Denis Evans Hiking Gear Favorites
Here I highlight some relatively unusual hiking gear. For a long while digital SLR's were problematic in the bush. This still is an issue. So I highlight all in one cameras below. Likewise popular opinion has it that single walled tents suffer from internal moisture condensation. While this may be true for many single wall tents it is not true for Bibler tents made from Todd Tex fabric. As you can see below I am serious about light weight gear. I only talk about gear I have actually used extensively. So here is a short list of my perhaps unusual recommendations for hiking gear.
Hiking Gear: I have become a fan of Windstopper fabric from Gore. This fabric is windproof and breathable with a “highly effective moisture management layer”. Great for energetic winter activities such as snow shoeing up steep slopes.
This is my best current light weight wind/shower jacket. It has a hood which fits well and turns well. It has waterproof zips and pitzips and pairs of pockets double as additional vents. The fabrics are a complex mix of layers but they are light and stretch. The hood beak also works well. Half gloves are in-built. An absolute gem the Mountain Hardware Dragon Jacket - terrible name!
When it is windy but not so cold (say -10C - +10C with 40km/hr winds) this gear is great when you are working hard - sweating. When it is colder, it becomes another layer.
Manzella N2S lightweight gloves
These gloves are thin and retain good dexterity and feel for doing chores in cold conditions. They can be used as inner gloves when more warmth is required. They wick moisture away from your skin very effectively.
Gore-Tex Paclite baseball cap
with retractable ear protectors (not visible above) from Berghaus. This cap can be used under warmer beenies or head gear in cold conditions. It has an stiffened visor edge that can easily be adjusted. It is 100% waterproof and windproof.
Pants: These are from Austria. Most Australian hikers like to ware shorts and gaiters because of the heat. Because I do almost all of my hiking in the Snowy Mountains, I virtually never ware shorts. Instead I ware Astri Lange Herren Wanderhose. The style is called Sierra Classic a very Austrian name?
These pants are extremely comfortable and nearly windproof. Even in warm weather I don't sweat in them. The fabric is stretch Scholler.
Hard shell the Mountain Hardware Beryllium jacket. This jacket is tough and the venting options are great - 4 big vents. No matter what anyone says, there is no jacket that vents as well as you need when you exercise hard. This is the best jacket I have used. When buying jackets many people fail to check whether the hoods work well. Can they fit closely and when they are sinched down does the hood turn with your head to see things around you? The GoreTex Pro fabric is stretch.
Wind shell with plenty of vents for climbing hard: Millet Takara Powerstretch Jacket. Four way stretch with LOTS of vents.
For very cold conditions I like this Millet. It is a thick stretchy zip tee:
Favourite boots: Salewa KAK GTX. These are available in a wide fitting at sizes up to Euro 47.
These boots are leather and Gore-TEX lined. They were comfortable out of the box!
My favorite pack is a Deuter Aircontact 65+10.
It's great for non camping trips. It is the BEST and most comfortable pack I have ever owned. Period. A nice feature is that in the base there is a pocket that contains a built in rain cover. You don't have to remember to bring one - it's always there! The big base pocket provides rapid access to rain gear when conditions turn for the worse. No more diving down a single compartment pack to find rain gear in a hurry. I do like lots of pockets so you can keep you gear sorted in an organized way. The built in rain cover reduces to risk of water leaks from the many zippers. The back suspension system is cool in hot weather and is easily adjusted for back length. The whole pack is extremely well thought out.
When I do solo camping trips I need something bigger. That's when I take my 90 litre version of the Osprey Crescent:
I am a big fan of single wall Bibler tents. Possibly the most versatile 1- 2 person tent ever made, is the Bibler Ahwahnee II.
In all my years of using this Bibler I have never had any problems from water condensation. Todd Tex is an amazing fabric. Because it is a single walled tent with no pole sleeves, it is really easy to erect quickly - you do it from inside. This tent has amazing ventilation and can be used as a complete 4-season tent - snow to tropics! Mine is the older single door version. There is now a two door version which would be even better than mine. The single door version doesn't work well with the (extra cost) vestibule. I can imagine that the two door version (shown above) would work very well with one vestibule - I would not try to attach two. When I bought my Ahwahnee from the local Paddy Pallin store, the sales staff were a little dubious about condensation problems with a single wall. After my first outing in 100% humidity (fog conditions), I came back to tell the sales staff that there are NO condensation problems with this tent. Sometimes the poles may get a little moisture on them but I have never known any moisture to build up on the internal surface of the fabric. Bibler recommends seam sealing the external fabric seams with their sealer which is supplied. You can easliy sit up inside the tent. It is 45" tall at centre. Weight: tent, poles, fly, stakes, stuff sack, guy line: 6.5 lbs. The best tent I have ever owned by quite a wide margin!
Snowshoes: It's hard to go past MSR Lightnings. I have owned 5 different snowshoes over the last 20 years of so. The Lightnings are the best I have ever used. I have the 30" model for great flotation in deep soft snow. MSR Denali's are also very good especially if the snowcover is thin and rocks protrude. MSR Denalis are just about indestructible. However they don't have the flotation or the side slope stability of the Lightnings.
Both shoes work well on "boiler plate" ice.
Touring Ice Axe: for summer glacier travel nothing beats the Stubai Tour Ultralite Ice Axe.
425 grams of aluminium construction (head and shaft). Plastic strap attached and plastic coated handle.
Touring crampons: Likewise for summer glacier travel I recommend Stubai Ultralite Universal Crampons.
These crampons can be used with almost any boot. However, it is important for safety to adjust the length of the crampons so that there is as little slack as possible in the length of the footbed. This adjustment is easy to do.
These crampons make summer ice travel safe, easy and fast. These two items of Stubai kit are made in Austria. They are inexpensive and well made. I have used them both for years and they both show no signs of structural deterioration. There is nothing that beats them in terms of being ultra light weight. However, they are not suitable for hard ice found in winter conditions. That's a whole different ball game!
Water filter: the MSR Mini Works .
The great thing about this filter (unlike others I have used) is that it is field maintainable. The importance of being able to clean/repair filters in the field, cannot be underestimated. (It's a lot like steering clear of digital SLRs!!) You can use this filter for years - cleaning it in the field if necessary with the Scotch Bright pad (supplied).
Stove: the nearly indestructible, light weight MSR Pocket Rocket stove.
Simplicity is best. Nothing to go wrong - at least below about 3000m. At higher altitudes gas stoves just don't cut it. And of course if you are traveling to third world countries then gas canisters may be impossible to obtain. Then I would also recommend a liquid (preferably multi) fuel stove. While on the subject of cooking - I recommend MSR Titan (titanium) cooksets. I use the "Mini Cookset".
Photography: One of my main interests in hiking, climbing and trekking is photography. So you need good cameras too.Digital SLRs can be used for day trips but for long trips there are problems keeping the sensor free of dust while in the outdoors.
On long trips I recommend the Sony R1
It weighs 1368gm including batteries and Lowepro carry case. W hen I need a minimalist solution, I use a little Fuji F30 pocketable camera. It weighs 283gm with batteries and case.
Both are low noise. Both can be used realistically at iso 800. Below this there is essentially no noise. This is absolutely critical if you want to make poster sized enlargements. Both have excellent optics but the Sony R1 has an unbelievably good 24mm - 120mm Carl Zeiss lens. It has one of the widest wide angle lenses money can buy for a digital camera - another advatage over digital SLR's. The other feature I like about the R1 is the live luminosity histogram. This means that you adjust the levels BEFORE taking the shot rather than using Photoshop afterwards. Adjusting levels before is always preferable (in terms of noise) to doing it after the shot has been taken.The Sony is brilliant but bulky and it weighs 1kilogram! The little Fuji is in a class of its own for pocketable cameras. Both have SLR like battery life (~500 shots each). Both of these cameras are no longer in production. You can still buy them new on the web. However since they are both the best cameras of their kind ever to be made. you may have to pay twice the original price for these cameras. I have seen the DSC-R1 on sale new for $1,999.99(US) on Amazon. In fact that's its price today 25/5/2008.
I also use a Canon 40D with a couple of L-series Canon lenses 24-105mm, f4 IS and 70-200mm, f4 IS. With the 24-105 attached, batteries and carry case, my outfit weighs 1960gm. The 40D has an internal sensor cleaning system really seems to work. I saw some dust appearing on a photo so many pressed the clean button 10 times and the dust was gone! This system takes unbelieveably good photos but it's bulky and heavy. I used the 40D with an EFS 17-85mm f4-5.6 IS in the French Alps Sept 2005. The 40D also has a live histogram like the Sony R1.
GPS Mapping
For many years I used a Garmin eTrex Vista. It was sooo reliable. So when it came to upgrading (I wanted a USB rather than serial port, data card for mapping and waypoints) I chose Garmin eTrex Vista Hcx.
This is an amazing GPS for hikers and trekkers. It has everything. Long battery life, very high sensitivity (it works inside my house or my work office), fast satellite acquisition, memory card for detailed maps, excellent track log facility, small size, light (180gm inc. protective jacket and Li batteries), waterproof and easy to use (I still haven't used the manual). The main problem with GPS is that none of the manufacturers offer proper support for Apple Macintosh computers. However Mac GPS Pro is excellent. The cost is reasonable $49.99(US). This software also makes it easy to see your tracks and waypoints on Google Earth!
Denis Evans, May 2008.
There have been 724 visitors since 18 January 2007