An Ultralight Hiker’s Xmas

Many of you perhaps wonder what might be the ‘dream’ present for your ultralight hiker/hunter beloved. Maybe if I told you about my beloved’s choice (for me) for the last two-three ‘spoiling’ occasions it might give you some inspiration?

For example for Xmas she bought me this beautiful little pack rifle which I have been wanting for some time. May also help me protect her from wild dogs. It is an under 500 gram .22 calibre single shot, but it should do the trick at putting the occasional bunny/duck etc in the pot.

PS: I have made an ultralight bag (pictured) for it to replace the very heavy one it came with. Strange that the way much ultralight gear comes with bizarre heavy elements.

The pack rifle means I do not have to carry my .308 (take-down) deer rifle (which weighs around 3.5kg all up, ie including ammo, sling etc or the single barrel Rossi (take-down) .410 shotgun which I have been taking on some summer expeditions as a protection against wild dogs. It is an excellent choice though as the .410 round with different shell types, including solids can take a wide variety of (even large) game.

It still weighed in at over a kilo though, so to have a gun for utility and safety that only weighs less than 500 grams is a pleasure. Anyway it is always nice to have a new gun. Like cats, you just can’t have too many guns!

For Xmas she also bought me (not one but two) new Jelly 2 phones (in case I break one – unlikely). It is an Android 10 phone with a 3″ screen, 16 Mb camera, three kinds of GPS, dual Sim or Sim plus Micro SD, 2,000 mAh battery, infrared remote, fingerprint lock etc etc – and it fits in your fob. Dimensiosn: 95 x 49.4 x16.5mm Weight: 110 grams (120 with protective case) What’s not to like? Here are the Full Phone Specs. They cost US$200 each.

It is actually about 4 grams less than the Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini I used for years but very similar (within a gram) to the Unihertz Atom I have used (happily) for over nearly two years now. I am appreciating the much larger screen! I will review it soon.

I also received a second-hand replacement for my Nikon Coolpix S7000 which I drowned in the Wonnangatta River a couple of summers back. It is nearly 150 grams lighter than its replacement and I think still the best ultralight zoom pocket camera yet made. Sometime I will buy yet another second hand one as a spare for this one against further mischance.

The old (drowned) one still works well enough for helping me identify the ewes when they are lambing. You can zoom in on a ewe a hundred yards away, take a snap then zoom in on the snap and be able to read the 1 cm high numbers on their ear tags. Very handy. Many of my Finnsheep.com photos were taken with it.

For my birthday and Fathers’ Day (respectively) I received an Iridium Extreme Sat Phone and a Garmin Inreach Mini Satellite Messenger. The first saved me around 150 grams and the latter around 90 grams.

The Iridium Extreme is a replacement for my Iridium 9505A which I have had since the early 90s. I thought it was starting to tire (as am I) and that there was something wrong with it as Della always sounded drunk when I rang her on it (even when I knew she was not!), but the new one works petty much the same as the old one – it turns out she is only ‘drunk’ when I ring her on her mobile!

However it has PLB and tracking abilities which are far better than the old phone which can now go live in the car glove box in case of emergencies on the road. You can just put your Sim in it (if you have roaming) and you can make a satellite call.

If each of us (Della & I) carries one of these we will both have the ability to communicate with the world via satellite in case of emergencies – and have a PLB capacity too. This is a high level of safety and security at a small weight penalty. I recommend that any who venture into the wilderness equip themselves similarly.

The Inreach Mini is a lighter replacement for my Poor Man’s Satellite Phone which has been with me for quite a few years now and still works fine. I will keep it as a spare. Both the Mini and the larger version can be used to send messages in a stand-along from as well as via a Bluetooth link to your mobile phone. I believe this extra level of security is important as compared with some devices which require to be paired with your mobile phone.

See Also:

The Pack Rifle

DIY Ultralight Pipe Gun

A Phone in Your Fob

Poor Man’s Satellite Phone