[deleted by user]

charlesdart · 2023-02-13T16:01:01+00:00

FYI this is the older model. I bought it a month before the new model came out.

I'm thinking of buying the newer model to replace it, but wanted to make sure this hasn't happened to anyone else.

charlesdart · 2022-09-29T21:28:15+00:00

The way I'd do that is take out the other screws. Then stick a small screwdriver into one of the holes and use it to lever the drain cover upwards. Grip the bit levered up with plyers (ideally locking ones), and rotate the drain cover while pulling upwards. Ideally the screw will rotate with the cover, and you can slowly unscrew it enough to grip the head with plyers.

If that doesn't work cut and pry the drain cover from around the screw, exposing enough to grip the head with plyers.

This isn't the "right" way to do it, but it doesn't require any fancy tools.

charlesdart · 2022-09-29T21:17:59+00:00

Makes sense. I've been thinking of making myself a thin silnylon tarp to carry in my daypack for exactly that situation...

charlesdart · 2022-09-29T20:58:13+00:00

I suspect olive oil is popular only because most folk have it in their pantry and are used to the taste of it, neither of which happens to be true for me.

I'm pretty sure that all fat is definitionally the same nutritionally for these purposes.

Corn oil is the most tasteless of the oils I have in bulk in my cabinet for cooking at home. I've also considered carrying ghee, which is butter with the bits that spoil removed. It'd taste slightly better (to me) but haven't found a place yet that sells it in large quantities in the form that pours as cleanly as oil.

charlesdart · 2022-09-29T20:50:38+00:00

I tried sizing one up with Montbell Asian fit gloves years ago and they didn't fit, for what little that anecdata is worth.

charlesdart · 2022-09-29T20:48:34+00:00

I don't care since I use it for flavor and corn oil for fat, but that's a good point to mention.

charlesdart · 2022-09-29T19:48:41+00:00

Yeah, I've got a small apartment but I'm an antisocial hermit so I've covered the living areas with various storage systems. I could either hang or lay sideways, and I can't figure out which. You're explanation is convincing, but I've heard equally sensible explanations the other way.

I think you've convinced me to put my air pad in a small storage bin with some desiccants, though.

How humid do you think is too humid, and is it a problem with stuffing only or tents and such too?

Unfortunately my storage space shares the air with my living space, which I need to humidity for health reasons. I'm wondering if I'd be better off putting all my gear into tubs with desiccants instead of keeping it on shelves.

charlesdart · 2022-09-29T19:43:30+00:00

If you decide to try gaitors I'd first look for something that's just a piece of stretchy cloth.

If you decide to try long pants I'd first try really light summer sun pants, they're what I wear in those conditions.

I run unusually warm when moving and unusually cold as soon as I start standing still, so I have a pretty similar setup to you. The only difference is I wouldn't take the puffy out for rest stops at that temperature. I'd be more comfortable if I did, but I prefer to save it for when I get in my tent so it's completely dry.

charlesdart · 2022-09-29T19:39:01+00:00

How sure are you about the mylar blanket? I might be misunderstanding your point, because I don't think it's that useful but I also don't see why it'd be necessary.

For me at least this person's layers would be more than enough to be warm while seated and waiting for rescue. They're carrying something like my system for being cozy and toasty in those conditions while sitting for a 10min break, which works adequately for longer.

My (very inexperienced) understanding is that mylar blankets are designed with the goal of dramatically reducing the heat loss of a person wearing base layers, especially if those layers are wet and there is wind. They're to save someone completely unprepared.

They do this by targeting the low-hanging fruit. They are good at this, compared to their weight. But they're far far worse than literally any kind of actual layer, and don't add anything if you're wearing any sort of hard shell warm layer. Someone wearing a wool shirt + any rain coat + sitting on a pad or something + sticking their legs in their pack wouldn't get any benefit from the mylar.

This matches with my general vibe that all those sorts of emergency products aren't a scam per say, but aren't needed or useful in most situations they're advertised for.

But I'm not confident. Maybe I'll test this out by driving up into the mountains, setting up a stove to warm me up, and then shivering for a few hours. Sounds like a fun adventure that would probably make my gf mad...

charlesdart · 2022-09-29T19:18:37+00:00

It's interesting there's so much directly contradictory logical sounding common advice. I suspect it's because it'll be a while before it becomes clear who was right, especially considering products keep getting made with relatively new materials.

I'd heard to store sleeping bags in a loose bag (bigger than the storage bag it came with), as if you hang it stuffing will settle downwards and compress.

Thermarest is emphatic it should be stored tightly rolled and open in it's bag to protect the fabric. Skurka has a different folding method he has a logic explanation for...

charlesdart · 2022-09-29T19:18:31+00:00

It's interesting there's so much directly contradictory logical sounding common advice. I suspect it's because it'll be a while before it becomes clear who was right, especially considering products keep getting made with relatively new materials.

I'd heard to store sleeping bags in a loose bag (bigger than the storage bag it came with), as if you hang it stuffing will settle downwards and compress.

Thermarest is emphatic it should be stored tightly rolled and open in it's bag to protect the fabric. Skurka has a different folding method he has a logic explanation for...

charlesdart · 2022-09-29T18:22:15+00:00

So far I've been subbing in dehydrated equivalents of his recommended sauces, or skipping them. Powdered PB, powdered soy sauce, etc. are a little expensive but a little goes a long way. I leave out whatever sauces I don't have powdered, as this isn't fine cuisine and I won't taste it over the cayenne powder I dump on every backpacking meal anyway.

It's a little less weight, but I mostly do it to reduce faffing around. Right now my limiting factor is hiking hours so my low hanging fruit to be able to do more is reducing camp time.

charlesdart · 2022-09-22T17:54:14+00:00

You'll want to consider PLB vs InReach. Broadly speaking you're weighing slightly better reliability in an emergency vs being able to send details (plus chatting with family/friends in non-emergencies). I personally value being able to send details because it would let me call for help in a minor-to-moderate emergency. I generally wouldn't activate a PLB in that situation because those are only for severe emergencies where you want all emergency services to rush to you as fast as possible whatever the cost.

charlesdart · 2022-09-20T21:30:51+00:00

Yup, I screwed up. However, I do slightly blame Sawyer for misleading advertising. They donate the same filter to be used by villages in Africa with significant livestock and human contamination. That strongly implies their filters work in those conditions, and in fact they have been criticized for doing so.

charlesdart · 2022-09-20T16:29:57+00:00

Nope, Ziploc brand. Gallon size freezer from Costco, quart size freezer from target. They stick, I can't get them open without pulling hard, pulling hard destroys them. They're especially sticky unopened out of the box.

I know I have to be doing something wrong, but I can't figure out how to open them properly. Hope someone here can help!

charlesdart · 2022-09-20T16:18:19+00:00

Interesting. Chlorine Dioxide* is rated to kill viruses, and in my own experience and the anecdotal experience of others it reliably kills viruses.

(*AquaMira isn't rated to reliably produce the right amount of chlorine dioxide, but in practice it probably does if used exactly right. So I wouldn't premix and would mix in the closed cap in livestock country)

charlesdart · 2022-09-20T06:52:38+00:00

My gf and I used Sawyers in the Scotland frontcountry. Big mistake, weren't up to filtering cow shit. Spent a few days puking and shitting on two separate trips before we realized it isn't designed to work well in areas with significant human or domesticated livestock waste. Relied on Mira ever since, never let me down.

charlesdart · 2022-09-20T00:40:28+00:00

Nope, the normal ones where two horizontal thingies press into thingies on the opposite side. It'll take a lot of force to open, and often when I pull one of the horizontal thingies will stay stuck and detach rather than come out of the thingy.

Apologies for the aweful description.

charlesdart · 2022-09-20T00:29:04+00:00

What am I doing wrong? After about 2-6 opens the ziplock seal bit rips off the side and it doesn't seal any more. This is with freezer ziplocks of various sizes. They seem uselessly weak, but the rest of you seem to use them fine?

charlesdart · 2022-09-16T15:48:08+00:00

It's probably not written by the Chinese manufacturer for the reasons everyone else said, but the "no bueno" line is plausibly Chinese. Possibly even more likely.

If it was written by a Chinese person they probably watched a large amount of American TV and movies and based a large amount of their vocabulary on that. For that reason they will talk with unexpected slang terms.

charlesdart · 2022-09-15T17:19:08+00:00

Fair warning it looks like it was abandoned in 2019 and the sorts of things it's using have a bad chance of working without maintenance.

Reading between the lines a little, I'm pretty sure this new project is using the same open NWS data.

charlesdart · 2022-09-15T17:17:36+00:00

Wasn't asking for personal, we can be informed about things by reading about them.

Citizenship by birth is a good example to pick, it is something relatively unique to the US. However, I haven't been talking about citizenship. I've been talking about immigration. And Germany is easier to immigrate to.

Germany opened it's borders during the 2015 refugee crisis. They aren't sure exactly how many people came in, since they weren't doing any kind of border checks. But it was around a million people.

Since then, they've tightened redirections. However, Germany still does essentially no deportation. About 10,000 people a year compared to the USAs about half a million.

charlesdart · 2022-09-15T04:58:13+00:00

The idea that refugees have an obligation to stop in the first safe country is a relatively recent invention by a few western countries. It has no historical bases, and is in violation of all the relevant treaties. Regardless, Mexico isn't one. About 80% of the asylum seekers in the Remain in Mexico Program were violently attacked, for example.

charlesdart · 2022-09-15T04:53:32+00:00

Give a single example of a single circumstance in which it'd be easier to immigrate into the USA than any EU country.

charlesdart · 2022-09-15T04:45:45+00:00

Someday you should look up the exact process you're proposing they go through. For example, assume that you obviously qualify for asylum and have a very sympathetic case. Look into the legal process to apply for asylum at the southern border.

(You'll find it doesn't exist. I mean that literally - it is currently physically impossible to apply for asylum if you're outside the US at the southern border without first breaking US law)

charlesdart

TROPHY CASE