Camping and Backpacking GEAR thread

Have you been on the Hermit or Tonto before?
Any reason it is only 3 nights?

 

Thanks!

 

No one replied to my comment on the BioLite.
The 1st version of the BioLite stove was only worthy of the bad reviews.
Small battery, small TEG, resulting in low charging capacity, if any at all. The fan quite often needed all the power that the TEG could give.

The 2nd version of the BioLite stove is impressive.
More battery, much bigger TEG, resulting in more charging capacity. As a stove it works great.
I also have the grill and it does that very well. The different areas of the grill vary in temp so you can cook faster or slower as you wish.

Now, the FirePit ...
I have one and am impressed. Retail is 199. It burns clean and lights easily.
The only thing that bothers me is why they did not include the TEG with this model. That makes no sense to me. But, it does run quite a long time. Rated for 24 hours on low. I have had it run 3 or 4 times for 3 or 4 hours and still have power in the battery. It does work very well without a fan, too.
There is an optional solar cover to charge during the day.

I am a convert that was not impressed with the BioLite at first.

Ken in NC

Full disclosure, I got my BioLites at REI Garage Sales. Fixed income, I take advantage of any that I can.

 

How can you tell the difference between the 1st and 2nd version of the BioLite?

I have one, and don't know which version it is.

 

I’ve only got a week off to do this, and I’m about 20 hours away. We’ll spend 1 night in Mather campground and the rest of the time on the road. Maybe when I retire I’ll have more time on the trail, but for now this is what works.

Forgot to mention there are nine of us.

 

Links from Classic Camp Stoves forum.
Version 1.

Version 2.

Cool beans.
Have you been there before? I have done that trail 3-4 times.
There is another member here that is local that has written about it alot. He has Grand Canyon Reviews.

If you can take the time on the way down, go over to Dripping Springs.
Hermit is awesome. All the camps are awesome. The pools are refreshing.
All of the rapids are very cool to see.
Suggestion on water. Salt Creek water can be a bit mineralized. Horn Creek water has some radiation.
Water near Monument goes underground near camp. Cedar Spring can be a short walk down to water.
A story is said "If you drink from Horn Creek, you will not need a flashlight at night".
I did soak in a pool below Horn creek camp. Refreshing.

https://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/upload/Tonto-Bright_Angel_to_Hermit.pdf

 

Three years ago I did South Kaibab down to Bright Angel. Spent a couple of nights there, then headed up Bright Angel Trail and spent a night at Indian Garden. The next year we did the rim to rim hike from the North Rim. The reason we choose Grand Canyon was because of water availability, particularly on the corridor trails. That’s one less thing to worry about when you’re just getting back into backpacking. This will be my first experience where I have to treat water, but availability shouldn’t be a problem. We’ll get water from Hermit Creek and Monument Creek, and if needed from Dripping Springs

 

Love these Tipi tents, for weight per person, and ability to add heat, hard to beat Seekoutside.com

 

@BKill Cedar Springs water is good.
Check the flow before you start the hike.

You are gonna love this after hiking the Corridor.

 

Yeah, I’m really looking forward to it.

 

So looking for some input I've been looking at the InReach and SpotX devices

Which after a little research means I'm looking at the InReach devices
So what's the good and bad I'm leaning towards the mini, I plan to use it for backpacking as well as in the truck,
I'm thinking the Safety plan and will probably only use preset messages

 

FWIW I sprung for the full size, yeah I know the mini you can pair with your phone and is smaller aka more convenient to attach to your pack or bike etc. But I liked the bigger screen and easier text functionality of the bigger version. But I also used mine for messaging more than I thought so it turned out to be a wise choice at least for me. I dont think there really is a wrong answer between the two, but i just felt like if I am going to spend that much money on a device I dont want to be using my cell phone 80% of the time instead of the expensive device I bought. Plus it keeps my phone out of the weather if hiking in bad conditions.

 

How long is your average trip off the grid

 

I've got the mini and utilize the app on my phone for maps and messaging.

 

Before I got hurt was doing 1-3 nights on the AZ Trail backpacking. Battery on the full size would last at least 2 weekends set at 10min intervals. and 3-6 texts a day. Ended up suspending coverage before my surgery. Will reactivate it again in a few months before we head to UT for 5 days. When I blew my ankle out I was in a spot i could self rescue but it was really nice knowing I had the garmin in case I was somewhere I could not self rescue. First 2 weekends were in rainy damp conditions too so keeping the phone tucked away in the pack was another nice affirmation of getting the full size. Most the thru hikers I know have the mini and like it a lot.

 

I've used the original InReach on rescues and did not like using it without the phone interface. You will type more than twice as fast on your phone when you need to send non programmed messages regarding location details, patient info, rescue needs etc.

 

Me, too.
Doable, but easier on a phone.
And the phone contacts list is available

 

I just bought an InReach Mini after watching a lot of videos and reading reviews, seems to be the best of them all. I haven't even activated it yet but heading out on a 5 day backpacking trip in the Eagle Cap Wilderness area in less than two weeks and it will get a workout then.

 

Just activated it, did a couple test messages, it's pretty slick. My only complaint is I activated it for one month knowing I it would carry me through my trip but it shows my activation as being June 6th thru July 7th. I didn't even own it then! Contacting them about that.

Anyway, interface is pretty slick even on the small screen, online it's simple to setup the 3 preset messages. App on the phone works well and shows you on the map and you can send a text with your location to people too. Lots to learn in the next couple of weeks but I think it will be a useful tool backpacking and vehicle camping too.

 

So, you pay a monthly fee for the service for the InReach & InReach Mini right?