The main purpose of this post is to discuss how to maintain leather hiking boots.
First, I’d like to talk about boots in general. For the past eight years, ever since I started this blog, I have been an outspoken advocate of running shoes for backpacking. Not, trail running shoes in particular, but even lighter more gossamer shoes.
I am beginning to change my mind. Continue reading Thoughts on Boots and Boot Care
This isn’t a review. Reviews should entail dozens and dozens of days of use. It would be even more preferable to use a product for ten years before reviewing it. Long-term usage can discover faults or weaknesses in a product.
On the other hand, I’ll be 70 years old in November, so I won’t have many (or maybe even one) ten-year blocks of time remaining. So let’s call this post a first impression. Continue reading Nalgene Oasis Water Bottle
I haven’t reviewed this stove because it is no longer made. More importantly, if you have one or buy a used one, you can’t buy the canisters anymore either. However, for several reasons, this has always been my favorite canister stove. I liked it so much; I bought a second stove in case the stove was discontinued — which it was. What I didn’t anticipate was the fuel canisters would also become obsolete. Given all of this, I was able to re-work the stove and make it compatible with the common IsoPro canisters that are popular today. So, it is time to review the stove, because it can be updated, and actually made lighter. Continue reading Camping Gaz Globetrotter Stove: 35 Year Review
Recently I wrote about a single hiking staff being better than a pair of trekking poles. I’ve had a Tracks Hiking Staff (no longer made) for over 30 years. And as happens with older gear, the top knob separated from the camera mount hardware. Continue reading Hiking Staff Repairs & Adaptations
Overall I am pretty careful with my gear. Most of my repairs are due to age — things that have just plain worn out — such as my Chouinard Pyramid Tent. Once in a great while, I do damage something due to carelessness or unavoidable situations, such as traveling cross country in deserts through area lush in such wonderful environments that can be packed full of cacti or catclaw. Continue reading Repairing Gear with Tenacious Tape