Mini-Squeeze Sawyer filtration review

Anyone who's hiked with me knows I've been toying with the idea of building a lightweight gravity filter system for 5 years. The problem up and to this point was finding a filter that didn't require a heavy pump system, wasn't bulky, could be integrated into my current water management system, and was less than 3oz wet in order for me to consider giving up my fast and light system of drop and go multi-bottle purification.

The newly released 2oz inline Sawyer Mini-Squeeze kit fit the bill. (released ~October, 2013) is a lot less bulky than the previous Sawyer Squeeze. I still retain my 2 bottle system, allowing me to add a chlorine-dioxide purification treatment when needed in conjunction with filtration. On long distance hikes, the compact size will actually fit in my compact 9oz frameless pack.  Carrying a 8 to 14oz pump was not likely to ever happen. The benefit of this system for me was that I was retaining both 1L primary bladders, and it screwed onto my current platypus setup with no modification or added hoses were necessary. Reducing any added weight, complexity, or forcing me to switch away from my collapsible water carrying system.

Filter with supplied 16oz dirty bag.

Filter paired down for carrying

Measured Weights:
Filter dry weight:                 1.35oz
Filter wet weight:                 2.00oz
(shaken out)
60mL Back flush Syringe:    1.20oz
(supplied)
20mL Back flush Syringe:   0.5oz
16oz dirty bag:                     0.8oz
1L platypus dirty bag:         0.9oz
(already carried)
Stuff Sack:                           0.25oz

Operation:
The function of this system is basically fill the dirty bag, screw the filter on, and squeeze the water into the clean bladder. Flow rate with a clean filter was excellent. The dirty bladder can still be used to carry water for dry sections of trail where carrying water is necessary. The system comes with a measly 16oz dirty bag, that can be swapped out for one of the 1L bladders you are already carrying. With a 1L dirty bladder, I was getting just a little over 0.9L of return water. A little is left in the bag, and in the filter after filtering.

Parts laid out, ready to be attached.

Filtering in progress.

Backflush:
The operation of the back flush/field servicing is one of the simplest I've seen while kicking around filters. A 60mL syringe is included that you fill with clean water, push up against the clean end, and press water through the filter in reverse flow. After using the filter for filtering 2 people's water last weekend's trip, with no slowing of the flow rate while using fairly clean mountain water... I'll likely leave the back flush system at home, unless I'm going on a long trip, or somewhere where I'll likely have to filter seriously dirty water (not as common in the NW). I'd also toy with the idea of carrying an emergency 20mL syringe to reduce the weight carried, and reduce the bulk of the 60mL syringe.

Basic back flush setup. The Syringe is bigger than the filter.

Supplies:
Included supplies are a 16oz dirty bag, 0.1 micron filter, straw, and 60mL backflush syringe. I added a small mesh stuff sack to hold the dirty bag, filter, and backflush syringe. As you see I also increased the size of the dirty bag.


Other possible options:
Frontier Pro Pre-filter mod, to help from clogging the filter when using dirty water. There's an excellent write up if you search the internet, and you will have to break off the nipple on the dirty side to screw it in.

Light Monkey 35 Watt HID Canister Light - Gear Highlight

I've been needing a brighter dive light for awhile now since my present light is completely inadequate for signaling in the dark waters of the Puget Sound. So my present primary light is being retired to backup status. I'd do a side by side comparison of the new and old dive lights underwater, but I have a feeling you won't even be able to see the old one with the camera I use underwater. I'll see what I can do though when I dive this weekend. The Light Monkey 35 Watt HID is 25 times brighter than my current fixed beam 125 lumen UK SL3 light. With this new light having a 3000 lumen HID output and focusable beam. I should have no problems seeing under most conditions.

The other reason for buying the light is some of the training I plan on entering into this summer requires a remote canister light for operating reels and such, and I don't have time at the moment to finish assembling my other canister light. I'll do that when I'm out of school so that I have a backup can light for my dive buddies and when this light goes in for service. In my search for which canister light to purchase I found a very competitive price coupled with excellent and personalized customer service from Scott at Sound Aquatics in Kenmore. After the customer service I just received, and learning more about the diving out of Sound Aquatics, I would feel very confident to purchase from Scott again. The other bonus of this particular light is that I was needing to use 3lbs of lead to be neutral in the water at 10' with 500psi in the tanks and the light is negative 3lbs in the water. There goes the rest of the weight belt.

Manufacturers Specs:

Focusable Lighthead

Different design than other HID's with the main ballast in the canister with the ignitor in a small housing at the head

Switch is recessed into the lid for additional protection

Powered by a 20 Amp Li-Po Battery Providing 330 Mins.(5.5 hours) of Burntime

35 Watt HID with 3000 Lumen Output @ 6000 Kelvin

New Dry Lid is completely sealed providing protection from water intrusion due to a cut cord or switch boot

Battery Canister is completely sealed preventing water intrusion due to improperly latched lid or forgotten o-ring

Dry Weight 7 lbs.(3.2kg) 3 lbs(1.36 kg) Negitive

Recharge Time from Complete Discharge 12 hours

Universal Input Charger. US Input Cord Provided, UK and European Input Cord Available

Canister and Head Machined from Solid Rod Delrin

11.5"(291mm) Length, 3.5"(88mm) Diameter

The huge canister and goodman handle light head.
The "hear no evil, see no evil" monkey logo that Light Monkey uses. It's pretty big, but unlike most large HID can lights the ballast is in the can and not on the light head. So there is less bulkiness on the actual light head comparatively to other models.

Cost Effectivity for Camelback Cleaner vs. Chlorine Dioxide for Cleaning Water Bladders

So the other day I was sitting at REI, looking at a new cleaning kit for the Platypus bladders. I was curious what all was entailed in the Camelback cleaning tabs, since I've always been tempted to buy some to "clean" my bladders. I always scrub them with soap and water, then allow them to air dry or use a MYOG drying system to dry them. When they get really funky because I didn't clean them right away after using some kind of sugared drink mix, I use a MicroPur ClO2 tablet and let it sit overnight to kill everything.



So peering over the label on the Camelback tablets, the main active ingredient is none other than ClO2 tablets repackaged... I grabbed a package of Micropur and compared ingredients... What do you know the only difference is Camelback doesn't tell the concentrations and percentages. Probably indicating that it is a weaker mix not suited for water purification. For $12.95 you get 7 Camelback cleaning tabs, while you can buy a package of 30 Micropur tablets for the exact same price. So overall if you are tempted to buy the overpriced ClO2, go ahead, but realize you can get the same cleaning tablet for a lot cheaper...

Skibonkers 2009, South Center Mall in Tukwilla

After thinking that I was not going to be able to make it to this great gear saving event, due to having a fairly bad illness... I cleared up miraculously mid event and went over to sneak some peeks at the deals that were being offered. As always at Skibonkers has some substantial savings on Ski and Snowboard gear up to 70% off name brand clothing, boards, board bags, goggles, boots, bindings, etc. Since last season I purchased a new board, bindings, pants, jacket and goggles... I didn't have a lot to directly look for this year except I am finally in the market for a helmet. 10 years of snowboarding and my family has been ragging on me to get one... Yet no one wanted to pay for one even though I told them you buy it, I'll wear it... Since I'm doing a lot of snowboarding by myself I figured I might as well get one to preserve my skull for the rescue.

There was a ton of deals on name brand gear. If it wasn't for the fact that I was spending the last of the borrowed money on my credit card, I would of looked harder at the super sales on the new boards and gear. After wandering for awhile I found the helmet table and found the Helmet I wanted in my size. It was a Smith Variant with fully adjustable venting and fit adjustment. I already looked around last season and this one was the ticket for comfort, it fit my Smith Turbo Fan goggles and Skull Candy makes headphone ear flaps for it. The Helmet was 27.5% off of retail price, which was cheaper than I could find it anywhere on the internet or locally in the correct size. If I wore a small or large I could of found it for less elsewhere. Word of warning if you decide to buy a Smith helmet measure your head first, because they run small in size. In most helmets I wear a Large, in these I fit a medium and swim in a large. I'll post a review or highlight of the helmet after playing with it for awhile and after I get the Skull Candy headset purchased and installed. Overall if you are looking for new gear the skibonkers sale is going on through Monday and they will be having an after sale on their site after the tent sale is over. Other notes from Skibonkers, Stevens Pass is extending their Season Pass and Advantage Card sale to mid October! So go get your passes and advantage card for the up and coming season at the lowest rates of the season. Stevens Pass has also not released copies of their new movie on hard disc yet, and this seasons Stevens Pass snowboard film might be a download only version... Lame...

NeoAir Mattress Repair Kit Overview

If you didn't read the blog about the tear in my new fangled NeoAir mattress from the PCT section hike. Than you probably would not have known that I tore nearly a 1" gash in the mattress. Luckily Duct-Tape holds the world together, and it sealed the mattress for the remainder of the trip. When I was down at the PCT day celebration at Cascade Locks in Oregon, I was fortunate enough to get a free repair kit from the Therm-a-rest booth. So here is the repair and a semi-review of the simplicity of the actual patch kit.

The patch kit next to the NeoAir with a Duct-Tape patched hole. The patch kit comes with some "glue dots" which are unneeded in the repair of a NeoAir mattress.
The damage that was done with the Duct-Tape residue surrounding the tear.
The first real step for the NeoAir was to clean the area for the patch with a provided alcohol swab. If you did a trail-side repair with Duct-Tape, be prepared to scrub a little to get the residue removed.
The next major step was to install the patch. I did it like any other sticker I ever put on, Line it up as best as possible and roll the backing off to slowly while installing the patch. Just a note, the backing was a little difficult to remove with your fingernail, a razor blade might ease the initial removal of the backing.
There was an optional step which required placing a pot with boiling water on top of the patch for 10 minutes to help increase the adhesion of the patch. It is not required, but since this patch was being done at home so I was not counting every gram of fuel I performed this optional step. Previously I had read a in BPL's Member Only article on the NeoAir that when they did this step the patch slightly stuck to the pan when they were trying to remove it. Trying to avoid damaging the seal of the edge of the patch I opted to try laying down a piece of parchment paper between the pot and the patch. Which worked excellent and prevented any sticking of the patch to the parchment paper or the pot.
The finished patch.
Overall this patch kit was very simple to use at home, and I could see it being used fairly easily in the field as well. The last 2 patches, 2 alcohol swabs, Ziploc and direction packet, with the glue dots removed from the kit weighs .30 oz. So it is up to you to decide if you want to carry a redundancy in your essentials kit. Right now I've already placed a .5 oz roll of Duct-Tape in my essentials kit and the Duct-Tape held fairly well for the majority of the 4 night trip. It did leak a little throughout the night, but it was an acceptable amount of leakage for an emergency repair kit for my taste. A couple breaths at 3am firmed the mattress back up and I was happy, it's still more comfortable than my worn out home mattress or a closed cell foam pad. I definitely plan on using this kit for permanent repairs at home or maybe on very long hikes I would carry it, but for everything else there is Duct-Tape.

My Backpacking Fly Fishing Setup and Background

I started fly fishing when I was 16 out on the North Fork of the Clearwater River in Idaho. It was a 1 to 2 week trip that was taken on a yearly basis. After I turned 18 I went into the Marine Corp and the fly fishing came to a ceasing stop while I moved around and eventually got stuck in the armpit of Arizona (Yuma). On my last deployment all my fishing gear was stolen from my buddies house while we were both deployed overseas. After we returned home we found out that his house was literally ransacked and left open.

Anyways, Nancy's Dad, Kenny Wylde taught me how to cast back in the day and I became fairly productive on the small tributaries of the North Fork and including the North Fork of the Clearwater River. One year I brought in a plump 15 or 16" trout out of the North Fork, which up and to that point was the most fun I had ever had fishing. I casted a good 40 to 50 feet upstream and the fly just passed by a large hole and WHAM! Fish on and it was actually a fight on the double pawl real! The fish was jumping and swimming all over the river, after several minutes of fighting I got the little guy back to me and I triumphed into camp. Well, come to find out no one heard me mutter that my dirtbike broke, that I was pissed and that I was gone fishing... I got in a considerable amount of trouble since they sent out a search party looking for me... But I exclaimed look! I knew there was still some keepers this far up on the river! At that moment I fell for fly fishing, granted I haven't caught any fish that size on a fly since, but one day I will! The fight was just a thrill!

So as time passed I still dreamed of fly fishing from time to time. But it wasn't until I started visiting the alpine lakes and streams again in Washington after I moved home that the memories of Cedars hit me and the bug started biting again. After the Elwha trip with Jesse, I started frantically gathering supplies with a balance of cost to weight. I tried to Keep it as simple and as light as possible without fully draining my account. So here's what I presently carry:
The fly setup, picture taken by Jesse

Fishing Gear	oz.
Cabela's 5 piece rod w/sleeve	4.00
Scientific Angler's 456 reel w/line	5.05
Dry Fly Dressing	0.75
Leader line	0.10
Forceps	0.75
fishing License	0.60
Fly box w/flies	0.70

The rod is a 5wt 8' 6" and I only carry the sleeve and am very careful about tossing my pack around in respect to where the rod is. The reel is 2.75oz by itself and is a double pawl style drag. I should of put less backing on it and it would have weighed less... The fly box is a Morell and the smallest model that they offer which can hold a decent assortment of flies.

My present trout fly box, it is still a work in progress...


Occasionally I throw in some Aqua Socks for wading, but more and more if the weather is nice I just wade in barefoot or in my breathable hiking shoes. I would like to try the 1.9oz wading shoes that I have seen a couple threads on BPL and I believe it was the Jolly Green Giant's blog I've seen them featured on as well. The main thing that I plan on adding to my fishing kit is a lanyard bag. I have a ton of extra Dyneema Fabric lying around that I intend on making a little pouch with pockets for the fly box and Hemostats/Forceps to be leashed to so that it would be relatively easy to access. I'm not really a fan of stuffing all the stuff in the 2 breast pockets of my shirt, but it definitely works, but is a pain to fumble for stuff when you are trying to release a fish in a timely manner. There will be more on the lanyard in a MYOG blog post after I design and sew it up. Today I was at the Gig Harbor Fly Shop collecting a new reel, line, flies, and a fly box for salmon fishing. There will be more on that after I pick up the rod and have a trip report posted from either being skunked or catching a fish.

Cabela's Commercial Grade 80L Dehydrator

Well, I started off with an excellent dehydrator that I got from my Mom and Dad for free which worked great, but my capacity demands have now changed. Back when I was just testing the waters with using a dehydrator to prepare the ingredients for my backpacking meals and/or dehydrating premade meals the little sub-5 sqft dehydrator was great. I really came across this idea of dehydrating my meals and using the FBC cooking method after buying the book Freezer Bag Cooking. Since than I have also come across One Pan Wonders, which has a lot of good meals as well that can be easily made with an FBC method.

Basically what sprung this purchase was that I was starting to dehydrate more and more stuff, from large batches of fruits, to full meals, to staple ingredients for my meals (ground turkey). I use ground turkey in most of my meals that require meat, I use it mainly because it is cheap as all get out at costco for a very lean meat ($2.30 a lb). The more I dehydrated stuff, the more I had to do multiple batches. Doing multiple batches day after day got really old and actually got me to start slowing down my dehydrating by making me put it off. The little dehydrator would hold 3lbs of ground turkey filled to the brim and take nearly 12 hours to dehydrate it. The new dehydrator took 7 hours for 6.4lbs + a lot of other stuff....

Cabela's is switching their model color from white to black and are selling off the white models for $80 less than retail. Which equated out to the same cost as some of the smaller dehydrators like the Excaliber that I had been looking into buying. So for the same cost I got a lot larger dryer. I may of had to dip into my funds to pay for next quarter to buy it... but I got it and it should last a very long time and more than pay for itself with time. Especially how much I do backpacking and outdoors sports.

Specifications copied from Cabelas.com:

Fully insulated housing Digital thermostat/timer Built-in drain reservoir 12 - 21.5" x 16" non stick drying racks fully digital controls, these units let you set the exact temperature and time needed to reach your desired results 80 liter - 21-1/8"H x 17-3/8"D x 23-1/2"W

Here's a picture of the old dehydrator next to the new dehydrator.


Here's a picture of the aftermath of one single run of the dehydrator. 6.4lbs of ground turkey (3.2lbs as browned turkey, 1.6lbs as Taco Turkey and 1.6lbs ground BBQ Turkey burgers), 2 - 12.5oz cans of Kirkland canned chicken, and 3 cans of Nalley Turkey chili.


Overall I am very impressed with the efficiency and capacity of this dryer. I will now be able to assemble the majority of everything that I will need to dehydrate and make a single run instead of multiple small runs. The only disappointment is that the top tray does not have a lot of room, so if it's a fairly thick item like some fruits and the beginning of dehydration it won't fit, so in reality it's an 11 tray dryer...

Note:
The top shelf only has 3/8" of space, so spreads like Hummus, re-fried beans or other thin sliced meats a 1/4" thick or less will work fine. The thicker sliced fruits or uneven foods like chicken chunks and unevenly sized ground meat didn't fit without touching the top of the dehydrator which is fairly undesirable.

FBC SUL Cozy Review

Company: Freezer Bag Cooking
Model: SUL Cozy
Web Site: Trailcooking.com
Dimensions: 6"x8"
Weight: 0.60 oz as tested, 0.80 oz in the standard UL size.
Materials: dual sided Insulbrite insulation and a rare Reflective sil-nylon shell
Manufactured: Washington, USA
Quality: Excellent stitching and a very clean look.


As the quest for quality lightweight gear continues, I was afforded the opportunity to test out the new FBC UL Cozy in a slightly shorter size than the present standard production. I do not have a standard style cozy at this moment to compare and contrast the results from the UL Style and the Standard style cozies. So a compare and contrast of the heat retention between the Standard and UL is a possiblity. Either way the UL style cozies are lighter than the standard cozy which comes in at 1.1 to 1.5oz depending on the fabric and size chosen.

Comparing size differences between my old homemade cozy (0.35 oz) to the FBC SUL style cozy (0.60 oz).

Field Testing:
Consisted of rehydrating a Lipton/Knorr Broccoli Cheddar Rice with a 1/2 cup of dehydrated turkey on a cool afternoon at Big Crow Basin in the Central Cascades. After about 15 minutes I took my first bite, and all the way to the last bite there was no crunchy instant rice in the bag. Generally I have a few spoonfuls that still have some crunchiness to them from the rice not completely rehydrating within the 15 minute rehydration period. Rice always seems to be my vice when it comes to cooking along the trail, there is either not enough water or heat retention to quickly hydrate the rice with my homemade cozy. The meal was still very hot after sitting over 15 minutes.

Home Testing:
Test Design:
The ambient temperature was 71^oF and the initial water was brought to 200^oF and transferred into a quart sized Ziplock bag that was placed in the Cozy. Temperature readings were then taken at 5 minute intervals including the initial temperature of the water within the cozy. The graph reflects from time 0 in the cozy.

Water starting to boil.

Taking Temperature Readings.

Time or Location	Temperature (oF)
Ambient Temperature	71
On the burner	200
0 minutes in bag	188
5 minutes	184
10 minutes	179
15 minutes	173.5
20 minutes	169

After running the test in the kitchen, I have determined that the heat retention of the cozy is excellent for the intended purposes of the cozy. The overall average temperature loss was 4.75^oF per 5 minute interval, still keeping the cozy in the high 160’s by the end of 20 minutes. This represents a really good heat retention for rehydrating hot meals.

Pros:
High Heat Retention for FBC style cooking
Quality stitching
A very clean and appealing to the eye design

Cons:
Hand wash only (understandably can not be gotten around with the lightweight insulation.)

Suggestions:
Offer the short version at a height of about 5.75" and trim the pointed corner to save a few more grams of weight for the gram weenie solo users.

Recommendation:
I strongly recommend the UL style FBC cozies for all your solo FBC cooking needs. They are lighter than the standard cozies and retain heat very well.

Neoair Small Follow up...

Following up on the Neoair mattress as I promised in the end of the first initial impressions review.
Initial Review of the Neoair Mattress



Summary:
This air mattress overall has become and will stay as a mainstay of my sleeping system for 3 season use and possibly a part of a winter sleep system. I don't feel much underneath me and that equates out to some of the best sleep in the backcountry I have ever had. I have now used this mattress from the mid 30's up to 60 degree nights in varying alpine and coastal trips. This mattress has a considerable amount of heat reflection for an "uninsulated" inflatable mattress. Overall it was one of the best comfort items added to my pack this year! I'm sold on these mattresses. They are expensive, but if you do a lot of camping, the comfort and insulating properties at a low weight penalty pay for themselves and I can easily justify the expense.

The downfalls:
It is fairly narrow overall but at just under 20 inches wide when inflated for the standard 20" wide mattress. If you need a wide pad check out the super expensive large/wide version.

Java Juice Review

For the last year and a half I've been using Java Juice for my backpacking caffiene fix. I stumbled across the stuff through BPL. Supposedly this stuff was supposed to have a smooth taste and be a straight extract from the coffee beans. I wanted to buy in bulk and BPL had a super sale at the time that I just could not resist. The package came with around 30 to 40 packets of different flavored Java Juice, a $35 475ml BPL Ti Trapper mug, and a $10 Light My Fire Firesteel Scout Firestarter for about the cost of the coffee alone. I wanted to try the coffee and it came with all these goodies, why pass it up? I had very little expectations for the coffee to be great, but was definitely hoping for a better taste than instant crystals and a kick of caffiene to wake up to on the trail.



The coffee surpassed my expectations. I'm a person who doesn't drink coffee black, I add splenda flavoring, or surgar and milk to my coffee to smooth it out and make it taste great. In general the Java Juice is extremely smooth, excellent flavor and no gritty taste. I don't ever add milk or surgar since it is very smooth, which also helps lighten my load by not carrying a small amount of powder milk and surgar. I've found myself drinking it at home when I'm too lazy to whip up another pot of coffee, or just need some caffiene.

One of the really great things about Java Juice is that since it is not a crystal and is actually a liquid if you want an "iced coffee" you can just add it to cold water and it mixes up to the same consistency with a quick flick of a spork. No waiting for your coffee water to cool or your coffee to stew, add to hot or cold water, give it a quick stir and you are drinking your coffee. Java Juice comes in 4 different flavors, Swiss Water Decaf, French Vanilla, Hazelnut, and Original flavoring. REI now carries them at a fairly higher price than they can be sourced on the internet. If you just want to buy a couple to try they are hidden in near the energy bars and drink mixes at REI. If you want to buy them in bulk, search the internet for 30 to 40 cents a packet cheaper.

Lightweight Map Cases

As you might know I tend to analyze all my gear and decide where the weight is unnecessary and than I try to determine how to trim it down to a more reasonable weight. This year when I switched over to using a Green Trails map or Custom Correct maps on all my hikes now I was in need of a map case. The Green trails maps are about .45oz a map so they as themselves are fairly light and I won't go to the extent of how some people trim the hell out of their maps to save minute grams. For me having the escape route or other options along the trail still on my map is very important. If you trim the map to hell you could lose ridge lines and peaks that could be vital for triangulating your position if you get lost. So I started off with the proverbial Green Trails map case since I needed one in a jiff for the the Elwha trip earlier this year. From the get go I noted it's heaviness, and when ounces quickly add to pounds the 3.95oz Green trails case is excessive. Yes, it will last forever but the weight of an extra 1/4 pound negates the luxury of carrying a non waterproof .45oz map, which is an actual carried weight of 4.4oz with a map. So the quest for the lightweight case began. All the production map cases I found were around 4oz or heavier so I started looking elsewhere.

The proverbial Green Trails map case.



While I had my large OPsack out of my URSack I noticed it was about the same size as the Green Trails maps case and since it is odor proof it is waterproof. So here I will highlight 2 alternative options I have found to be effective.

The 3 Cases side by side.


If you aren't going on a super long hike, maybe 8 to 15 miles or so out and back or a small enough loop you can fold the map down to fit in a 9"x10" OPsack you can reduce the map case down from 3.95oz to .55oz. Which brings your total carried map weight down to 1oz with a weight savings of 3.4oz.

The small case with a map folded inside.


The next option I have found effective is using the large 12"x20" OPsack, which will just fit a Green Trails map without having to actually fold it. It's a tight fit around the seal so you might need to curve the map into a U shape as you slid it in. The weight of a large OPsack is about 1.2oz, which brings the carried weight of the map down to 1.65oz with a weight savings of 2.5oz.

The large OPsack case with the map unfolded inside.


I will note that their are some kinds of coatings that you can coat onto your maps to make them waterproof, but in order to do all your maps I'm sure the cost adds up along with the hassle of sealing them. For me it's about simplicity while adding effectiveness with lightweight, and I'm too lazy to seal a bunch of maps to test the weight of the map sealants. With a case all I need to do is slip it in and I'm on my way with a watertight map case. I also understand there are printable maps that you can buy, but money doesn't allow that for the time being.

What do you use as a map case or ways to protect your map from the rain?

Drying 3 Platypus Hydration Bladders in a Timely Manner

Last year I saw this video on Jason Klass's youtube channel, but never got around to setting up a dryer for the bladders, but it notes only the ability to dry one bladder so here's how you can dry more than one. LINK

Generally I carry 3 bladders on every trip, 2 - 1L bladders to fill and go along the trail, and 1 - 2L platy liner for those spots that water will be scarce, a possible shower on a longer trip or if I just need a decent amount of water for camp chores. The platypus liners are one of the lightest bladders and hydration systems, but have a narrow fill hole and take forever to dry on their own. Last year I got accustomed to just throwing them in the freezer to prevent the water bottle mold from forming, but really would prefer to put them away with my gear. So after the trip to The Shipwreck Coast I decided to swing by Petco and get the parts to assemble a 3 bladder drying system.

Materials Required:
--> single line fish tank air pump ($8.99 at Petco and comes with hose, just get the cheap one)
--> 2 - 3 way T fittings which will be in the same area as the pump ($1.29 each)

The assembly is easy, stick a hose to the bottom of the bladder cut it off with a few inches of play outside the bladder, and assemble your fittings and than their should be just enough hose left to attach the pump to the first fitting. When you are finished there should be a small section of hose coming off of the air pump to a T-fitting. From the T-fitting one side should go to the biggest bladder's hose and the other to another T-fitting which goes to the other 2 bladders. Here's some pictures to get an idea of what I'm talking about.







Drying time isn't a definitive time frame, but if you leave them overnight they'll be dry in the morning. The whole idea is to get the air moving within the bladders and exchange the moisture ridden air with the outside of the bladder faster. If you were to leave a platy out to dry on it's own it could take a week plus. The only thing I might do differently is buy some stiffer hose, which is sold next to the fittings. The hose that came with the pump is a really flexible silicone hose which likes to curl up in the bags. It will still work great, but you might need to work the hose down in the bag. It doesn't have to be at the bottom to circulate the air, but the deeper it is in the bag the better.

Sea To Summit Ultra-Sil Dry Sacks

Well after last years wet out of my down sleeping bag and warming layers on my hike out from Mt. Rainier... I've been tossing the idea of getting some sort of dry bags that are lightweight and could help keep my gear dry under normal use. I won't be relying on a dry bag to protect my gear from a spill in a kayak or boat, but I would like a bag that would help protect my sleeping bag and warming layers from Washington rain storms and an accidental spill in a creek or small river.

Upon inspection of the bags I noticed a very uniform stitching and a noticeable taping of the seams. The consistency of the silicon impregnated cordura was similar to regular old silnylon but a bit more robust in feel. Overall they look like a quality product. I bought the 2L for my warming layers and the 8L for the sleeping bag or quilt. After stuffing my base layers, beanie and gloves into the 2L bag I realized that I'll need to get a 4L so that I can get more turns on the top and so that I can fit my insulating vest in it during colder weather. First off comes the weights: MFG weight of a 2L is .8 oz, on my scale it registered as .85 oz which is fairly darn close. The MFG weight of the 8L is 1.1 oz, on my scale it registered as 1.2 oz, which isn't extremely far off. The weight of the stuff sack that the 2L sack will be replacing is .9 oz and the weight of the sleeping bag's stuff sack that the 8L will be replacing is 1.1oz. So overall I'm not really gaining much or losing anything.

Now for the Testing... According to the manufacturer these bags are not for complete submersion, so keep that in mind through this test. I filled the bathtub up with enough water to submerge the Dry sacks. I filled each bag with a different number of shirts to fill the void and facilitate different amounts of rolls for the closure. The first test with the 2L I did the minimum suggested amount of rolls which is 3, and the second test with 5 rolls. The 8L (which when my sleeping bag is actually stuffed the lid rolls down 8 times...) I did the initial test with 3 rolls and the second with 7 rolls. I attempted to get as much air out as possible and seal the bags to the given rolled top specs. I then submerged, shook and squeezed the bags, I was over simulating any abuse that I could everforesee in my use of the bags.

The rolled out 2L


The filled and submerged 2L


The aftermath of 3 rolls, I attempted to keep external wetting contamination to a minimum upon opening the bag. As you can see though there is some water that made it in while shaking the bag, and squeezing the bag while being submerged. No water made it past any of the sewn and taped seams though.


I did not get the picture of the aftermath of the 5 rolls. basically there was one or 2 drops inside the rolled portion of the bag, but none reached the clothing.

Submerged 8L


The aftermath of 3 rolls on the 8L. There is a very small couple patches that got wet on the clothing, but very little.


Aftermath of 7 rolls... the one drop on the clothing was external contamination and can be ignored. There were no drops other than from the one that came from my wet hand that reached all the way to the clothing. The rest of the drops were somewhere in the rolls of the lid.


Overall I am very satisfied with the function of these bags, and believe they have passed enough examination to be able to rely on them for field use in my pack to protect my warming layers and sleeping bag from haphazard rain storms or minor slips in creeks. If I decide or find flaws down the road I will post an update. I will be purchasing a 4L for the warming layers and will more than likely keep the 2L and use it for my essentials bag, i.e. first aid kit, tp...

****EDIT****
I purchased the 4L today. The 4L's claimed MFG weight is .9 oz, my scale weighs it in at 1.05 oz.

Thermarest NEOAir Mattress Size Small

I have been looking for a more comfortable nights rest while I'm out backpacking since day one. The Therm-a-rest Z-Rest mattress I use leaves funky dots on my skin from the nights pressure points upon waking up in the morning. There's not enough cushion to give me a comfortable nights sleep, but at the weight of my chopped up 3/4 length Z-Rest hovering around 9oz... I didn't want to gain a considerable amount of weight just for a luxury item that was not needed. This April Therm-a-rest released the much anticipated and the newest design of backpacking air mattress, the NEOAir! So I couldn't resist this air mattress after seeing how this could be the Ultralight Holy Grail of sleeping mattresses. At a whopping 9.05oz/256g on my scale for the size small. It is about the same weight as my present chopped up Z-Rest. It stuffs down smaller than a Nalgene water bottle and offers a 2.5" thick horizontally baffled air mattress that has an aluminized center to reflect your heat back towards your body and offer a higher R-value than my Z-Rest. Today I received my new air mattress (which after my 20% off member discount and after I applied my REI dividend I only paid $38 after taxes and shipping).

This is my preliminary review and will have more to follow on it's actual performance after my backpacking trip to the Olympics (April 17-19).

Measured Weight: 9.05 oz/256 g
Claimed Weight: 9 oz/260 g

Approximately the same dimensions as the manufacturer gives (48"x20"), depending on how much you inflate the air mattress. The material has a ripstop pattern and is a bright yellowish color on the top and a silvery gray color on the bottom. There is a nonslip coating on the mattress that has about the consistency of thinned silnet coated on silnylon. This mattress might actually stay still on silnylon, but further field testing will need to be done to make sure. It took me approximately 20 - 25 breaths to fully inflate the mattress to a very firm inflation. I am 66" tall and with my head on the top edge of the mattress the bottom edge breaks right below my knees. This was my biggest concern when getting the mattress was the large drop point near my knees. In actuality I couldn't really tell, because it felt fairly natural and was a smooth transition. It was very easy to adjust the air pressure to the perfect level and the horizontal baffles were surprisingly stable. I'm used to the low spots and quick uncomfortable shifts of air as you roll around on a traditional air mattress, this appeared to be minimized to a nearly unnoticeable amount of shifting. Not to mention the space savings that will take place within my pack... I might need to downsize my pack even further than the Jam2 I recently bought. With luck and some weather cooperation I will have an initial report after my first weekend backpacking trip with the NEOAir. Enjoy and let me know your experiences with the NEOAir or any direct concerns you need addressed about it.

Freshly out of the package in the palm of my hand.

Loosely repackaged next to a Nalgene Bottle


Laying on the mattress with my head to the edge of the mattress.


Mattress on the ground.


Side shot of the mattress.