Hiking Gear choices

It is all about comfort, safety and having a great time.   There is no one set of gear so just focus on what you need for each trip to be wonderful.  Be warm, be fed, be dry and be rested and you will have a great time regardless of anything else.

I like the fun of looking for great equipment and innovations.

JAMESONS & GUINNESS.   Holy Water is various flavours.   Weight - who cares!

OSPREY.   Talon 33 is a superb pack but so is any Osprey pack.   I use it where not needing ultralight,


MONTBELL.  Best Down jackets with 900 fill power (expensive though).  Great sleeping bags.  The Montbell Tachyon wind jacket is a staple on every outing for me as are the Montbell wind pants..  I will want to try the Zpacks wind jacket to compare soon.


ZPACKS.   The best, lightest and good quality gear supported by a company that provides top notch service.  I have their ArcBlast Pack, Rain Jacket, Pointy Hat, and various bags.  I also have Joe's Pointy hat which is superb in the rain whether hiking or canoeing.  The little wallet is good but I need a little taller one for foreign bills to fit.


THERMAREST.   Neo Air is superb but a bit long so I will modify mine to save puffing for ages.   Easy to fix little holes using cuben repair tape,


SAUCONY.  I love my Kinvara trail runners.  I am on my second pair as I went through the first one doing Shikoku.  I want to try Altera's as well soon.


ALTERA Trail runners.   Lone Peak 2.5 zero drop.

INJINGI.  Quality, pricy but wonderful feel.  Always wear toe socks to reduce blister issues.


MEC.   Canada's best outdoor co-op.


ICEBREAKER.  Great base layers.  Pricey but quality is good.  They have not lasted as long as I would expect.  The briefs get holes I find.


GOPRO.  I generally find messing with cameras and all the downloading a pain so I may pass this on to one of my kids for their activities.  I may just get a little Canon or Nikon instead.


BUFF.   Never leave home without it.


SALOMON.  I have two pairs of trail runners 3D-Pro.   Not super comfy and last trip they stayed in my pack as I used the Saucony's instead.


CALDERA   Great alcohol set (Fissure).   Only thing is the limitation to one designated pot.   Works superbly overall.  Try not to step on teh stove though.  I just ordered the replacement.

MSR.  Pocket Rocket for when bringing cannisters is not an issue.  So small I toss it in even if using the Caldera as it is an easy backup.

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