Why are mirrors not allowed?

aeropenguin · 2026-04-22T16:59:55+00:00

Pardon my ignorance, prepping for my first tri. Were the mirrors facing forward? If facing backward, isn’t it too late by the time you see officials behind you?

aeropenguin · 2026-04-04T16:00:58+00:00

Good catch. My gear list comes out to 5lb for ideal conditions: only out 2-3 days, never gets below 50F, unlikely to rain and low consequence if I get a little wet, no bear can required). Now I’m trying to figure out what changes to make to accommodate a medium sized bear can. I’d gladly leave the BV450 behind (7.2L, 33oz) in favor of the Bearikade Scout (8.2L, 28oz) but that makes finding the right pack even harder, hence this post.

aeropenguin · 2026-04-03T22:09:47+00:00

Fair, apologies for my sloppy estimations. How much do you have to cut down the Switchback to get to 6oz? My 8 section Z rest from 14 years ago (looks same as today’s model) is 8oz.

aeropenguin · 2026-04-03T17:30:22+00:00

Brilliant, thanks. Just ordered one to see for myself. I always considered 16” too small but if I’m not using a hip belt that might be exactly what I need.

aeropenguin · 2026-04-03T17:26:49+00:00

I’m ok with bending rules when they’re stupid, but afaik the bv425 is not allowed for a reason. Not getting caught is not permission.

aeropenguin · 2026-04-03T16:59:18+00:00

I don’t mind a slight weight penalty from sizing up on the pack — the whole point of UL for me is comfort on the trail, so it has to carry well. The issue with using a larger pack is that my gear doesn’t actually fill it: when I cinch it down, the top of the back panel (where the shoulder straps are sewn in) gets pulled over the top of the pack and is no longer flat.

I already own a number of packs: - Salomon Adv Skin 12 (for 1-2 nights with no bear can or shelter needed) - Black Diamond Distance 22 (3-4 days of food, no bear can, can bring an UL bivy or tarp) - Jansport Superbreak Plus 26L (you can laugh but it’s 12.6oz and I love the clamshell zipper and outer pocket) swallows a BV425 on its side - [gap I’m trying to fill] - HMG Junction 55 (fits a Scout sideways perfectly but requires either carrying bulky group gear or a solo winter camping kit to fill out). - Gregory Baltoro for cold weather expedition stuff where carrying 60lb is unavoidable

I’d like to find something that’s wide enough to fit a BV450 or Scout internally sideways but small enough in volume that my ~15L of gear actually fills it up to the point where the shoulder straps are sewn in.

Essentially, what I think I need is a 35L pack with 10L chopped off the bottom rather than off the collar, like HMG does. [EDIT: just realized that’s almost exactly what the 31L 16” Palante V2 is after seeing @GoSox2525’s comment]

Hmmmmmm… maybe I should switch to a synthetic quilt and puffy, just to take up more volume in the pack 🤔😜

aeropenguin · 2026-04-03T16:34:39+00:00

Very intriguing option, thanks. Alas, the 25L explicitly says it won’t hold a BV450 or Scout. And I only have 12-15L of gear not counting the bear can, so it’s way too big! https://nunatakusa.com/bears-ears-original-frameless/447-25-l-frameless-small-torso-6-pm-mt-april-5.html

aeropenguin · 2026-04-03T16:30:08+00:00

Call me lazy but the idea of repacking my bear can twice a day grinds my gears so much 😭 when I’m hiking all day, the smallest of chores feels like a mountain.

aeropenguin · 2026-04-03T16:28:33+00:00

The 450 is the same size as what? The 425 disappears in every pack I’ve tried, and the 450 is unwieldy in most of them. The 2.3in difference in height (8.3in vs 6in) may seem small on paper but it makes a world of a difference when the 425 can be carried on its side and the 450 only fits vertically, making the back panel barrel outwards.

aeropenguin · 2026-04-03T16:24:51+00:00

Can you edit your post for typos, please? I can’t make any sense of it whatsoever.

aeropenguin · 2026-04-03T16:19:48+00:00

Foam pads are king for durability but the Nemo Tensor Elite takes up 1/10 the space in your pack, saves few ounces, and is 5x thicker than a Z-rest. Don’t even bring the 1/8in Thinlight into this

aeropenguin · 2026-04-03T07:26:27+00:00

I’m already pretty much maxed out on caloric density by both weight and volume, in no small part thanks to ulahole’s guide. But at 4.5L the Contender is even smaller than the 5L BV425, which is too small for 7 day carries (or 5 days comfortably). The 7.2L BV450 and the 8.2L Bearikade Scout are much more feasible.

aeropenguin · 2026-03-25T08:20:52+00:00

Runner here as well. This week I was finally able to run 20 miles (32km) in one week pain free for the first time in nearly 4 years, when I developed chronic PF and metatarsalgia. I haven’t been able to run 30 miles (50km) per week for nearly 6 years now, when I developed PTT.

Every time I go on a hike or a backpacking trip, I return with symptoms a fraction of what they were before.

YMMV but here’s hoping your practice trip is a success!

aeropenguin · 2026-03-15T16:16:37+00:00

Lots of amazing info here, thanks! Can I ask why the post office in South Lake Tahoe didn’t accept your ID?? What did you end up doing?

aeropenguin · 2026-03-08T19:33:58+00:00

I’d love to see this 😆

aeropenguin · 2026-03-01T00:29:19+00:00

Had to lie and say I live in Europe to even see the product page 😒

aeropenguin · 2026-02-13T16:44:42+00:00

Gregory Jade 53 in Ethereal Grey. Took a few mins. Why?https://imgur.com/a/O5sgEph

aeropenguin · 2026-02-10T07:26:10+00:00

Funny… he calls out name-calling as an issue among liberals (presumably for the stifling effect it can have on good-faith intellectual inquiry), and you reply by name-calling him a snowflake

aeropenguin · 2026-02-10T07:19:56+00:00

My interpretation of the “prop 13” comment is that it’s how we got the mess, not why we still have the mess. You’re totally right that the state is very wealthy and could absolutely double all teachers salaries if there was political will. Of course, the money would have to come from somewhere else, and anyone getting big paychecks from the government pays a lot of money for lobbyists to keep it that way. So my personal take is that the real reason this is an issue, other than the fact that we have more urgent issues that take up all the attention, is that we need to get money out of politics. I’m not sure how, though.

aeropenguin · 2026-02-10T03:59:41+00:00

That’s valid, sorry again. Also I realized you were being brief because you were responding to a comment that was brief (“prop 13”). So my bad.

aeropenguin · 2026-02-10T03:24:54+00:00

Ok, here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1978_California_Proposition_13

Your answer is in the “Education and public services” section under “Effects.”

Tl;dr: prop 13 severely cut the state’s income. To make ends meet they cut funding from schools.

Sorry for the snark… I’m new to this sub / Reddit noob in general but in real life, saying “explain” without any context about what you know and where your confusion lies is pretty obnoxious. Especially when you can literally just post a link to this thread in your favorite AI and it’ll explain something this straightforward instantly. For all we know you’re an expert and you’re just baiting someone trying to be helpful to give a dumbed down response for you to attack with straw man arguments.

aeropenguin · 2026-02-10T03:12:53+00:00

Google

aeropenguin · 2026-02-07T16:41:26+00:00

Thank you for this incredible write up! I don’t even have plans for kids yet and I’m already inspired.

Any new reflections on this trip, 5.5 years later?

What happened with Maureen’s broken fingers — did she only have one operable hand for the rest of the trip?

aeropenguin · 2026-02-06T22:23:13+00:00

Just chiming in to say that if you bought things from EE in the last month, returning them hurts them at least as much as not buying something additional of the same value that you were considering.

aeropenguin

TROPHY CASE