Contributions by BCal (5)

These tips held up to about 100 miles of rocky hiking through Glacier NP- and they're ready for some more, showing little signs of wear. Great investment to prolong the life of your tips. I never had a single problem with them.

These things surprised me straight out of the box! They are made from anti-microbial material which really does keep them from smelling... they can be worn as shoes or as strapless, slip-on sandals for amazing convenience... and they perform better than advertised. These things got me through some crazy Montana stream crossings (i.e. excellent traction from my experiences), and I am excited to use them back home in Florida for hiking in wet conditions, canoeing, disc golf in swampy courses, fishing on the Gulf, and even biking on rainy days.

Excellent quality... lightweight (floats on the scales at 2.3oz)... unbreakable material makes packing it in those random corners extra easy. They wash out with extreme ease. I always take this bowl along. It comfortably holds 3 packs of instant oatmeal/grits (plus 1.5cups boiling water) to make the perfect hot get-up-and-go breakfast. You just can't pass this one up at a price like this.

Whether you're questioning that swamp water in Florida or traveling into interior Africa, rest assured you won't have ANY kind of little guys swimming in your water with your SteriPen. This thing delivers clean water FAST... killing every kind of living organism with virtually no wait time... in under 2 minutes you have a whole liter... 48 seconds makes 16oz. Yes, the batteries weigh a bit... but I just went over 10 days through Glacier NP with the same set of NiMH rechargeables. Those evenings we stumbled into camp after an exhausting hike... after we ran out of water a mile or so ago... man, you can't beat filling up your bottle with creek water and then in less than a minute sucking down pure water as everyone else waits and waits as they're pumping and pumping for every drop. It's funny how many friends you make at the water hole when you show up with this. Perfect for group trips when volume counts. Because of its sustainability (no need to buy more chemicals or filter replacements over time), I use it not just for backpacking but especially traveling through developing nations where gear accessibly is impossible. Team this puppy up with those NiMH rechargeables and you've got years and years and years of clean water anywhere on the globe. Just be sure to warm the batteries in your pocket before using if the temperature is dipping towards freezing.

This was the highlight meal of a 16-day trip through Glacier NP! We found the pouch to be very flavorful as it had a good portion of red peppers to compliment a decent helping of beef and rice. Like most of the Mountain House meals, they're not really enough for 2 guys after a full day's hike so plan accordingly. I'm with Big Al: if you don't give this a 5-star, tell me what you're eating cause I can't imagine it getting any better than this.