My old tent had a good run, but after using it for almost a decade, it was time to buy a new one.
I settled on this 3-season tent, and I have been very pleased with my purchase. The main feature that I demanded of whichever tent I would end up buying was that it be freestanding. I hate that a tent won’t stay upright if the pegs aren’t securely in the ground, and this fit the bill.
I bought this a long time ago when I was still living in Chicago. My friend and I wanted to go camping in Wisconsin, and I didn’t have much money. This tent was only $50, so I thought it was only going to last a few uses. I ended up using it for almost a decade.
Side story: I got Lyme disease from a tick while I was camping in Wisconsin that led to about $3000 in medical costs for the half-hour visit to the emergency room. Yay American health system!
Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest in Wyoming
I got this headlamp about 10 years ago, and it has proven most reliable. There’s really not too much to say about it other than praises. Continue reading
I had used my pot in Norway, but I had put the pot directly on the coals of a small fire we made. I felt like I might want to cook when I went into the Highlands in Scotland, but it didn’t look like there were going to be many trees where we were going, so I bought this on a whim as I was in Aviemore right before we started our hike. I really regret doing so.
I usually don’t bother cooking while I am backpacking, but when we went to Norway, I knew it was going to be cold. I thought it would be nice to have a hot meal at least once or twice, so I decided to finally pick up a travel pot. This pot is…. all right… Continue reading
I needed some new boots a while back, and I saw these heavily discounted at a store while I was visiting a friend, so I figured I would try them out. In short, I am glad that they were so cheap (only 40€ from 100€) because they were not for me. Continue reading
These are some boots that I bought about 4 years ago since my last hiking boots got worn out. I have to say that these were some of the most comfortable shoes I have ever worn. I actually think that the size I got was a little too small, as they were a little snug, but when I put them on, it was like walking on a cloud. I didn’t even have to break them in before they were comfortable. They were waterproof, which was nice when walking in the rain or through shallow creeks. They are also fairly warm, which helped when I was hiking in some cold areas like Norway. Continue reading
I bought this a long time ago, and I have used it on many backpacking trips. It has always provided clean water that hasn’t made me sick. There was one time where I didn’t use it in Chile, and I ended up projecting liquids out of either end of my body. What a mistake… Since that hasn’t happened whenever I did use it, I have to say that it’s done a fine job. Continue reading
I used a backpack from my dad while I was in South America, and I figured I would like a backpack for myself. I found this at some second-hand store, and it was only used once, so it was still practically in perfect condition. It was regardless really cheap, so I bought it. Continue reading
Way back in high school, I had an older backpack from this series, which I really liked. I ended up using it during a paintball campaign, and it ended up trashed with paint, so I decided to relegate it to holding my paintball equipment.
So I bought a new one, and I have been using this for the better part of 10 years. In general, it has proven to be a great backpack that I have used for all sorts of various tasks and trips. The compression straps help it hold a slimmer profile if you don’t have much you’re carrying, but it can also expand to hold quite a bit of stuff.
