[pct-l] SLC Outdoor Retailer Show

["BeachBum" <transient@backpacker.com>]

Some gear I saw at the Outdoor Retailer Show in Salt Lake City this weekend: 
Hennessey Hammocks 1.2 pound Extreme Ultralite Racer Hammock and 1.5 pound Ultralite Racer Hammock. FANTASTIC! They are even more comfortable than the original. Tom is sending me an Extreme Ultralite for testing next month. There are only 2 in existence now and they both went with him to the Eco Challenge in Borneo. 
Seychelle Gravity Water Filter: 1 oz heavier than the SWA but almost twice the flow rate. The SWA filled a 2-liter Platy of mine in about 7 minutes, 2 seconds with no prefilter and a 44' head. The Seychelle did it in 4 minutes and 16 seconds. Seychelle apparently was the original OEM for SWA. Lots of impressive letters from military, health, and rescue organizations. 
SWA: They gave me one of the new HealthSheild filters. It appears to have the same good performance as the old one.
I showed both companies a water bag I made for gravity feed filters and they seemed to like it. I took a Coghlan Water Bag, weight a hair over 2 oz. and punched a hole 1 inch up the side of the bag. This created an area in the bottom of the bag for sediment settling. I then glued the elbow fitting from an old Sun Shower through the bag and attached a hose and drip filter. I came out of the filter into a Filter Link to my Platy. It is a completely closed system that is just strapped or tied to a tree and requires no attendance while it fills your bag to full. It also lies on flat ground to heat water as a solar shower.
Big Agnes: They make bags like the Rab Top Bag in both synthetic and goose down. They also make the self-inflating mats to go with them. They are sending me a 40 degree bag and mat to test. I think they are sending it tomorrow. 
Mountainsmith: They have a series of new lite weight packs coming out in January. The Ghost weighs in at 2 pounds, 6 oz. Think of it as a 3100 cu. in. book bag with great suspension and hip belt. The panel-loading zipper runs from 2/3 of the way up on the left side to 2/3 of the way down on the right. They are sending me a Dealers Work Book for next year’s packs and we are decussing a Ghost for testing.
Mystery Ranch: These are neat looking and feeling packs. The frame feels like a lumbar suspension in a sports car bucket seat. But they are a little heavy and expensive.
This is getting too long so I will post more later. 
These manufacturers seemed very interested in the idea of sending 5 or 10 samples of their products to people on these lists for testing and evaluation published on the list. I can create a list for gear testing results on e-group. What do you all think of the idea of getting a free piece of gear just for your comments online? I’m really interested in “normal” trail women testing the products made for women. My girlfriend is interested in packing and I want good info to give her. Let me know if you all want me to contact the manufacturers for samples. I think it would take up to a year to really get it rolling but by the show next year, we should have been able to show what we can do for or against the manufacturers that send us gear.
Jerry


_________________________________________________________________
Sign-UP for your FREE Backpacker Email at http://www.backpacker.com/email
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 
P.S. Click here to get a FREE trial issue of BACKPACKER:  http://www.backpacker.com/subs/home.rhtml/I9KF001
* From the PCT-L |  Need help? http://www.backcountry.net/faq.html  *

==============================================================================