Interesting Gear under the Tree for You or Significant Others?

I asked for the gnar hoody and some gortex socks.

Got gear for myself. No one really knows exactly what my kit needs but me, so why not?

Got myself a Borah Gear down vest and a pair of silnylon rain pants. They are being made now and I plan on doing a full report on my blog once they get here, and intend on really putting them to use and writing a long term review too. I am very excited about this order. I should also give credit where credit is due to the customer service from John at BG. He has been very friendly, informative, and patient in our many emails back and forth, and got back to me pretty quickly too. I will apparently have the very first down vest produced for sale from BG. :)

EDIT – typo

Don't really do x-mas but did order a very nice light base layer with hoody and thumb loops, the As Tucas Zilindro Hoody. Was made in a couple of days and sent off to Japan, curious to give the Schoeller fabric a go.

Not my two front teeth. My gear costs much more than that!
I generally buy my own gear but this year I held out on the Patagonia R1.

My wife got me the R1 hoody and I was happy, but lurking under the hoody was a pair of LL Bean house slippers.
She did good as usual. And those shoes will be very comfy whilst setting and ready BPL over the holidays.

In truth I really believe she gives the best gift all through the year. NOT asking what was in that delivery, did you really need that, I thought you already had one of those. Yep she is a patient woman!

My wife an I built our own Wild Things hoodies. Came exactly as ordered. Sized true to expectations. Look like good quality.

Mrs. Claus and the elves outdid themselves this year.

Benchmade 940, BD Mega Light, and a flask which may or may not come in handy at the GGG this year.

Wow, a wife that will give her husband a butch knife. I can only imagine what that must be like.

Seeing that I laid out a bread crumb trail, drew pictures, and even composed a haiku, I think it was more to shut me up than anything else. The Mega Light was a complete surprise and I can't wait to go play in the snow with it.

My wife had a Gossamer Gear Minimalist Ultralight Daypack under the tree for me. This is our first Christmas, and I'd say she's a keeper. :-)

Got the wife a Locus Gear Khufu sil made this year. She did not like the available colors so I purchased a bunch of pretty sky blue fabric from Lightheart and convinced Jotaro to do me a solid and make one of his shelters out of the fabric I provided. Christmas will run a bit late for the wife this year, should arrive in a couple of weeks.

As for me, I buy gear all year round for myself so see christmas presents as a little unnecessary. Love giving gifts though :)

I had a Grand Trunk skeeter beater pro under the tree for my wife and son – he (scout) got a new headlamp and a lighter sleeping bag REI Lumen 25 to replace his 3 plus pound alps bag (great bag but big and heavyish).

I've not tried a hammock so the Granf Trunk seems like a good compromise of price features and weight. It will need some mods as the suspension is supposed to be so so at best but worst case some straps and I'm hanging (might go all in with whoopies)…. And a tarp but that is doable.

Santa gave me a Lite Trail cook set. 2.9 0z.
: )

I'm upgrading the in-laws and wife on flashlights. Not to a UL level, but taking them from the old incandescent lights to current LED options. That means taking the in-laws from a 3-D-cell Maglite to a 4-AA Dorcy LED flashlight of lighter weight, greater life and greater lumens. Win, win, and win.

My wife likes a 3-D-cell in case the people by the side of the road in apparent need of medical care cause a fuss. Then the billy-club style and weight is nice to have. But with LEDs and lithium batteries, it is lighter, can be swung faster and (importantly) works well to -40F.

…

Well in my never ending quest to keep my wife warm when colder weather backpacking, I recently got and gave her a 0 degree wide quilt from E.E.

I didn't get anything. But since I was required to work 8 hrs yesterday and I'm required to work 8 hrs today, think I may get myself something later since both days are time and a half plus regular pay. Would like to get a cuben pyramid tent.

I got my myself some way too expensive Rossignol Alltrack 120 ski boots. I can't bring myself to buy too many backpacking items during ski season, and also can't buy too many ski gear items during backpacking season. Horrible strategy for finding good deals.

My wife ordered me a Hexamid solo tarp and SMD Serenity Net Tent for X-mas. Woohoo!

Got my parents a Sawyer Mini, and the siblings got them a Gigipower stove. Not much to get them since last year they got new packs, a new tent, new pads and they already have down bags.

Got little brother a Cold Steel Voyager knife. That is a nice piece! Need to get one for myself at some point.

Little sisters are so great to shop for! Amazon.com and Starbucks gift cards are all they want (at least from a brother with no sense of fashion).

–

Box arrived yesterday with 4 quilts from Tim at EE. Woot!

Montane Resolute smock and 45Nrth WÖLVHAMMER winter cycling shoes for me.
Orvis Zip-Back Fleece Vest for the pup.

Bought a bag, Marmot Plasma 30, with some Xmas gift cards, after months of struggling over what to get. Also received some new hiking poles. Nothing fancy, just BD Ergo Corks. Lighter than my cheapies that finally busted though.

Mom had asked me a few weeks back what I wanted, said I was ok. Then this last week have been looking at a winter quilt, so told mom what I needed and how much. Got a Christmas card with some folding currency with a few zeroes at the ends. :)
Duane

So, after nearly depleting my stash of 4 oz. Snow Peak fuel canisters during my cold weather stove tests, the elves suggested that I contact Mountain Gear for another case. I went with the MSR Isopro, as I didn't see any Snow Peak on their site. Right after they sent it out, I got nervous–were they really the 4 oz. version, or did I have brain lock and buy the 8 oz. canisters? I called Mountain Gear and had a great chat with the guy. I told him that I had bought the last case of Snow Peak fuel from them, as they are about the only vendor that will actually sell and ship cases of canister fuel (hazmat hassles). He assured me that they sent out the 4 oz. canisters, and he said they also sell the Snow Peak ones. Damn, somehow I'd missed seeing that on their site. Snow Peaks weigh 7.1 oz. full, and the MSRs weigh 7.5 oz. Being gram weenies yourselves, I'm sure y'all find this quite interesting so far. No? Really?

Well, this plot thickens. I decided to pull the trigger on another case of canisters, this time the Snow Peak ones. They're on their way now. When they get here, I'll have a full lifetime supply of 4 oz. fuel canisters. This is where it gets quite interesting, folks. I mean, will I actually live long enough to ever have to buy another case of stove fuel? But a man can't have too many fuel canisters, can he? Or tents, or bags, or packs, or stoves, or….?

I find this whole gear addiction thing interesting.

I hope each one of you had a nice day today, and that your New Year is a prosperous one. I've enjoyed sharing the forums with you over the past year–you're a special bunch of folks.