If Only Someone Made A…..

Totally cool Roger- no worries!

I couldn't agree more about Epic- that would be a wet-through situation for sure.

have a great week!
Doug

A super-light hammock.

Ron, I know you're thinking about producing one and I'll be the first to purchase it. Also, I'd love to be able to use the hammock as a bivy in combination with a tarp/rainfly. (Not the goofy setup that Hennessy Hammock requires – the hammock provides little rain protection in combination with the fly)

The backpacking gear that might could be combined are what others have mentioned…

1. Rain gear/shelter- already done, but could be better?
2. Sleeping bag cover/backpack
3. Sleeping bag/around camp insulation- versions of it around, but could be better?

Hey everyone,
This may be what everyone has been thinking about with the Event leakage.

The below came out withing the past few weeks:
______________________________________________________

We hiked in 2005 with ID eVent jackets. After about 8oo miles they started weeping through out the jacket, but especially at the neck and the arms. It was not a seam issue, but seemed like the eVent just gave up its waterproofness.

It was interesting in that it happened almost at the same time for both my jacket and my wife's. But it was also the first stretch of multiday rain we had in a while.

We called eVent, they sent us new out new jackets, we mailed ours back. By Maine they were both leaking again… I still have that jacket.

I have not heard of other people that have used the eVents on 6 month trips in wetter climates that require often daily use. I'd be interested to hear if others had this issue. It sounds like the old problem with skin oils stopping the waterproofness.

The 2nd set we were really careful with and tried to wash them per the directions. The 1st set we probably didn't wash as much as we should have. Either way, same issue.

Personally, I would go with the XCR. We have given up on other WB fabrics.

Gravity (and Danger) GAME2005

Actually, it came out during their hike two years ago when their transcriber papa john mentioned it elsewhere.

March 18, 2005
http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?autonumber=91492&keyword=event

May 20, 2005
http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=102331

Repairman sprays raid all over their jackets…jackets begin failing in next entry speaking about rain gear…

A few years ago, Nissan did make a titanium thermos (for about five minutes), it retailed $140 but I was never able to find a distributor. A few months ago, one showed up on eBay and what I thought was an astronomical bid on my part was inadaquate. It sold for over $300. I've tried MYOG reflectix/mylar tape covered Sigg bottles, but really I still lust for a double walled titanium vacuum bottle.

Linsey, there was a whole thread on the titanium thermos last winter. If you google "titanium thermos" it'll take you to a pretty silly thread, grown men salivating over a vaccum bottle (I was the drooliest, I might add.)

Add my name to the folks who would love to be able to buy one of these (MYOG double-walled cuben tent). Then again, maybe I would prefer a nice Cuben tarp-tent (with full bug protection) like this: http://www.sixmoondesigns.com/cuben/. If they both came out in the same month I would have a tough time choosing.

that can be used with a heineken can or small titanium cup.

"Hey everyone,
This may be what everyone has been thinking about with the Event leakage.

The below came out withing the past few weeks:
______________________________________________________

We hiked in 2005 with ID eVent jackets. After about 8oo miles they started weeping through out the jacket, but especially at the neck and the arms. It was not a seam issue, but seemed like the eVent just gave up its waterproofness…."

If that's the same review I think it is, then it didn't come out in the past few weeks. I saw a review to that effect (a couple of people wearing the ID event jackets on the AT, both jackets reportedly failing at the same time, after several months on the trail, and Integral Designs replacing the jackets, but the people being skeptical about the replacements) on whiteblaze.net at least a year ago. Though, when I try to search for it now, I can't seem to find the original review. Anyway, back in the days when I was reading stuff on whiteblaze, I noticed that this same person who posted that review would always be the one to pipe up in any thread that discussed eVent, relate his one experience, and discourage people from buying eVent jackets. I won't be the one to say he doesn't have a right to say what he wants to say, but it seemed like he was singlehandedly encouraging a bad rep for eVent jackets.

Edit: I just found an example of what I was talking about. See this link: http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=12427
The original poster of that review about the pair of ID jackets failing is the same person who posted the very first reply to the thread in the link.

I'm not doubting his experience or calling him a liar. I'm just saying, judge for yourself. It seems to me like he's the only one who's had this experience, but it also seems to me that he's posted this review so many times, and made references to it so many times that he's making it seem like everybody out there has had this experience of eVent inexplicably wetting through when really it's just him.

Back to the wish list.
A running over-night pack has been first on the list forever. Heavily padded and durable, but without the back pad every other pack insists on putting in doubling the weight.
I would like something right around 1800 ci at about 6-8 ounces with separate options to have a bladder or just side pockets.
Of course the bladder would have to be horizontal like the new Inov 8's out there, but I would opt for the side pockets.
I started the John Muir Record Attempt with the Nathan HPL 759. I ripped off the back end loop and pocket and it worked while starting with 16 pounds.

Running packs just don't work very well when having more than 12 or so pounds directly on your shoulders.
This is why I belive the 1800 ci would work better.
You also have to have the bottom of the pack fit right in to the small of your back to help take the weight off your shoulders or the pack is basically useless over 12 pounds.

No one on the market even has a running pack with the right fit as mentioned above. Even the Adventure Racing Packs don't cut for a true speed running fast-backpack.

My 2nd hit on my wish list is an Event jacket similar to the ID Pullover (no frills) but with using even a lighter Event fabric for this. This shouldn't weigh any more than 6 ounces.
MLD has 2.1 ounce Event which would do it but the ID Pullover has a 40d exterior nylon which just kills the weight.

Everyone else here has some excellent ideas as well.
The thing is, we've been asking for this for what seems like forever and since Event and Cuben have hit the market we have been begging for it.
A lot of the manufactures that will be getting to this gear, (hopefully sooner than later) are cottage manufactures like Ron who started this post in the first place.
So Ron, and others, when will anybody step up to the plate to make any of this gear is a better question?

I don't believe anything anyone has mentioned can't be done.

Well again, I'm not doubting his experience; just saying that I've heard that very same one story from the same person in a lot of places.

I totally agree with Mark…this would be great, particularly if it has a sewn-in floor option to make it totally bug proof, particularly with crawling things like leeches.

I think a cross between an alphamid and a lunar solo would be the go here-but with the pitching dynamics sorted out so its easier to pitch, like Mark said

This simple concept, at least as a "half bivy" has been around with mountaineering packs for years.

Macpac's original Torre Pack was designed to be big enough to take a climber up to the waist, with his jacket covering the rest, for impromptu bivouacs.

I think this is a concept that will work easily with practically any top loading pack…and yeah, would work fantastically well if there was some kind of roll top extension as a full bivy

What is the insulative performance (eg R/mass) of compressed down (eg underneath a sleeping bag, quilt footbox, on the back of your jacket while you sit in a chair, on the seat of your pants, etc) compared to compressed synthetic fills, closed cell foam, and sythetic fleeces? We all know that you are better off with an insulating mat rather than a down sleeping bag underneath you. I would hypothesise that synthetic fills and even synthetic/natura fleeces (such as polartec, possum down, etc) have better insulative properties when compressed than down does.

While this should really be the subjective of scientific testing; wouldn't it make more sense to insulate areas of insulating garments and sleeping bags/quilts with insulation that performs better when compressed. Loft values count for nothing in these situations. If this is the case I would like to see…

…synthetic backed down jackets.
…sythetic footbox on nunatak style arc quilts
…synthetic bums on down pants
…sythetic bottom filling on sleeping bags.

I think this area could be well explored scientifically and could mean quite appreciable improvements in insulative gear performance.

I think that down and synthetic fills will provide essentially no insulation when compressed. I guess fleece would provide a small amount of insulation since it doesn't compress completely, but would hardly be worth the weight in that capacity. The only thing that will provide insulation in this use would be something that doesn't compress much, i.e. foam insulation.

I would love to see some LW Panniers for my touring bike. Sylnylon would be too fragile but dyneema would probably be just the ticket. Just a simple "grocery bag" style with some carbon support rods and a thin "plastic bottom" placed inside for shape and support would be great. Maybe a mesh outer pocket for maps and quick grab items but nothing else. Simple design and straight forward engineering is what is needed. Not all these bells and whistles. Somewhere around a pound or less would be wonderfull, isntead of the 3-4 pounds they are now. I apply the same philosophy to bike touring as I do to Bping. The lighter the better.

A back pack that integrates into a bivy would be cool.

***If I owned a sewing machine (come on tax time) I would sew them myself, amongst a ton of other items.***

I was just looking to see if anyone else was having an issue with the event leaking, and noticed this discussion. I am in fact the person who apparently has posted everywhere about how his event leaked (whiteblaze originally and then on this board two times or so).

I actually would love to know if other people have been having the issue. I suspect that it was largely due to the extended use the jackets got on the AT with rather limited washing in comparison to how the jacket would normally be used.

Full disclosure. My wife's jacket did in fact get sprayed with RAID in fontana dam. When BOTH our jackets started to weep in the arms and at the back of the neck in the Shenandoahs, we thought it odd that somehow that issue affected BOTH jackets, but they did tend to get washed at the same time. We also didn't wash them quite as frequently as we could have (as we wore them when washing our other clothes). We contacted ID, they were super nice, and they sent us two new jackets and we sent our old ones back. I did ask that they contact us with their test results as I was very interested what they found. I gave them my email and phone, but never got a call back.

So, 2 new jackets. Then in Maine mine started leaking again. I definately tended to wear mine more than my wife wore hers. Of course it takes a pretty serious rain before you REALLY notice the jacket is leaking, and it was the remnants of Katrina that was dumping rain on is, but it was very obvious that both were again leaking, mainly in the arms and the neck area. This is also the area that you expect to be most heavily effected by the skin oils, eh?

I also send this email to Blight support to see if they were interested in testing my 'failed' jacket to see if they could dispel the 'myth' or confirm and maybe find the real problem.

"Hi Whomever,
My wife and I both have the intergral designs eVent rainjackets. On our AT thru last year they started to leak near the midpoint of our trip, and integral designs was great to us, and they shipped out new ones even before they got the old ones, but there were still some nasty wet cold days. Now it appears mine is leaking again. It seems like a total failure, not leaking at a seam, but rather a weeping through the entire jacket, with the neck and arms being worse.

I'm wondering, have you heard of anything similar? Seems strange that this is now the 3rd jacket between 2 of us that has had this problem. We have washed them in the past. I'm wondering if you have the interest in examining and seeing if you can determine if, in fact, the jacket is truly weeping. It sure feels like it though. I wonder if the event is actually suffering from the same failure mode as orginal PTFE had – oil from the skin causing the water to wick through…

Let me know…"

They responded : "Dear Thomas,
Hmm, that does seem strange. I'll reassign this to Don, our clothing editor. He may have more information for you, or may simply want to know more about your experience. You should be hearing from him soon!"

I did get an email from him, but it was something to the effect, "I'm too busy now, I'll get back to you."

I still have this jacket. I really am loath to take it on an extended trip, but it is in fact my only rain jacket at the moment. I've been lucky enough to not have been in a rain storm since Maine…

I'm not trying to start a panic, but I am trying to see if anyone else out there has had a similar experience. I imagine that enough of these jackets have seen long hikes that we should have a good statistical basis by now. I would like to hear reports either way actually.

Anyway, just thought that I would speak up and let Thruhikers know that there MIGHT be an issue with the jacket on extended trips.

I actually have seen NO responses to my posts in those threads. Strange that the only response was in this thread, not officially about this topic at all.

Gravity (and Danger) GAME 2005

Thomas – I have used one Lowe Alpine eVENT rain suit for 2 different 1 1/2 month long Alaskan coast expeditions and 2 seasons of down hill skiing. I did not experience any problems.

I would like to define what you mean by, "leakage". Please conduct the following tests.

1. In the areas you experienced “leakage”; hold them under the faucet for a minute. Did all of the moisture run off the surface or is it visibly damp (wet out)?

2. Create a depression in the area you experienced "leakage" and fill that area with water. Hold it up and look underneath of the material to see if you detect water dripping (membrane porosity)?

3. Is the seam tape intact where you experienced "leakage" (manufacturing error)?

4. Is the outer fabric or inner liner abraded where you experienced "leakage" (membrane integrity).

If Only Someone Made… 2 more Packs:

1. Exactly the pack that Aaron described above. Overnight running pack, ~1500ci + side pockets (for bottles/map), no belt, no pad, RIDES HIGH for comfort at speed. I love the Revelation for walking and climbing but with 10-12 lbs it is too tall and low for running.

2. SUL day running pack. ~800ci + side pockets (for bottles/map), fragile silnylon, no belt, removable thin pad. Examples by Nathan, Ultimate Direction, and Solomon are just way too heavy and complicated. The purpose of the pack is to carry 3 pounds max of clothes/food/gear + water, but no sleeping/bivy gear, for a distance of 20-100 miles over 5-48 hours.

Thank you for caring enough to ask the community for our ideas.

I think I found one like you describe here on ebay.

http://rss.api.ebay.com/ws/rssapi?FeedName=SearchResults&siteId=0&language=en-US&output=RSS20&catref=C5&sacqy=&sacur=0&fsop=1&fsoo=1&from=R6&saobfmts=exsif&_trksid=m37&sacqyop=ge&saslc=0&floc=1&sabfmts=0&saprclo=&saprchi=&saaff=afcj&ftrv=1&ftrt=1&fcl=3&frpp=50&afcj=2212781&nojspr=y&satitle=Jansport+2L+Hydration+Back+Pack&afmp=&sacat=-1&saslop=1&fss=0

How about making a quilt with Prequilted Primaloft One on the top and only stitch it to the outside edges of the quilt.

Then sew the baffles on the bottom of the Prequilt and the bottom section of the fabric of the quilt.

The down will easly lift the Prequilt without a loss of loft.
Now you have a stitch free hybrid quilt that you do not have to use a bivy with.

One more thing I would love to see (#3 on the list) would be a single 1 man tent as everyone else has been mentioning.
I've made a 10 ounce single enclosed tent, (except bottom), but would love to get my hands on a tent like the
Gogo from Nemo with Cuben material.

Hey Klas,
A SUL running pack you described could very easily be the Nathan 020 if they just add pockets and took out the sleeve for the bladder. Of course lighter material and removal of the pad would cut the weight a lot but it would only weight 7 ounces and is extremly cumffy up to about 6 lbs.

..regarding those uninsulated glove shells!

They all weigh a fair amount..
One third mesh, one third event, one third silnylon. Roll to adjust, above treeline just fold it over on yourself for warmth.. or take out the bug mesh panel to convert to bivy. Tall enough to shed snow?
CONCEPT ONLY

I would love a UL Travel pack. Something that could go as checked baggage and then be good to go for town or trail. 3000 cu/in, front panel loading, straps can be zipped away for airline travel with no other exterior mesh or encumberences other than a carry handle, ripstop fabric, 1 lb or less. Ron, my wife and I travelled extensivelly this summer with your Zip pack in Australia and Fiji and loved it, it went with us on busses and ferry's – through town and into the bush. Make something along these lines that I don't have to put into a duffle bag to check onto the flight and I'll be your first customer.