Backpacking Gear

Photograph of a hammock and backpacking gear hung out to dry in Irish Wilderness, Missouri. March 2023.

Drying out — That will teach me. I didn’t set the tarp and the dew point must have been just perfect for everything to get soaked, including my hammock and my down top and under quilts. I decided to delay the start of my day’s hike (any excuse) and get everything dry before packing it away.

Photograph of a Galaxy S21 Ultra Cellphone, and Garmin InReach Mini satellite Communicator being charged by an Anker 20000mAh 525 Power Bank (PowerCore Essential 20K PD) while backpacking.

Charging — Giving my InReach Mini and my GPS (phone) a boost. My power brick will keep all my electronics going for about a week. I’m impressed.

Packing for my first backpacking trip of 2023 — The temperature is forecast to vary from the mid-twenties overnight Saturday to the mid-sixties on Monday, so it is a full winter load-out plus some spring additions. The whole lot including food, water, and fuel weighs in at around 26 lbs. +4

Photograph of drilling air holes in a titanium backpacking wood burning stove.

Titanium backpacking wood stove modifications – My titanium wood stove needs a bit more air. This afternoon I added some more air holes.

Clear-up after breakfast – I’ve used this stove a lot on this trip, and its final outing was heating water for my breakfast – biscuits and Gravy, and my morning cup of mocha. +2

Firebox Nano – Put away ready for the next time – My trusty Firebox Nano wood stove.

Hammock ridge line holster mount — When I first saw the Alien Gear ShapeShift holster system, I thought it would be great for backpacking. When I bought my Sig Sauer P938, I checked the Alien Gear website and was very pleased to see that there was a holster for it. +1

Sig Sauer P938 & Alien Gear Shape Shift Holster. I may (or may not) have been doing a little target practice.

Milwaukee Fastback 48-22-1990 – I’ve finally got around to replacing the pocket knife I gave to Katie. One-minute read, +1

Charging the Garmin. We all know what this means. I’m charging it up ready for another backpacking trip.

Packed ready for a four-day trip – Except there has been a change of plan, now it’s only going to be three days. +2

Gear Test – Sealskinz waterproof socks. Wet shoes, dry feet – Waterproof sock, and they worked. Now I have a footwear solution for snowy trails. It’s just a shame I didn’t get these before it snowed. One-minute read, +1

Packed and Ready to go – The Bishop’s staff were delivering the second of two training events for new vestry and church leaders this Saturday morning. Like most meetings nowadays, it was on Zoom. I got to be slide master, and we all gave 10-minute talks to introduce ourselves and let the folks know how we can help them. As soon as we’d finished delivering the morning’s training I was ready to get changed and head out of here! Two-minute read.

Snow day gear repairs – I’m usually pretty easy on my equipment, but recently I’ve got careless and damaged three items of my backpacking gear. Today I removed my temporary duct tape fixes and applied permanent repairs to my underquilt protector and rain skirt. One-minute read, +5

Gear Damage – I tore my under quilt protector when I fell out of my hammock on my last trip. Despite spending half-an-hour looking for the damage at home, I didn’t find it. I’ve now made careful notes of where it is so I can repair it.

My 2020-2021 Winter Backpacking Gear. Five-minute read

Gear change – new backpack. Zpacks Arc Haul. One-minute read

Winter Backpacking / Hammock Camping Gear.

Peak Design Capture Pro Camera Clip (and a New Tripod) Five-minute read, 5 pictures

Beretta PX4 Storm Compact 9mm semiautomatic handgun in a BLACKHAWK! Serpa CQC Carbon Fiber Appliqué Finish Concealment Holster

Open Carry and Concealed Carry Holsters – A quick look at my current holsters plus some thoughts on handgun ownership. Five-minute read, +7

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