I have praised the Topo shoes in a previous post. Della and I both just acquired new Topo Terraventure 2Wp boots for an upcoming EBC hike. Mine cost A$279 delivered from Sherpa. Topo have improved the shoes since my first pair. Eg They now have really super grip Vibram soles which just about glue you […]
Work equals force by distance, where a single newton of force represents the amount of force needed to move one kilogram one meter. The equivalent imperial unit is the foot-pound which is self-explanatory. Image: Sisyphus: ‘In Greek mythology Sisyphus or Sisyphos was the king of Ephyra. He was punished for his self-aggrandizing craftiness and deceitfulness
I know this will be anathema to the LNT set but let me say that they are anathema to me! Such posturing and hand-wringing is the worst kind of virtue signalling. Nature can be improved for the benefit of man and indeed for the benefit of both – particularly in regard to the prevention of
This has been a long time coming. I sewed the prototype in 2023 and am just finishing it off today (January 2026) but I think it will have been worth the wait. I hinted that I would be making it years ago in this post 7 x7 Poncho Multi Tarp. This design doubles (quadruples) as
I have written about ultralight USB cables and this really miniature usb lamp but had you ever wished you could light a fire with your power bank? Now you can. Mine came free with the Hand Dynamo I just wrote about. You can buy similar ones from Aliexpress here and here for between A$2 and
When your phone’s screen begins to flicker and die or your torch grows dim I bet you wish for one of these – something which will keep them charged forever. It outputs around half an amp (at 5 Volts) at the recommended 1 rpm ie 2.5 Milliamp hours/watts (per hour) – enough to charge your
This is a really handy piece of gear (18 grams). After you have bought it/them you are going to be throwing out a heap of other things! It measures the voltage and amperage through itself when plugged into a USB outlet and can time and add the total so that you can see how long
The tents I make all double as hammock tarps too. I am very taken with my (Chinese) Trailstar and wondered whether it could be repurposed likewise. I am pleased to report that it can – and that it is (just) big enough for a tarp which both of us can lie underneath in our hammocks.
Victoria is on fire again – as I predicted in this post Mt Darling an Emerging Inferno (though it hasn’t actually got there yet). I suspect the hut will go before I ever get a chance to renovate it but it is still west of the fire and the fire is moving east, so who
This is a delightful white water day trip or a very leisurely overnight – as we did it – seeing in the New Year (2026) together again (our 55th!) Our put-in and take-out points were respectively the Den of Nargun, Wallers Rd and the Final Fling Rapid on Fraser-Alexanders Rd, Glenaladale, Gippsland Vic – a
