I picked up the REI Co-op Amorphum Utility Parka today for 50% off. Feels very comfortable. About as heavy as a coat as you’d want in San Francisco. We’ll see how well it does.
Update: It did well at Lake Tahoe in 25 degrees dry conditions. I wouldn’t use this for wet, but it was good in the dry, and the removable liner comes in handy when you warm up.
Update 2: Returned the parka because it was just too big. It’s no longer on sale so I couldn’t downsize.
What do people sleep in these days in the snow if they don’t keep separate winter sleeping bags and such? Time for some more research.
Update: The solution is
We don’t get any snow in the San Francisco Bay Area, so I only need winter snow boots when I go winter camping. For that reason, I didn’t do a ton of research and just picked out the Columbia Men’s Bugaboot Plus IV Omni-Heat Mid Calf Boot.
We’ll see how well it holds up.
Update: These were fantastic in 18 inches of snow at 25 degrees. I wasn’t working up much of a sweat, mostly standing around, and my feet were quite warm in wool socks and these boots.
We’ll see how they hold up in wet conditions.
My rain hike to test out my new pair of The North Face Ultra 110 GTX’s was a success for the shoes but an epic fail for my 10 year old Patagonia ski jacket.
Time to find a jacket that will
Options
Arc’teryx Beta AR looks to be the best if I can get it on sale.
I ended up getting The North Face Ultra 110 GTX. I went out today for a rainy hike and they were quite comfortable, light, kept my feet dry through shallow puddles, etc.
We’ll see how well they do in six months.
Looking for trail runners and hiking boots. Should I get loggers or a lighter pair?
tbd
I’ve tried on the Salomon X Ultra 3 and they were a bit narrow.
For my day job I’m a programmer so I take notes on that too.
I recently started learning SaltStack. I highly recommend it. I keep a wiki at http://arcoleo.org:8080/dsawiki hosted using JSPWiki. It’s ok, but it has the features I want so far.
I chose a truck. It’s fun to drive, can carry everything for four people without even packing carefully, and spacious for the people.
I bought –
It’s the only way to go if you’re hauling four people and don’t need the long bed.
I got this primarily because of the fuel efficiency. I know it’s a wash financially, but getting 15 mpg for a thousand miles a time kills me. 22-23 mpg is significantly better.
Was it worth the $9200? I’m hoping it’s at least a wash. We’ll see what it costs to maintain.
If you’re going to go diesel, get the 4×4. The truck is so heavy it’s slipped a few times on very steep inclines. A very expensive $4k safety feature, but cheaper than totaling the truck in a ditch on steep wet road.
Relatively cheap and now I can power an ambulance.
This was a tough decision. The space over the wheel-wells is wasted and this makes great accessible use of them.
HOWEVER, it means almost no toppers or ladder racks will fit your truck.
It was a long debate between this and cargo drawers. I ultimately decided again the cargo drawers because
This isn’t a luxury truck. Mud, sand, salt water, crab and fish guts are all likely to get inside. I wanted something that wouldn’t get ruined.
While costing only about 10% the cost of the truck, they absolutely bring it to the next level.
Blocks 95% of the UV rays. I highly recommend them. Seriously. I can feel the difference on my face after only a few minutes.
If you can only buy one accessory, buy this one.
Don’t need it yet, but I will soon.
With a load carrying capacity of 1600 lbs on top, this is the way to go. It’s also about as secure as it gets.
I can secure tons of gear beneath it, tie down tons more on top (a motorcycle or two if I wanted) and I’m good to go.
It also comes off by just undoing a few bolts. Not exactly snap-off, but much faster than cargo drawers.
They’re cheap, reasonably waterproof, and keep things organized in the back.
Because I assume I’ll get stuck one day.
I didn’t want to spend so much I would regret the purchase. I made several concessions to get the Cummins and 4×4.
I have the Tradesman trim level. Bottom of the barrel. It comes with an automatic transmission and air conditioning. That’s about it. You want smart cruise control? Nope. Park assist? Nope. Nada. Nothing.
I got the cheapest system that could be used as a rear view backup display. The next step up was an additional $2500. Instead, I bought a tablet holder and am using that for navigation. True, it’s not as good, but in five years, I’ll be on my third tablet and the infotainment system will really be looking slow.
The nicer, bigger, AT wheels were an extra $2000 and dropped my mpg by 15-20%. Yes, I’ll want them eventually, but 95% of my miles are highway miles on the way to the destination.
For now, I’ll save the money.
This is where I’ll be posting about traveling, camping, cheap equipment for the most fun, etc. I live just outside San Francisco, so most of what I do will be localized to this area and be optimized for mild, warm, arid climates and a cold ocean.
Project Hemingway 