Gear Review: Tarptent Squall 2

The Squall 2 is a non-free standing two person tent that utilizes one or two hiking poles to pitch.  The tent packs small and has a minimum foot print in your pack.  It has a great space to weight ratio, making it popular with ultralight backpackers.  Please note the photos don’t show the tent complete taut.  It was 95 degrees outside at 9:00 AM in the morning when I was pitching the tent in a few of the photos.

Fly Creek UL2, Tarptent Squall 2, Mountain Hardware Scout

Quick and Dirty
Gear Type: Tent
Material: Sil-Nylon
Trail weight: 34 oz
Price: $249
Link:  Tarptent Squall 2
Pros: Light, collapsing tub, uses four stakes to pitch, great wind stability, larger than comparable tents, very small pack weight
Cons: Condensation, misting during the rain, difficult to pitch in rocky or hard packed dirt Continue reading

Trail Report: Mount Whitney

The Quick and Dirty:
Location – Eastern Sierra Nevada, California
Distance – 10.7 miles one way to summit, 21.4 miles round trip (RT)
Terrain Type – Rocky, Sandy, Gravel, Switch Backs
Difficulty – Strenuous
Best Time – July-August after the snow melts
Special Conditions – Special permit required for backpacking and day hiking to Whitney summit.

Mount Whitney summit

Summit of Mount Whitney

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Three Peaks in Three Weeks – Trip Planning on a Tight Schedule

We both have full time Monday through Friday (sometimes Saturday and Sunday) jobs and it is difficult to break away to do long outdoor adventures.  Over the course of three weeks, we climbed three separate peaks with a few of our friends and family, planning around our work schedules.

We compiled a list of time saving tips we keep in mind when planning multi-day backpacking trips and the best way to take advantage of your weekends if you are busy with your careers like we are.

P1040613

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Gear Review: Big Agnes Fly Creek UL3

Fly Creek

Fly Creek UL2 (left) and Fly Creek UL3 (right) at Catalina Island

We used a two person tent with our dog Dakota for a few trips before we realized that the tent was too small for the three of us.  Dakota would have a hard time finding a place to sleep, so much so that she would usually sleep on my head (don’t ask).  We knew we needed a larger tent and we knew we wanted an ultra-light tent that was not much heavier than our Big Agnes Fly Creek UL2 (FC UL2).  We decided to pick up the Big Agnes Fly Creek UL3 (FC UL3) in place of our FC UL2 for most of our trips.  At 3 lbs 3 oz trail weight, it was about a pound heavier than the FC UL2, but offered more space and was a true free standing tent (unlike the UL2 model).  To date, we have approximately 20 nights  in the tent in varying conditions (summer, winter, spring).

Quick and Dirty
Gear Type: Tent
Material: Rip Stop Nylon
Trail weight: 51 oz tent + 7 oz foot print
Price: $449.95 tent, $70 foot print (street price is around $350)
Link:  Big Agnes Fly Creek UL3
Pros: Light, tub expansion, excellent air circulation when guyed out, wide roof, true free standing, fast fly option, seam sealed.
Cons: Price, Sloping door design, extremely thin fabrics, flexing in windy conditions, inner tent pitch before fly.

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MYOG: Ultralight Ground Cloth/Foot Print

Quick and Dirty
Cost: $
Time: 10 minutes
Difficulty (1-10): 1

What You Need
Fabric – Tyvek or Window Film (rip stop, silnylon, cuben fiber is OK too)
Duct tape and/or double sided 3M VHB tape
Paracord, small bungee cord, or guy lines
Ruler
Scissors

Optional
Sewing Machine
Brass Eyelets
Nylon webbing (I prefer not to use nylon webbing)

Tarptent Squall, Foot print

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