Diane Sioni has some fine advice here. http://gossamergear.com/wp/making-small-things-smaller-to-save-weight-and-space It pays to go through your gear again and again. It is always a game of ‘putting and taking’ (one of the first games we learn and still lots of fun at nearly 70!) What you take and what you leave is matter both of individual choice […]
Making Small Things Smaller To Save Weight and Space: Read More »
Tier Gear DIY Guides: Aussie Outfitter Tier Gear has an absolutely wonderful page of instructables here: http://www.tiergear.com.au/28/diy-guides which show in profound detail how to eg make your own superb hammock &/or hammock tarp – amongst other things. You can also buy all the materials from them. They deliver incredibly fast Australia-wide from their home in
Have you tried camping two up in a hammock with a single tarp? There are significant weight savings to be made… This is an 8’ x 8’ (2.4 x 2.4 metres) cuben tarp to which we sewed two 4’6” x 8’ (1.35 x 2.4 metres) ‘wings’ so we could close it off as a tarp
‘Tactical skills weblog Imminent Threat Solutions shares a simple method for making toothpaste dots by squeezing small, chocolate-chip sized “dots” of toothpaste onto aluminum foil, allowing those dots to harden for a week or so, and then transferring to a small waterproof bag. To use, all you need to do is pop a toothpaste dot
I visited Dunolly in Central Victoria briefly last week to see an old friend. Although the bush thereabouts looks like (and is described by locals even as) ‘lizard country’ my friend showed me a grassy rise as well as a couple of promising gullies thereabouts where he has seen good fallow. In one such secret
A lot can be learned about deer by observing their behaviour; I have been a sheep farmer for thirty years (longer now than I have worked at anything else – it looks odd on my census return: Occupation: Sheephusband!): They are quite like sheep. Particularly in their routines, the topography they prefer, their family behaviour,
This pad is available on Massdrop (https://www.massdrop.com/buy/klymit-insulated-static-v-lite?referer=EJ89BQ) for US$59.99 (so about A$100 delivered) just now. It has a very good 4.4 R rating and is 23” wide! Just what you need to keep those elbows warm! I do not need it to be so long as this but can probably cut approx 6” (15 cm)
A canoe (or better yet, a pack raft) can get you to many spots which would be almost impossible with a 4WD or just on foot (even just across a swollen river, or much further along a lake), and it can get you (and your quarry) out again with a minimum of effort. See: http://www.theultralighthiker.com/sambar-stalking-101/
You can make a lighter non compliant PFD which you fill with other inflatable items, eg Platypus bottles (I carry a 1 and 2 litre bottle, pillows (I carry the Exped Ultralight), wine bladders (who doesn’t have a few of them lying around?) and etc. Here is the link to Mountain Laurel Designs ‘Thing’ or
PFDs are often pretty heavy. Alpacka have this one http://www.alpackaraft.com/product/astral-v-eight-pfd/ at 554 grams which is (I imagine) about as light as they get. I discovered that inflatable PFDs you buy from boating supplies shops have an airline PFD inside them. When I stripped one down it weighed 282 grams as shown and should be adequate
