Posted: 5/27/2012 12:32:14 PM EDT
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Some damn important insights from a thruhiker who hiked 23100 km so far:
http://www.christine-on-big-trip.blogspot.co.uk/p/what-breaks-when-and-why.html |
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Valuable info!
Keep in mind her hiking style, which basically requires very lightweight gear. LW is fine, but comes with built-in durability issues. Apparently she does not rely on endorsed products, and therefore does not pull her punches when evaluating gear. If she ever takes on a sponsor, or does paid endorsements, her cred will drop to zero. Good for her for telling the truth. |
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Gas canister stoves: I started my hiking career with MSR Pocket Rocket stoves. After about 6 months of constant use the thread will wear out and you will not be able to screw the stove down to the canister any more. As long as the canister is completely full of gas the stove will still work on a low flame, but after a couple of days the gas pressure will be too low and your stove useless. In a pinch you can try to press the stove down onto the canister with a string/rope and wedges construction, but this is not a long-term solution. This has happened to me with two different Pocket Rocket stoves despite careful handling. MSR has refused to exchange them under warranty. I would never ever carry a Pocket Rocket on a long trip again and can only advise against them. I have now changed to a Snow Peak Giga Power and to my big surprise the thread is still holding up after almost 2 years of constant use. Apparently Snow Peak uses a better material for the thread than MSR.
Platypus water bottles: No matter what you do and how you treat a Platypus bottle it will start leaking after some months of use. Typical leaks will form at the mouth of the bottle, but I had leaks all over the bottles. Never ever trust a Platypus bottle - it will break! Always carry at least two bottles. If you are in a real pinch you can temporarily repair the leak with Seamgrip.
I found these two pieces of information particularly informative. Interesting that Cascade Designs (MSR) wouldn't replace a six month old stove; they advertise a "lifetime" warranty. Quotes do not exceed 10%, but JIC- http://www.christine-on-big-trip.blogspot.co.uk/p/what-breaks-when-and-why.html |
| She is a through hiker type and she is using a canister stove? I've run into a lot of though hikers on the PCNST and they almost always use alcohol stoves that they make out of Pepsi cans. I personally don't think that a canister stove or a platypus water jug are tools that would work long term. MSR makes multi fuel stoves and have parts kits available to carry and nalgeen makes durable water bottles. Anything complex, lightweight and inexpensve will break. |
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Quoted:
She is a through hiker type and she is using a canister stove? I've run into a lot of though hikers on the PCNST and they almost always use alcohol stoves that they make out of Pepsi cans. I personally don't think that a canister stove or a platypus water jug are tools that would work long term. MSR makes multi fuel stoves and have parts kits available to carry and nalgeen makes durable water bottles. Anything complex, lightweight and inexpensve will break. a Snow Peak Giga Power and to my big surprise the thread is still holding up after almost 2 years of constant use
Different strokes for different folks; I don't carry liquid fuel if I can avoid it either. Also, a Platy serves an entirely different purpose than a Nalgene. This lady has put more miles under foot than most of us will in a lifetime and I appreciate the fact that she takes the time to share her experience. 
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Quoted: I think anyone that uses Platypus bladders already knows that they are a throw away item. mine are going strong since early 2k.( 02'ish). ETA: my are the old hosers with out hose's i bought their caps and use a hoser hose set up to fill them with a filter) I dont trust the newer ones. but i purposely abused mine to see if i could break them( toss them around camp full,slide them from hootch to hootch, fold, roll, bend them in teh same directions all the time) . The new ones i have you can tell are weaker and not built as well, i dont trust them at all.My hiking buddy got a NEW one last year..its even worse imho. now will they last another 10 years ..cant say. But thats why i carry 3 empty ones as well as my Cbak in my pack and a nalgene on my hip when i hike. redundancy....then again , i dont use the hard plastic nalgenes either and run teh opaque ones. i love her comments about the FT down here LOL.made me giggle |
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Mine don't last too long, a few years. The weather probably has something to do with it. But, the plastic isn't very soft and the sonic welding they do isn't the best.
As far as the Tarptents are concerned. She doesn't use anything under her floor.  Tyvek is cheap and that's what the mfg recommends. Never had a zipper problem. She should get back with Henry on that. He's a really great guy to work with. He answers the phone personally.
At one time, I thought about doing a SF group buy on his tarptents, cleared it through Juan and everything. But in the end I figured it was more trouble to me than what I was willing to go through. <shrug> |
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Quoted: Mine don't last too long, a few years. The weather probably has something to do with it. But, the plastic isn't very soft and the sonic welding they do isn't the best. As far as the Tarptents are concerned. She doesn't use anything under her floor. Tyvek is cheap and that's what the mfg recommends. Never had a zipper problem. She should get back with Henry on that. He's a really great guy to work with. He answers the phone personally.At one time, I thought about doing a SF group buy on his tarptents, cleared it through Juan and everything. But in the end I figured it was more trouble to me than what I was willing to go through. <shrug> yeah mine are the "stiffer" ones as well. The new ones are a ton softer but ive seen them start to leak at the tops and i have a small one that you can see where the welds arent that great. But again thats why i carry extras and teh nalgene bottle. she is bare bottoming the tent? not very bright for prolonged use.... |