Recently returned from a 6 night trip to Iron Lake. Year 29 was a challenging trip with weather and bugs, and a somber tone being around the final days of the recovery effort for the 2 missing canoeists. This may be the last year as a bed, ice, and my boat are a strong pull for time in the future. We'll see.
Gear review from some of the things I used and wanted to share my opinion/experience with as I often ask for thoughts on gear from many on this sight. As always, I'm not affiliated nor benefit nor trying to sell anyone anything, just sharing my opinion/experiences.
Simms Challenger rain coat:
Simms raincoat ***Asked for recommendations on this sight and got many, this being one of them. Worked very well in a windy-rainy and sometimes cold week of the BWCA. Roomy, allowed air flow. So far so good, nice coat. I would purchase again for the 50% off price with no hesitation. I liked this coat more than my previous $300 Under armor cold gear rain coat.
Duluth Trading post Rain Pants:
DTP rain pants ***Decent pants overal at the sale price. Would like a few more pockets, but fit over other pants and kept me warm/dry. Not the best I've had but not the worst.
Suffix 832 yellow vs fireline green: I run braid to a swivel to a flouro leader on almost all of my rod and reel combos. I had fireline neon on a jiggin rod and hi-vis yellow stren 832 on another. The fireline coils and made dropping the jig and reading the line harder. I already stripped it off and put on the yellow hi-vis suffix 832 on everything. Casts well, doesn't coil, strong, old eyes can see it...the stuff for me.
Onetigris Chairs:
onetigris ***I bought 2 of these on a lead from a post on this site. Held up great for big (300lbs) guys and were comfortable. Higher back then pictures show, which was good.
Gerber AO knife:
Gerber Grylls AO ***Good general knife. I sharpened it before leaving, held reasonably well for an edge. Serrated, straight, strong assist opening, lock, one hand close, inexpensive. I'm kind of a knife person and have many, used to carry a 7 inch fixed blade Buck until I decided I wasn't John Jay Rambo and looked for something more reasonable and efficient. Not the best quality out there, I am putting blue locktite on the small screws around the top of the blade area now that I'm home, but did everything I needed for the week and I didn't worry much if it broke or got lost.
Garmin Striker 4:
Garmin Striker 4 ***Good base unit for depth, some sonar, some mapping (waypoints only with the base model). I used my 15 AH Amp lithium battery and it was more than enough for 6 days of use for about 4-6 hrs per day. Not overly impressed with the "vexilar" function but we were current fishing so it was tough to stay in the cone.
Scheels Zippoff pants:
Scheels pants ***Our group "lived" in these for the week. We all have a few pair and they continue to be a great piece of gear. They last, are comfortable, and do what they're supposed to in all areas.
GG#4 pack:
Granite Gear 4 ***I asked about this pack in and there is conversation in a different string on this site. For the $132 I have in it this pack it is great. I obviously can't speak to longevity, yet, but in year 1 I am very happy with my purchase. Held a ton of gear and carried well.
Bball net anchor: Kind of self explanatory but this small change was a positive one for me. For years I had used a mesh bag but had to duct tape it as the rock in the bag would grind on bottom lake rocks and cut holes. Great upgrade.
Weather Radio DT Sangean 400W:
Sangean ***After about 10 years this radio crashed. Had some battery leakage inside and done dancing. Decent radio, not real strong on reception IMO, will look for something as compact but better in reception.
Shady Rays:
Shady Rays(Impression%20Share)&utm_content=shady%20rays%20-%20exact&utm_term=shady%20rays&tw_source=google&tw_adid=597854809678&tw_campaign=14474447423&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwjqWzBhAqEiwAQmtgT7VCBnArpeh47kNAH_sXbJmEtKV9QGyjjXBZP50h646nf-oIixhLzhoCnMIQAvD_BwE
***I have Oakleys and Costas for wearing around and driving, but Shady Rays for fishing and boating for my whole family. The warranty is worth it alone for a BWCA trip. For a good lense that is polarized and works, without having to worry about losing or damaging a pair 0f $300 glasses, these work great for the BWCA.
Tables: We tried two table this year with varying results.
Costco Table ;
***The Costco table was big, held up well, and stable. Only bad part is that it's cloth so no hot items. The Trekology (we had a large) table didn't stay together and was flimsy, not impressed.
Trekology Table Jet Boil:
Jet Boil Flash ***Continues to be an invaluable piece of gear. Hot water for coffee and oatmeal in the AM in 3 minutes, used for ramen noodles and broth to warm us up and hydrate on cold days, packs up small/light. If you don't have one and are considering I can't recommend enough.
Those were the highlights that come to mind. I'll post follow ups as my unpacking continues and more things come to mind.
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