Klymit Static V Luxe – Finally, a worthy WIDE sleeping pad!

May 3, 2015May 3, 2015 ~ John B. Abela (HikeLighter.Com) ~ 7 Comments

Klymit Static V Luxe, stock photo.
*(I cannot find the photos I already took, and it is dark outside right now. I will shoot some more photos and get them added to the article as soon as I can get the chance to do so)*

Greetings all,

Over the last few years I have written a number of reviews on Klymit gear, including the Klymit Static V sleeping pad, the Klymit Double Diamond Vest, and the Klymit Motion 35 backpack, as well as reviews of other Klymit gear that has been published at other websites. Suffice to say, I have been a fan of Klymit for many a years. Great gear, great people.

In October of 2014 during an email conversation with my friends over at Klymit, I asked if they could make me a shortened version of the Klymit Static V Luxe.

Now, I know what you are thinking… “What in the world would Abela be using one of those heavy things for?!?!“… I know… I know… but hear me out here.

If you have followed my articles here at HikeLighter.Com and my rather active facebook page, you know that I have been looking for an extra wide sleeping pad for a rather long time. But nothing has come along. I even came up with, and submitted to Klymit, my purposed (and rather comical) “Klymit Wing” idea. So, it has been no secret that I have been after a wide sleeping pad, and that is what drove me to the Static V Luxe.

At 30-inches (76.2 cm) wide, the Klymit Static V Luxe is a pretty big boy in the world of sleeping pads.

But at 76-inches (193 cm) long, it was just too long for my needs, so, I asked if they could shorten it up for me, they said yes, so I ordered one from their website and about a week later a 52-inch (132 cm) when inflated Static V Luxe showed up!

I pulled it out of the box, took it outside, inflated it, and tossed it on the ground, got on it, and started rolling over from side to side… and guess what… I didn’t fall off my sleeping pad!!! Weehooo!!

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Wind Jackets, Take 2

March 5, 2015March 5, 2015 ~ John B. Abela (HikeLighter.Com) ~ 15 Comments

Greetings all,

So a few weeks ago, on February 18, 2015, I published an article entitled ‘Wind Jackets: Montbell Tachyon, Patagonia Houdini, ZPacks Wind Shell‘ and it appears it caused a bit of ruckus around the world.

It seems to have done so for for a few reasons:

because the results where not what people wanted to hear about their favorite wind jacket
because some of the results did not make sense
because some of the data used was, at best, guesses due to incomplete testing
because I am a horrible writer and cannot properly explain things

Now which of these issues people seemed to have issues with, or heck, all of them, the facts are the facts:

Yes, some of the fabrics were not tested (specific this mysterious ‘Ventum’ fabric that zpacks is using – and I have no idea if zpacks make up that name or if the manufacturer did)
Yes, some of what I explained did not make sense (and I suspect some of it will continue to not make sense – except for those who understand the crazy ways and terms that fabrics are tested – I will admit, some of it still makes me go “huh?!”)

But, as my long time readers know, I strive to make things right.

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Greenbelly Meal Bars

March 4, 2015March 4, 2015 ~ John B. Abela (HikeLighter.Com) ~ 4 Comments

Greetings,

Today I want to take a moment to talk about the Greenbelly Meal Bars.

In a market that is already flooded, one really needs to ask the question, “do we really need another bar to pick from?” — and the answer to that is, uhh, yes!!!

It seems as if the meal/bar business is just booming these days. We have companies making bars for crazy niche markets. Buffalo bars, paleo bars, vegan and gluten free bars, protein bars, and the list could go on all day.

I first heard about the Greenbelly Bars from, I think either Chad or BBB. I remember checking them out at the time but I already had a massive supply of the bars I typically eat, and the $50 price tag just to give them a try was a bit more than I wanted to spend. If they had an option to buy a trial option that was just one pack of each, I probably would have, but buying four packages of each flavor, as a ‘trial’ was just beyond what I was willing to try. If they sucked, I’d have a whole bunch of packages left over, eh. Hopefully this is something that Greenbelly can offer in the future. Gratefully they sent me a sample package that was just one package of each flavor, so I have gotten the chance to give them a try. And, if I did not like them, I would not be writing about them!

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ZPacks Duplex Tent

February 28, 2015April 24, 2019 ~ John B. Abela (HikeLighter.Com) ~ 43 Comments

ZPacks Duplex - Redbeard (AT - Island Pond Mountain NY) — *ZPacks Duplex on the AT (Island Pond Mountain, NY) Photograph courtesy Will (Redbeard) Wood*

Greetings All,

Time to talk about the ZPacks Duplex Tent.

In September of 2013 ZPacks introduced the “Duplex“, a 2-person version of their 1-person “SolPlex” (now the Plexamid) shelter. It has since gone on to be used by multiple thru-hikers and has gained some serious love by hikers around the world. I finally saved up the cash to buy a Duplex and have been exclusively using it ever since.

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ZPacks Carbon Fiber Staff

February 20, 2015March 4, 2015 ~ John B. Abela (HikeLighter.Com) ~ 13 Comments

Greetings all,

Today I would like to share my thoughts on the ZPacks Carbon Fiber Staff.

I, like I suspect a fair number of people, have been through a number of hiking poles over the years. I think my first pair of hiking poles was the GGLT4’s. They caused me too much frustration, so I switched to the Komperdell Vario 4 poles. They were too flimsy so I switched to the Black Diamond Alpine Carbon Cork poles. They are really heavy but they are the best trekking poles I have ever encountered. Along the way I tried switching away from using poles, and back to using them, and back to not using them.

I know some hikers that have to use them. I know other hikers that cannot use them. I know hikers that swear they refuse to hit the trail without them, and hikers that have hiked tens of thousands of miles and never used them. In the world of hiking they really are a HYOH piece of gear.

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ZPacks Rain Jacket, Challenger Version

October 3, 2014March 10, 2015 ~ John B. Abela (HikeLighter.Com) ~ 12 Comments

ZPacks Rain Jacket, Challenger Version:

In mid 2014 ZPacks updated their rain jacket to use a new combination of fabrics: a layer of eVent on the inside, a layer of spectra (CF) in the middle, and a layer of nylon on the outside.

I have written more about this jacket than anybody else so I have gotten a lot of people asking me thoughts about this new version, called the “Challenger“. If you want a lot of backstory on this rain jacket you can read my original post, my thoughts after using it for a few months, my thoughts after using it for over a year, my full review of the last version, and my post going into detail of the fabric being used.

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Six Moon Designs, Flight 30 Pack

August 11, 2014April 27, 2019 ~ John B. Abela (HikeLighter.Com) ~ 7 Comments

Six Moon Designs ‘Flight 30′ in-use along the Bigfoot Trail in Northern California. Photo Credit: Brian Doyle — Six Moon Designs ‘Flight 30’ in-use along the Bigfoot Trail in Northern California.
Photo Credit: Brian Doyle

Greetings,

The Six Moon Designs ‘Flight 30‘ pack is one of the newest and most exciting backpack on the market for SUL hikers, runners, fastpackers, FKT’ers, peak baggers, and those looking for a small volume backpack that can handle 10 pounds or so of gear and have very little, if zero, bouncing while moving fast down the trail.

It is clear that the market is getting ready for an explosion of new products for those individuals that move fast, move light, and need gear that, for the most part, did not exist even a half-decade ago. As more and more hikers have moved into the world of SUL, and even XUL, a necessity for good quality backpacks, that are themselves SUL in nature, are desperately needed. At the same time, as adventure racers, ultra runners, and ultra marathoners, are discovering the joy, and sometimes pain, of pushing themselves even further, so too are they finding the need to be using backpacks rather than vests, in order to accommodate additional garments, required safety gear, and additional food for those going without resupply. For the last few years there has been a void in the market – a near lack of any products in the 15 liters up to 35 liters of volume space. A few have come along but very few, and those that did were obviously designed by folks that just did not ‘get it’ and instead where just trying to tap into a market prematurely without doing the necessary research for what was needed. Companies that have gotten it have, unfortunately, continued to produce products for either day-runners (in the form of vests from companies such as Ultimate Direction, Salomon and others) that do not offer enough volume, or are companies (Montane, ZPacks, and others) that use traditional backpack shoulder strap systems that just do not work for faster moving adventurers.

The Flight 30 was designed from the ground up to resolve these issues. The lead developer of the Flight 30 is well respected and experienced long distance hiker, Brian Frankle, who is also be an active trail runner. Ron Moak, the owner of Six Moon Designs shared this on BPL: “The Flight 30 was designed for ultra runners who need to carry enough gear to be able to spend a night out without suffering. To accomplish this, it needed to be larger than your typical running pack. However, it also couldn’t interfere with your normal running.“¹

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