[pct-l] sun shade ideas, please

[jerrygoller@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (Jerry Goller)]

You might want to look at the Birdiepal. You can read reviews of them at
http://www.backpackgeartest.org/reviews/Rain%20Gear/Umbrellas
Jerry

http://www.BackpackGearTest.org : the most comprehensive interactive gear
reviews and tests on the planet.



-----Original Message-----
From: pct-l-admin@mailman.backcountry.net
[mailto:pct-l-admin@mailman.backcountry.net] On Behalf Of
wandering_bob@msn.com
Sent: Tuesday, January 07, 2003 4:50 PM
To: Robert Ellinwood; PCT List Forum
Subject: Re: [pct-l] sun shade ideas, please


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[ Picked text/plain from multipart/alternative ]
My umbrella attaches directly to my Mountainsmith Auspex pack, just behind
my spine and allows free-hand walking. My marvelous wife designed the
mounting. We've gone through a few iterations as I moved from one pack to
another. Tried mounting to a shoulder strap but never could make it stable
enough. I also tried the GoLite umbrella this summer in the desert section F
of the PCT (Mojave to Walker Pass). The wind gusts peeled the fabric - which
is wisely designed to be removed and replaced - like a grape, breaking three
of the ridiculously unsound nylon support arms in the process. Since they
sit in nylon or plastic mounts, once broken they can't be fixed. I went back
to my home-modified umbrella with the steel frame (13 oz vs 9 oz GoLite) and
had no further problems.

A couple of suggestions. (1) Look closely at the "wind-proof" umbrellas.
They have a large hole in the top of the umbrella that is itself covered by
another piece of fabric larger than the hole and anchored to the fabric of
the umbrella in several places. This allows wind gusting into the umbrella
canopy to flow through while keeping all but the worst wind-blown rain out.
(2) try using material from one of those larger two-sided space blankets to
go from your pack over your head. They are mylar on one side and a bright
blue or orange layer on the other. They're heavy - 12 oz - and not really
large enough to use as a tarp in bad conditions, but they make great ground
cloths and solar shields in the desert sections. Again this summer, we spent
many long hot daylight hours under one of those suspended from a convenient
Joshua tree and our trekking poles. Better yet, use #2 and incorporate the
wind-proofing idea in #1.

It does get hot out there in the sand, even WITH a solar shield. Next stop,
mylar boot soles? Air conditioned boots? (don't laugh; heated socks already
exist).

Wandering Bob

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