Jonathan Wilson

Took this pack on a trip around a Patagonian Glacier. I was able to stash an extra dow jacket and a kilo bag, not to meantion my lunch and a liter of water. In the lid I was able to carry a liteweight first aid kit and a heatsheet. Great pack for chomping around the glacier, and then the weather rolled in. Big wind and cold rain, I was pretty worryed out my gear getting wet as we got soaked. When the weather passed and we got back to the boat I was pleased to find my gear still dry. While not touted as waterproof, this pack certainly kept the weather out.

Roof racks rob you of gas milage, most folks who love the outdoors are also concerned with the overall state the of the world. Here is some simple math. My faring increase my gas milage by 1 mpg (from 19 t 20), at $60.00 and $3.00 gas the faring pays for it self after 7220 miles. Americans average about 15,000 miles per year, so the faring pays for it self after six months. Of course this is very simple math, it ignores several variables which are beyond my calculation here, but I think the general concept is sound.

The Copperhead camming devise is a much improved over older Yakima skewer retainers. Remember to use some headset grease on the threads when you install it to keep the rust away.

I've been using these since the mid-1990's, and of course used many other carabiners, normally due to price. But, after lots of use, they really stand out as a well made and well designed carabiner. I'm glad to see so many other keylocks on the market, but this one always seems to work better - handles well, doesn't snag. Even better, the gate continues to work smoothly after serious abuse. No worrying about a gate that won't snap closed at a critical moment with this biner.

I've had one of these for about 7 years. When you need to haul gear, its nice to have the lock-out feature, so that you can use it as a simple pulley OR a hauling pulley, so that you don't end up carrying 2 pulleys or worse, a pulley and an ascender to catch. I haven't had trouble with it catching, but I've used it mainly for hauling lots of midwieght (30-50 lbs) bags on a fixed line, or something like scuba tanks that are heavier than you'd want to manhandle. I guess the only thing I'd like is if the lockout handle was metal instead of plastic, but I'd say that about all new Petzl cam devices.

This little peice of Mylar can mean the diference between shivering all night as the cold zaps all your energy and being able to get back up at first light to make your way back to safety. I've been caught out without a "space blanket" before. If you don;t believe the heating powers of a vapor barrier, go get a large trash bag and hudle with it wrapped around your shoulders, within minutes you should feel the trapped heat building. Added bonus to tthis blacket are the survival instructions and illustrations tp keep you enlightened and entertained.

I bought my first one of these in 1995. Since then, I've been through 3 or 4. The handle is comfy, and the second hole to attach a tether or footloop is super convenient. Climbs well on a range of rope sizes (at least 8mm-11mm), and does not get jammed badly up with mud, even excessive mud. Lighter than some alternatives. Note that its made in 2 versions, left (gold, shown) and right (blue); as a lefty, I have used both and prefer the left. The teeth on the cam can be a little grabby when new, but 500' of rope should break them in fine...

What a waste of space! I carried one for years as an emergency backup, and when the emergency came, it was a total dog! (I needed to climb >3,000 feet of rope to exit a cave) In the end, I patched my broken ascender with a bit of shoelace (totally sketchy) rather than use the darned tibloc. Its best use by far is to open beer bottles.

I really dig these little biners. I use them on my caving chest harness to attach to my chest ascender. So light weight, it doesn't even feel like it's there!