February 18, 2024 • View in Browser

together with our Trail Days Online 2024 sponsors:

Garage Grown Gear • Zenbivy • Arms of Andes • Brynje USA • Durston Gear • Gossamer Gear • Suluk46 • Tarptent.

Backpacking Light Trail Days Online! is a live, online user conference featuring backcountry experts and enthusiasts presenting on the topics of outdoor gear materials, design, and engineering; backcountry skills trends and experiments; make your own gear techniques and projects; backcountry routes, trips, and trails; outdoor industry trends related to hiking, backpacking, and other backcountry activities; and more.

Thank you to all of the Trail Days Online 2024 Sponsors, whose generous support allows us to waive ticket fees for everyone this year: Garage Grown Gear, Zenbivy, Arms of Andes, Brynje USA, Durston Gear, Gossamer Gear, Suluk46, and Tarptent.

📅 More Upcoming Events

February 19 • Basecamp LIVE Session 4
Feburary 22-24 • Trail Days Online 2024!
February 28 • Basecamp LIVE Session 5
March 6 • Basecamp LIVE Session 6

EXPEDITIONS & TRIP REPORTS

Peak Bagging in the High Sierra

Isaac Simons writes about the experiences, struggles, and transcendence of peak bagging in the Sierra Nevada.

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS

• Boot Heels: Do they prevent slips?
• Breathable, Waterproof Material for Quilt Foot End?

• Durston Gear X-Mid Pro 1p
• Thermarest Xlite mens pad
• Nemo Tensor Insulated Reg / Wide as new

• Manistee River Loop Trail (Includes NCT)
• Superstition Southwest Winter Jan 4-5

FOUNDER'S LETTER: TECHNOLOGY & GEAR

The Nose of a Bear?

This is a slide from my Trail Days Online 2024 presentation The Nose of the Bear that I'll be giving on Thursday. A lot of bear attacks involve food, and often, human food. But there's a difference between attacks that are food-motivated vs. those that are by food-conditioned bears.

A food-motivated bear attack is one where the bear wants food and is willing to attack to get it.

A bear attack by a food-conditioned bear means that the attack was made by a bear that had already been implicated in successfully getting human food in the past.

In my talk, we're going to unpack this idea in detail, exploring what impact that food-motivation and food-conditioning actually have for backpackers who need to store their food properly in the backcountry.

We'll also take a close look at food packaging technologies - which ones work, which ones don't - and most important - to what extent they actually do (or don't) work. We'll use math, olfactory physiology, and odor dispersion physics to help us!

So join us at Trail Days Online this week and learn how to properly secure your food in your bear bag, food sack, or bear canister, so you can minimize the probability that the bear will find it. Because containing the odors will be one of your best lines of defense!
 

- Ryan Jordan, owner/founder

FEATURED GEAR

An all-titanium sintered-ceramic EDC knife.

Titanium blades in knives?

Sounds cool, but in practice, that's a really hard technology to execute properly.

The problem with titanium blades is that they don't hold an edge well. That means they don't stay sharp during use, and require a lot of sharpening. In addition, titanium is hard to sharpen well.

That's where ceramic comes in. When a titanium edge is sintered with ceramic at the microscopic level, it creates a very durable blade. In addition, knife-makers call the edge finish "toothy", referring to the micro-serrations of the edge that give the blade both cutting power and durability.

It's a different feel than what you're used to, but one that offers utility for the backpacker. We like this knife - the Vargo Sobata 398 - for cutting cordage, preparing fire tinder, cleaning trout, slicing salami and cheese, and handing down as an heirloom to the next generation.