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#152615 - 07/12/11 02:13 PM Best gift ever
balzaccom Offline
member

Registered: 04/06/09
Posts: 2232
Loc: Napa, CA
The most useful item in our backpack might be something we orignally thought was a complete waste of time. I was visiting the wine regions of Spain, and in the Rioja Alavesa they gave me a very simple little black nylon bag that wasn't much bigger than a single sheet of paper. The drawstrings on the bag not ony closed it up, but they attached to the corners and were long enough to serve as shoulder straps if you wanted to carry the thing like a backpack. It doesn't weigh three ounces.

Which is the only reason that I threw it into my suitcase and hauled it home. In fact, somehow I ended up with two of these.

Because it was so light, I used one as a stuff bag for my down jacket for a while...and it worked great. The combination also made a pretty nice pillow to sleep on, especially when wrapped in a soft fleece jacket. So it became part of our gear for most trips.

And then on one trip, I realized that it was the prefect size to use to pump water. You know the exercise: take four or five bottles of water and the pump down to the river or lake....pump the water into all the bottles...and then figure out how to carry and juggle all those bottles back to camp. Well, it all fits into the little black nyon bag perfectly.

In Emigrant Wilderness, we used it as a daypack to carry our lunch and water for a day hike to Kole Lake and beyond...which is what it was originally intended for, and it worked just fine!

When our pump got clogged on a (muddy) spring trip to Carson-Iceberg Wilderness, we used this little black bag to help us melt snow for water, laying it in the sun with a pot full of snow inside.

And on this last trip to Mono Creek, we were pumping water from the creek while standing in snow. That water was ice cold, and my wife left a few of the water bottles in this little black bag afterwards. When the sun hit them, we quickly discovered that our little black bag had turned our clear plastic water bottles into a very effective and nicely warm sun shower. We used the warm water to wash off a bit...and also to reduce the amount of gas we needed to heat our dinner.

And the bag seems to be pretty waterproof, so now I use one inside his back, up against my back to serve as a moisture barrier between my sweaty back and the contents of my pack.

OK--we've lost track of how many uses this thing has...all for three ounces...but we now carry both of them on every hike. And we are on the lookout for more!
_________________________
Check our our website: http://www.backpackthesierra.com/

Or just read a good mystery novel set in the Sierra; https://www.amazon.com/Danger-Falling-Rocks-Paul-Wagner/dp/0984884963

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#152627 - 07/13/11 12:07 AM Re: Best gift ever [Re: balzaccom]
GDeadphans Offline
member

Registered: 12/26/08
Posts: 382
Loc: Maine/New Jersey
those are the best items! Lightweight and multi-use!
_________________________
"To me, hammocking is relaxing, laying, swaying. A steady slow morphine drip without the risk of renal failure." - Dale Gribbel

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#152641 - 07/13/11 01:09 PM Re: Best gift ever [Re: balzaccom]
BZH Offline
member

Registered: 01/26/11
Posts: 1189
Loc: Madison, AL
no, no, no... haven't you heard? Lightweight, durable, and inexpensive... you only get to chose two of those!

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#152650 - 07/13/11 04:14 PM Re: Best gift ever [Re: BZH]
GDeadphans Offline
member

Registered: 12/26/08
Posts: 382
Loc: Maine/New Jersey
lol, ain't that the truth
_________________________
"To me, hammocking is relaxing, laying, swaying. A steady slow morphine drip without the risk of renal failure." - Dale Gribbel

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#152719 - 07/15/11 06:17 PM Re: Best gift ever [Re: balzaccom]
mana Offline
member

Registered: 06/16/11
Posts: 24
Anything light, waterproof, and can hold stuff is perfect for camping. Great find!

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#152723 - 07/15/11 07:46 PM Re: Best gift ever [Re: BZH]
lori Offline
member

Registered: 01/22/08
Posts: 2801
Originally Posted By BZH
no, no, no... haven't you heard? Lightweight, durable, and inexpensive... you only get to chose two of those!


Allow me to introduce you to the White Box Stove. Lighter, more durable and cheaper than any canister stove.

And over here, we have ye old trusty CCF sleeping pad.

And to complete the trifecta, a 10x10 sheet of plastic with found-a-rock tie-ons, mason line guy outs, and gutter nail tent stakes.
_________________________
"In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities. In the expert's mind there are few." Shunryu Suzuki

http://hikeandbackpack.com

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#152732 - 07/16/11 02:08 PM Re: Best gift ever [Re: balzaccom]
kevonionia Offline
member

Registered: 04/17/06
Posts: 1322
Loc: Dallas, TX
Great post, balzaccom.

You said you're on the lookout for more. Let us know if you find them here in the US. Otherwise, yet another reason to go to Spain, besides for the Rioja. grin
_________________________
- kevon

(avatar: raptor, Lake Dillon)


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#152736 - 07/16/11 05:54 PM Re: Best gift ever [Re: kevonionia]
balzaccom Offline
member

Registered: 04/06/09
Posts: 2232
Loc: Napa, CA
Thanks Kevon. I got a note the someone has seen these at Big5 stores as well--although paying for it just isn't the same!
_________________________
Check our our website: http://www.backpackthesierra.com/

Or just read a good mystery novel set in the Sierra; https://www.amazon.com/Danger-Falling-Rocks-Paul-Wagner/dp/0984884963

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#152757 - 07/17/11 05:45 PM Re: Best gift ever [Re: balzaccom]
squark Offline
member

Registered: 03/14/11
Posts: 66
Loc: SF bay area, CA
That sounds like the same sort of thing the boyfriend is always bringing home from tradeshows and charity walks/runs. (though instead of plain black, they're all bright colours and branded). I could see if he's willing to part with any.

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#152759 - 07/17/11 06:16 PM Re: Best gift ever [Re: balzaccom]
Jimshaw Offline
member

Registered: 10/22/03
Posts: 3983
Loc: Bend, Oregon
Best Gift Ever = the love of a good dog.
Jim smile
_________________________
These are my own opinions based on wisdom earned through many wrong decisions. Your mileage may vary.

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#152761 - 07/17/11 06:30 PM Re: Best gift ever [Re: Jimshaw]
OregonMouse Online   content
member

Registered: 02/03/06
Posts: 6799
Loc: Gateway to Columbia Gorge
Amen!
_________________________
May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view--E. Abbey

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#152771 - 07/18/11 02:59 AM Re: Best gift ever [Re: Jimshaw]
kevonionia Offline
member

Registered: 04/17/06
Posts: 1322
Loc: Dallas, TX
Okay, Jimshaw worked a dog in here so . . .

Best Gift Ever:



The backstory is I am working back in '06 (as an airline ticket agent) at that awful MIA place, in uniform but on a break and walking past the long TSA line when a guy frantically approaches me and says that he's late for his Las Vegas flight and he has a bottle of Champagne in his bag and that they won't let him through with this liquid. I give him the standard response: He can check it as baggage but he'll miss his flight and can go on the next one (six hours later.) He pulls out the bottle and considers the situation, then hands it to me and says take it and enjoy it, and he runs back to the security checkpoint. Obviously whoever was to drink it with him in Vegas was worth more than what they were to drink, and obviously the urge that makes him give it to me isn't benevolence.

But I realize what I have in my hand is good stuff, so I google the French Champagne house and vintage date ('96.) Two NY online stores are selling it for $695 a bottle.

In '08 I drink it with friends on the night I retire and the label is now a refrigerator magnet (scanned above) to remember that happy moment.
_________________________
- kevon

(avatar: raptor, Lake Dillon)


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#152859 - 07/19/11 05:33 PM Re: Best gift ever [Re: balzaccom]
skcreidc Offline
member

Registered: 08/16/10
Posts: 1590
Loc: San Diego CA
The most useful item in MY backpack? It's coffee. Caffeine, baby!! All the weight I have shed ... It wasn't so I could carry less; It was so I could take my espresso maker. 4 min on the pocket rocket and I'm pouring myself a double! laugh

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#152881 - 07/19/11 09:18 PM Re: Best gift ever [Re: skcreidc]
Jimshaw Offline
member

Registered: 10/22/03
Posts: 3983
Loc: Bend, Oregon
Sk
coffee - sure thats the ticket - coffee makes a great gift.

However maybe a fine old vintage is an even better choice.

I have a hold on a german shorthaired pointer at the Bend SPCA for tomorrow. He looks just like your dog only maybe 2 years old and 60 pounds. Hes a stray and obviously a dog that was hunted. Every muscle in his legs stands out and he could easily drag a sled..... he he, He's ripped like Arnold Sports Dog smile
Jim
_________________________
These are my own opinions based on wisdom earned through many wrong decisions. Your mileage may vary.

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#152899 - 07/20/11 10:39 AM Re: Best gift ever [Re: Jimshaw]
skcreidc Offline
member

Registered: 08/16/10
Posts: 1590
Loc: San Diego CA
I was just being a smarta$$ Jim. I don't usually bring coffee backpacking anymore; gives me a break from all the coffee I normally drink! Not real hot on Starbucks instant...

And speaking of the love of a good dog, hope it works out for you and the gsp! They love to WORK...and you know a good dog is a tired (and not bored) dog. A lot of these dogs are gun shy 'cause they messed up with the training. Great dogs though, especially if you are retired and have the time.

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