The “I don’t get it” thread

…

lol why should there be a standard days, water etc?

baseweight works well to compare because it is simple and universal. your baseweight is the same regardless of trip length, food preferences, water requirements, base clothing. The point is the compare minus variables.

this summer most of my gear was the same when i did a 2 day weekend trip as it was for an 18 day thru-hike

"I don't get it" often just means "I have not experienced that"
Quick example " I don't get why some complain about condensation in…" can simply mean " I hike where it is dry and windy or possibly I am much smaller/shorter sweat a lot less than the guys that complain".
To address the mitts thing, I use water proof (early Gore-tex) thin mitts by themselves or over my wool gloves because at just over freezing , say between 33 and 38f, rain is very cold . At those temps in the rain it is much more difficult to remain warm than at 25f.
(my wool gloves are part of my sleep system so I don't want to get those wet)
Wind jackets I don't use because rain is more of a problem for me than wind, so a wind jacket only, does not take care of rain (real rain…) whilst my rain jacket is good enough for me in the wind, however I am aware that others hike where rain is not much of an issue but wind is.
I have often addressed this point arguing at different times for the opposite point of view.
That is not to be contrarian but just to explain the different situations count for different solutions.
For example wood burning stoves.
Some don't get why not everybody is using them ( well you can't burn wood if it isn't legal or there is no wood to burn…) others don't get why they are used at all (that is because they hike (or camp) in forested areas where fires are not likely to take hold )
My point is that if you have only hiked in a somewhat similar climate (or under particular laws or lack of) all your life you will find it difficult to understand why others do it differently.

BTW, in Australia we get 95% Ethanol for about $3.50 a liter . Any supermarket will have that. So it works for me and my 550ml Caldera Cone kit…but no I don't use alcohol to melt snow.

Well played, Cesar.
Seriously though, isn't it enough to have found the gear that works perfectly for you? There is no universal truth, and rarely is there common ground. We like what we like, period. Personal aesthetic is very much at the heart of gear selection. Unfortunately, some (not you) never get past the "this works well for me so it must work for everyone" mentality. This intolerance is usually covered up with the inevitable "Hike your own hike", which near as I can tell means, "your way is dumb, but whatever.."

That's why I say "Don't get it". You don't have to. Only the person carrying the gear needs to.

PS- Windshirts are da bomb

Esbit is a good compact and stable fuel that can be used in many ways. You could use three rocks an an Esbit tablet if you needed to. I use a tiny Ti wing stove, aluminum foil winscreen and a small Ti cup for my most minimal kitchen.

The easy way to start Esbit is to put a dab of alcohol gel hand cleaner on it and give it a spark.

I carry several tabs in an aluminum can with a screw cap. Keeps the smell at bay

Esbit soot comes of easily with a good old steel wool Brillo pad. I carry my pot in a ziplock and clean the soot at home.

I don't get why someone hasn't made a better Ti stove to use with Esbit. Esbit has marketed some hard anodized aluminum pot and stove combos, but they walk away from the simplicity of the stamped steel stove design from WW2.

"Seriously though, isn't it enough to have found the gear that works perfectly for you? There is no universal truth, and rarely is there common ground. We like what we like, period. Personal aesthetic is very much at the heart of gear selection. Unfortunately, some (not you) never get past the "this works well for me so it must work for everyone" mentality. This intolerance is usually covered up with the inevitable "Hike your own hike", which near as I can tell means, "your way is dumb, but whatever.." "

Good points. I suppose I am just always curious about how other people do things, and always looking to learn from different perspectives.

I always work from the position that I don't know anything, even with things I am familiar with, as it forces me to re-evaluate things.

I have a friend who is a hardcore bushcrafter type guy. We will meet up several times a year for excellent overnighters, did one just last month. He has this massive pack, must be like 80 liters, and he takes lots of stuff and lots of weight. Yet we learn from each other, always. His camp coffee is the best I have ever had out in the wild, and the best I can do is tea (which while not bad, is nothing compared to his freshly ground gourmet coffee).

The moment you think something is perfect is the moment that learning and experience stops for that thing or idea.

:)

…

Sometimes an "I don't get it" situation can be a challenge to try something new!

The wind shirt, for me, was a case in point. I never figured I'd need one until I spend an unusually warm day in Wyoming's Wind Rivers fighting off horseflies and deer flies, which gleefully chomped me through my Permethrin-sprayed shirt as though it were an appetizer. (I since read the fine print on the Permethrin label and discovered it's not supposed to be effective for flies.) What I really wanted after that experience was a suit of medieval armor, but I figured that would be a bit too heavy. I noticed the critters weren't biting through my closer-woven nylon pants, so I decided to try a wind shirt, an item I had always thought was completely unnecessary. I got one, and lo and behold, it kept the flies off–no need for that suit of armor!

That was almost 5 years ago. Since then my wind shirt has become the most versatile garment I own, and I'd never, ever go out without it. It's the garment I most often put on during rest stops–in summer it's all I need, although I do take a puffy jacket for cold evenings and mornings. It's what I wear around camp when the temp is in the 60's, a little cool for shirt sleeves but not warm enough for a puffy. When it's cold and windy but not rainy, it's the layer i wear for hiking. Just the wind shirt over a baselayer top (plus lightweight liner gloves and a headband) will take me down to 20*F as long as I'm actively moving. It has to get below 20* before I need even a lightweight mid-layer. Out here in the PNW we occasionally get days that are foggy with a bit of drizzle, not enough for a rain jacket. The wind shirt is just right for those conditions, too.

I can say the same thing for trail runners instead of Goretex-lined boots and for trekking poles. I had to go through a kicking-and-screaming protest (mentally, anyway) before I could be persuaded to try either of them. Once I tried them, I was sold and never went back.

Of course if you try something and it doesn't work for you or still seems unnecessary, then there's certainly no reason to use it. Not everything works for everybody. I'm that way with a quilt instead of a sleeping bag. HYOH and YMMV and all that!

You don't have to spend a bunch of money, either. If you don't own a nylon windbreaker, look for one at a thrift shop. Ditto ski poles if you want to try out trekking poles. Try them on dayhikes or overnighters, where a little extra weight is no big deal. If you like them, then buy the lightweight versions. If you don't, just donate them back to the thrift shop (tax deduction).

It's the new Chaff, kinda.

Could have called it the This don't work for me, but you seem OK with it thread.

"That's a great idea for starting the esbit. Plus the hand sanitizer is dual purpose now."

Everclear is even more multi-purpose :)

I count the hand cleaner as part of my emergency supplies for fire starting. You can set it off with a dead Bic lighter that still has the spark wheel operating or *one* match. The weeniest spark from a firesteel will set it off. Could save your bacon if your hands aren't working well.

Alcohol swabs from your first aid kit can work the same way.

Mary, you got me thinking with your comment on bugs and wind shirts…

One of the problems with some bug nets is that they are often small by design, whether it is to save weight and/or to fit under a tarp. So on those warm nights where you're not covered by a sleeping bag or quilt, you may have exposed skin that is touching the netting. Inevitably, mosquitos will find that spot and chomp away.

I'm thinking wearing a wind shirt to bed could prevent this along your arms and shoulders, which is where you're most likely going to be touching the netting.

Can mosquitos bite through wind shirts?

"Can mosquitos bite through wind shirts?"

This one might be able to:

I don't get why people think it's so weird that I poop in my cook pot….. ok that one might have been too much.

What I don't get is down pants. I must have inherited some freakish genetic trait where my legs don't ever get cold, even in camp, but I doubt I'll buy a pair with the possible exception of boosting a sleeping bag's performance. I haven't been below -20* but to be honest, I don't really want to.

I'm also an Esbit fan. I find that I can heat up three cups of water with one tab sufficient for rehydrating food in my cozy and my morning coffee. There isn't anything to mechanically fail or leak. Altitude and ambient temperature do not appear to affect it from a heat source perspective. It's only .5 oz per tab and makes for a great emergency fire starter. The only ding I can give it is the residue (not a big deal), the smell (seems that people overreact to this), and the cost (expensive compared to Heet.) What I don't get is LNT! Why can't I clean the Esbit residue off on a marmot or a chipmunk….. ok that's probably out there flapping as well.

"I don't get why someone hasn't made a better Ti stove to use with Esbit."

Trail Designs has the Gram Cracker, which is an Esbit burner made of titanium. The wing stove is an Esbit burner and pot support. The Gram Cracker doesn't need more pot support since it is intended to be used within a Caldera Cone.

–B.G.–

Anyone from da Yoop will tell you trolls live south of St. Ignace.

I don't get why so many are so disgusted with using Dr. Bronners as toothpaste. Considering all of the other ways we "rough it", this seems so peculiar to me.

'cause it tastes like soap. Made me wretch. No so great on grease either. I don't like how it thickens up when cold. All that ABC script is weird. Need more reasons not to go with Dr. B.? The tiny amount of toothpaste needed fo a trip is no burden.

As usual, Dale has great technique:

"The easy way to start Esbit is to put a dab of alcohol gel hand cleaner on it and give it a spark."

As for the Everclear, there's yet another use–fill a small ethanol-based hand sanitizer (eg, Purell–70% EtOH) bottle half full, and add Everclear to fill up the bottle. Shake it well, and you have beefed up the ethanol concentration significantly (from 70% to over 80%), which adds extra firepower.

Don't bathe in the woods or need to wash dishes so might as well use real toothpaste.

I don't get why people take toothpaste.

I don't get why people can't just sleep on their back on a teeny torso length bit of foam.

I don't get Swiss army knives and their ilk.

On the other hand, I don't get fixed blade knives either.

I don't get tarps.

I don't get Aarn packs. Or LuxuryLite.

I don't get people who don't get windshirts.

Windshirts really hit home for me on one trip in the Alps in Switzerland when it was freezing and raining and my Montane Superfly eVent jacket started wetting out and leaking, even though I had recently washed and reproofed it. I was close to getting hypothermic. It got so bad that I decided to take it off and change to my Montane Lightspeed windshirt. It didn't repel the rain, but I immediately felt warmer. I walked for the rest of the day in the rain, wearing just a wool baselayer shirt, a microfleece midlayer, and the windshirt. Though I was wet, I was warm and the walking dried off any moisture next to my skin. And it dried so fast when I finally got into my shelter, that I was able to sleep in it. A wool t-shirt and windshirt are usually all I need when walking hard in the higher reaches, even when it is quite cold and windy. Just don an insulation jacket over it when taking rest breaks. That thin film against the leeching effects of wind makes a huge, huge difference. I now take a windshirt on every trip. I hardly ever use a rain jacket anymore, even in heavy rain, unless it is really cold. As long as I can can stay warm, and can dry fast, I'm okay.

The new Neoshells (I have a Rab Neo Stretch Jacket), look very promising, though. If they can be designed to be light enough, they could replace my windshirt and be waterproof at the same time.

I don't get wearing shoes without proper treads. Have the people who wear them ever slipped on wet rocks or trudged through mud?

I don't get 'it.' But I'm working on it…..

I like esbit because you don't need a stove for it. You can just rig up something with rocks. I carry a few esbits as backups when I am mostly cooking over wood fires. If everything is wet and I don't want to deal with making a fire, I will just pull out an esbit. They also work well as firestarters.

I don't get why people prefer them over gloves. Except in extremely cold temps, I haven't noticed any difference in warmth, and for everything else mitts just sacrifice dexterity.

I don't get viewing the scenery through a viewfinder. In the time it takes to compose and shoot a picture, I'll reflect on the scene, my thoughts, and feelings about it making it more memorable. I bring all my neurons with me and back again anyway, so there's weight penalty for memorizing things.