Recently I had the chance to take some new gear out for a test on a two day fishing trip on the Deschutes River. We floated a 9 mile stretch from Warm Springs and spent the night at one of the campsites along the way. I would love to tell you about the world record monster trout I caught with a borrowed left handed fly rod but I’ll stick to the gear story.
I have long used an older Kelty Domolite 2 person tent for all my camping trips. Although it was considered lightweight at the time the new tents we have destroy this one in the weight arena. For this trip I was loaned a Black Diamond Mesa ($319.95) which is a two person traditional freestanding tent, much like my old Kelty but at only 4lbs 9oz is lighter by about 4 lbs. Even though weight was not an issue ( we floated a drift boat ) I was mostly impressed with the ease of setting this tent up. One set of DAC poles, all shock corded together, and a super easy hook system made set up a snap. Another nice feature compared to my old tent is the large area of mesh providing plenty of ventilation. Even in the hot weather we had I stayed cool and experienced no condensation even with a light evening shower.. The only complaint I had was that there were only internal gear pockets at the head end of the tent. I would have preferred sets at both ends because I sometimes like to put stinky socks or clothes away from my face but at the same time off the floor. If you are looking for a solid 2 person freestanding tent this could be the one for you.
Thermarest NeoAir mattress. Super warm. Super light.
One of the hottest items for this season is the new Thermarest NeoAir sleeping pad ($149.95 regular length). The sample I had was the regular size version but they also come in small (47in 9oz) med (66in 13oz) reg (72in 14oz) & large (77in 1lb 3oz). My normal pad is the Thermarest Trail Lite which I have found to be indispensable on any outing, especially with the camp-chair option. The new NeoAir is not self inflating but took little time to blow up and was ready in a minute. My understanding is that they also have a anti-bacterial inner material for repeated inflation / deflation which came in handy seeing as how I borrowed this from the rep and have no idea where it had been previously. At first I found it to be tippy at full inflation. I sleep on my side and had to let some air out before I felt stable. I woke up after sleeping soundly and would absolutely recommend this to anyone needing to lighten their load without compromising sleeping comfort.
Now for the best piece of gear, the Princeton Tec Apex Pro headlamp ($94.99) I’m a big user of headlamps year round, own about 5 different ones, and this is the mack daddy for sure. Sure it’s pricey but if you need the brightest headlamp known to man I recommend it. I bought one right after this test. Princeton Tec has solved the overheating of big wattage LED bulbs by venting the backside of the housing so they are able to use a 3 watt bulb continuously. The others I have with a brighter bulb can only be lit by holding down the button, a way to not overheat the housing, but this limits you time wise and to one-hand only use. With this 3 watt monster I could see way off into the distance and could blind my fishing partners easily into submission. It also has stepdown and blink modes along with 4 LED flood bulbs. Definitely the most fun you can have with a headlamp. Get one before your friend does.
Bill for the Mountain Shop
