Backpackers Pantry Pack Bowl

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One modification I just made, was to replace our 2nd Titanium Panset with this simple lightweight "Pack Bowl".

Normally we boil water in one pan and use the 2nd to serve food in, or eat breakfast in. It never hits the stove.

This collapsable bowl can be trimmed down to size and holds boiling hot liquids. I trimmed it down to the 1 quart mark and it weighs in at 0.6 oz.

The 2nd panset was 5.0z, so I'm trimming a staggering 4.4oz off my gear list with this addition.

Available from Backpackers Pantry – $6 for a pack of 4.

12/7/2007 Update:

We stopped using this as we found it's large size to be a little annoying. We have since just taken a simple disposable glad tupperware bowl and cut the heavy rim off. This has worked really well, and comes in a little less as 0.5 oz.

Bozeman Mountainworks Cocoon Vest

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A bit of new gear I have my eye on is a replacement for my fleece pullover, which at 7oz is somewhat on the heavy side.

  • I have been really impressed so far with Theresas western mountaineering vest – it's a miracle at 3oz. However, it's down and useless when wet. Theresa carries it for extra warmth at camp and has a fleece as her primary warm layer.

The Bozeman Moutainworks cocoon vest is an interesting candidate. It's synthetic, and so retains it's warmth when wet. At 5.3oz it would save me a precious 2oz and probably be a much warmer layer.

I don't think I care about sleeves – as my thermal underwear and windproof should be enough.

The added bonus, is that it would give me an excellent boost to my sleeping bag, when the temps really dip down.

Gossamer Gear NightLight Sleeping Pad

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Starting at a respectible 7.8 oz, this is a very interesting pad.

It's quite thick and was a good candidate for replacing my thermarest. I trimmed the length down to match that of the 3/4 length thermarest I was used to. This dropped the weight to 6.3 oz – less than half the weight of the thermarest.

Sleep-wise, I have only spent one night on it so far, and it was comfortable enough. I have seen other people recommend taking "Tylenol PM" at night to help get more rest – I might even try pairing those up too.

The biggest downside so far, is that it's bulkier in my pack than the thermarest. To the point where, I'm not sure if I can get 5-6 days of food in my pack anymore with this thing in it.

Order from Gossamer Gear, for about $30.

12/14/07 Update:

I ended up replacing this single pad for the a combination of the torso only pad version and cut down section of insulation pad. This was mostly due to the bulk issue. The two pad total less, coming in at 3.5 oz and 1.2 oz respectivley for a total of 4.7 oz.

Fish Sauce

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Ahh… the quintessential ingredient in Thai cooking. Fish sauce is known as "Thai salt" – it's added to everything to beef up the salty qualities of the dish.

 

fish.sauceFinding the right bottle of fish sauce is a make-or-break deal with cooking Thaifood. The brand of choice here is "Golden Boy" – made in Thailand – which features a red label showing a baby sitting on a globe with a bottle of fish sauce in his arms.

Finding the right bottle of fish sauce is a make-or-break deal with cooking Thaifood. The brand of choice here is "Golden Boy" – made in Thailand – which features a red label showing a baby sitting on a globe with a bottle of fish sauce in his arms. Uwajimaya from time to time has stocked Golden Boy, but these days it's rare to find.

On a recent business trip to Atimi Software in Vancouver, I discovered T & T supermaket that sells Golden Boy. You'll get weird looks carting 3 cases of the stuff back across the border, but it's worth its price in embarassment.

Tra Chang is a good backup and can be bought online from a local distributor in Issaquah, WA.

Uwajimaya in Seattle, has Squid Band to get you rolling – it has a green label and green cap.

Check out Michaels in-depth write up on fish sauce.

Uwajimaya

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Uwajimaya is the godfather of Seattle's Asian grocery stores. The new location is International district is huge and well stocked.

 

You can count on getting almost all of your Thai needs at Uwajimaya.

I liked the old location better, as it was less flashy and felt like you were in a different country. The new location is a little too much like Whole Foods for my tastes. If you want the feel of the old Uwajimaya, then make a stop at Viet Wah. They will have most of what you need.

Location:
600 5th Avenue South
Seattle, WA 98104
Phone: (206) 624-6248
Google Map

Hours: 9AM-10PM (9PM on Sundays)

What has Thaifood got to do with Ultralight Backpacking?

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Nothing really. They are like oil & water – I have yet to find amazingly delicious & ultralight Thaifood that you can take on your backpacking trip.

However, when I'm off the mountain – one of my other great passions in life is cooking Thai.

A few years ago, Theresa and I spent a month in Thailand travelling with Kasma and her husband Michael on one of their tours. Quite possibly two of the nicest people I have ever met. Kasma is a Thai native and teaches cooking out of her school in Oakland.

After tasting the amazing flavours on our trip – Theresa and I took one of her week long intensive cooking classes where we learned the basics of cooking Thai.

We cook Thai a lot! Especially at dinner parties, and often friends ask me "how do I make a curry like that!" – so I'm going to dedicate some posts to the topic of Thaifood.

I'll cover the ingredients you need and where you can find them in Seattle, and will also post a few step-step recipes. The recipes are those I learned from Kasma – so I hope she forgives me for ripping them off – I claim no ownership to their creation! While you can do your best to follow along, there really is no substitite to learning first-hand in her class how to 'taste' and 'balance' the flavours for that perfect curry! So if you like what you see, and even make a recipe or two – then make sure you find your way down to Oakland to take one of her classes – or atleast purchase one of her books.

Happy eating!

A 3-Day Sample Menu

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I've dug all over the Internet for sample backpacking menus that provide enough calories but don't cost a lot of weight. I have had little success finding good suggestions, so if you have any post-away.

Here's what we typically take on a 3-day trip to feed two of us. We love food, so splurge on a few luxury items on day 1 like apples that are heavy but consumed quickly.

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Knee Tendon Straps

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On long down hills Theresa knees give her grief. When she puts these one, the grief goes away as these things absorb the stress.

To quote the literature: "Provides compression on the patellar tendon, helping spread pressure uniformly, reducing discomfort and irritation. Compression may also help stabilize your patella, improving its tracking."

So there you have it.

Available from REI for $16.95.

Leki Ultralight Trekking Poles

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Not cheap, but cheaper than knee-replacement surgery.

We've recently been converted to hiking with poles. I love the sense of 4wd I get and it inspires me to keep barrelling up switchbacks without getting fatigued.

The are almost impossible to use at the same time as an umbrella, but so far I've been pretty happy with them.

They are quite an investment, so you may want to borrow/rent a pair first to see if you like them.

Petes Pole Page, has some good info on using poles including a little tutorial.

Available from REI available for a whopping $199!

Salomon XA Comp 2

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This is perhaps my biggest reason of switching to Ultralight: I get to wear camp-shoes all day long 🙂

Once your pack weight is low, you no longer need big sturdy traditional boots. Trail runners are an excellent choice. Think of how much energy you expend over a 40 mile hike lifting a clunky 5lb pair of leather boots. With these 1.5 lbs shoes on, I feel like I just float over the trail, getting plenty of grip and stability on rocks

When it pours down, with my old nikwaxed leather boots, I found that after 3-4 hrs of rain, (no matter how great the "goretex lining") the things get miserably wet – either from water coming in the top or sweat build-up inside. With my trail shoes, my feet also get wet, but I'm quite happy trotting along with soggy feet – the mesh is super breathable so I don't experience much discomfort and after several hours of the rain stopping my shoes have dried out already. No building a big camp-fire to try and dry out my boots at the end of the day.

The stock insole that comes with these is pretty lame. I tried to put a super-feet in there, but it rode to high for me. I ended up using some insoles from an old pair of snowboarding boots with good arch support – they work great.

Oh – one more thing – I'm sure there are isolated cases, but in general, I beleive "ankle-support" to be a myth. Sure if you're carrying a 60lb pack, you might need it, but with small loads and trekking poles at hand to catch the odd slip, I have never been in need of anything more substantial.

Salomon Shoes from Amazon for $80.

Coolmesh Socks

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And here's me thinking a sock was just a sock. Not so!

In the old days, I used to wear a big thick pair of wool socks with a thinner sock liner, stuffed into my big heavy leather boots. Death by blisters is not my chosen way to go.

This socks weigh only 1 oz., and are 'double layered' meaning they have a liner built in. They work great with my trail running shoes to keep me moving on the trail.

I have to take atleast 3 pairs, as I find my trail running shoes let in a lot of dust from being open-mesh. By the end of the day my toes are black from grime and the socks as a little worse for wear. Nothing a field-wash won't take care of, but I like to make sure I have a good day to get them dry again.

Cool Mesh Socks from REI for $8.50.

The Handkerchief

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No self-respecting Brit would be caught in the wild without a Handkerchief or a bottle of gin.

I'm breaking the mold, and leaving the gin at home, but can't live without my hanky.

It's functional, and field-washable. Like most Americans Theresa was utterly disgusted at first, but now is a true convert and carries two in her pack also.

I buy my Handkerchiefs in England – import your own.