I bought enough of these in different lengths to replace all my old dogbones which were really, really old. These are simple and light; rubber gripper works well. I concur with a fellow reviewer: it would be nice if the different lenghts were unique colors, and uniform (all 12cm were grey, all 15cm were blue...etc), but I just put some colored straight gates on the top of my two longer dogbones. Gosh I'm smart...

A group of 7 of us went into the Sierra on a 3 day trip. We were using my old Pur filter which has been a trusty unit for 10 years. But then my friend (who doesn't backpack much) pulled this thing out of her pack. I got first crack at using it, and I was blown away. It pumped my platypus full in less than 60 seconds. I couldn't believe how small this thing is and how smart the design is. However, my opinion changed later that night when I borrowed it again, and could barely get it to function. Instead of seconds, it took 10+ minutes to pump the same amount of water. Granted, I don't know what happened in the intervening hours, but I don't think the filter was misused by anyone. All the water we were filtering was very clean and clear. The next morning I took it apart and couldn't find anything dirty, clogged or otherwise gummed up. Still, it refused to pump water at any kind of reasonable rate. At that point, it was essentially a tiny workout device.

I was rafting down the middle fork of the Salmon River last summer and I had a Houdini Jacket. I would keep it in the pocket of my shorts. REALLY, it's that small. When an afternoon thunderstorm would start dumping, I would stand up, unstuff the Houdini, throw it on and keep going. Sure I had a big gore-tex unit in a dry bag, but I never used it. The Houdini is just so damn convenient. It's not 100% waterproof, but if you have a lightweight polypro/capilene layer underneath you don't get clammy; when the rain stops, you and the jacket dry out fast.

Now I carry this jacket with me in the Sierra on ultralight backcountry trips and LOVE it. One of the best "can't do without" pieces I have.

The MLC is just a great bag. Rarely do I travel more than a couple weeks at a time, and I find I can get everything I need in mine. The shoulder straps are decently comfortable, and the waist belt helps transfer the load. Much prefer carrying my load to a bag with wheels (try getting in and out of the subway in NYC with a rolling bag!) I can carry like a pack around the airport, then tuck the straps away and check in to a nice hotel without looking like a vagabond. Bought another for my wife!