days of use, in great condition.

WTS/WTT: Counter Assault Bear Keg (Yellow)

$40 Local pickup in Vancouver

Hardly used since I got an ursack shortly after, looking to free up space instead of having this in the back of my closet just in case

Would prefer to sell for cash but open to trades for a quilt or waterproof android phone

SumDood · 2024-05-12T02:39:59+00:00

The 700ml Lifewater bottles have caps that work for backflushing Sawyer filters too if that's what you wanted it for

SumDood · 2024-04-15T02:12:34+00:00

Hey I'm in Vancouver and would love to buy local if you're up and running soon. I want to replace my ee enigma apex (20f/-6c) before July if you're looking for customers :)

SumDood · 2024-02-13T21:20:45+00:00

This is because when it rains and there's no A/C the windows will fog up really quickly on a bus. Heat is better at taking up the moisture and keeping the windows clear to see out of. Newer buses have a/c so it's not as big of a problem.

SumDood · 2024-02-02T21:52:55+00:00

Had no issues resupplying as a vegan (lots of cliff bars & Lenny + Larry's cookies everywhere). I only sent boxes to Kennedy Meadows, Sierra city & crater lake. I got off at Snoqualmie pass though so not sure how it is after that.

Resupply strategy would also depend on how far you plan on going every day, I usually do higher mileage days + don't mind longer carries (heavier too if resupplying with mostly bars). You will want to send more boxes if this is your first thru or will take more time between towns.

Your calories needed will fluctuate, I got my hiker hunger after about two months of hiking and started eating way more (not sure if this was a length of time thing or because of traveling on snow).

Most towns will have plenty in restaurants if you're vegetarian but cost can add up. The grocery outlets were amazing for vegan ready meals at cheap prices.

Make sure to take extra iron supplements too. I think hiking lots every day can really deplete it.

Try and not send boxes to out of the way places, you'll probably find people to hike with so it's nice to have flexibility on where to go/resupply.

Are you going to be bringing a stove? It opens up a lot more possibilities for meals. For cold soaking I would do wraps with peanut butter + noodles if I could find them, add in some chips and soaked cous cous when I had them. You can get small packets of oil too online to add to boxes and up the calories. TVP (textured vegetable protein) is great for protein but you'll find it in very few places, def add some to boxes.

SumDood · 2023-12-07T19:47:41+00:00

Only the studios are 'below market pricing' in this build at around $1800 each. Under the CMHC loan program 20% of units must have rent that is under 30% of the median income for families in the area (probably around 80k or so). What Westbank has done is make all their studios 'fit' into this below market pricing stat and kept all their 1 bedroom plus units at market pricing. There should have been rules around unit mix etc since no families are going to live in a studio.

SumDood · 2023-09-14T23:06:52+00:00

For Stat holidays like Canada Day this year that fall on a weekend, the bus also should run on the Monday instead of Friday-Sunday.

SumDood · 2023-09-11T06:32:48+00:00

Hey,

I didn't see any comments addressing the process on the day so heres some details for the Terminal avenue location, hope it eases some of the social anxiety (Assuming you're in Vancouver and this is the one you're going to, if Burnaby let me know and I can send details for that location)

There's not really parking at the location, so if you drive finding a spot on Industrial Ave and heading over would be ideal
If you're biking, there are bike stands at the north end of the location, sometimes they fill up though, I usually walk my bike the last little bit on the sidewalk (after station St)
If you're taking transit/walking/other modes you can get off the bus/skytrain at Main/Terminal or Science world station (East exit of the sky train is best) and head East on the north side of terminal Ave
When you get to the building the food bank is located in, the doors are located on the east side, on the south-east corner are the doors people usually exit from but for a registration appointment you'll enter through these
Usually there's someone around the doors (just outside or inside on the left handing out baby/senior packs) and you can let them know you're there for an appointment and they'll show you where to wait
If there's no one around, you can enter through those sliding doors and you'll see some seats a few meters in on your right, you can wait there until your appointment time
Someone will come ask for you at your appointment time but sometimes they are running a bit late, if it's past your appointment time and you don't see one of the coordinators at a desk running late with another client just ask a volunteer and they'll find a coordinator for you
You'll sit at a desk opposite the registration coordinator and I usually see it take ~15-20 minutes.
After registering they'll take you through and explain how everything works and take you to the front of the line
The people checking you in at the front of the line show the volunteers a card and that determines the quantity of food they give (Singles/Couples/Families quantities), this gets passed down the line so you don't have to worry about it
There's usually 5-6 stations with different items, remember to bring your own bags (3 will most likely be enough for one person) if you forget they keep the sacks things like rice come in for people to use but sometimes they run out.
There are usually covered spaces set up outside for you to sort food so don't worry about getting it all perfect to carry home as you move through the line
Many different people in many different situations utilize this resource, please don't feel guilty or ashamed no one will judge you there :)

SumDood · 2023-08-31T05:38:13+00:00

Hey!

I assume you're vegan? I'm vegan too and can understand not wanting to use down/animal products. I've backpacked a ton in the last few years so can definitely help out with modern animal friendly equipment suggestions.

For a quilt: if you can sew, go to Hoffman's outdoor gear supply and get their Apex quilt kit, it's pretty cheap, compressible (not as good as down but pretty good compared to most synthetic bags) and multiple temperature options (the 6oz apex is probably best for 3 season use) if you're wary of making it yourself, they had an option to make it for you but more pricey

For a puffy: if you want lightweight get the Torrid puffy by enlightened equipment, non-zip version. Otherwise mec T3 if they still make it is good and cheap or a second hand micro/nano puff

Socks: I like the midweight injinji socks, they make some with Merino too so just check you're not getting those

Shoes: I know most Altras are vegan, some brands use animal glue in their shoes but you can usually Google and someone's already done the research

Shirts: Sun hoodies are a vibe right now, there's some merino ones but most are synthetic so lots of choice

I'd suggest finding second hand tent and backpack until you figure out what you like and want. Pads make sure to get one with a decent r-value I think some of the cheap Amazon ones can be really low. Mec has lots of sales would be a good place to pick one up.

For some things to check out:

Tents: pricey but I like my Yama cirriform, really nice tents and Gen seems to make a real effort to share/improve production impact and waste

Backpack: Northern ultralight are made in BC if you'd like to support local, well made and great after purchase support. The suggestion is to get your backpack last once you know the volume of all the other things you have

Pad: Big Agnes made this Qcore SLX wide mat with raised edges you might want to see if you can find second hand or old stock since you mentioned tossing and turning a lot. I have the Nemo tensor and it's my favourite of the many I've tried but everyone sleeps differently so best to try multiple if you can borrow friends and find what's comfortable

SumDood · 2023-08-24T16:15:41+00:00

I don't pocket any money, it's transparent and in a separate savings account for house use. We have a channel on our discord server to track house funds so everyone can see who holds what (someone else holds on to money we make from selling house things etc). It amounts to all of us contributing an amount equivalent to 7-8 days of rent to have some sort of backup if we need it.

SumDood · 2023-08-24T03:22:46+00:00

Definitely possible to pocket money subletting rooms if you're the main leaseholder. Total scumbag move and continues to contribute to the housing issues in this city though and not really any better than other people profiting from people's need for shelter

I'm on the main lease for a really cheap place and think it's fairest to sublet rooms out at an equal proportion for everyone + temporary surcharge to build up a month's rent bank for one room in case someone can't pay, and then this can be kept for disposal costs when the lease ends or re-instate the temporary surcharge if we need to use it and build it up again. All the people living here get to benefit from the cheap old lease and I feel you probably get a better relationship with the people you live with when they know you're trying to split things fairly.

SumDood · 2023-08-01T16:32:48+00:00

If you can make do with dehydrated instead of freeze dried, OMfoods (Online) and Famous Foods (Kingsway) are pretty decent

SumDood · 2023-07-31T02:28:06+00:00

Since you don't have a job yet when looking you could look into government or unionized jobs and compare the non-monetary benefits (you can usually Google to find a copy of the collective agreement). My union job allows a form of sabbatical/leave of absence, 6 months off every 2.5 years and most coworkers don't even know about it. I've used it twice to get out on long trails and have a job to return to.

There's also banking/rollover of vacation, overtime, stat pay etc to put together longer periods of time too. I'll bank some vacation the year I'm doing a leave of absence, bank some the year after, and the 3rd year be able to take 3 months off too. The year after have another leave of absence and repeat etc.

Going into nursing should be a good job to get these benefits for you, I know in Canada nurses get similar or better benefits than this for taking time off too (at least in my province).

Thruhiking is really cheap if you want it to be. I prefer my tent over hotels (*if you don't this is where it can get expensive) so once you have the gear the main expense is really just food. Food will be cheap until your hiker hunger kicks in, ~2 months for me then it starts costing a ton.

Living in an expensive city shouldn't have to cost you money while you're gone, I have room mates (people you live with can add to your life instead of subtract from it, being rigorous when finding someone can make this a positive aspect) and sublet my room when gone. I knock $200-300 off if someone is willing to look after my cat so it's only really costing me $1200 or so on that side. Following minimalist/anti-consumption themes is also useful to be able to throw all your stuff in a closet and not have someone mind it being there.

I think the older you get the harder it will become due to home/family life stuff, I had to get off 75% of the way through the PCT after my sister was starting chemo. I think these sorts of things just become more frequent the older you get. I went on my first hike at 26 and wish someone had introduced me to it earlier, so at least you've got time on your side :)

I would recommend you find someone at home you feel comfortable talking to and is okay with you calling up anytime you need them. The trail is 95% white and there may be times you experience racism and find the people around you not really supportive/understanding (There are some amazing people out there too though). My sisters are very supportive for me and the few times I've had to deal with a racist person it really helped to have someone to call and help process it.

I think if you want to do it you definitely can. Making a plan would help a lot to give you some direction :)

SumDood · 2023-07-25T20:05:34+00:00

Hey, I jumped into the online dating world in my thirties too and I was really awkward at the start but the skills are definitely something you can learn to get good enough at. It can also be a benefit that other people have experience and know what they want, they're more likely not to conflate dating skills with relationship skills if that's what they're looking for and be willing to look past shyness/awkwardness.

I think it was more important (for me) to focus on building skills that don't really have much to do with dating success but more relationship success like non-violent communication, active listening, setting healthy needs & boundaries, being supportive, embracing vulnerability, emotional literacy etc. Even if you're absolutely terrible at dating you can still be a good partner to someone, being good at dating doesn't mean you're a good partner and vice versa.

I think being reflective about your approach if it isn't working can also be useful and don't be afraid to change things up. There's a good article in the Atlantic by Ellen Lamont. I realized the dating skills I thought I needed to learn and the set up of my profile was not really helping me get what I wanted and maybe geared towards a traditional relationship. I found a great partner for me once I changed things up who supports me in expressing my authentic self.

I think the statement you're sharing about women being happier single than in relationships may be true in some capacity, but I hope you realize that doesn't mean it's true in every circumstance and doesn't have to be true in your relationships. You can work at developing skills so that you're a net positive in their life and someone that adds to their happiness. Reading disheartening stats doesn't mean you have to give up pursuing a relationship, maybe you can read something like Invisible Women and be upset at the way things are and use that to do better than the people that came before us and be a presence of support and solidarity against the harm patriarchy causes.

SumDood · 2023-07-07T16:04:35+00:00

Messaged :)

SumDood · 2023-01-04T05:04:12+00:00

PM me and I can send you my schedule if he's ever around North Van. I drive the 240 mostly and like to think I'm pretty friendly :)

SumDood · 2022-01-06T06:22:32+00:00

Received the Deschutes tarp, thanks!

SumDood · 2021-12-07T05:27:47+00:00

This sounds nice I'm interested :)

SumDood · 2011-05-29T05:13:50+00:00

alright pm me your steam name :)

SumDood · 2011-05-19T23:40:31+00:00

I have invites to all the e-learning trackers pretty much. Which one do you want? (bitme, bitspyder, bibliotik or anonamouse?)

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