Since my last BWCA trip of 2016 in September, I have discovered BWCA.com and am coming to grips with being a bit of a gear junkie. Like Trapper7, who, in a separate thread, lists all of his new stuff, this is what is new to me since last September. And, since many of you influenced these new purchases, I've added some personal impressions from a trip I just returned from yesterday.

CCS 10'x12' silnylon tarp. Two thumbs way up. Easy to set up, lightweight, and great shelter during the rain. My daughter thought this to be the single best addition to the set of gear we had for our recent trip.

CCS hybrid pack, pioneer. One thumb up. Construction seems to be first-rate, waist belt is helpful. Like the flap pocket. Not radically different than the Granite Gear pack I have been using, but I like supporting the local company.

Platypus, gravity works water filtration system. Two thumbs up. Much easier than my old katydyn hand pump filtration system. Liked being able to fill it, leave it, and come back in 10 minutes to 3 litres of filtered water. The only negative is that I'm not sure how to dry out the 'clean' water bag for storage.

Helinox sunset chair. Meh. Previously I have had the REI flex lite. In contrast, I find this chair to be comfortable, stable and I like the head support, but I'm not sure it was worth it. It just seems a little large. Perhaps I'll take it on a basecamping trip, but I doubt I'd use if I'm moving every day.

MSR dragonfly stove. One thumb up. I think I'll keep using it rather than my old Svea 123, but I wasn't won over immediately. As the week wore on I got better at it using it efficiently, and it has some definite advantages over the old Svea, like adjustability, fuel capacity, and ease of lighting.

Monocular, 8 x 25. Two thumbs up. I was always reaching for this. I really liked scouting for camp sites, spying on fellow canoeists, and viewing wildlife.

Anyway, it was a good week. I have another trip planned in August. I wonder what new stuff I'll have for that trip...

Thanks for the reviews. It does take a while for the water filtration to dry out - sometimes several days. You should flush the filter and the bags, tubes, etc. with a bleach solution after use before storing. I like to do it again after storage before I go on a trip.

To dry out the water bag bend a metal coat hanger in half and use it to keep the bag open. Also I use an old aquarium air pump and insert the tubing down in the bag which allows for air movement to dry the bag out.

Which monocular are you using? Been looking for one myself...

Amazon has a Polaris Optics 12x50 monocular with tripod and cast for $66.98 on sale. 1588 reviews and rated 4.5 stars. Anyone have experience with these?

I got the Vortex Solo 8x25. Enough eye relief that I could use it with glasses and the optics seemed good. For me it seemed the right balance between weight and performance. They also make it with larger objective lenses and higher magnification if your needs are different.It was about $50.

Not surprised you liked the Platypus gravity filter over pumping. I think that's probably my favorite piece of gear now. Thanks for the reviews!

Not surprised you liked the Platypus gravity filter over pumping. I think that's probably my favorite piece of gear now. Thanks for the reviews!

After doing the rinsing & back flushing, then running bleach back & forth thru my Platypus, I will often "inflate" the clean bag and then gently prop it on top of a floor vent. A day or so of getting dry air conditioning is all it takes to get rid of the moisture inside.

Thanks for the reviews/feedback on gear.

butthead

PS: I originally misread the OP, removed my remarks concerning the Dragonfly/123. bh