Steripen UltraLight Water Purifier – Overview , Operation, Myths & Tips

A look at the American Red Cross Steripen UltraLight UV Water Purifier for Backpacking, Camping & Survival. 

The Steripen UltraLight is a compact, lightweight alternative to more traditional camping & backpacking water filters.  Instead of using a filter, the Steripen uses ultraviolet light to kill any bacteria, cysts and other harmful microorganisms.  Unlike most backpacking & survival water filters, Steripen also eliminates viruses.

In this video, we’ll go over the pros and cons of the Steripen UltraLight, versus traditional filter based water purification systems.  I’ll also demonstrate how to use a Steripen, frequently asked questions, water bottle options, common myths and concerns, and what the various indicator lights mean.

Specs and Features, as per the Manufacturer

  • SteriPEN ultra-violet lamp destroys over 99.9% of bacteria, viruses and protozoa
  • American red cross ultralight UV purifier quickly purifies 1.0L of water in only 90 seconds.
  • Easy to use, one-button operation provides 8,000 treatments producing up to 8,000 liters of purified water
  • Compact, lightweight at only 2.6 oz
  • American red cross ultralight UV purifier can be recharged using its USB port

Other Gear Seen

SinChats – Thoughts on Hiking Poles?

A discussion on hiking poles / trekking poles for backpacking.

Hiking poles seen in the video:

  1. Black Diamond Ultra Mountain FL hiking poles ( 3 piece, folding, z-pole style)
  2. Swiss Gear Adjustable Hiking Poles

My New Hammock Gear Zero Quilt Set – Titanium Wide Burrow 0° w/ snaps (gasp!) and Green Incubator 0°

HG Zero Set Laid Out
I was super excited to get my hands on my new deep winter quilt set today – Green HG Incubator 0° (26.5 oz w/ stuff sack) and a wide Titanium HG Burrow 0° (25.75 oz w/ stuff sack). I couldn’t resist running contrary to general consensus, so yes, I went with snaps instead of a sewn foot box on my wide Burrow. I’ve grown to really love the snaps on my Burrow 40° and also anticipate using my Zero in situations that it may be overkill – since my other bag is a 40, waaay at the other end of the spectrum.

Fully aware that my 40° Burrow had a bit of a gap in the foot box area when cinched, I took a bit of a gamble and expected that the Burrow 0° would have an even smaller gap, due to the increased volume of down. If I was wrong, I could simply plug it up with my stuff sack on colder nights, but as you can see in the side-by-side picture below, there’s virtually no gap present on the Burrow 0°. Nice.

Just to continue the theme of keeping things interesting, I also plan to test the Hammock Gear Burrow 0° on the ground with a sleeping pad, during an upcoming snowshoeing trip in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Hopefully, we’ll get some brutal temps up there, so I can share the results in my next video. I can’t wait!

I plan to use the weight savings to bring along my wife’s gi-normous Big Agnes Q-Core SL wide sleeping pad to test it with. Paired up with the wide Burrow, I’m hoping to be sleeping about as classy as one can on the ground. Heck, even if I brought an additional fleece throw as a top sheet, the total weight for all three would still be a couple ounces less that my previous bag alone (Kelty Cosmic Zero, 4lbs!).

Of course, after ground testing, I’ll be have to take it out for a solo trip somewhere frosty to run the whole rig on my hammock, it’s true home.

Fully opened. You can see that the wide Burrow makes for a nice amount of coverage. You could probably ground sleep 2 people under this thing in more modest weather. Assuming your camping partner is down for some light spooning, that is.

HG Burrow 0° wide in closed configuration.

HG Burrow 0° wide in closed configuration.

Close-up view of the Burrow 0°'s cinched end in all it's lofted glory.

Close-up view of the Burrow 0°’s cinched end in all it’s lofted glory.

Side side view of HG Burrow 0° and HG Burrow 40° for loft comparison.

Side side view of HG Burrow 0° and HG Burrow 40° for loft comparison.

Side by side comparison of foot box area cinch on the HR Burrow 40 and HG Burrow 0. Notice that the 0 model has a much smaller gap – a very good thing for those frigid nights!

For more detailed info and a look at other models and options, check out http://www.hammockgear.com/  A quality cottage vendor based right here in the USA.

Fenix LD12 G2 Flashlight Review

My review of the Fenix LD12 G2 Flashlight for backpacking, camping, hunting and EDC (every day carry).

Manufacturer’s Specs:

Cree XP-G2 (R5) LED (max 125 lumens using singe AA battery)
Six outputs: Turbo-125 lumen (2hr 20min)
High-65 lumen (4hr 45min)
Medium-30 lumen (10hr 15min)
Low 3 lumen (100hr)
Strobe (125 lumen)
SOS (60 lumen)
Tail cap with momentary capability and side switch mode operation.
Anti-slip body with body clip.
IPX-8 Waterproof, 2 meters for 30 minutes
Limited lifetime guarantee from Fenix Lighting, US

DIY Ultralight Titanium Cook Pot Alternative

A low cost, ultralight Titanium cook pot alternative for backpacking that you can make yourself?  In this video, we’ll take a look at a lightweight, inexpensive (okay, pretty much free, if you like coffee) backpacking cook pot that you can make from a Chock full’o Nuts Coffee can.