New Item Worship

Just got a SteriPen Adventurer/Solar charger combo yesterday. It is just the lightweight ticket for backpacking & dayhiking. No more waiting interminably for the chlorine dioxide tablets to kick in.

Now, with the SteriPen and Katadyn chlorine dioxide tabs for fallback I should have the best of both worlds for safe water for backpacking in the North American west and travelling in the Philippines next December.

Next I'm thinking of a Garmin Colorado 400t GPS. (Technoweenies rejoice) It's loaded with several good features and, being on the cutting edge of handheld GPS technology, there should be no need to "update" for many years.

Anyone with a Garmin Colorado care to comment on their experience so far?

Yeah, I know, too many gadgets (too many gadgets??), especially ones that depend upon batteries. But I'll still have my maps & Silva Ranger compass.

So back to my SteriPen and N.I.W. (I am not worthy, I am not worthy...)

Eric

In anticipation of some questions:
1. I don't intend to carry the solar charger backpacking, just extra batteries.
2. The SteriPen is part of our family travel and emergency equipment. (That's my story for my wife and I'm sticking to it.)
3. Intend to filter ALL water thru #2 coffee filters before purifying.

[quote]Just got a SteriPen Adventurer/Solar charger combo yesterday.
2. The SteriPen is part of our family travel and emergency equipment. ((That's my story for my wife and I'm sticking to it.) )

I love it! I bought a Brunton Glorb XB LED lantern for reading in my hammock at night. My wife thinks it's for emergency light for HER to read by in bed when the power goes out.... it is actually, unless I have it with me on the trail when the power goes out here at home...where she will be alone... in the dark.. I need to rethink this. Brum

Get another one. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Brumfield wrote:

I ordered it last night! Ya, see there, David! Brilliant minds do think alike. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> Brum

I like the external antenna connection - that has potential to allow for better reception while walking.
They should make and antenna hat that can be plugged into the GPS that way your body and pack won't block the signal. This is a crude idea, but I have often wondered if there was a better way to keep a signal.

Brum,

Good! You ordered that extra lamp. Admitting publicly that you DO have a problem is the first step. Just eleven more to go.

I bought a Coleman Xponent telescoping mini lamp with an ultra bright Cree LED bulb "for home power outages". The wife bought the whole idea & it resides in our kitchen drawer...for now. (But today SHE got a new GE Profile over-stove microwave - to match our GE Profile stove, natch. I should have seen that one coming.

Eric

Eric, It appears you and Phat are having the same microwave problem. He's about to buy a new unit too, and his wife wants the $300.00 built-in one to match everything in the kitchen.. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />

Oh, and regarding the 12 steps, before I moved to Margaritaville, just as a precautionary measure, mind you... I skipped all 12 steps and prayed first. But, alcohol is a real problem here for many of the locals After 60 hours of backbreaking labor, some of the fellows turn to alcohol to ease the pain and their desperation. Many of the laborers are alkies and the innocent family suffers greatly from it. After only making roughly $2.80 per hour, their entire paycheck for the week can be gone in a day. Cerveza is cheap here, but it'll eat up your funds when you get with your amigos and drink it by the case over the entire weekend.

My son came to me upset one morning because our gardener had been seriously lecturing the lawn mower for more than an hour. The poor fellow had just returned to work after being on 2-week holiday tequila binge while spending his year-end and Christmas bonus, and was pretty much fried. We are working with him. Brum

What does one need a GPS for? I've never been on a backpacking trip where I didn't know where I was.

Jack,

It's good for cross country navigation and, when a group leader it is good for route finding when taking shortcuts to find meical help. As I said, I'll always have a map & compass with me as a double check.


Even Dan'l Boone said, "I was never lost but once I was mighty confused for three days".

Eric

GPS comes into its own when the fog closes in or other factors (thick brush, for example) restricts visibility. In an emergency, the lat-lon figures off your GPS are probably the best way to precisely communicate your location. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Talked to too many SAR types - it ain't "probably" it's "definately" - and it's the only reason I even own one and carry it - I get by just fine with a compass and map, but there ain't nothing like "I'm in a 50M clearing, at these coordinates.. please send big noisy windy thing.." If I'm in a situation where I have cel coverage, I chuck the GPS in the bag.