New Gear!

I would like to start by thanking the JetBoil folks for creating an entire new method of printing.  I would estimate that each character in the instruction manual uses 1 molecule of ink.  Some day I will visit Rochester Institute of Technology when I head north to see my dad, and pop this pamphlet under their electron microscope so I can actually read it.  Until then I am just experimenting and hoping I don't blow something up.  How much damage can a 4 oz fuel container really do?



I got a JetBoil Sol and used it this weekend when I overnighted in Wayne National Forest.  So far I have learned that it boils water in 2 minutes in 40 degree temps and it weighs 13 oz or something like that.  If it passes muster it may come with me to the AT.  If not it will still be awesome for the slightly more luxurious weekenders that constitute the bulk of my hiking.

I also picked up a shell.  For around 100 bucks it supposedly repels rain, keeps you warm, and allows moisture to escape.  It's not a 300 dollar high tech device that will last for 10 years of continuous use, but in my world I can buy a new one every 5 years and still come out ahead considering I will buy my 4th with my first social security check.  It's a Patagonia TorrentShell and like the stove I expect it will do what it does without complaint and fail to awe me with features.

Hiking gear is like that.  The marketing is extreme and you can get to a point where you expect a pair of boots to download killer apps or a flashlight to double as a WiFi hotspot.  But boots are still boots and flashlights just light things up.  Reality meets hype pretty fast when you are gearing up for outdoor adventures.  When you are 20 miles from anything you want simple, easy and reliable.

I've already folded the jacket into it's own pocket;  that I believe is the most outstanding trick.  It will probably be rolled up like that for 5 years because it never rains when I hike.  Really!   By that time it will probably have fused together into a gelatinous blob and I will pry it apart to look at the tag and order number 2.

Now I have to fight off the comments.  I will no doubt find out this same jacket was on sale for 10 bucks at an REI online only, one day sale.   I will hear about the guy who wore one of these and spontaneously combusted.  I will be taught that this jacket is no good for mountains but OK for midwestern flatlands.  And I will be taught the next day that this jacket is totally wrong for midwest hikes but may be OK if I take it on a mountain.

Only time will tell if I chose wisely.  

UPDATE:  the stove cooked water and the jacket repelled water on the trail.  Woot.