(gun shots echoing)
(hip hop music)
(snow crunching)
- [Voiceover] Hello there.
Just a quick video to share with you
some of the new equipment and gear ideas
that we've come up with in 2016.
Firstly, wanted to start off with
the cook set improvements ideas that we've come up with.
This here is a set of baking trays
that we picked up at thrift stores.
So if you do shop around enough
at second hand thrift stores and op shops,
it's quite easy to put together ultra light cook sets.
As you can see the three baking trays
all stack inside themselves.
This is my old campfire grill, DIY.
It's warped,
it's just had it so.
Recently I upgraded to the Streamside Travelers Grill
which you may have seen in our recent cooking video.
So slightly lighter, more professionally made,
and comes with this handy little bag.
Streamside Travelers Grill by Purcell Trench in America.
Another quick simple cook set idea,
these are our fork and spoon so there's nothing new there.
But one idea we came up with is
just a little vegetable peeler
and it even fits onto the carabiner with the cutlery set.
Many uses for a vegetable peeler.
The obvious use of course is peeling vegetables
but if the wood around your campfire is soft enough,
you could even use the veggie peeler to make feather sticks
and tinder for your fire.
So as for our food ideas for 2016,
we're now carrying these small chicken curry flavor packs.
So you mix that in with pasta
just to make a big stew type meal.
Previously we were using a two-in-one system with pasta
and flavor in the pack.
But this way we get to use whichever pasta we wish.
And another great idea for ultra light backpacking
is just to carry these small portions of UHT milk.
Each package contains 200 mil
and that's enough milk to cook
one of these chicken curry packs.
As you can see they come in stacks of six.
Another great trail food are these nutty biscuits.
So there's many ingredients in there,
it's really packed with sugar and carbohydrates and fat.
Great trail food, nutty biscuits
available at many different outlets.
And in a recent video we also had these giant marshmallows.
Great for little campfire trips,
camping in the car, camping in the tents.
So giant marshmallows from the United States.
So that just about covers
our cook set and food idea improvements.
Let's just step down here to gear repair kits.
So these three packs are
for repairing holes in waterproof jackets.
So the one brand that I always trust
most of all is Gore-Tex,
so they're Gore-Tex repair patches.
And you only get two in the packet mind you,
so they cost about $15 U.S. dollars here in Australia.
Quite expensive but extremely reliable
and they last forever.
So you iron that on to your waterproof jackets
for a permanent repair to small holes in your equipment.
Now a budget alternative to the Gore-Tex patches
is this brand name Tenacious Tape.
Let's just hold the camera in there close so you can read.
Now originally when I bought this Tenacious Tape,
I was pretty optimistic that it was going to be
just as reliable as Gore-Tex.
Just swing over here.
This is a pair of waterproof trousers
and I've used some of the Tenacious Tape
to fix some wear and tear on the inside of the garment.
And already only after one or two hikes,
there's already a tiny split in the Tenacious Tape.
So my conclusion is that Tenacious Tape
may be good for emergency in-field repairs
but as for long term fix it jobs,
I would only trust these Gore-Tex patches
'cause I know they work.
I know that they really are a permanent solution.
So another product also by Tenacious Tape
are these tattoo peel and stick fabric patches.
As you can see they're all different shapes and sizes
for decorating equipment that has holes in it.
There's a yeti in the middle.
So just little patches for fixing
the outside of garments, for sleeping bags, down jackets.
But again I haven't had the chance to test this yet
and based on the failed repair job on the Gore-Tex pants
I am slightly skeptical as to this brand name.
Moving on to emergency beacons.
So recently I've improved our
emergency distress beacon system.
So previously we were using a satellite phone
but this is a new device by the company DeLorme,
the InReach Explorer.
So it's lighter, has better battery power,
it's more waterproof than a satellite phone.
Here's my old satellite phone over here
along with the massive, chunky, charge cable
that you would never take ultralight backpacking.
Another advantage with these new InReach Explorer devices
is you can charge them in the field with a power bank,
and there's the micro USB cable
that you use to charge the InReach Explorer.
And to go with the InReach Explorer,
I also just picked up a new waterproof pouch.
So much more user friendly than a satellite phone.
Regarding ultralight charge cables,
which obviously you need a power bank to charge devices,
another option we came up with is
these four-pronged charge system cables.
So that whole kit there only weighs about 25 grams
but has four separate charges on there,
the iPhone5, iphone4, micro USB,
and that cable there will charge the GoPro.
But that said the only thing I worry about
with these multi-charge cable systems
is that if it does fail
you're obviously not going to be able
to charge any of your devices.
So the option that we actually use is these mini cables
which you may have seen in our last video from 2015.
Just miniature little cables,
obviously the more reliable system
because if one fails
at least the other three will still be working.
And more on the subject of electrical device improvements,
this is the new torch I've started using, the P3.
Last year and the year before I was using
the larger Led Lenser with AA batteries.
I just find this to be more reliable
and you can't get really much lighter than that.
The whole torch only weighs 35 grams
with the AAA battery inside.
And just as a DIY idea I made a helmet strap,
or a headlamp strap.
That's just a piece of elastic material
with a little belt buckle clip on there.
This is the lanyard for the Led Lenser.
So I actually got this idea from my friend,
Patrick's Bushcraft.
He's another YouTuber,
you can check out his channel if you wish.
He does a lot of DIY projects.
So just on how to turn your aluminum torch
into a headlamp system
and there's the AAA batteries that we're using now.
We only use lithium batteries now.
We find them to perform much better in extreme cold.
Back onto the subject of emergency beacons,
this is the waterproof jacket
that my hiking partner, Christina, uses.
And quite often when we're on our hikes,
I will be carrying the backpack
and Christina, because she's not wearing a backpack,
she doesn't have a whistle,
because most backpacks have a whistle on the sternum strap.
So what I've done is attach this regular referee's whistle
to the zipper there's the zipper of the jacket.
That is permanently attached
so the only way to remove it would be to cut the rope,
small piece of three millimeter rope with a knot tied.
This way if she needs to she can call out to me
from a distance.
Of course the emergency satellite beacon systems
like EPIRBs are a much more effective option than a whistle,
cause obviously the whistle is only useful
if your rescue team is within earshot.
We also picked up this blue waterproof dry sack.
One of our sleeping bags are inside there.
The problem is when you buy a sleeping bag
or a down jacket or other items,
they provide you with a stuff sack,
but the stuff sack's seem to never be properly waterproof.
So from now we always carry our sleeping bags in particular
inside a dry sack.
It's by the brand name Exped,
same brand as that waterproof pouch
you saw for the InReach Explorer.
And also on the subject of sleeping improvements,
this is my old Therm-A-Rest,
so that's my sleeping mat.
It's a men's Trail Pro Therm-A-Rest
and we recently decided that we'd have to upgrade
my hiking partner Christina's sleep system.
This is the Trail Pro for women,
so it is possible to get the same Therm-A-Rest mattress
but especially made for women.
It's slightly thicker and also shorter for better comfort.
And just like last year,
something I really like to encourage and that is
getting second hand gear if you can.
These found items these are the merino wool jumpers
that I've picked up this year in thrift stores.
You really can't beat wool as a garment in the snow.
A lot of people complain that it's too heavy
but the unbeatable advantage with wool
is that it doesn't breed bacteria
the way synthetic clothes do.
So you can wear wool three or four days in a row
without worrying so much about the problems you get
with fabrics like polyester or polypropylene
which breed bacteria in a completely different way
to animal skins.
And possibly the most amazing item I've
ever picked up in a thrift store
is this jacket.
It's 100% woolen ski jacket
and hopefully the GoPro's picking that up.
If you can read that label there,
Salt Lake City Winter Olympics 2002.
This is a 100% woolen ski jacket worn
by the Australian Olympic team in 2002.
Picked it up for only $17 in a thrift store.
And again on the subject of woolen jumpers,
just a quick alteration I did
which I'd like to share with you.
This is again a woolen jumper
which I picked up in a thrift store
that I often wear while I'm hiking.
And what I've done is I've got an alterations expert
to just add this extra piece of wool at the bottom
'cause I found that,
because that wool jumper is a medium size,
my midsection was exposed to the elements
'cause the jumper wasn't long enough.
So just a quick alteration to make that jumper
long enough so I can easily tuck it into
the woolen trousers that I'm wearing.
And finally, we put together this telescopic selfie pole
by attaching a GoPro mount onto an old trekking pole.
(hip hop music)
(snow crunching)