My sweaters all seemed to fail on me during the winter of 2016-17. I had bought an inexpensive $20 fleece sweater that over 1 year, shrunk two sizes and left fleece shards everywhere; so much that it was shrunk way up above my waist and I couldn't wear it anymore. Similar things happened to a couple old wool sweaters I had too.
I was down to only one V-neck fleece sweater, and wearing it every day in Colorado's winter begins to look old real quick and laundry becomes a scheduling problem.
So I bought a new LL Bean Trail Model Fleece snap pullover. Instead of black or gray, I bought blue for some color in my life! It arrived yesterday (2 days early) and trying it on last night it fit well and kept me warm. It is quite comfortable and with the collar snapped, keeps my neck very warm (missing from my V-neck). The 4 snaps are made of nylon and are set in a black placket. It also has zipped hand-warmer pockets which can hold items, keep my hands warm and ventilate the sweater when it gets warm outside with mesh behind the tunnel pocket. It is a medium size for me and the fit is good, falling just below my thighs and loose across the shoulders. It is made from Polartek 200, my favorite warm clothing material for hiking and playing outdoors. The LL Bean Trail Model Fleece Sweater cost about $50 online with free shipping.
When I backpack, I carry a Polartek 200 jacket, sweater and now hat in all Colorado weather, and have used LL Bean products to keep warm for decades. The LL Bean Polarplus Polartek 200 jacket (a liner from a Gore-Tex field jacket) from the mid-1990's accompanied me on all 3 Colorado backpack trips in 2016, plus a 4th trip where I car camped at a pass on the West Spanish Peak. It is starting to get ratty at the cuffs after wearing outdoors and camping in for over 22 years.
Yes, I like REI and EMS products too, and mix them while outdoors, but many outdoor companies have gotten away from Polartek 200 to go with thinner fabrics and less actual fleece. I still like the feel of the plush fleece texture against my body. I also like that if it gets wet, I just take it off, wring it out, shake it and put it back on where my body usually dries it quickly. I have been wearing fleece (Madden Mills or Polartek 100/200/300) since I bought that first PET Recycled jacket in 1984 from Campmor.
I purchased this sweater with my own funds and do not write about it for anyone except myself.
After a long, long fall, winter is finally here in Colorado this year. While the small amount of snow we have received may be worrisome for those down the Colorado river who depend on our water next spring, it can still be a heavy snow year. Storms are lined up about every 2-3 days, but sunny days are in between them, melting what little snow we get. We will have to see.
With the cooling weather, my head was cold whenever I was outside. My hair has thinned a lot this last decade, and I am wearing it shorter now so it doesn't look like a comb-over. And my older knit hats just are not as warm as they used to be and they don't cover my ears well.
So I bought a new hat.
A Polartec 200 Fleece Beanie in black from REI. Usually only $19.50, I got about $3.50 off with the REI winter sale coupon. The hat is warm and the fits-all size actually covers my ears. While wearing it out in the wind the other day, the lower 30 degree air reached neither my head nor my ears. Wearing it under my wind jacket hood was just perfect. It also didn't mess up my hair too much, though my hair is hard to mess up now. The REI Beanie is available in gray also.
So far, I am very pleased with the new beanie. It shoves into my coat pocket pretty well, is very light weight, and keeps me warm as toast. Not a lot to ask of an under $20 item, plus it was on sale!
I purchased this item with my own funds and have not been coerced into reviewing this product by or for anyone.
Remember to "Opt Outside" this black Friday with REI, friends, family and your pets. This movement is growing and there are many more outdoor groups involved this year; walking, hiking, canoeing and spending time "not in a store". Unfortunately, I have to work (in media) but will be outdoors in the morning hours Friday. Happy Thanksgiving!
I like these socks! SmartWool PHD Outdoor Light mini socks are made with what they call "indestructawool technology", these merino wool socks should last a long time. They fit me well. The light cushioning helped my feet deal with an all day hike while allowing my feet to breathe properly.
Sock construction is 58% merino wool, 40% nylon and 2% elastane. The socks are ankle high and are designed specifically for hiking. They also are available in a charcoal color. I like the feel of these socks, even in hot weather.
Wearing them while hiking in the hot sands of the Great Sand Dunes or when kayaking in Florida, I felt quite comfortable. I even slept in them at night. Rinsing out is all that was needed on an overnight trip. Walking through a stream with them on, my feet felt dry within a few minutes.
These Smartwool socks were purchased with my own funds. They sell at REI for around $17.
Tree on Hidden Mesa where I shot the tent setup video
My 6 night stay inside the REI Quarter Dome 1 during the week of Ride The Rockies has given me some insights to share.
First, I like the tent's interior space. I was able to stow my Gossamer Gear Kumo Backpack plus shoes and another bag with lots of room to spare. I did use the vestibule area to store shoes and water bottles, but found I didn't need the extra space as I was already carrying an extra clothes bag inside than I would when backpacking. I am a side sleeper and had plenty of room to turn about during the night.
I tested the vent one night by closing it and woke up with interior rain on my face in the morning, soaking my sleeping bag. Wrong! I left it open, even in rain the remaining 5 nights and woke up mostly dry each morning. A Velcro "pole" holds the vent open. While I could close the vent from the inside using the built-in zipper, I learned it must be open to stay dry from condensation.
The nights it rained (and sometimes it rained long and hard) I did get the foot of my down sleeping bag damp from contact with the tent side. The real problem was the ties to the stakes had loosened, so that was not the fault of the tent. Tightening the tarp more during setup seemed to solve the problem the rest of the week.
The one night I setup the tent on wet ground was the worst. It was also 28 degrees when I awoke and windy. The outside of the tent was frozen hard with flaky frost on the inside of the tent. During the night I had dressed in everything I had with me and was warm. The note here is the tent will be wet inside from condensation when the environment is wet. Perhaps a second vent along the roof may help this problem many other users have encountered.
Setting up the tent is easy. The instructions are printed on the bag it comes in. I would lay out the footprint and lay on it to make sure the ground was clear of rocks, roots and gopher holes. Then I would lay the tent body on top of that. When it was windy I staked down these two on the windy side first. Then I pulled out the poles, connecting the orange one first and would plug it into the orange tab grommets at each end, then I would connect the silver pole and place it into the white tab grommet at the head. Then attach the clips and buttons to the tent, and snap the plastic clear tab end onto the open end of the silver pole, creating the door overhang. Then just put on the tarp, starting with the head poles, then the foot pole. The little black nylon hoop snaps into place onto the clear tab at the top of the door. Stake out as needed. Pull the lines taut on the tarp where they hook into the tabs and all should be dry.
I shot a video of setting up the tent and sped it up. The tent sets up in 5-6 minutes. With practice, 4 minutes or less may be achievable.
We camped on well-kept soccer fields, grass parking lots, baseball fields and in school playgrounds with gopher holes every few feet (gophers would pop up two at a time). Elevations were from 8000 feet to 10,000 feet. Yes, we had snow one morning.
The morning of the gopher holes, a bicyclist caught my tent in his chain ring, tearing 5 small holes in the tarp, above the 6" waterproofing bathtub floor. I was getting dressed in the tent at the time and asked if they tore the fabric. The person lied, saying no, and was gone. I was very disappointed when I found the tears ringed with chain ring grease. The tears being above the bathtub floor means my new tent won't be waterproofed until I repair it. Fortunately it didn't rain anymore on the trip as the piece of tape I have for repair was too short for all these holes. While sad about my new tent being torn, I will buy the proper repair tape, put it on the inside and outside of the tears and will keep track of how well the repair holds over time.
Note the chain ring holes in my tarp
As for daily packing, I stuff the tent inside the bag it came in, with the tarp first, the tent body then the footprint last, so I pull out what I need first (I usually lay on top of the footprint first to check the ground for bumps and being level). When wet, I just stuffed the tent into the mesh outer pocket of my backpack. It was dry when I checked it later that day.
The tent poles are a little complicated, all connected with interior bungees and using nylon "buttons" and various "snaps" to pitch the tent. These buttons and snaps "should" hold up fine, but to me are potential failure points and are different enough to require spares or some backup means to secure the tent on long distance trips. The poles themselves use these buttons and snaps ingeniously to hold the tent open wide enough to be useful. I will pack the poles into their bag, so none of the buttons get lost.
The pole ends punch through grommets at each attachment tab and on through the footprint and tarp tab grommets. Tighten the tarp tabs to hold all together. When you open the poles, put together the orange pole first. The long end will be to the foot of the tent. Connect the silver portion last. The orange pole, matched to the orange attachment tabs runs the full length of the tent in a large arch. The silver pole crosses this arch, from the head side white tab to create the door top space using snaps to attach to the tent. The design is smart and I hope it holds up to repeated use with the nylon parts. My plan was to use my hiking poles to setup the tent, but they will not work in this case (only in an emergency). I would hope REI will find a more secure way to attach these tents and remove these potential failure points.
The footprint also uses plastic/nylon hooks to attach to tabs and strings of the tent body near the foot of the tent where the tent is staked down. These hooks are difficult to use. Using gloves here just wouldn't work well in the cold.
There are 3 outside attachment points for tieing down the tent in windy conditions. All three use a Velcro attachment under the tarp to the nearby poles right at the tie-down loop. I had pitched my tent with the foot pointing into the wind, so I didn't need any extra stability that one windy night. However, if the wind had shifted to the opposite direction, the vertical walls the wind would have hit may have needed some extra staked-out stability. I removed the plastic sliding clip from the guy lines and tied my own taut-line hitch. As long as the line is taut, I can snug up the knot to tighten the line without the plastic pieces (save about an ounce for both).
The stakes the tent came with were very heavy for me at .6 ounces each, unlike my .4 ounce V stakes. I used my 6 V stakes and two of the REI stakes on this trip. I plan to purchase 2 additional 8" aluminum nail stakes to replace the included stakes. One will hold the door and the other will be extra protection for the wind guy lines.
From the outside, the gray tarp disappears in the foliage quickly. The orange floor and brown footprint look OK. To open the door from the outside requires 2 hands, every time. The right holds the fly, the left operates the zipper. From the inside, you can sometimes open the zipper with one hand, the direction of the pull moving the fly aside from the zipper.
So here goes the scale test: On my scale, the tent tarp weighs 10.3 ounces, the tent body 15 ounces, the footprint 5.6 ounces, the poles with bag is 9.7 ounces, and my full stake bag (six .4 ounce V stakes, two .6 ounce REI stakes, tent pole section, 2 guy lines, one tent stake pullerall inside a Tyvek envelope) currently weighs 5.1 ounces, the tent bag weighs .9 ounce. Total weight is 46.6 ounces or 2.91 pounds. Travelling without the tent body will reduce the weight to 31.6 ounces, 1.91 pounds, just under 2 pounds. So much for a lightweight tent. REI says the tent minimum weight is 2 pounds, 2 ounces (without the footprint), and that must include the poles, but no bags or stakes can reach that number with my tent. Maybe I will forgo the tent bags and footprint in my backpack to save some weight.
In setting up the tent, I found the footprint to be a an inch larger than the tent. On the heavy rain night, it did route some rainwater under the tent, but the tent stayed dry inside. While this may be because the tarp ties loosened during the night, the other campers in our group using different REI tents had the same "footprint too large" complaint. I like the footprint to be 2" per side shorter than the tent floor and this one appears to be 1" wider than the floor at both length and width when the tent is setup. The footprint is marked with the same color tabs for setup as the tent body.
Overall the REI Quarter Dome 1 is a well designed, fairly lightweight backpacking tent. Being made of lightweight materials, it is prone to tearing against metal bicycle chain rings, but that is to be expected. I will let you know about the repair and how long it lasts.
I enjoyed sleeping in it nightly. Even in the wind it was quiet. The interior space is awesome for the single overnighter, and I didn't once mind crawling into it over the week of 6 nights. Multiple nights with rain, some driving rain didn't get me wet. Sitting up inside I had plenty of room and was able to see to cook with the stove outside the door during rain. With the tarp door zipped open I could see the stars at night and in the Colorado backcountry, that means seeing so many stars I couldn't make out the constellations.
Pros = Generous with interior space due to an ingenious pole system, very light and bright inside. The setup is simple, provides tie-downs for high wind, and can be setup with only the tarp and footprint similar to a tarp. Fairly lightweight, seems to be rain proof and packs easy.
Cons = Buttons and snaps are potential failure points, footprint hooks difficult to use, footprint too large. The tent interior will be wet/damp from condensation when the environment is wet/damp, could use more ventilation. Weighs significantly more than promised. The silly Caution tag inside hangs down into your face at night, so that will soon be cut out. This tag should have been placed where it didn't hit your face.
I bought this tent with my own money and plan to use it many years.
I have long used a small plastic funnel to capture a trickle of water for treating in the outdoors with my water purifier when backpacking. Many of the outside above ground water sources are small trickles, where water follows its path of least resistance while being drawn downhill by gravity. Perhaps you have some experience with this on your backpacking trips and like me, seek a better way.
The new style of silicon collapsible funnel
While shopping for kitchen supplies I came across a set of various sized and inexpensive collapsible funnels, made of silicone. While not new to the world, they were new to me and inspired an idea for their use beyond the kitchen. I believe they can be easily held, bent and folded for improved fit around natures endless variety of contours of rock and earth in a way to better capture those elusive trickles of necessary water. I like the way they fold or collapse to better fit inside my backpack and the fact they won't melt by heat or be bent useless under the weight of backpack items. They also come in bright and fluorescent colors so they will not easily be left behind.
I will use one of these lightweight and flexible funnels this summer during my backpacking trips and tell you how well, or even if it works, as an improved capture method for drinking water for purification. If any of you already have real world outdoor experience capturing drinking water with a silicon collapsible funnel like this, please comment to let me know how well it works for you.
My 32 Degrees brand Down Vest has been an excellent purchase from Costco for around $20. While not a name brand, it wears well and keeps me warm, either by itself over a long sleeve tee shirt and when used under a raincoat/windbreaker. Being 650 fill down, it is very soft and comfortable with a slick nylon shell. For the price, it is hard to be beat.
It has zippered pockets, covers my neck with a stand-up collar, has a mini-bungee waist band with cord lock, zips up and has inside pockets behind the outside pockets. And it is very light, weighing only 7.5 ounces on my scale and comes with a ditty bag to store it in (included in weight). My cell phone fits perfectly inside the zippered hand warmer pocket and I still have room to warm up my hand against my body with the down over the outside. I have been wearing this vest, both inside and out since October and I am very pleased with how it fits and wears. It is very comfortable. On a recent snowy hike, I wore it with long underwear, a nylon fishing shirt and cargo pants and was quite warm. I have owned down vests before, giving my last one to my mother years ago to keep her warm during the Kentucky winters. After the new Down Tek waterproof treated down vests pass some time of getting dunked, I'll try one of them. In the meantime, I'm warm and comfortable with my inexpensive down vest.
I slept wonderfully under my new Thermarest Alpine blanket during my Green Swamp backpacking trip! The overnight air was 48 degrees around 5:00 AM that morning, and I never got cold during the night. I wasn't too hot either. I cannot say that of camping before, I was always too hot or cold, off and on all night when sleeping out. In my case this was because the old sleeping bag I used had lost its loft.
I have always liked down comforters, having slept under one during the winters up north when I was young. I spent several years sleeping deep in a feather bed with tons of blankets piled on top. The down comforter was my favorite cover because there was no weight to it, unlike the heavy wool blankets of which we had too many.
What makes this Thermarest down blanket (I prefer to call it a quilt) so comfortable are the draft tubes sewn along the sides and the foot box design and its light weight. The foot box is created by snapping the quilt together to make a pocket at the bottom that wraps underneath you while sticking your feet inside. Your feet just stay there warm all night, they don't wander out from under the covers at all. There are 2 snaps to really close in around your feet and lower legs. The draft tubes along the sides of the quilt stop drafts of cold air from coming in where the quilt may get pulled back along a side as you roll around or turn over at night, something I do a lot of. This is a large model, the regular sized measurements seemed too narrow for me, so with an extra 4 inches width and one additional ounce of fill, it seem to be just right for me, at the same price. The 700-fill goose down was more than enough quality feathers to keep me very warm while staying lightweight. I slept that night wearing my REI lightweight long underwear, smart wool socks and a knit cap.
Sleeping on top of my older 48 inch long RidgeRest Sleeping Pad and with my backpack tucked under my legs, I never felt the first breeze of cold air all night long. That is with one tent door open for fresh air, as there was no wind or rain that night, just lots of thin, high clouds passing above.
I like the look of the quilt with the deep blue color and the dark gray underside. I didn't need to use any of the straps Thermarest offers to attach around the sleeping pad. I can see where a small sheet on the sleeping pad could be nice in warmer weather and I may investigate that at some time. This quilt is so very light, it doesn't interfere with sleeping at all, and it packs light too, at just 24.1 ounces or 1 pound 8 ounces on my scale, a few ounces lighter than advertised.
However, for sleep comfort, my older RidgeRest pad was just too thin. After the first 5 hours of sleep that night, whenever I rolled onto my side I woke up from a pain in my hip, a pain I didn't have anymore once I got up. I had purchased a Z Lite SOL mattress that I did not get to use, thinking the older sleeping pad would work just fine and because it would be more convenient to carry. Oh well, I should have taken the Z Lite SOL pad with me and will do so from now on, packed inside my backpack. It is thicker than the older RidgeRest pad and I have slept very comfortably on one recently. When it gets cold out, the shiny side of the Z Lite SOL should reflect a few degrees of my own heat right back to me.
I had used many different sleeping pads and air mattresses in the past, any many worked very well. I wanted to get away from the air-filled mattresses though because they eventually fail and I don't want to mess with repair kits anymore. That is unless the Z Lite just doesn't pad my body enough for a full nights sleep.
For the Thermarest quilt, it is the best of anything I have ever used for cover when sleeping outdoors. It was comfortable and felt regular, just like I was sleeping in a bed at home. For backpacking, I keep it waterproofed inside my pack in a trash compactor bag, and for sleeping, my tent will keep me dry in foul weather. I am very pleased with my purchase and highly recommend it to backpackers looking to replace their older sleeping bags with something more comfortable and lighter.
I used my new Gossamer Gear Kumo backpack on an overnight outing in Florida, and I was very pleased with how well it performed.
My actual pack load was a little heavier than the 17.88 pounds I had planned during the packing list creation due to the temperature dipping into the upper 40's at night. The long underwear and knit hat I added put me at a pack total weight of 19.5 pounds.
Gossamer Gear Kumo.
The full pack fit me well. The large model (weighing 14.65 ounces) was long enough to place the hip belt right at my hip (the regular size was too short for my long body). I put the pack on without the usual grunts and gymnastic antics I used to use to hoist the (then) heavy weight onto my back. Once strapped on, the wide shoulder pads absorbed the load and distributed the weight evenly across my shoulders. Clicking the sternum strap together held the shoulder straps in place all day without it being too tight, once I had it adjusted. I used the waist belt mostly out of habit, but I could feel the weight of the pack riding on my hips and that felt comfortable. It was like I was not really wearing anything on my back. I never felt pulled from side to side or from front to back like I have with other backpacks. And I never experienced any balance issues or had any difficulty walking. I also didn't have to sling my pack to the ground at the water break, I just stood there with it on like it wasn't on me at all. Someone asked if I needed to take off my pack (for the break) and I said no thanks. And all of this while also carrying 4.27 pounds of tent instead of carrying only 2 pounds of tent.
Getting my soft water bottles out of the side pockets was a challenge for me. I asked for help getting them out and then back into their side pockets. I'm not quite a fan of the soft water bottle yet. Because my pack weighs so light I may consider carrying my old hard-sided water bottles or use lightweight recyclable water bottles just for on-trail water drinking.
When it came time to setup the tent, I liked that everything I needed was outside of the pack. I laid down the footprint in a couple locations, then laid on top of it to chose my tent site. The tent, poles and stakes were in the same front pack pocket and on the side of the pack, and I was able to setup the tent without unpacking anything from inside the pack. I removed my sleeping pad from the back of the pack and laid down for an hour nap, zipped inside my tent with the tent doors open to enjoy the breeze, using the still-closed pack as a pillow.
When I awoke, I unpacked my cook kit, and brewed a cup of tea at the picnic bench. I took my headlamp out of the top zipper pocket for when it got dark and looked at the map I had placed there for the trip. There was still room for a few other small items in the top pocket. Robert and his friend Gerry from the Sierra Club were napping in their separate hammocks. I watched the clouds go by for some time, then explored the land around the ponds.
At bedtime, I opened the Kumo pack inside my tent, and dumped everything out in one bundle onto my sleeping pad and got ready for the night from there.
The next morning after breakfast I repacked the Kumo pack as I had before my trip, with the sleeping bag in the stuff sack at the bottom, then clothing, then the repair kit and finished with the food kit on top and the raincoat outside of the water proofing trash compactor bag. I put the headlamp back in the top zipper pocket of the pack and packed my snacks in my pants pocket for the hike back to the trailhead. Packing the tent parts back into the outside pocket was easy, even after the pack interior was loaded. The tent poles easily slipped under the elastic cords above the side pocket, and I stood around with the pack on for a while before we left the campsite.
It still felt like I really had nothing on my back. There was no shoulder, back or neck pain at all and I didn't need to take any pain medication during the overnight. Perhaps the Kumo weighed a little bit, like a small daypack, but certainly not what all my gear used to weigh for an overnight camping trip.
On the walk out the backpack was a little lighter, and the pack again carried fine, even though it was slightly unbalanced left to right due to how it was packed. There were no surprises or even small problems. The pack just fit me and fit me well. When we got back to the trailhead, I took off the pack and placed it in the car with one hand. Man, was I pleased! My congratulations to Gossamer Gear for creating such a fine, well fitting backpack!
I did apparently over-pack the bag on the back panel with my sleeping pad causing a slight tear in the mesh fabric on the seam. Going back to the GG supplied pack pad has reduced the stress on this point. For future trips I'll be packing my sleeping pad inside my pack, and using the supplied pad in the pad pocket, so this will not be an issue for me.
The good news: This backpack comfortably rocks for my one or two night backpacking trips, and may serve me well for 3-4 nights in warm and clear weather. The overall fit is good and the shoulder straps really carry the weight well without being too tight while using the sternum strap. The hip belt is very useful in pulling the light pack weight to my hip bones, and may be even more useful with a pocket or two added for trail snacks, navigation gear or my camera. I like this pack and had a great backpack in and out with no issues. With adding waist belt pockets, purchasing a lighter tent and using hard-sided water bottles, I may be happily set with using my Kumo pack for a long time.
The just OK news: For carrying bulkier items like winter jackets, and plenty of warm clothing, this 36 litre pack is just too small, while it is fine for clear weather camping in reasonably mild temperatures. The side pockets were a little too tight for me to grasp my soft-sided water bottles and remove or replace them. I don't typically use water bladders on overnight trips and did not use the packs bladder holder either. The torn mesh on the back pad pocket will be left alone unless it tears more, then I'll return it to Gossamer Gear to have it repaired.
