Icebreaker Tech T Lite Short Sleeve Tee (1500+ Days)

~ John B. Abela (HikeLighter.Com) ~ 6 Comments

Greetings Adventurers!

I have recently passed the 1,500 days of wearing with the “Icebreaker Tech T Lite Short Sleeve Tee” – that is cause for sharing about this truly exceptional t-shirt!

This is a t-shirt that for over 4 years as been my primary next-to-skin layer, out on the trail, at home, and everywhere in between.

It has gotten the sideline only when I am wearing a Mountain Hardwear WickedCool Tank which I wear when trail running or in hot locations.

Two Christmases ago a family member saw me wearing it and all the holes it had and said “isn’t it about time for a new t-shirt John“?  My response was “nope, got a few more years in it!“. Going on two years since than and I am still wearing it – albeit with a few more holes, but it is still going strong!

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Gossamer Gear, ‘The One’ (2016)

~ John B. Abela (HikeLighter.Com) ~ 12 Comments

Gossamer Gear, The One (2016)

Greetings Adventurers!

It is not very often that we get a new tent on the market that is worth talking about.

Rumors have been floating around for a few weeks that Gossamer Gear was bring back ‘The One”, which I think most folks that have been in the hiking world for any length of time should remember… it was one of the original ultra light solo shelters from a cottage maker that really had a major market impact – it was highly loved by many, and there are a fair number of shelters on the market right now that are based on The One design!

I had my doubts about the rumors, and I am so very glad to hear that I was wrong.

The One is back!

It is not just back, but it is back in style. In true form. And, with some serious kick to it.

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Kora ‘Shola 230 Zip’ Top

~ John B. Abela (HikeLighter.Com) ~ 7 Comments

Kora 'Shola 230 Zip' Top

Greetings Adventurers!

Earlier this year I wrote about the Kora ‘Shola 230 Leggings’ and mentioned that I wanted to order the upper body base layer (top garment) of the same product line, called the Kora ‘Shola 230 Zip’ which like the leggings is also made from 100% Yak wool.

Statements such as this from Kora are enough to get the attention of most folks, myself included.

It’s 40% warmer weight for weight, 66% more breathable and is 17% better at transporting water vapour away from the skin. Just like merino, it’s soft and naturally odour-resistant.

Well after falling in love with the leggings, I decided to spend the money on the Kora ‘Shola 230 Zip’ top and have, at time of this writing, 100+ days of use wearing the top.

My medium sized Kora Shola 230 Zip is 268 grams (9.45 oz)

So how has the Kora Shola 230 Zip Top performed?

I want to take on this topic from these four perspectives:

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Montbell U.L. Thermawrap Jacket

~ John B. Abela (HikeLighter.Com) ~ 3 Comments

Montbell U.L. Thermawrap Jacket

Greetings Adventurers!

Hitting the scale at only 238 grams (8.4 ounces), the Montbell U.L. Thermawrap Jacket has been my go-to, primary wear, top thermal garment (jacket) for a few years – and I freaking love it!

This jacket has made it into my “Top Picks” pieces of gear!

Featuring 15-denier rip-stop nylon shell, 50g Exceloft synthetic insulation, and a full front zipper, the Montbell U.L. Thermawrap Jacket is a jacket that can be a year-round jacket for pretty much anybody anywhere.

It is perfect for the summer season on cold mornings, and a great thermal layer for the colder seasons.

In the world of sub 10 oz synthetic jackets, finding a jacket like the Montbell U.L. Thermawrap Jacket can present a challenge but thankfully it is not really necessary to look all that hard as this jacket ticks off pretty much all of the checkboxes that I feel needs to be checked to fit into this category.

Normally I try very hard to not write about how x-product compares to y-product, but in this situation, that is, the sub 10 ounce hoodless jacket market, I think it is fair to be able to compare the Montbell U.L. Thermawrap Jacket to both the Mountain Hardwear Ghost Whisperer (197 grams / 6.95 oz) and the Montbell Plasma 1000 Down Jacket (135 grams / 4.8 oz). If you are into animal down thermals, the dominator on the market the last few years has been the Mountain Hardwear Ghost Whisperer – used by more big mile hikers I know and respect than any other animal down jacket in this weight/warmth category. Likewise, the Montbell Plasma 1000 has been embraced as one of the best weight/warmth animal down jackets you can buy.

While the Montbell U.L. Thermawrap Jacket is obviously not an animal down jacket, it can easily go head-to-head with those two amazing animal down jackets! Plus it is under the magical 10 oz mark, it is half as expensive as the Plasma 1000, and $200 dollars less expensive than the Ghost Whisperer! To say MH has gotten greedy with their price of the Ghost Whisperer is putting it mildly. You can buy both a Montbell Plasma AND a Montbell U.L. Thermawrap Jacket for just a few dollars more and have one hell of a sweet multi-layer thermal system!

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Massdrop x Klymit ‘Static V Ultra Light’

~ John B. Abela (HikeLighter.Com) ~ 14 Comments
Massdrop x Klymit Static V Ultralight Pad & Pillow X UL
The Massdrop x Klymit Static V Ultralight Pad & Pillow X UL

Greetings Adventurers!

This is a first look introduction to a new sleeping pad from Klymit called the “Static V Ultra Light“, a collaborative design between Klymit and Massdrop.

Many of my readers are probably familiar with the “Static V” sleeping pad, which has been around a couple of seasons and has gotten a good size loyal following.

So what exactly is the “Ultra Light” version of the Static V?

It is a collaboration between Klymit and Massdrop, that introduces a significantly lighter weight fabric, a 20d, instead of the fabric Klymit has pretty much always used on all of their sleeping pads, a super tough 75d fabric.

For all intents and purposes, that is the main and only difference.

I have written a lot about Klymit products over the years, perhaps more than anybody else in the hiking industry, and over the years I have been saying that I would love to have Klymit make a version of their sleeping pads in lighter weight fabric. After all, some of us just do not need 75d fabric on our sleeping pads. Those of us who use ground sheets, put our sleeping pads inside of shelters, or inside of bivouac, already have enough ground protection that we do not need that heavy weight fabric for our pads.

I am not sure how the folks at Massdrop was able to talk the folks at Klymit into making a version of the Static V in a lighter weight fabric, but regardless of how, it has made me happy.

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Massdrop x Vargo “BOT 700” Pot

~ John B. Abela (HikeLighter.Com) ~ 6 Comments
The Vargo/Massdrop
The Vargo/Massdrop “BOT 700” Pot

Greetings Adventurers!

The Vargo  Titanium BOT has been a favorite within the outdoor community for a few years.

Recently the folks over at Massdrop worked with Vargo Outdoors to introduce a smaller version of the Titanium BOT.

This new, exclusive to Massdrop, Titanium BOT is a 700ml pot, with handles and a lid, and is called the “BOT 700“.

While not all that much lighter in weight than it’s big brother, the BOT 700 makes for an ideal solo hikers all-in-one storage container, cooking pot, water carrier, and anything else that you might want to put into it, and not have it leak out all the goodies inside.

Specs/About:

The weight of the pot & lid is 126 grams (4.44 ounces), with the lid hitting the scale at 41 grams and the pot itself at 85 grams.

It has a total capacity of 700 ml (24oz) and is 10.5 cm (4.1 inches) in diameter.

The screw top lid can be turned upside down and used as a lid while cooking — doing this is important because there is a silicone o-ring on the bottom of the lid (which, duh, makes it watertight) and you want to make sure that the silicone o-ring does not come into contact with the fuel flames. So, a good idea if you are using wood for fuel is to probably not use the lid at all.

Thoughts:

When I first heard about this being brought to market my comment was something along the lines of “sounds like a great way for long distance hikers to be able to reduce the amount of containers that they carry – the all typical Glad/Ziplock plastic bottles for doing cold soaking, and a cooking pot.”

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100 Days of Soylent 2.0 + Greenbelly Bars

~ John B. Abela (HikeLighter.Com) ~ Leave a comment
28 days of Soylent 2.0 and a case (30) of Greenbelly Bars!

For reasons I can only explain as “because I wanted to try it” about four months ago I decided to try consuming the pre-made liquid version of Soylent, called “Soylent 2.0“, on a near 100% consumption level, supplemented with some solid food in the form of Greenbelly Bars, bananas, avocados, artichoke hearts, pickles, and whatever fruit I could get my hands on – pears, peaches, plums.

I had already been consuming the powdered version of Soylent, usually a couple of bags per week, for a few years. When the liquid version of Soylent came out I ordered a single box of it, 12 bottles, to see how I would like it. After throwing it into the fridge overnight, the next day I had some for lunch, and I found it to be totally acceptable in flavor and texture.

As a long time user of the powdered versions of Soylent, the idea of having it pre-made, I have to say, excited me more than it probably should have.

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