Shane Shin

I have owned quite a few vacuum bottles over years. I use them mainly for ice climbing, nothing like a nice hot cup of chai after a few pitches in the cold.Why it's pefect: 1. 0.5L capacity is perfect to share with a partner, not too big, not too small 2. powder coated exterior! It almost feels like rubbery coating that greatly enhances your chances of not dropping it 3. comes with extra stopper which is simple screw top design. This is the best kind because the push button type is too hard to clean. 4. insulation! it keeps it hot, sometimes too hot 5. looks cool

This pot essentially replaces the MSR Titan 2L pot. I got it thinking it would be an upgrade. I liked that the handle was attached so there was no chance of losing it, and I liked the new lid design with the strainer holes. In the end I concluded it was a waste of money and I should have stayed with the Titan.

First off this pot is heavier than the Titan. Yes it has a larger volume but it turns out the new handle is also significantly heavier than the old handle, and the lid is heavier as well. Secondly the handle seems like a POS. It is rattly on the pot and seems cheap. It's strong enough holding in the downward direction, but if something were to push up on the pot the handle would easily break. I.E. it's only strong in one direction. Third and most importantly, I cannot fit my dragonfly stove inside!! It DOES fit inside the Titan pot, even though the Titan pot is a smaller volume.

I have a medium and 30 waist, I can cinch the harness up as far as it will go. That said I tried a couple sizes and the medium was more comfortable (more padding than the small). The comfort is outstanding with almost no pressure points. The sliding padding works well to keep your tie-in centered. Fabric is soft and feels good against bare skin. Gear loops are ok, not the best. They are covered in rubber and sometimes biners get caught on the rubber. They are a little far back for my tastes. It has 2 slots for ice clippers, but they are kind of far back as well. The waistbelt and leg loops never need to be doubled back which saves time when putting on the harness. The harness is on the heavy and bulky side.

Not too small and not too big. Holds lots of rope inside of it while being fairly light. Rope glides smoothly over the roundish bar stock. Keylock nose is great, you can slide clove hitches right off.

This pack has the perfect storage capacity and organization for a long (all day) trail run without seeing civilization. Unfortunately, there is no way I can get it to not bounce when running. I have tried adjusting everything, and even when all the straps are as tight as possible it still bounces. I have a very old camelbak mule designed for mountain biking that bounces less than this.

Great pants for cool weather hiking and rock climbing. Not suitable for ice climbing or mountaineering.

These are actually very thin, lightweight, stretchy pants. They are not very warm or windproof, but on the other hand they breathe like no other. I'm 33/30 and I got a large, but probably should have gotten a medium. With a pack on I think the pants would get pushed down on my waist due to the loose fit and stretchyness (unless I wear a belt).