If stoves are so important, what kind do you get?

Walk into most outdoor stores and they’ll have 2 types of stoves. Canister and liquid fuel (often the white gas variety). Each have their pros and cons, how easy they are to light, refill, and use in cold temperatures. I’ll be writing about liquid fuel stoves soon but for this post I’ll be focusing on the canister stove.

So…what is a canister stove?

Stoves can be classified by the type of fuel they use. Canister stoves use a small metal canister of butane or iso-butane as their fuel. Basically they’re like the canister attached to your BBQ at home but much smaller and lighter. They small, light and easy to use. Attach a stove to the canister, light it and away you go.

Pros to a canister stove

Easy to light – Canister stoves are easy to light. Turn it on, put a match or a lighter near it and you’re done.

Lightweight – Many canister stoves are small and attach right to the top of the canister. Some of the remote variety are larger and have fuel lines to the canister. Remote means there is a fuel line from th stove to the canister, the canister does not screw on to the top. Remote stoves are more stable but larger.

No spills – With the self-sealing opening, you can’t spill anything out a canister. No mess.

Better simmer control – Many of the canister stoves have a nice control on them to finely control how much is coming out. If you need to simmer something, then you need better control than Off and Rocket.

Cons to a canister stove

Doesn’t work well in cold weather – Canister stoves rely on the butane to be vapor when it comes out. Cold weather throws a wrench in that so they don’t work well in cold weather or with weak pressure. Some of the new stoves are trying to correct this by having a fuel line to the canister which is kept upside-down, helping some of the pressure issues.

More expensive in the long run – You can’t refuel canisters so you have to throw them out. This is part of the reason why buying new canisters each time is more expensive than getting liquid fuel.

Can’t refill – It’s a bit of a ding to the environment to throw out the canisters every time.

Hard to tell how much you have left – You can’t open up a canister unless you are throwing it out so there’s no way to see how much is left inside. There are ways to float them in water to see how high it floats to measure what’s left. Some of the newer canisters are even coming with measurements on the side to do this easier.

Less pressure as you use them – The pressure inside the canister will drop as you use it. There’s no way to pump it back up. Your stove will slowly get weaker as the canister empties. Some new stoves, like the MSR Reactor, use pressure regulators to keep the pressure the same all the way through the canister.

No windscreen unless it’s remote – Putting a windscreen around the stove prevents the heat from being blown out the side. With stoves that attach right to the canister, you might blow yourself up if you put a windscreen around the stove and canister. Things get hot and when fuel gets hot, well you know what happens. If the stove has a fuel line to the canister to separate the two then you can put a screen just around the stove.

Obviously there’s a winner?

Now, by the sheer number of disadvantages to a canister stove, you’d think everyone would be going with liquid gas without a second thought. While the number of advantages isn’t as high as the disadvantages, the size of them outweighs other stoves in many situations. Being able to just attach your lightweight stove, quickly light it and have a hot flame in seconds is really nice at the end of the day. Sometimes weight is your number one concern. In those cases, canisters might be what you choose to go with.

Examples of Canister Fuel Stoves

We’ll end the post with some examples of canisters stoves. These aren’t the only stoves or manufacturers out there.

MSR Pocket Rocket 2

Snowpeak LiteMax

Jetboil Flash Cooking System

Primus Firestick

Primus Lite Plus

Optimus Crux Lite

Optimus Vega (remote) 

Updated August 29, 2022. Originally published August 26, 2014.

The post Backcountry kitchen: Canister fuel stoves first appeared on Pack & Trail.

**

So you know you want to take up a new sport and you know that you want it to be outdoors. So far, so good. But what if, when you come to research it, you find yourself overwhelmed by choice? It might seem obvious, but when you start to consider what the ideal outdoor sport for you might be – it’s important to remember to begin at the beginning!

Land or sea?

Apart from the obvious differences between these two, there are things you may not have considered. Yes, you’ll probably get wet in the water-based activity (think canoeing, kayaking, sailing, windsurfing) but you will also be far more confined by seasons (no-one likes to canoe on a frozen river) and more at the mercy of the elements (sailing without wind is no fun). Things like running, cycling, hiking and climbing can take place in almost all weathers so they may be a better bet for guaranteed fitness.

Equipment

Some outdoor activities require significant expenditure on equipment so consider carefully before you make your mind up. Take diving for instance; as well as a sturdy wetsuit and dive mask, you will also need a broad range of accessories from a regulator to fins to a drysuit if you really get into it. Whereas with running, it’s wise to invest in a decent pair of trainers, your nearest sports shop should be able to advise you based on your needs, but that’s about all you’ll need. Grab any old t-shirt and shorts from the drawers and you’re ready to go.

The best laid plans…..

How organised are you? Are you prepared to spend hours poring over the finer details of your activity? For example, if you were planning your first ski trip then you would have destination, accommodation, equipment, clothes, travel, footwear and much more to consider before you even got to the sport itself. Those among you who are more immediate may prefer not to get caught up in such detail and just head out hiking in the nearest countryside when the fancy takes you.

To team or not to team?

Are you a social butterfly or a quiet wallflower? It’s wise to consider this before you make your mind up as some outdoor sports are necessarily more sociable than others. In sailing it’s not uncommon to spend a number of days cooped up in a cabin with the same five faces. Can you take this? Or do you prefer to exercise alone?Whatever you choose, it’s certainly better than nothing at all. Your physical health is of paramount importance – and looking after it now will set you in good stead for the future. 

The post Choosing the right outdoor sport for you first appeared on Pack & Trail.

A couple years ago I had the amazing chance to get into a Sidewinder SV jacket and pants from Arcteryx for cheaper than I had ever seen them. Needless to say I jumped on the chance.

After a couple of seasons snowboarding, skiing and dirtbiking in them, I have to say the whole setup is pretty bomber. I’ll save the in depth review of the pants for a future post so for now here’s my thoughts on the Arcteryx Sidewinder SV jacket.

Keep in mind this is the version of the jacket from a couple seasons ago. I haven’t had a chance to see the brand new copies although I’d assume they’re quite similar.

Mine is just plain black. They have some sick colours from this year and last if you’re into the bright stuff but the only choice I had was black. I didn’t mind, black goes with everything. Now that I’ve got too many jackets, all for different purposes, and they’re all black, I’ll be looking for something with a bit of colour in my next shell.

Arc’teryx describes the jacket as the ticket for gnarly backcountry skiing. I’d say they would be on the mark. It’s got a RECCO avalanche reflector, a clear pocket on the arm for your ski pass, a snow skirt, nice arm cuffs and a good long length to it so you get less of that snow up your shirt next time you do a header into the powder. The hood is helmet compatible so you can keep your brain bucket on even when it’s snowing cats and dogs. The face fabric on it is thicker than most jackets to withstand extra gnarly weather. After running through numerous branches and other rough objects skiing and dirtbiking, I’d say it’s pretty tough. Knock on wood, no holes to speak of.

The biggest different between the Sidewinder and other jackets is how they’ve built the zipper into the jacket. It’s the standard waterproof zipper from Arc’teryx but it curves to the right at the top.

2019 version of the Sidewinder

This helps prevent the 5-zipper pileup right in front of your face when you’ve got a bunch of layers on that all have zippers in the center. It works as promised giving you that little extra breathing room instead of a mouthful of zippers. Therein lies the problem though.

I thought the idea of moving the zipper to the side would be great. I found it ok and nothing to write home about. It does move it away from you face but that moves the stiffness of the zipper to the side and leaves a piece of limp fabric in front of your face. Some people don’t mind but I found the lack of symmetry odd. The thing that I like on other jackets that have the zipper up the center is there is usually a bit of a fuzzy cover for the zipper to go into. When it rubs on your face it’s fleece or something softer than the face fabric. The other complaint I had, not technical in any way, was that if you have it unzipped at all, you have a big flap on one side and no flap on the other. If it’s windy or your moving quickly this moves around quite a bit and so I ended up having it zipped up all the time to keep the flap from beating me in the face.

Aside from the interesting zipper, the rest of the jacket is killer and built with the typical Arc’teryx attention to detail. Gore Pro Shell keeps you super dry and the under-arm vents cool if you need it. 2 side pockets and a chest pouch keep your goodies organized. One of the best parts of jacket is the ergonomic cuts and velcro straps around the hands. They fit so much better than the standard straight cut. They cost more but it’s worth it.

I don’t tend to use the snow skirt much as it rides up a bit and I still get snow places I don’t want it. Bib pants are the next piece of ski gear I’m getting which prevent that.

If you’re looking for a killer Gore jacket to withstand an artillery barrage of weather, then this might be the ticket. It’s not for the ultralight crew though. That extra length and thick face fabric definitely add some weight.

If you’ve got a Sidewinder SV or are looking to buy one and have questions, throw a comment below.

The post Skiing on an Angle: A Review of Sidewinder SV Jacket from Arc’teryx first appeared on Pack & Trail.

Boy, was I pleasantly surprised when I started wearing around my Granite Peak Parka.

Retailing for about $210 from Hi-Tec Canada, the Granite Peak Park is in the affordable range of high-quality jackets. You don’t have to go out and spend $700 to pick one of these up.

It’s got the standard features of velcro zips around the cuffs, draws around the waits and around the face on the hood so you can tighten things up when weather goes south. Depending on the size of your noggin or if you’re packing a hat or 2 you can adjust the volume of the hood with a velcro strap at the back. It didn’t quite fit over my giant snowboarding helmet but anything smaller would be just fine.

The front of the jacket has 4 packets, 2 low, 2 on the chest. The chest pockets are super handy and I use them all the time for my camera lens cap, GPS, notebook or my point and shoot camera. They’re actually quite deep for pockets and not big enough to lose anything, they certainly hold more than enough stuff. The 2 lower pockets are all fuzzy inside making for a nice warm place to put your hands on cold wet days.  There’s also an mp3 player pocket on the inside with a loop further up the jacket for your headphone cords. Definitely works well if you plan on wearing it out all the time and can’t leave home without your tunes.

I’ve been out in some gnarly weather since I got the jacket and I’m happy to say it’s held up very well so far. One of the first few days I had it we went skiing on our local hill. We were hoping we hit the eye of the storm that had been pummelling the mountain that week but we sure didn’t. Battling 50-60 km/h winds and heavy snow all day we managed to make it through. The snow was amazing but we couldn’t see a thing. Most of the people we came with left before they even started but we stuck it out all day, thanks in no small part to the Granite Peak Parka. I thought I would be cold that day with the heavy wet snow and high winds but I was nice and toasty all day. I would have been a miserable snow monster that day if the jacket hadn’t worked very well.

It’s been cool enough around here lately to warrant keeping the fleece in. It’s starting to warm up though so I’ve been chilling with the fleece on it’s own if I just need a little bit of warm or just the shell on the warm wet days.

I’m really beginning to like this 3-in-1 stuff! If you’re just tuning in and aren’t sure what a 3-in-1 jacket is, let me explain. Most jackets only have one layer. That’s all you get. If you’re hot you have to take the jacket off, if you’re cold you need to find another layer. You can wear a lot of thin layers if you want but they get bulky quick.

3-in-1’s solve all this non-sense by attaching 2 jackets together. You have your outer shell that protects you from the rain and provides a bit of warmth. Then you have the inner fleece lining that gives the warmth a big boost. Both jackets have 2 zippers and a few snaps so you can attach them together and they act as one. Cold days, just leave them attached. If it’s warm but wet, unzip them and take the shell. If it’s cool but dry, just take the fleece. You really get 3 jackets in 1!

So far my parka has seen 3 days hiking, 3 resort skiing days and 2 ski touring days and it’s about to embark on another ski tour and hike this weekend. I hope my other jackets aren’t getting too jealous. 

The post Hi-Tec Granite Peak Parka Review first appeared on Pack & Trail.

To Do Before Hiking

Make sure you have everything

Research where you are going

Let someone know arrival and departure times

Gear To Bring Hiking

Clothing

Waterproof jacket

Waterproof pants

Warm, dry clothes

Hat

Hiking

Hiking Poles

Hiking boots or trail runners

Backpack

Sunglasses

Sunscreen

Route Finding

Compass

Map

GPS

Bear spray or bear bangers

Food and Water

Water

Food

Emergency

Cell phone or radio

Emergency Location Beacon

First Aid Kit

Emergency blanket

Firestarting kit

Misc

Camera

Notebook

Extra batteries for electronics

Cash for trail fees

**

There are tons of other great things that you can bring hiking on a day trip with you. What always in your backpack?

The post Hiking Day Trip Gear Checklist first appeared on Pack & Trail.

For every new adventure there’s always another piece of gear that would suit the conditions perfectly so it’s always a balancing act with how many different pieces of gear you have and how flexible each of them are. You probably won’t be able to have an entire range of tents, skis, jackets and backpacks for every type of trip but a few well-chosen pieces of gear can cover most situations.

I purchased a few new pieces of gear this year to get me close to the dream of being able to head out and do almost anything on a moments notice. Most are related to my new love of backcountry skiing. I had never really thought about it but after talking to friends watching skiing videos, I know it was time to try. There is never a perfect time to get into it as the gear is expensive but I managed to get a new AT setup for a really good price. And so the obsession begins.

G3 Saint Skis

I ended up with some G3 Saint skis. I didn’t have much choice in the matter but I don’t think it would have mattered anyway. I’ve never owned a pair of skis in my life and wouldn’t have known the difference between any of them. I’ve snowboarded for years and I was a little apprehensive about dropping it cold-turkey and taking up skiing instead. While it’s not exactly the same as boarding, skiing definitely has it’s pros. For backcountry I felt it was the most flexible method of transportation compared to splitboards and snowshoes and gave me the new choice of skiing or snowboarding when I hit the slopes. The G3 Saints have been fantastic so far but I’ve really not got anything to compare it to. I will be demoing some other skis before the end of the seasons to sea what they’re like and I’ll be able offer more of a comparison then.

Scarpa Spirit 4 Ski Boots

Same idea with the skis, I’ve not got much to compare it to. So far they’ve worked flawlessly. Nothing has broken. They work as advertised. I have had a bit of an issue with blisters on the sides of the arches of my feet. My feet don’t usually fit well in standard hiking boots so I didn’t expect these to be much different. I’m doing to try out some insoles to see if they prevents the blister-causing movement.

Coltex Skins

The skins I got with my skis have been great so far. I have had the glue gum up when we toured Mount Becher after doing 3 runs and pulling out the skins each time. I kept them in my bag which didn’t really let them warm up. I’ll have to keep them in my jacket next time we plan to yo-yo. The tail clips have been good so far. They do come off once in a while if they get hooked on something but I don’t think can be avoided. I do need to tighten them up a bit and hopefully that will help them from popping off. I’m not a big fan of how they attached to the tips. I’ve popped the front clips off a few times by crossing my skis accidentally and pushing them off. The clip is large and gets pushed right off. G3 skins have nice small little clips that rarely get pushed off. If I replace these skins, I think I’ll try some G3’s.

Mountain Hardware Zonal Jacket

I had a gift certificate from Christmas that was itching to get used so I picked this little one up. It’s a light synthetic insulated mid later. It can be used as an other if it’s not really raining but I see it as more of  a mid-later if it’s raining at all. It’s exactly what I was looking for. It’s a nice little layer to put on when you’re not moving much for some extra heat. And the wet won’t do anything to it since the insulation is synthetic.

Smith Phenom Ski Goggles

I’ve never had decent ski goggles. Most of them have been cheap ones that have been on sale or I just bought because I had to have goggles. I often use them for dirtbiking too which grinds dirt and muck right into the lenses, pretty much rendering them useless after a season or 2. After I got the Phenom’s, I realized it was nice to actually be able to see. They hardly fog up at all either, helped by the vents in the front at the top. If I’m breathing hard and my head is low, I can fog them up a bit but it almost instantly clears.

Black Diamond Contour Elliptic Shock Compact Trekking Poles

I’ve only had these since Christmas so I haven’t had the chance to use them much. They have seen a fair bit of snow and they’ve been bomber every time I’ve skiied. The last pair I used had a pin that locked the bottom third so you couldn’t adjust them. The part that held the pins in broke off on both the poles and while gluing them back together, I accidentally glued one of the sections to the other, so I had one pole that didn’t collapse properly. It was definitely time for a new site.

Just below the handle on the new poles are shock absorbers, hence the “shock” in the name. They don’t move much but you can see it give when you push hard on them. It doesn’t do anything except add weight in the snow but I think it will be an advantage for hiking when the tips hit rock. Usually you get an uncomfortable vibration up through your arm when you hit a rock hard but with the shock absorbers, I’m hoping the impact will be much softer.

G3 Speed Pro Avalanche Probe

I’m happy I haven’t had to pull this one out yet for actual use but it has come on all my backcountry trips. I’m taking AST1 this weekend as well so it will get some good practice use then. I’ve got the 240 cm version. I’ll be doing a review soon of it as well so keep an eye out for that.

Backcountry Access Tracker 2 Avalanche Beacon

Same story as the probe above. I haven’t much actual use with this yet but this weekend we’ll be out for 2 days for beacon practice. I’m happy I’m finally taking a course on how to use it properly. I’m not a bit fan of the feeling of not really knowing how to use your gear properly, especially in a life and death situation.

The post New Gear in 2010: First Impressions first appeared on Pack & Trail.

We can’t have you getting stuck before the adventure has even begun!

A new series on Pack and Trail, AdventureMobile will focus on the best transportation to your adventure launch points. Whether it be skiing, hiking, running, biking or whatever else you fancy doing, you’ve got to get there before you can do any of it. We’ll give you a hand with that. There are reviews out the ying yang for every kind of car and truck on the market but there are a few that stand out again and again as being trusted and reliable but still getting you to those hard to reach places.

Each of the vehicles has it’s pros and cons and which one you choose depends entirely on what you’d like to do with it. A few examples are in order.

The Toyota 4runner is a very capable 4×4 machine. Sometimes they offer enough room in the back if you can fold the seats down to sleep comfortable. That depends how bit the vehicle is, how tall you are and how the seats fold down. It easily seats 4 people, maybe 5, plus gear. Parts are easy to find and there’s huge market for bigger, better offroad parts.The Mitsubishi Delica is relatively a relatively unknown AdventureMobile. It can easily handle most offroad situations but is a little top-heavy so you have to take that into consideration when you get into the gnarly stuff. There is tons of room in the back for a bed or lots of people and gear. Parts can be a little hard to find so make sure you have a good source before going out and picking one of these up.

The Toyota Tacoma is an offroad beast. Held by some as the greatest offroad truck in history, these things will stand up to anything you throw at them. You do have some decisions to make. You can go with V4 or V6, 2 door or 4, standard or automatic. All of these things will affect what you can do with your truck and when. If you go with a 4 door, some models only get a short box. If you get a V4 you’ll get better gas mileage but may not have the power to haul much up steep hills. Then you have to decide whether you want a canopy or not. It’s nice to have a secure, covered area for great but it’s another expense.

The Subaru Impreza is a mean little machine that can rally any smooth offroad area. It gets better gas mileage than most trucks, seats 4 people comfortable and still has room for gear. Throw a roof rack on it and you got space for more. The all-wheel drive gives you great traction on slippery surfaces, letting you get out in wet, snowy conditions. Downsides? Don’t put any sort of big rut or tank trap in the road, Impreza’s don’t have much clearance. Little bumps in the road can put big bumps into your great adventure plans.

These are just a few of the great choices for AdventureMobiles out there. Every manufacturer has a few good choices but there are always pros and cons to each. Stay tuned each week as we add the AdventureMobile series to the regular lineup here on Pack and Trail.

The post AdventureMobile: The Series first appeared on Pack & Trail.

I worked at Valhalla Pure Outfitters for a couple seasons. The reps would come in now and then to see how we were doing and to do product knowledge sessions. The Salomon rep showed up and did our session. He was giving us a sneak peak at some new stock that could be ordered for next season when I saw the Wings. They were perfect. I hadn’t even tried them on but I knew I had to have them.

I’ve had my second pair of Salmon Wings now for just over a year now and they’re definitely the best shoes I’ve ever had. They’ve been everywhere with me. They were the one pair of shoes I wore every day in Australia and New Zealand when I was there for 4 months last year. They are my go-to runners now, I don’t own a pair of road runners. Any light hikes I go on, I’m wearing the Wings.

I’ve found they’re the ideal combination of stability and cushioning for a trail runner. You can even run on the road with them if you want. Road running is boring so I don’t do much of that but it does happen from time to time. If I could have it my way, I’d have a trail from my front door out to the mountains but, alas, there is only a road. Even still, I’ve not had any problems with the shoes on the pavement or the trail.

Along with coming to Australia and New Zealand with me, they’ve done a few races. Here on Vancouver Island there is a 5 race trail running series called the Gutbusters. Aptly named, the series takes you over some tough terrain and up some grueling hills, through a lot of mud and over a few mountains. Every one of the Gutbusters I’ve run have been in the Wings and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Another wicked race on the island is called the Kusam Klimb. Up and over Mount Kusam near Sayward, the race takes you up a steep mountain, through snow, puddles, streams and lots of mud. The Wings performed flawlessly. I can’t think of a single time in the hundreds of kilometers I’ve put on both my pairs that I’ve had an uncomfortable spot or a blister.

What’s Rad about the Wings?

They’re bomber.

They just keep going, no problems. My second pair I’m running now are getting a couple holes where my heels rub though. I’m not able to feel it when I’m running but I’m sure it will rub through eventually. I’ll be getting a new pair before starting the races next spring.

The laces are wicked

It’s such a pain to tie up runners over and over and these ones just stay done up forever. It takes 1 second to do them up and they don’t move at all. I’ve never had one slip.

Cushioning

They’ve got enough for me to run on the road and on the trails. I mostly run on the trails but I do want to run on the road sometimes for a quick run or to get to the trails. The Wings have enough padding to let me do this without too much trouble. They aren’t quite as squishy as road runners but they hold up a million times better. The last pair of road runners I tried on the trail were torn after the first run. That doesn’t work for me. My first pair of trail runners were the Salomon XA Pros. They were nice shoes and held up ok for trail running but they just didn’t have enough padding. I had to warranty them 6 months in because the lugs were falling off the bottom. After, I got a shiny new pair of Wings.

What isn’t so good?

The laces can be a pain.

If you snap one of your laces you can’t just put in your standard shoe lace. You need some pricey replacements for the laces and even then you don’t get exactly what you had from the factory. The ends that were connected at the factory on the shoe have to be connected somehow. You’ve got to do this yourself with a little connector that comes with the laces. I tried but I couldn’t get the connector to attach as well as it should have. I think the knots in the end of my cords were a little big and didn’t fit into the connector properly.

Insole edges are flimsy.

Be careful with the edges of the insoles that come with the shoes. I’ve had no problems recently but my first pair I had to spend a while getting the edge of the insole folded back to where it should have been after I ran on it once folded in. As long as you don’t slide your foot down the inside or the outside when you’re putting them on you shouldn’t have much trouble. You can always replace the insoles with something better if you really want to or the old ones have packed it in.

Thumbs up for the Wings

All in all, the Wings have proved to be a pretty deadly shoe and I wouldn’t hesitate to buy another pair. I’m already picking out which colour I want next.

Have you tried the Wings? How’d they work out?

The post Salomon XT Wings Review first appeared on Pack & Trail.

Ski Gear

Skis (with bindings)

Boots

Poles

Helmet

Clothing

Waterproof pants

Waterproof jacket

Gloves

Toque

Goggles/sunglasses

Ski socks

Layers for top

Layers for Bottom

Dry clothes for the ride home

Misc

Money and lift passes

Backpack

Camera

Walkie Talkies

Food

Food for lunch

Snacks

Water

Food for the ride home

Transportation

Chains for car in nasty conditions

**

If you take something every time you ski at the resorts, add it in the comments and I’ll add it to the list.

The post Resort Skiing Gear Checklist first appeared on Pack & Trail.

Main Items

Snowshoes

Hiking Poles

Pack

Clothing

Waterproof Jacket

Waterproof Pants

Warm clothing

Toque

Gloves

Hiking boots

Gaiters

Sunglasses

Food and Water

Lunch

Camelback with water

Thermos with warm drink or soup

Navigation

GPS

Map

Compass

Miscellaneous

Camera

Chap Stick

Safety

Headlamp

Emergency Blanket

First aid kit

Satellite Communicator

Cell Phone

Also check out the Resort Skiing Gear Checklist and the Ski Touring Gear Checklist.

The post Snowshoe Day Trip Gear Checklist first appeared on Pack & Trail.