Cuppers Coffee House

I've spent most of the past month in Prescott working on project. A buddy of mine took me to Cuppers and its been my favorite coffeehouse up here.

Prescott is awash with coffeehouses. There are at least seven of them within a mile and a half of the project I'm working on. I don't know they all can be making money.

The coffee is pretty good and they have all the standards plus a bevy of unique drinks. Haven't tried many of them, but the ones I have, are quite good.

The breakfast food is fantastic. You have to try any or all of their quiches. Another favorite of mine is the Mexican omelet available at the second location.

Haunted Canyon

Setting up my hammock after backpacking into Haunted Canyon this past weekend. But, what I was thinking about? Would that Mountain Lion I spotted two miles back up the trail while hiking in, come into camp during the night.

Merrell Mykos Water Shoes

I recently purchased a pair of Merrell Mykos Water Shoes for backpacking trips that involves a lot of water hiking or water crossings. This pair of shoes is the imediate predecessor to the current Merrell water hiking shoes the ( citation needed ). As far as I can tell the main difference between the two is some extra material just behind the the toe guard on either side of the shoes and an improved heel band for keeping the heel from slipping. The sole is identical on both shoes.

I'm doing a three day trip into Aravaipa Canyon soon and I'll update this post soon after.

Update:

These shoes worked very well hiking in Aravaipa canyon. They drained well, and supported my feet very well walking on and through dock gardens. I recommend these shoes.

The Dutch Ware Dutch Buckle

I received my Dutch Ware hammock suspension Dutch Buckle today and of course the first thing I did was inspect and install them on my hammock suspension. My first impressions are a mixed bag. While the buckles are totally functional and no doubt will do what they're supposed to do. However, they are a little rough from a production standpoint. They look more like a prototype than a production product. Not a big deal but just something I noted. I'll be going out next week for a camp out and I'll post photos and a quick follow-up then.

Update: just got back from a four day three night camping trip using the new Dutch Buckles on my hammock setup. All in all I liked the buckles. They make it a lot easier to adjust the whoopie slings along the tree webbing to center the hammock when one tree is much larger than the other. Of courses the the main use, hanging the whoopie slung off the buckles is incredibly easy. Good product.

Warbonnet Traveler DL Hammock

I received my Warbonnet Traveler 1.1 DL Hammock (hereafter the hammock or traveler) and the hammock sock (more on the sock in another post) a few weeks ago. First thing I did was to weigh it and compare it to Warbonnet published weight of 19.5oz. Good news, my Traveler 1.1 DL was only 18oz! Next, I inspected the hammock and with exception of some wobbly seams here and there, the workmanship is excellent.

Of course the next thing was to hang the hammock. The first thing I noticed was how much better this hammock is to sit on/in camp chair wise. My other hammock is an ENO Double Nest and between the traveler being a double layer and made from ripstop nylon it makes for a lot less stretch in the hammock when seated.

I hung it with its structural ridgeline at the proper tension and spent the night. Interestingly the hammock was too taught. It actually felt hard, not uncomfortable but not nearly as comfortable as the next night. The following night I hung it with a deeper sag (the ridgeline was just a bit slack) and that was a fantastic nights sleep. Almost perfection, the flattest lay ever. Side sleeping was awesome. I may have to consider shortening the ridgeline for future (I like the ridgeline for hanging stuff) trips. I'm taking the hammock out this weekend and will update this post soon.

UPDATE: I took the hammock out for a two night trip this past weekend and used both the hammock and the hammock sock. I wanted to see how warm the bottom of my hammock stayed with minimal hammock inulation. It did a remarkable job of creating a dead air space under the hammock even with the top portion of the sock open. The traveler was just as comfortable as at home and a bit easier to hang than the eno because it a tad smaller. Definitely worth my investment in these two pieces of equipment.

Gerber Epic Sheath Knife (first impressions)

When hiking and backpacking I always carry a multi-tool. However when you just need to quickly cut some cord or spread peanut butter on a bagel a small sheath knife is much quicker and convenient. Which is why I recently purchased the Gerber Epic. On first inspection it appears to be made well for the money. MSRP is $55. However you can buy it all day long for less than $30. It's a small knife with the blade being just under 3.5 inches and the overall length of about 7.25 inches. That ratio makes the knife heavy at the handle, more on that a little later.

The sheath is made from (I think glass impregnated) plastic. It's designed with a positive locking function to the knife. You will probably have to hold the sheath from moving when pushing the knife hard enough to "lock". This is likely an ideal knife if you're kayaking or rafting as it won't get water logged like leather or cloth and there is a drain hole at the tip. The size, weight sheath make this ideal for hanging the knife upside down from a PFD or neck lanyard. It's not ideal for wearing at the hip unless it's on a heavy thick belt that will stand up to the pressure to push into he sheath until it locks into place. Also, because the knife is handle heavy it will flop around on your hip belt unless its a thick belt. I personally will put it on my pack strap or hang it from a lanyard around my neck. Will try both and see what works best for me.

Out of the box the knife wasn't dull but not particularly sharp either. I did sharpen and hone it to a much keener edge. You will likely want a sharper blade as well. I'm going out this weekend and will update this post soon.

Exped Multimat Review

Today's review is about another awesome product from Exped, their Exped Multimat. I've used this for several months now and found it to be exactly as advertised. It made from 1/16 in of very durable, dense closed cell foam and sewn together with a ripstop nylon backing incorporating tie out loops and snaps. Unfolded dimensions are approximately 39inches by 79inches and weighs maybe 11oz. This allows it to be used as a small tarp,  waterproof/windproof insulated blanket and/or poncho. The snaps allow for combining multiple mats or folding one over and stuffing it with leaves and grass etc to allow for a colder rating if you're caught in  colder than expected conditions.

All in all, an extremely versatile piece of kit. I use it as a pad for my hammock either flat or folded depending on temperature. If folded in half an half again it fits as the pad/insulation for my chair kit when camping with ground pounders. Often I'll pull it out at lunch when backpacking as my sit pad.