thoughts.bjsintay.com

Olympus created one of the world’s lightest voice recorders in its line of WS-3xx devices.  I became interested in this model because of its size and weight.  The WS-310M packs in 512MB of memory for over 138 hours of voice recording (on low quality mode).  At less than 2 ounces including battery, this recorder has replaced pen and paper for recording my adventures out on the trail where lightweight is king.

I initially tested my device by recording about 40 tracks from old analog voice recorder tapes that I’ve made over the past 10 years.  The device is straightforward to use.  After recording, I snapped off the battery case and plugged the recorder directly into my USB port - no cables required.  Copying everything to my computer was easy, but here is where I found the first glitch.  The device had a few tracks that got “stuck”.  My computer reads the files as corrupt disabling me from moving them to my computer.  I unplugged the device and listened from the tiny on-board speaker… no problems on the playback end of things.  So that problem has me stumped.  I read that cutting power to the device while recording can cause problems, but I can assure you that I didn’t do this.  Since this one incident I started using another “folder” on the recorder (there are 5) and have had no problems so far.

I put the device back together after transferring the WMA files onto the computer.  Another glitch.  The device totally lost the time/date.  This is annoying because it tags your files with the time/date.  I would imagine that this could be fairly important for most people.  I have continually found that this device cannot hold the clock for a long period of time of after mucking with it at all in the USB port.  Basically, check your time/date every day that you use this device.  Maybe others don’t have this problem?

The device has mic holes in the front and back and on both sides (stereo).  I found this very frustrating because it is impossible to twist the device to avoid the wind noise when outside.  You have to use it in a windless environment or on a calm day.  Bad for outdoor use.

I am pleased with the device, however, I think mine may have a few annoying glitches (corrupt memory, time/date problem).  If these problems were fixed, I would give this device a 4 out of 5.  With these problems, it gets a 2 out of 5 for total unreliability.

Stuck out in the wilderness about to freeze to death?  Get some ice.

No, really.

Mythbusters ran an episode (#45) about using ice to make a fire.  The gist of the design is to shape extremely pure ice into a large lens a few inches thick and about the size of a small dinner plate.  The ice is then used to focus light from the sun to slowly create a fire.  You’ll need some extra dry tinder finely separated.  One guy on the net has laid out full instructions.

This is one of the more unique survival tips that I found interesting enough to write about.  If you try this out, let me know how it goes.

“I created a new soap opera tonight: ‘The Young and the Senseless.’ It is the daily saga of dashing young men and women who were sitting around in warm, clean, dry houses and eating good food, when they said, ‘Hey, wouldn’t it be fun to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail?’ Today’s episode features young, devilishly handsome George wringing muddy water from his socks in the hope that they will merely be damp when he wears them the following day. Tune in tomorrow for another episode of ‘The Young and the Senseless.’”

George Steffanos is a hero.  In 1983 he recorded one of the most colorful tales about hiking the Appalachian Trail I have ever read.  In his journal, Then the Hail Came, Steffanos describes his battle against all odds to not be a loser for once in his life.  His task?  To complete the AT as a thru-hiker.

I won’t spoil the plot of this book for you, but I recommend that everyone read this book if you are interested in the AT.  Steffanos has a psychotic wit about him that makes every turn interesting.  This book is available online at his website:

http://www.skwc.com/exile/Hail-nf.html

This past week I visited Pilot Mountain State Park in the hopes of making a longer, more secluded hike.  I decided to try out an improvised 4-trail loop at a distance of 7 miles or more.  I started at the visitor’s center near the entrance and headed off down the Grassy Ridge Trail (1.5 miles, moderate).  This trail was basically an SUV road and provided enough level ground and width for riding a horse.  I found this trail lazy and slow.  I then connected to the bottom side of the Mountain Trail (2.5 miles, strenuous) at the parking lot on S.R. 2061.  I would not call this trail strenuous, but it is a long walk on a much narrower trail.  This trail terminated at the Ledge Spring Trail (2.0 miles, strenuous).  About 1/10th of a mile down this trail the Grindstone Trail (2.0 miles, moderate) splits off toward the camping area.  I liked this trail once the gravel walkway ended.  It was an easy walk to the middle of the campgrounds.  From there I road-walked back to the visitors center (maybe a mile or less) on a mostly downhill grade.  The entire loop took just over 2 hours to complete at a moderate pace.  A storm had just soaked the forest on the previous day, so hiking up much of the trail felt like splashing up a stream.  There are few, if any, water runoff formations on the trail, so the water flows straight down 50% of the trail.  Consider that before you go after a rainstorm.  (I must be spoiled from the Appalachian Trail)  I am going to write the park and suggest that they make a small connector trail from the campground terminus of the Grindstone Trail to the visitor center.  I think a lot of people would use this trail in the same loop I made if they constructed it.  I am pleased that I now have a pleasant 7-mile loop so close to home.  I would recommend trying this hike out some time.

This past summer I started doing some serious backpacking along the Appalachian Trail and found myself in need of a solo tent.  I read various websites that outlined different styles of lightweight shelters including tarps, bivy sacks, hammocks, and our old friend - the tent.  After carefully considering all of my options, I chose the tent based on its ability to keep me and a lot of my stuff dry at the same time, ease in setup, cost efficiency, weight efficiency, and durability.  I was extremely selective on weight, which is why I ended up with the Eureka! Solitaire.  This tent weighs less than 3 pounds!  I’ve outlined the weight of this tent based on my own measurements at home on a good scale.

Weight breakdown:

• Tent Fabric - 958 grams (or 33.8 oz = 2.11 lbs)
• Fiberglass Poles - 226 grams (or 8 oz = 0.5 lbs)
• 8 (Aluminum) Stakes, Cords, etc. - 194 grams (or 6.8 oz = 0.43 lbs)

This tent is single-walled, meaning the “fly” (the fabric layer of protection from the elements including water) is the wall of the tent.  It has a screen which runs the length of the tent allowing you to open up the fly and have a screened-in tent area to escape the bugs.  That feature is nice, provided you have the time to sit around and do this.

I am 6′7″ so length is something that is very important to me.  I found this tent to be just barely long enough for me.  I never slept in it during a bad rainstorm, but I would guess if I had, my feet would have got wet from my sleeping bag touching the end of the tent (a problem with single-walled tents).  A simple fix is to put a trash bag over the end of the sleeping bag.

The floor of the tent is made of lightweight ripstop nylon, so I brought along a plastic tarp to place under the tent.  I know this is bad for weight, but I didn’t want to go poking a hole through my new tent.  I have not tried it without the tarp yet, but it should have similar results as other tents which use this type of fabric.  Many people opt for a ground cloth of some type.

The poles on this tent are awful.  They are made out of fiberglass, not aluminum, which actually makes them heavier by my calculations.  Most importantly, it makes them unreliable.  I used my poles to setup the tent maybe 15 times, then the smallest pole began to split.  I halfway expected it to happen, but it still makes me upset.  This could be fixed by replacing with all aluminum.  One problem you would have, however, is that the pole bends 180 degrees in about a 3 foot diameter.  You would have to shape the aluminum with a slight bend to get it to make that kind of turn.

Bent aluminum poles can be seen in Eureka!’s newest solo tent which is very similar to this tent.  The new design also has a plastic window in the head of the tent, which I do not prefer.  They’ve also made changes to the guyline configurations which are supposed to help condensation.  No word on that yet since I do not own one of these tents.

I really liked this tent when I used it.  The main drawbacks are the height (not enough to sit up in or even kneel in), condensation problems from poor ventilation, a bit of a clumsy setup, not free-standing, and the terrible poles.  To solve all of these problems I have since got the Eureka! Zeus 1LE which is free-standing, has aluminum poles, is tall enough to sit up in, has improved vents, and even includes really nice vestibule areas on both sides of the tent.  This tent is also much easier to get into.  I’ll include more info in another review once I get a chance to use it outdoors for awhile.

I give this tent 3 out of 5 stars for almost being something really good.  The weight and size are awesome, the poles were just a big screw-up.  They took the life of this tent LONG before it was time.  My Solitaire went from a tent that would carry me a few years to a tent that lasted a few weeks.  It’s a real shame that simple poles are the problem.