Author: DaveC
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Buck PakLite sheath mod, and Megalight update
The Buck PakLite series are good knives at a great price. I bought my regular sized Skinner for 19 dollars, and it holds a pretty good edge for a pretty long time. It’s thick enough (4mm) that you can beat on it while splitting wood with no regrets, but still filets a fish or guts…
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The season of inverted water bottles
When it’s consistently below 25 F, hang your exterior water bottle (the one not wrapped in insulation in your pack) upside down; be it in a belt holster, your side pocket, or on a shoulder strap. This keeps the thermal mass down on the threads and helps them not freeze up. Even with this technique,…
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Cold December Lakes
McDonald, Tuesday. Bowman, Friday. Upper Quartz, Friday. Upper Quartz, this morning. Lower Quartz, this morning. Bowman, noon today.
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The ghost squirrels of Montana
I went squirrel hunting today, for the first time in many years. I did this for two reasons. First, I’m starting to get a bit bored with backpacking and the paradigm of knowledge associated with it. This is predictable. With most things in my life I either get interested/obsessed immediately or not, follow the learning…
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2012 Outdoor State of the Industry report and Holiday Gift Guide
Yesterday I discussed how 2012 has, in the cycling world, been the year of the fat bike. Below I’ll examine various other categories, in a non-definitive fashion, to highlight similarly industry-shifting developments. These are products which speak of a significant and promising trend, and which I know from personal experience or reliable reports to be…
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International Fatbike Day (and 2012 Holiday Gift guide/SOTI part one)
It’s designation was no more than a matter of chat-room consensus, but today is the first annual (?) International Fatbike Day. Let us celebrate. Yes, the appropriate word is fatbike, not fat bike (just like packraft). The scheduling is appropriate, considering that fatter-tired bikes are perhaps the most exciting innovation which happened in outdoor gear…
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All the hats again
It is that time again, when clothing choices are not mere subjects of fancy and fashion but tangible margins of safety. While the exact percentage is up for debate, thermoregulation on and of the head remains the easiest way to get a leg up here. Last winter I wrote about hats, and this summer wrote…
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Gratitude is no accident
Last week, going through the drive-through of my usual coffee shop, I noticed that they were opening at midnight for black Friday. I was dismayed. Thanksgiving might be the best American holiday on a conceptual basis, but in execution it is riven through with that which makes our culture sick. Commercialism, meat-head athletics, and hurry:…
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Fat bike summit
The 2nd (1st open to the public) Fat Bike Summit is happening this coming January down near Yellowstone. You can look at the schedule, and all the other beta, here. I’m on the fence about attending, mainly because I have mixed feelings about riding on snowmachine trails around here. Without fail the sled guys were…
Bedrock & Paradox 
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