CRAP that really matters.......................

[Scuba Steve]

Cool backpack. Sounds expensive though... I'll probably keep on using my old one (Peak?) for a while until more of those hit the market. Is there a rain cover, or would a generic larger one take it?

[ODDJOB UNO]

since i have embarked on the MOLLE gig w/all my gear and scamming the ILBE pack i am giving my younger son my zoomy mega big expedition pack. i did a search a few years back when i bought that pack for good rain covers. looked at mtn. smith, granite gear, gregory, lowa, etc. actually ended up with a REI x-large rain cover that works perfect and keeps everything dry as a bone. have a couple other rain covers mfg'd from very thin nylon and the problem with those is they tear very easily from tree limbs, rock abrasion etc.

the last time i went into the grande canon(grand canyon) , i decided to invest in a 4 season tent. already had one of will steigers north face antarctic expedition 6 man tents. great in a group, holds 6, can withstand 140knot winds, goretex floor, blah blah. but.............weighs in at 19 pounds with the bombproof thick as yer thumb easton poles. and i aint carrying 19 pounds period.


so once again started searching for 4 season bombproof tents that were LIGHT!


ended up with a north face mtn 25. i think it weighs like 6# w/rain fly. actually a very roomy 2 man 4 season tent, w/a vestibule to stow yer gear and muddy boots.


had it for quite some time now and not 1 complaint.



we use the antarctic hotel(himilayian hotel on steroids), for when we go places where its used as a base camp. 2 people in it , ya would think you had died and gone to heaven. 4 people in it, its still comfy. if ya go w/6 people as rated..........well your gonna get to know each other real well if the weather is crappy and your crammed in it for a day or 2.


both of these north face 4 seasons have been used in the middle of the winter w/no problems, and both have had running rivers of rain water flow under them while in it and the goretex floors work perfect. never any seams coming apart, never any poles taking a crap(easton) and never a problem.


i also have a 4 season eureka one man tent, and so does my younger son. have only used these in 3 seasons so cant tell ya how they work in a heavy snow. both of us have had the heavens open up and dump on us and never got wet.


if ya ever get by a north face outlet store...................jump on it. some screaming mimi deals to be had.



i like TNF lifetime warranty. its pretty hard to BOO-GAR their stuff up. i also like marmot and patagonia products for durability.

[Scuba Steve]

Sounds like you've got pretty good stuff... Mine was great for what was on the market around 1994-1997 so that's probably terrible by today's standards. My Eureka Timberline 2 has held up great over the years with no rips or leaks. I carry a ground cover cut from a thick plastic drop cloth to keep rain from coming in from below. Never had any problems with wind/rain/snow/bears/mountain lions or other big cats that come around camp at night.

[ODDJOB UNO]

i can BLAME IT ALL on my parents/my insane scoutmaster/ and THE BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA!



spent a hell of alot of my youth in the 1/2 horsey town of pinetop,az. not alot to do except hunt fish camp.


i have used 1/2 azzd gear and regretted every damn moment when it has failed. ya get what ya pay for. saw alot of crap go down in the grande canon(grand canyon) and the superstition wilderness. broken legs/ankles mainly. and you aint lived until ya gotta get someone out of that big azz hole in the ground w/a broken leg or ankle.


then throw in dirty bikes/quads/off road race vehicles and its a non stop cluster of accidents.


a good two incidents to mention:


1) riding the countryside high and wide over the 14 eeners in colorado. buddy hits water diverter berm on his yamm-a-ha, does a high speed header and breaks leg...........BAD! have pics of this stunt. now it wasnt a compound fracture but he busted both bones in his right leg and his mx boot held it together. along with a roll of duck(quack) tape and an hour sitting there listening to him moan and groan we started his bike for him and he sucked it up and rode down to telluride, and then in my surburban to the hospital.



2) our outlaw dirty biker club SUN MC decided to have a festivus in june one summer up in the bradshaw mtns. did our due dilligence and rented the group campground in horsethief basin. pine trees oaks water campsites blah blah.


since this was one ser-i-ass ride we opted for the BUDDY SYSTEM and a TECH of all bikes prior to taking off at o-dark thirty. had around 80 guys. all the wifeys and g/friends drove up with fuel booze food in the crash trucks on the forest service road. had people staged with crash trucks and fuel over a good portion of the mtn.


prior to launch we sent everyone a list of crap to bring and not bring. to the nats ass survival/spare parts list. spare gas in prestone bottles in backpacks.



so we take off in a cloud of dust with 4 strokes and 2 strokes. about 2 hrs in headed uphill on the trail, im on my 85 XR-350RF from hell, a friend of ours from garrett goes wailing by us like we were standing still on his KTM 495 from hell and.................you guessed it................hit a water diverter(dirt berm) wrong and launched into low lunar orbit and did a mega header at mega warp speed and compound fractured his leg.



and when i say BLOOD.................i mean the BLOOD was spilling out of his BOOT!



we are now MEGA MEGA FEEKED ROYALLY!



thank god we had our rezident nutcase dr. with us. we cut his boot open, applied tournaquit, splinted the leg with a palo verde branch, duck(quack) taped the boot back together along with the palo verde branch, and started searching for ANYBODY! now we had calculated our fuel to the nats azz and we were scrimping on fuel. so us 4 strokes(better mileage) starting combing the bradshaws for anyone with a vehicle. finally after an hour or so found 2 ol boys in a jeep. they opted to help. actually at this point due to the DIRE CIRCUMSTANCES of our friends health, we were FULLY COMMITTED to hijacking their vehicle had they decided not to help us, if ya catch my drift.


when we got back with the jeep, we lifted him into the back for the long bumpy ride down the senator highway(dirt road) into prescott, he was WHITE AS A SHEET FROM BLOOD LOSS!


you talk about a major BUZZKILL on that trip. well to make a long story short, they left the wound open for a week, then did surgery and added some plates, and he didnt make it back to work at garrett for 6 months.



so as i said before. being cheap, being a 1/2 azz, being an airhead, being a moron, can get ya killed real fast and real dead faster than ya can spit off road.


i cant emphasize the importance of being prepared, having quality gear, watching the 10 day weather forecast. sweat the small and big stuff and everything else comes easy.



or the story about my friend ripping across the dezert on his dirty bike and catching some barbed wire with his neck! yeah once again.................more fun than we can stand. he did live , but had a scar for the rest of his life, just like clint eastwood in hang 'em high!