What's a new piece of gear that you've picked up that you're excited to try out this summer? Also, don't forget to check this out if you like gear talk: ua-cam.com/video/2qD7JBXjPM8/v-deo.html
I am LOVING this channel. Your thoughts and opinions are more of the sort I am looking for. A lot of good channels out there and this is becomming one of my favs. If you ever hit NJ or PA, I would LOVE to colab. My main channel is more of the....budget David Attenborough variety, but I just opened a camping and outdoors channel. Good to know about the TP taking longer than I thought.Camera gear and naturalist tools tend to take up weight and space, lol.
Welcome Back Home! I hope u and ur partner had a wonderful trip. K, now back to teaching us noobs :) (My 8 day Colorado Trail trip turned into a long weekend, cut short by wind, rain, hail, snow, 20 deg temps and misery. Your trucker's knot hack really came in handy one night so TY)
Haha thanks! I'm excited to be back to doing my thing. Yes, it was a perfect trip :) Sorry to hear yours got cut short! That's just how it works sometimes, I supposed. I'm glad the trucker's hitch worked out for you though! I learned everything I know from Andrew Skurka (through videos, not personally lol)
Good stuff! Looking forward to seeing how it works for you this year. I’ve been enjoying using a Nashville Pack Cutaway and Nashville Pack Tiempo that I purchased recently, and looking forward to continuing to use it on the trails this summer.
How does this channel have fewer than 3k subscribers?! Another great video Tim. I enjoyed the shorts you’ve been putting out too. I backed a hiking bidet on Kickstarter recently. I feel the same about wiping/washing.
Nashville Cutaway backpack. Got this pack a few years ago but the updated model will hold a bear canister, so it’s something I’m interested in. At under 15oz, it meets my “sub 25 oz and carries up to 25 lbs comfortably” goal. Comfort rating is assuming it carries as well as the original model I own.
Awesome! The Nashville cutaway seems to be a hot item. Makes me wish my Burn would wear out faster so that I can pick on up - damn MLD and their indestructible gear.
@@timbschwartz this one really depends on what you carry and your usage patterns. My electronics consist of an InReach Mini, a NiteCore NU-25 headlamp, and an iPhone. The InReach is only there for SOS and a nightly “made it to camp” generic message with location, which goes to the wife and partners of anyone who is on a trip with me that doesn’t have their own InReach. As such, unless there’s more than one OnReach in the group that’s been split up, I only turn the InReach on when in camp, and I set it down with a good view of the sky. The signal is sent before I’m done pitching my shelter, and once I see the signal is sent I turn the unit off. The InReach monitor brightness is set to the lowest setting with no backlight and the shortest time set to turn the screen off. Used this way, the InReach will last weeks before needing a recharge. The headlamp is rarely used for night/pre-dawn hiking. Really just for chores around camp in the dark (medium light) and for in-shelter use (low light). Used in this manner, I can get a week of use, easy, out of the headlamp. The iPhone is used primarily for photos. If I get a data signal I will get an updated extended WeatherUnderground forecast. Maybe a call home every few days, but the wife won’t get upset if I don’t call. If the area is covered by FarOut, I’ll take a screenshot of the day’s planned elevation profile, but I don’t need to keep checking where I am. Even then, NBD as the phone is in airplane more (for those that don’t know, GPS on phones works in airplane mode). The phone itself is in airplane mode with no WiFi or Bluetooth. Screen is set to dim. Sound is off. I turn WiFi on if my InReach indicates I have a message or I want to send a message. Also to connect to my thermometer when I’m curious how cold it is at night. I do take photos, a few hundred a day. I’d say I have to recharge the phone every 2-3 days. Here’s the pro tip - don’t charge your phone above 85-90%. You’ll get to 85-90% in under an hour, but that last ten percent, and especially five percent, takes a lot more draw from your portable battery. I don’t think it’s efficient to charge to 100%, based on the fact that the 90-100% doesn’t last any longer than any other given 10% on a healthy battery, but it does take longer to charge. A 10k mA battery will charge my phone about four times. Thus, a 10k mA battery will last a solid ten days on trail, if day-1 starts out with the phone charged to 100%. If the phone needs charging, it gets plugged in as soon as I wake up or before I go to sleep. I check it in 45 - 60 minutes of charging and unplug at 80-90% charged. Everything charges so fast that there’s no need for multiple ports. It’s not a game changer. If I had a need for a 20k mA battery I would probably carry two 10k packs, as that would offer redundancy. I would reserve one 10k pack for my camera and mic, and the other for my phone, headlamp, and InReach. With a fast charger I would just charge each battery one at a time. It’s not like a single 20k mA battery would charge faster than two 10k mA batteries if progress was monitored. Based on the gear lists or heavy use vloggers that I monitor, 20k mA seems like plenty, unless a tablet of some sort is also carried for post-production editing in the field.
@@timbschwartz I’ll also add that, on a long-distance hike, I’ll be at a resupply with a power outlet I can use well before I run out of juice. Ten days is probably the most I would have to carry - thinking of the JMT from VVR to Whitney Portal.
I carried the Anker Nano 511 20W USB-C charger on my PCT thru hike last year. It has plenty of juice to quick charge the NB10000, it’s tiny, and only weighs 31.3 g (1.1 oz) on my scale. And since you mentioned mosquitoes, I just ordered the Nitecore EMR05 mosquito repellent for when I go on short trips with my wife. High hopes for that unit!
I was looking at that one. From the perspective of a thru, do you see any value in getting one with two ports so that one can charge two devices at once?
Having my kit finally dialed in, there’s not much to get excited about from the perspective of new gear. That said, as a bag-whore, a new pack to play with is always fun, esp. if it weighs less than 25 ounces and can carry 25 pounds comfortably. These days, I’m excited for the next solo trip. While I love hiking in small groups of 2-5 people, I find I knock out a lot more miles solo. I’m also excited for dinner, as my new on-trail hobby is lightweight, gourmet cooking. No more freeze dried sodium bricks for me. With a fry pan, pot, spice kit, etc. the lessons learned in bringing the pack weight down can be used in carrying a lot of utility without a lot of weight. Thinking about the last gear purchases that elevated my hiking experience, I’d say, in no particular order, a pair of prescription glacier sunglasses from Opticus, a fanny pack, and a pyramid tarp with detachable mesh inner. Let’s face it - transitions glasses still suck - not enough contrast and everything is muted. Opticus of Colorado specializes in high quality lenses for outdoor sports. Being able to see a full tonal range without the blinding glare when above treeline or in the desert is something to behold. Add polarization for seeing the fish underwater and there’s no going back to lesser quality sunglasses. The fanny pack is another game changer. Before the fanny pack, I’d put off foot care, anti-chaffing, sunscreen, etc., as these things were all in my pack, and I didn’t feel like taking the pack off, often putting things off until the next long break. With the fanny pack, I can apply sunscreen and anti-chafing balms on the go. I can even do foot care without taking my pack off. When in camp, my lighter and headlamp are always at the ready. The fanny pack makes for a convenient stow pocket for my overnight essentials when in a tent or hammock. And when in a town, I can leave my pack in the hostel knowing my ID and credit card is always secured in my fanny pack. I love the simplicity of the one-shape, four stake, quick pitch of the pyramid tarp. I sets up without the inner mesh in just over a minute, and in wet, cold conditions, I can fit two hikers and gear underneath for an extended lunch break to warm up. Vast amounts of headroom means that two people can even sit underneath on camp chairs. On wet mornings, I can pack everything up under the protection of the tarp so all of my gear stays dry. I have the MLD DuoMid, but there are other options out there as well.
Those are all great additions, Andrew! You know I'm fond of mids haha. I totally hear you on the camp cooking - I've been working on upping my meal game as well. I'm working on a solid rotation of 5 meals, all prepared at home using regular store-bought ingredients, so that I can make them in bulk and reduce culinary boredom on longer trips. Let me know if you have any faves that work for you! I've recently stumbled across the number 10 cans of Mountain House beef and chicken (there's also egg and sausage) - so just the protein without an seasoning or anything - that I can use as the basis of meals and build out from there. Hell of a lot lighter than packaged tuna or chicken.
Thanks for sharing about bidets. I'd say every single backpacker needs to share that, because TP and non-degradable wipes are a plague. Idk about environmental effects but it's disgusting to see anytime you step off trail, or worse - to see it blown into the trail by wind or rain. I talk about it to almost anyone whom I talk to for more than a minute. Often because they ask about my Kula cloth dangling from my pack to dry out. By this point it's almost an ice-breaker for convo to start and for me to start rambling about bidets. (Oh damn, I sound egotistical or sth lol) Even on the side of the roads where people do their business while comuting or traveling - there's places that are darn awful! Maybe TV should cover it as well idk. But at least the backpacking community can make a difference in where we go.
I have the NB Carbo 10000 (unibody) for the extra peace of mind with a basically negligible weight penalty. Given the importance of charging your devices, I didn’t want to gamble with dropping it as the other NB10K batteries can be a little delicate.
@@timbschwartz honestly it’s probably fine as long as you don’t toss it off a cliff lol. I’m just a bit paranoid so went with the peace of mind but yeah the price is steep for sure
Hi just found your channel and enjoy your content 😊 on the subject of bidets .ive never used one but feel if i did i would still need to dry it with something and wat if it didn't all wash off ?
He, Sue! Thanks for the kind words and glad you're enjoying the vids! I'm pretty new to using a bidet, but I've been using some soap and doing a good scrub like at home in the shower to make sure everything is good and clean. In terms of drying I just shake like a dog and most the water comes off haha. The rest dries pretty quick. Will need to come up with another plan for the winter months, though. Check out Kula Cloth - they make a product for this situation.
I have that same powerbank. Light, compact but 10000 seems to be a big a stretch. I'll prob bring 2 next time, or maybe not use as much digital entertainment requiring more charging
Yeah I'm interested to see how it well it works with my phone, satellite messenger, and camera. Used it over this past weekend but I only needed to charge my phone.
I have two in my pack. I think the true mAh is more like 6000. There’s a giant spreadsheet on the ultralight subreddit that compares a bunch of characteristics between a bunch of batteries. Better info on there
What's a new piece of gear that you've picked up that you're excited to try out this summer? Also, don't forget to check this out if you like gear talk: ua-cam.com/video/2qD7JBXjPM8/v-deo.html
I am LOVING this channel. Your thoughts and opinions are more of the sort I am looking for. A lot of good channels out there and this is becomming one of my favs. If you ever hit NJ or PA, I would LOVE to colab. My main channel is more of the....budget David Attenborough variety, but I just opened a camping and outdoors channel. Good to know about the TP taking longer than I thought.Camera gear and naturalist tools tend to take up weight and space, lol.
Thank you so much for the kind words! Feel free to reach out through and Instagram message!
Welcome Back Home! I hope u and ur partner had a wonderful trip. K, now back to teaching us noobs :)
(My 8 day Colorado Trail trip turned into a long weekend, cut short by wind, rain, hail, snow, 20 deg temps and misery. Your trucker's knot hack really came in handy one night so TY)
Haha thanks! I'm excited to be back to doing my thing. Yes, it was a perfect trip :)
Sorry to hear yours got cut short! That's just how it works sometimes, I supposed. I'm glad the trucker's hitch worked out for you though! I learned everything I know from Andrew Skurka (through videos, not personally lol)
No way.. 🤣🤣🤣Paul has his own bidet, funny guy and a good soul 👍👍👍
Nice call in the inreach! I went with the mini2 for the nav…but that because my sense of direction is junk and I use my phone for pics too much.
Nice! Yeah you really can't go wrong with either.
Love the holey hiker bidet. Tried to talk him into selling on garage grown gear
Love the filming and editing style! Very nice.
Thank you very much!
Really nicely edited and filmed, very enjoyable to watch! Nice little gear choices too.
Thanks so much!
Thanks for the video Tim. Great presentation style and informative content. And YES; I have been watching the shorts!
I'm so glad glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for the kind words and for watching!
Good stuff! Looking forward to seeing how it works for you this year. I’ve been enjoying using a Nashville Pack Cutaway and Nashville Pack Tiempo that I purchased recently, and looking forward to continuing to use it on the trails this summer.
Thanks, Mat! Oh nice - I have the video saved to watch later. Excited to see your take on them!
@@timbschwartz Thanks so much! Let me know if you have any questions about them.
How does this channel have fewer than 3k subscribers?! Another great video Tim. I enjoyed the shorts you’ve been putting out too. I backed a hiking bidet on Kickstarter recently. I feel the same about wiping/washing.
Thanks so much for the kind words, Cord! I'm so glad you've been enjoying the videos!
Love my bidet!! No more TP and a cleaner @$$
Dude it's revolution in my overall comfort on trail haha
Nashville Cutaway backpack. Got this pack a few years ago but the updated model will hold a bear canister, so it’s something I’m interested in. At under 15oz, it meets my “sub 25 oz and carries up to 25 lbs comfortably” goal. Comfort rating is assuming it carries as well as the original model I own.
Awesome! The Nashville cutaway seems to be a hot item. Makes me wish my Burn would wear out faster so that I can pick on up - damn MLD and their indestructible gear.
Anker sells a USB-C fast charger. Light, compact, and the prongs fold down to make a nice small cube for packing.
Sweet! I've been debating between one or two charging ports on the brick for a hypothetical long distance hike that I'm planning. Any thoughts there?
@@timbschwartz this one really depends on what you carry and your usage patterns.
My electronics consist of an InReach Mini, a NiteCore NU-25 headlamp, and an iPhone.
The InReach is only there for SOS and a nightly “made it to camp” generic message with location, which goes to the wife and partners of anyone who is on a trip with me that doesn’t have their own InReach. As such, unless there’s more than one OnReach in the group that’s been split up, I only turn the InReach on when in camp, and I set it down with a good view of the sky. The signal is sent before I’m done pitching my shelter, and once I see the signal is sent I turn the unit off. The InReach monitor brightness is set to the lowest setting with no backlight and the shortest time set to turn the screen off. Used this way, the InReach will last weeks before needing a recharge.
The headlamp is rarely used for night/pre-dawn hiking. Really just for chores around camp in the dark (medium light) and for in-shelter use (low light). Used in this manner, I can get a week of use, easy, out of the headlamp.
The iPhone is used primarily for photos. If I get a data signal I will get an updated extended WeatherUnderground forecast. Maybe a call home every few days, but the wife won’t get upset if I don’t call.
If the area is covered by FarOut, I’ll take a screenshot of the day’s planned elevation profile, but I don’t need to keep checking where I am. Even then, NBD as the phone is in airplane more (for those that don’t know, GPS on phones works in airplane mode).
The phone itself is in airplane mode with no WiFi or Bluetooth. Screen is set to dim. Sound is off.
I turn WiFi on if my InReach indicates I have a message or I want to send a message. Also to connect to my thermometer when I’m curious how cold it is at night.
I do take photos, a few hundred a day.
I’d say I have to recharge the phone every 2-3 days.
Here’s the pro tip - don’t charge your phone above 85-90%. You’ll get to 85-90% in under an hour, but that last ten percent, and especially five percent, takes a lot more draw from your portable battery. I don’t think it’s efficient to charge to 100%, based on the fact that the 90-100% doesn’t last any longer than any other given 10% on a healthy battery, but it does take longer to charge.
A 10k mA battery will charge my phone about four times. Thus, a 10k mA battery will last a solid ten days on trail, if day-1 starts out with the phone charged to 100%.
If the phone needs charging, it gets plugged in as soon as I wake up or before I go to sleep. I check it in 45 - 60 minutes of charging and unplug at 80-90% charged.
Everything charges so fast that there’s no need for multiple ports. It’s not a game changer.
If I had a need for a 20k mA battery I would probably carry two 10k packs, as that would offer redundancy. I would reserve one 10k pack for my camera and mic, and the other for my phone, headlamp, and InReach.
With a fast charger I would just charge each battery one at a time. It’s not like a single 20k mA battery would charge faster than two 10k mA batteries if progress was monitored.
Based on the gear lists or heavy use vloggers that I monitor, 20k mA seems like plenty, unless a tablet of some sort is also carried for post-production editing in the field.
@@timbschwartz I’ll also add that, on a long-distance hike, I’ll be at a resupply with a power outlet I can use well before I run out of juice. Ten days is probably the most I would have to carry - thinking of the JMT from VVR to Whitney Portal.
I carried the Anker Nano 511 20W USB-C charger on my PCT thru hike last year. It has plenty of juice to quick charge the NB10000, it’s tiny, and only weighs 31.3 g (1.1 oz) on my scale.
And since you mentioned mosquitoes, I just ordered the Nitecore EMR05 mosquito repellent for when I go on short trips with my wife. High hopes for that unit!
I was looking at that one. From the perspective of a thru, do you see any value in getting one with two ports so that one can charge two devices at once?
Oh and please let me know how it goes with the mosquitoes - Lynne would love that if it works!
Awesome. 🤙
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it!
A Toyota man too! Good stuff!
Toyota, always and forever haha
Having my kit finally dialed in, there’s not much to get excited about from the perspective of new gear.
That said, as a bag-whore, a new pack to play with is always fun, esp. if it weighs less than 25 ounces and can carry 25 pounds comfortably.
These days, I’m excited for the next solo trip. While I love hiking in small groups of 2-5 people, I find I knock out a lot more miles solo.
I’m also excited for dinner, as my new on-trail hobby is lightweight, gourmet cooking. No more freeze dried sodium bricks for me. With a fry pan, pot, spice kit, etc. the lessons learned in bringing the pack weight down can be used in carrying a lot of utility without a lot of weight.
Thinking about the last gear purchases that elevated my hiking experience, I’d say, in no particular order, a pair of prescription glacier sunglasses from Opticus, a fanny pack, and a pyramid tarp with detachable mesh inner.
Let’s face it - transitions glasses still suck - not enough contrast and everything is muted. Opticus of Colorado specializes in high quality lenses for outdoor sports. Being able to see a full tonal range without the blinding glare when above treeline or in the desert is something to behold. Add polarization for seeing the fish underwater and there’s no going back to lesser quality sunglasses.
The fanny pack is another game changer. Before the fanny pack, I’d put off foot care, anti-chaffing, sunscreen, etc., as these things were all in my pack, and I didn’t feel like taking the pack off, often putting things off until the next long break. With the fanny pack, I can apply sunscreen and anti-chafing balms on the go. I can even do foot care without taking my pack off. When in camp, my lighter and headlamp are always at the ready. The fanny pack makes for a convenient stow pocket for my overnight essentials when in a tent or hammock. And when in a town, I can leave my pack in the hostel knowing my ID and credit card is always secured in my fanny pack.
I love the simplicity of the one-shape, four stake, quick pitch of the pyramid tarp. I sets up without the inner mesh in just over a minute, and in wet, cold conditions, I can fit two hikers and gear underneath for an extended lunch break to warm up. Vast amounts of headroom means that two people can even sit underneath on camp chairs. On wet mornings, I can pack everything up under the protection of the tarp so all of my gear stays dry. I have the MLD DuoMid, but there are other options out there as well.
Those are all great additions, Andrew! You know I'm fond of mids haha.
I totally hear you on the camp cooking - I've been working on upping my meal game as well. I'm working on a solid rotation of 5 meals, all prepared at home using regular store-bought ingredients, so that I can make them in bulk and reduce culinary boredom on longer trips. Let me know if you have any faves that work for you! I've recently stumbled across the number 10 cans of Mountain House beef and chicken (there's also egg and sausage) - so just the protein without an seasoning or anything - that I can use as the basis of meals and build out from there. Hell of a lot lighter than packaged tuna or chicken.
Thanks for sharing about bidets. I'd say every single backpacker needs to share that, because TP and non-degradable wipes are a plague. Idk about environmental effects but it's disgusting to see anytime you step off trail, or worse - to see it blown into the trail by wind or rain.
I talk about it to almost anyone whom I talk to for more than a minute. Often because they ask about my Kula cloth dangling from my pack to dry out. By this point it's almost an ice-breaker for convo to start and for me to start rambling about bidets. (Oh damn, I sound egotistical or sth lol)
Even on the side of the roads where people do their business while comuting or traveling - there's places that are darn awful! Maybe TV should cover it as well idk. But at least the backpacking community can make a difference in where we go.
Thanks for watching, Pedro! I share your enthusiasm for bidet culture.
welcome back! beard is looking good btw!
Haha thanks! Don't be disappointed if it isn't in the next video....
It's getting hot out!
@@timbschwartz completely understood haha
I have the NB Carbo 10000 (unibody) for the extra peace of mind with a basically negligible weight penalty. Given the importance of charging your devices, I didn’t want to gamble with dropping it as the other NB10K batteries can be a little delicate.
Oh good to know! I really went back and forth between the two and decided to save the $30. Guess I'll need to break this one...
@@timbschwartz honestly it’s probably fine as long as you don’t toss it off a cliff lol. I’m just a bit paranoid so went with the peace of mind but yeah the price is steep for sure
Hi just found your channel and enjoy your content 😊 on the subject of bidets .ive never used one but feel if i did i would still need to dry it with something and wat if it didn't all wash off ?
He, Sue! Thanks for the kind words and glad you're enjoying the vids! I'm pretty new to using a bidet, but I've been using some soap and doing a good scrub like at home in the shower to make sure everything is good and clean. In terms of drying I just shake like a dog and most the water comes off haha. The rest dries pretty quick. Will need to come up with another plan for the winter months, though. Check out Kula Cloth - they make a product for this situation.
I have that same powerbank. Light, compact but 10000 seems to be a big a stretch. I'll prob bring 2 next time, or maybe not use as much digital entertainment requiring more charging
Yeah I'm interested to see how it well it works with my phone, satellite messenger, and camera. Used it over this past weekend but I only needed to charge my phone.
I have two in my pack. I think the true mAh is more like 6000. There’s a giant spreadsheet on the ultralight subreddit that compares a bunch of characteristics between a bunch of batteries. Better info on there
👍 👍
.... Yes !! A butt sprayer in FUN COLORS ...
I was waiting for someone to call me out on that!