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Post by ecocentric on Feb 4, 2023 8:06:08 GMT -8
I'm thinking of adding a pack llama to carry my gear.
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ErnieW
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Post by ErnieW on Feb 4, 2023 8:32:16 GMT -8
Altimeter watch. It's the luxury that becomes a necessity once you've had one. And no, a GPS is not the same. The barometer gives you overnight clues about weather happenings that you don't get from your GPS, and its battery life is measured in months or years, not hours. Knowing how long to the top is critical planning info. Mine (Suunto Core) has a storm alert for use in camp. If the barometer drops strongly a little alarm goes off. It can give me 10 to 15 minutes warning of rain coming to make sure I am ready. One fringe item it does for me is a countdown timer on the watch. Tells me when my FD dinner is ready to eat (12 minutes).
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BigLoad
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Pancakes!
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Post by BigLoad on Feb 4, 2023 9:33:27 GMT -8
My ancient Suunto E203 handheld digital altimeter is getting unreliable. A few years ago I got a Sun Company analog altimeter/barometer, which so far hasn't gone on a trip. I peek at the barometer every day at home, though. I mostly use the altimeter on my now-antiquated GPS. (Garmin 60 csx, with barometric sensor).
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ErnieW
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Post by ErnieW on Feb 4, 2023 11:03:24 GMT -8
As we talk about it I feel a tough weatherproof wrist altimeter is essential equipment for me. Another fringe item might be a radio. I am a ham geek so I many times carry my 2m meter handheld radio. That's not for most but it does tune AM, FM, SW and most importantly NOAA weather radio. I can get weather on my InReach but the NOAA gives a better picture of the area weather. I also grew up on boats back in the day and NOAA's droning forecast was comforting to me. Knowing nice weather was coming was good. Knowing a hurricane might be coming your way could be life saving.
I guess this supposes hiking where there is no cell coverage.
So fringe item: AM / FM / NOAA radio
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Post by swmtnbackpacker on Feb 17, 2023 13:23:21 GMT -8
Fringe? Probably my Deluxe ..Ultralight pillow.
Then again I saw a gear list at 3.99 lbs from someone wanting to hike the whole PCT (probably before the Dec/Jan snow dump occurred). DCF-like flat tarp no bug net (5 oz), 1/8” “thick” thinlight pad from Gossamer Gear (and knowledge where to find leaves on trail), 1.8 oz gelato jar for dry soaking, etc..
There’s fringe and then there’s fringe.
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gabby
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Post by gabby on Feb 18, 2023 11:19:54 GMT -8
I read the thread title as "(The) Fringe Must Have Items", meaning there's a whacko group of bpers somewhere who pack different. You know, carry packs of Jell-O and wear wide-brim foil hats and umbrellas to match. Maybe sleep in trees - or in water wings on bushes. Note: "Must Have" is different than "must-have". The first is a verb phrase, the second is an adjective.
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rebeccad
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Post by rebeccad on Feb 18, 2023 12:27:58 GMT -8
That’s okay, gabby. I keep reading it as “Fridge must-have items”
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driftwoody
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Take the path closer to the edge, especially if less traveled
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Post by driftwoody on Feb 18, 2023 12:50:20 GMT -8
gabby , if I understand you correctly the absence of a hyphen between "must" and "have" applies the adjective "fringe" to the person who MUST have the items rather than to the items. While I'm fairly certain the OP intended "fringe" to describe the items, it seems to me a fringe item is by definition not must-have. Therefore, perhaps the adjective applies to a person who must have such an item even when the phrase includes a hyphen. On the other hand, if a majority of backpackers feel they must have fringe items, then they fall within the norm among their fellow backpackers. Other peculiarities outside the norm (such as wearing wide-brim foil hats) may render a person as "fringe" within that group. Backpackers in general may be a "fringe" subset among the entire population. A specific example might serve as a case in point. For some time now I have considered purchasing the ThermoWorks ThermoDrop. The review I linked to states You Need One, so maybe this product is a legitimate rather than fringe must-have. I found this item because I often wonder about the coldest overnight temp while asleep in my tent or hammock, which the ThermoDrop purports to record. I would categorize this as a nice-to-have item, as it may be useful in assessing the temperature rating of my sleep insulation.
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gabby
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Post by gabby on Feb 18, 2023 13:14:17 GMT -8
“Old grammar Nazis never die, they just become more fanatical & obscure.”
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reuben
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Gonna need more Camels at the next refugio...
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Post by reuben on Feb 18, 2023 14:50:40 GMT -8
And yet, they all fear the Ninja Librarian.
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Post by Sleeping Bag Man! on Feb 18, 2023 19:33:20 GMT -8
That’s okay, gabby. I keep reading it as “Fridge must-have items” Every time someone posts a link from AcmeMapper I see "AcneMapper" First I think "what does dermatology software have to do.......ohhhh....woops" Then I think "might be time for glasses, finally" Then I think "hey, that's a pretty good name for dermatology software...perhaps I should develop an app..."
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Post by Sleeping Bag Man! on Feb 18, 2023 20:05:52 GMT -8
OK..."fringe" items for me...
Along the same lines of those recommending the hiking guides...
On my big PCT trips, many moons ago, I took laminated botany guides (wildflowers especially) with me & a book about trees that focused on the species I'd most likely encounter.
Sorry I don't have links...I've moved 11 times since, and I'll be lucky if they're still buried in storage somewhere.
I am ceaselessly amazed at how Native Americans used trees. I look at a tree & see "firewood" or "potential chair"........they see like a hundred different uses per species......all that info carried around in their heads & passed down through the generations, without the "modern miracle" of writing, or (gasp!) the internet.
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rebeccad
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Post by rebeccad on Feb 19, 2023 16:03:46 GMT -8
driftwoody, I think I do need that thermometer. I hang a little analog thermometer from my pack to get some idea of temps, but it’s almost impossible to read. This looks like a serious improvement. I absorbed that need to know the highs and lows from my husband the meteorologist.
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Post by cweston on Feb 19, 2023 16:27:39 GMT -8
I hang a little analog thermometer from my pack to get some idea of temps, but it’s almost impossible to read. I think I have owned that exact same thermometer (REI brand?) since approximately the dawn of time. I laugh at myself sometimes for carrying around a thermometer that is almost impossible to read. But it's light!
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ErnieW
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Post by ErnieW on Feb 19, 2023 16:43:16 GMT -8
Working down to -13F is impressive for a digital thermometer.
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