Greg [00:00:12] You're listening to the Gear 30 podcast. A community, you could even call it a support group, for people addicted to outdoor adventuring and all the gear that goes with it. There is no shame here. In spite of what your spouse or partner may say, we believe it's OK to own 5 tents, 7 backpacks, and 18 jackets. Our slogan, inspired by the great Explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes is "there is no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate gear." So if you're an aspiring outdoor adventure, a mountain guide, or anyone in between, you're in the right place.
Bryden [00:01:12] Check, check, check, check, check, check, check, DJ Bryden Bowley. This is Gear 30. Gear:30 Radio, man. Wow!
Chase [00:01:31] Some people think he's a thru-hiker but he's actually a DJ.
Bryden [00:01:35] this is one o three point five Gear 30 radio Podcast broadcast.
Greg [00:01:40] He'll be here all day, ladies and gentlemen.
Bryden [00:01:48] Yeah.
Greg [00:01:50] All right. So with that introduction, welcome to the gear 30 podcast.
Bryden [00:01:56] I didn't know that was recorded.
Greg [00:01:58] No, That's going in there for sure.
Bryden [00:01:59] Okay.
Greg [00:02:01] So welcome to the gear 30 podcast. Today we're joined by Chase and Bryden Bowley. This is kind of part two of you were interviewed and interviewing. Brian Bryden did. He's one of our employees here at year 30. He did the Pacific Crest Trail two years ago. And this year he's doing this CDT. In fact, he takes off in just a few days.
Bryden [00:02:21] That's right.
Greg [00:02:22] So we talked a little bit on the last podcast about some of the gear that used for the CBT and some of the gear that you're planning to do to use for the PCT. But also some of the gear that you're Panetti's for the CDC. Right. But I'm curious, take us through for people that are interested in through hiking, I'm one of them, but I've never done it before or not. You know, I've done some through hikes that are 10 days or something like that. I've never done months on end. So take us through what preparation looks like for something like that.
Bryden [00:02:57] Okay. Yeah. So as far as a time span goes, if you're looking to do your first ever three hike, the first thing you're going to want to do is if you're at a point where you're interested in it, it's probably because you've heard about a specific trail. So if you are interested in something like the Pacific Crest Trail or the Continental Divide or the Appalachian or the John Muir or any of those like really popular trails in the United States. One thing to do I think would just be look on Google to see if there's some sort of a book on it.
Bryden [00:03:33] One of the things I did for my prep for the Pacific Crest Trail is there is a thru hiker. Her name's Yogi and she's super accomplished through hiker. She's got like maybe twenty thousand something miles hiked in her life. And she produces these books on just prepping to hike the PCT, the AT or CDT, whatever it may be. She makes these books and it just takes you through pretty much any question that you could possibly have about what the trail is going to be like. Even down to like setting up a camp at night. Mosquitoes. Food resupply. Bears. Bear cans. Yeah, so she I mean, she's done a really phenomenal job with that. And I used her book for the PCT and I've used her book for the CDT. So that's one thing that you could do is use a book. Another thing is there's a lot of great stuff on YouTube of other thru hikers who have made videos answering various questions. That's one thing to do.
Bryden [00:04:40] Yeah. I mean, books, YouTube, if you feel inclined to train for a long distance hike, you could obviously, like, start running. You get a pack and start walking every day or whenever you can. Eating healthier is one thing. Pretty much . . . It's very similar to prepping for, like, I don't know, a marathon or something like that. Anything that's gonna be strenuous physically, just training is definitely something that you could do. But yeah, that's kind of all that comes to mind right now. You think I'm missing anything? I don't know.
Chase [00:05:17] I've never done it.
Bryden [00:05:18] Yeah. Am I missing anything?
Chase [00:05:21] Sounds like doing research is pretty key. Just doing research on what you're getting yourself into.
Bryden [00:05:26] For sure. One thing that I kind of shot myself in the foot with on my PCT hike, though, was seeing how this was the PCT would have been or was my first ever backpacking trip. I definitely think I researched too much. So I had all these ideas of what it was going to be like and I was ready for those, ready for what I thought it would be like. All these assumptions were made right. So getting into those situations of what day to day would be like or what a town would be like or section would be like. I like had this idea and I'd be nervous about it or buying a certain piece of gear that I probably didn't really necessarily need or something like that. So I definitely researched too much. So if there was any recommendation, I could say or some advice was do your research and figure out the things you need to know but also having a little mystery is always really fun and going with the flow of what happens because when you research something that you've never done and then when you get out there, it's always pretty much different that what like what you find in your book or whatever you find online.
Greg [00:06:35] Right. So we needed the PCT. Did you exercise ahead of time and get yourself in shape or did you just go after it.
Bryden [00:06:45] A little bit. I got my pack all packed up and I walked down the Bonneville shoreline trail a couple times. Actually, one thing that I did that was really funny and Cody and Chase Birch and my friends make fun of me for to this day is I walked I got my pack all packed up, all my clothes on. I totally looked like a thru hiker while very novice through hiker. At this point and I walked from our house to Lucky Slice and got pizza. And then my friend drove me back home from the house. So there's this like a backpacker walk. It got twenty fifth street people are walking around. It's pretty fun.
Bryden [00:07:24] So as far as training goes. Honestly, not really.
Greg [00:07:29] And I mean, you were a pretty active person anyway. You and your buddies, you're out semi-pro snowboarders and snowboarding all the time. You're all active and right. But you just never really prepared for backpacking specifically.
Bryden [00:07:43] Right. Yeah, I didn't . . .
Greg [00:07:44] It's not like you were 300 pounds used to watch on TV on the couch.
Bryden [00:07:50] No. I Definitely. . . Yeah. I'm a very active person. I snowboard five, six days a week sometimes and I was doing a little bit of running at the time and trying to eat a little bit healthier than I normally do. But yeah, as far as training goes, I didn't really do too much. Yeah.
Greg [00:08:09] So what have you been doing to get ready for the CDT? Because the CDT is kind of a step up as far as difficulty, right?
Bryden [00:08:18] Yeah, very much so. Yeah. I everything I'm about to say, I do not recommend to other people.
Bryden [00:08:29] I've actually been doing a less physical preference for the CDC than I did for the PCT. And that isn't due to like laziness. It's actually because of my job. I've lately been juggling two different jobs and working on those on both those jobs full time. So I'm like pretty much all waking hours. I'm working on my computer and like, creating content for gear 30. And on top of that, juggling a snowboard project that I filmed all winter, so up until the past couple days, I've pretty much just been on my computer nonstop and trying to like sort through gear and getting my stuff together for the CDT. So it really sucks. But I have had almost no time to physically prep for the CDC. So I think that the first two weeks are really going to suck for me, but it's OK. I'm sure I'll get through it. Yeah.
Greg [00:09:19] So for the the average active person isn't training specifically for it, but they're semi active, can they just go and just start hiking the trail and the other first two weeks sucks but your body gets used to it pretty quickly or?
[00:09:35] That's a really good question. And I want to answer in a way where I'm not just encouraging, "oh just go do this" and then someone gets injured. I do think that some. . . I'm all for someone like jumping into something. But as far as like a long distance hike. . .
Greg [00:09:56] Maybe not the CDT?
Bryden [00:09:57] Maybe not the CDT. I don't know. That's a really tough thing to answer. I think that someone . . . if you feel like you're mentally capable of something, I'm all for someone like accomplishing whatever objective they have. If they're mentally prepared. But it is going to suck for sure. Your body is going to take a while to get in shape. Your feet are going to hurt. You're gonna be so hungry. You're going to lose a lot of weight really fast and your legs are gonna be like so tired.
[00:10:29] I actually have stretch marks on my legs to this day because my muscles grew so rapidly. I have stretch marks on my thighs from the PCT.
Greg [00:10:38] Really?
Bryden [00:10:38] Yeah.
Greg [00:10:39] They grew that much even when you were snowboarding that night.
Bryden [00:10:42] Yeah. Yeah, yeah, for sure I think. Yeah. When I hike the PCT like right here on my thighs like near my groins and stuff like that, I have little stretch marks and I and that's from the PCT because like I was walking's all of a sudden walking so much a huge contract to how much I walk.
Bryden [00:10:59] When I was on the PCT and before that I think I might musset like my legs lost so much weight and gain so much muscles, so much fat, so fast. I like yeah, I have these little stretch marks. It's kind of weird. Crazy.
[00:11:12] Yeah. What are you most intimidated by going into the CDT?
Chase and Brandon [00:11:17] Bears!
Bryden [00:11:21] These guys are super afraid of bears. I yeah, about bears.
Bryden [00:11:26] I'm a little nervous about bears. I mean, that's definitely a reality.
Greg [00:11:29] Do you have to carry a bear box or bear bags or how are you handling that?
Bryden [00:11:33] You don't have to carry a bear, but bear can on the CDT, as far as I know. And if I do, I have one that could be shipped to me. But I'm not too worried about bears. I'll have bear spray, but I'll also be with people. I think one of the things that I'm most nervous about for the CDT is getting lost. It's definitely a thing on the CDT. Yeah. I use guthooks app on my phone for navigation and apparently it's not like the PCT where you can just wander off in your head and walk for hours at a time. It's more of this thing that you need to check your phone like every 15 to 20 minutes, make sure you're on the right trail. You need to make sure you're going the right direction. So that's one thing I'm nervous about. And then another thing is, I just I wish I was someone who slept really warm, but I sleep so cold. So I'm when I get cold at night, cause I've had some scary nights where I'm very cold. It just like freaks me out. I'm going to get hypothermia or something like that. But I'm just nervous about. Getting caught in a lot of weather and just getting cold. Those are two things for me.
Greg [00:12:53] So what do you do, too? What do you specifically do to combat the cold? Because I know I've been a scout leader multiple times. I've taken all my kids out. I've been backpacking my entire life. I at one point in my life, did a lot of alpinism and stuff like that. And so when I would go to bed, I'd always drink some hot chocolate, eat some food right before bed and stuff to help me keep warm, make sure I'm completely hydrated and stuff like that. What do you do to try to combat the cold, if you're a cold sleeper?
Bryden [00:13:23] A good way to answer that would just be going over my sleep system. So in that episode, before I have the twenty degree Western mountaineering ultralight. Then on top of that I pack a base layer leggings and a base layer top. And they'll keep me warm. And then I also have a down jacket and a winter hat. I usually carry up another pair of socks just to sleep in, but my feet don't really get cold. So I've never felt like all my feet are so cold I need socks, so I carry them just in case. But but I don't really get really cold feet. It's more in my torso that I get really cold. So that's what I sleep in. And then another thing that I carry is I always carry an emergency blanket. I think I think the material is called like mylar or something like that. I think it weighs maybe two or three ounces, something that is really important and not going to mess up your base weight or something like that. So I just carry that at the bottom of my pack, even below where I pack my tent and it's just there just in case. But I always have that emergency blanket because it suddenly saved my life before from getting really, really cold. So that's that's what I have so far, staying warm.
Greg [00:14:50] Cool. Have you ever tried that as far as like dietary things right before bed, eating some food, drink, lots water, making sure hydrated?
Bryden [00:14:58] No, I actually I'm sure I've done that. But I didn't realize what I was doing in the moment. So I think so if you eat food before you go sleep . . .
Greg [00:15:06] So, if you're dehydrated or your calorie depleted electrolyte depletion. All that stuff make plays a role in being able to stay warm and stuff like that. Wow. So just being dehydrated alone will make you sleep colder.
Bryden [00:15:21] Wow.
Greg [00:15:21] And then. So I always . . . I like to. . . That's probably the main reason why I take hot chocolate with me is for the calories. And it's something warm right before bed.
Bryden [00:15:33] Oh, yeah.
Greg [00:15:34] And then I, you know, eat some jerky or I'll eat some sort of protein or something fatty something that's going to last a while. Yeah. And a little bit of a sugar right before bed. That's quick energy to start feeling warm and stuff. Cheese is great. All those things. But being dehydrated and calorie depleted. . .
Bryden [00:15:52] OK. Yeah. I'll keep that in mind because the hot chocolate thing, I do carry hot chocolate. It's really great. It's really yummy. On the trail and stuff like that. So maybe I'll start to eat, eat hot chocolate, drink hot chocolate before I go to sleep. But . . .
Greg [00:16:06] I've noticed for myself, like I've got twenty degree, I got a 20 degrees sleeping bag that I've been cold in at 30 degrees and that I've been too warm in at 15 degrees, Just based on what I've eaten or haven't eaten yet.
Bryden [00:16:21] This is yeah, this is good information for me. I've never thought of it like that.
Chase [00:16:26] Pack a few extra snickers.
Bryden [00:16:29] Too many snickers.
Chase [00:16:30] I think you need more.
Bryden [00:16:32] I think I need more?
Greg [00:16:32] You can't have too many snickers. I don't think that's the thing.
Bryden [00:16:36] Yeah.
Greg [00:16:37] Oh, cool. So what type of food are you going to gonna be using? Are you trying out some new stuff this time around?
Bryden [00:16:44] Yes. I got some meals from a brand called Good to Go, which I'm really excited about. They're really tasteful meals. Really, really good and really nutritious. Nutritious. That's a weird word. But yes, I got some meals from them, which I'm excited about. And then other than that, I'll just be doing the same stuff I did on the PCT, like the Knorr-brand rice sides and pasta that are a dollar in the grocery store.
Greg [00:17:15] Nice.
Bryden [00:17:15] Ramen noodles is a big one for me. Tortillas, peanut butter, granola, that kind of thing. I'm actually going to surprisingly, Chase will be surprised with this, but I'm going to cut back on like the amount of candy that I'm eating and more and amplify the amount of like nuts and peanut butter and stuff like that that I'm eating, because I think that in the long run, the candy in the moment, it's giving me this like boost of energy and I can hike like feel strong for maybe an hour and a half and then it's time for like another piece of candy, whereas the nuts, I think will last longer and there's a lot more fat. And those that are it's healthy for you. And I don't know, I'm going to experiment. It takes a lifetime to really dial in what you're eating on long-Distance trials.
Greg [00:18:07] Right. So I know for me when I'm when I'm eating healthy fats, healthy proteins and carbs, you know, it's real popular these days to think that somehow carbs are bad and you need a lot of fat and protein. It's like, bullcrap. Carbs are great. Now, processed sugars and process carbs aren't necessarily the healthiest thing. But carbs in general, you can't just cut that out, right? But if your body can get used to ketosis, which is what your body goes into when it starts burning fats, when it's gone through all your glycogen stores and stuff and your muscles and starts burning fats, you go into ketosis. And for most people, they're not used to it because their body is just used to burning carbs only. And when you get into ketosis, if you're not used to it, it can make you feel sick. But if your body can get used to it, it'll burn fats. And it's a great source of energy. And, you know, Kilian Jornet or . . . I don't know how to say his last name, the famous ultra runner mountaineer guy that's setting records all over the world for the fastest time, up Everest, fast time up Denali and Kilimanjaro and all this other stuff.
Bryden [00:19:18] Whoa, That's impressive.
Greg [00:19:20] He he did Denali with like one energy bar and a liter of water from base camp to the summit to base camp over the course of 10 hours. What? And it's just because he's trained his body to run efficiently off of ketosis, just burning fats that are in his body.
Bryden [00:19:36] That is unbelievable. So I wish you should try something like that.
Bryden [00:19:41] I'm going to hike the whole city with one Clif bar.
Chase [00:19:45] Maybe two liters of water though.
Bryden [00:19:46] Two liters of water this time.
Greg [00:19:48] But it's really true. You can train your body to to burn fats more efficiently. It it does take a little time to get used to it. But eating those healthy fats and nuts and stuff, some of those types of things will kind of help get you into that. But I don't necessarily think you should go into it with the goal of "I'm and I'm going to run off a ketosis."
Bryden [00:20:10] Yeah, I know. It's something that's over time. Maybe I could get into or something like that.
Greg [00:20:16] Yeah. Healthy, healthy carbs from fruits and stuff. Russia. Whole grains and everything. That's that's all great stuff. Yeah. Mm hmm. Cool. Well, is there anything that from your trip that you'd like to add that you're excited about, that you're. I mean that you think would be interesting for us to to know. Well and I should say. Well anyway, you answer that question.
[00:20:42] Yes. Yeah. I mean I'm just excited for the day to day. I'm excited to be in the best shape of my life and see the most beautiful places that you can only see if you walk on the trail for days upon end. Yeah, I'm just excited for the day to day. It's an amazing lifestyle. That's like I don't know, I've been trying to get back to ever since I did the PCT two years ago, and I'm really excited. For that, I'm really yeah, I'm really thankful for Gear 30 for supporting me, and I'm just I don't know, I'm just stoked.
Greg [00:21:18] Well we're excited for you. Now, as you're hiking along the trail, you're testing out gear, you're going to be doing some reviews and stuff like that for us for Gear 30, in addition to, kind of your own stuff. How can people follow you or what can we expect to see from you in the future that we can look forward to?
Bryden [00:21:37] Right. So if you want to be checking in with me while I hike the trail, I think the best way would just to be follow my personal Instagram, which is @brydenbowley. I'll also be checking in on the gear 30 Instagram story and posts and website blog here and there throughout the trial. So that's another way to follow me. But after the trail, I'll be producing these gear reviews and also producing these short films from the trail on my YouTube channel. So there'll be a lot of stuff coming out.
Greg [00:22:12] I know, I'm super excited about that because I've I've had a life full of gear testing and stuff like that. But I've never been able to test gear over thousands of miles.
Bryden [00:22:24] Yeah. Yeah.
Greg [00:22:25] That'll be for me. Super cool to see how it all holds up after five hundred miles. After a thousand miles.
Bryden [00:22:30] Yeah. And yeah. I mean this is a perfect opportunity for people to see what gear is actually going to like withstand five hundred miles of hiking or a thousand or like so on and so forth. You know, I mean it really does take doing something like this to really see what actually can withstand these. I don't know. Endeavors or putting them to the test. Can't think of the right word for that.
Bryden [00:22:58] But yeah, I'm really excited.
Greg [00:23:00] Cool. Awesome. Well, best of luck on your. Thank you. On your trip. And I know we'll be following closely. We'll be excited for the listeners. Well, as well.
Bryden [00:23:09] Yeah. Yeah, I'll be checking in regularly. Regularly.
Greg [00:23:12] Cool. All right. So that's the that's the episode for today for the Gear 30 podcast. If you would like to follow Gear 30 on Instagram, our handle is @gear_30 and our web site is www.gearthirty.com And on the next episode, Chase and I are going to be discussing Mystery Ranch. They're an Amazing backpack company out of Bozeman, Montana. And so we're excited to hear about the new stuff that they have come.
Chase [00:23:45] Join us for the next episode. We'll see out the.
[00:23:52] Thanks for joining us today for the Gear 30 podcast. Gear 30 is a specialty outdoor retail store at the foot of the Wasatch Mountains in Ogden, Utah. Like us on Facebook, follow and interact with us on Instagram @gear_30 and visit our website www.gearthirty.com For amazing deals on the best outdoor gear around. That's gear 30 spelled out G E A R T H I R T Y dot com. Don't forget to subscribe to this podcast. Leave us a review comment, ask questions and participate.
Greg [00:00:00] You're listening to Episode 3 of the Gear 30 podcast. On today's show, we interview Bryden Bowley, who's an employee at Gear 30 and who is about to head out on the Continental Divide trail.
Greg [00:00:24] You're listening to the Gear 30 podcast. A community, you could even call it a support group, for people addicted to outdoor adventuring and all the gear that goes with it. There is no shame here. In spite of what your spouse or partner may say, we believe it's OK to own 5 tents, 7 backpacks and 18 jackets. Our slogan, inspired by the great Explorer, Sir Ranulph Fiennes, is "there is no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate gear." So if you're an aspiring outdoor adventure, a mountain guide, or anyone in between, you're in the right place.
[00:01:26] So welcome to the Gear 30 podcast. We are here in Ogden, Utah, at the Gear 30 store. At our store.
Chase [00:01:32] GEAR:30 lounge.
Bryden [00:01:33] Best store in Ogden. Ogden's Mountain Shop.
Greg [00:01:36] Ogden's Mountain Shop.
Greg [00:01:37] So we're joined today by Chase and Bryden Bowley. That's how you say your last name?
Bryden [00:01:42] Yeah. Bryden Bowley.
Greg [00:01:43] Yeah. Okay. Because I've always said Bowley and I didn't think that was right.
Bryden [00:01:46] A lot of people say bowley, but it's OK.
Greg [00:01:49] Bryden Bowley. And Bryden Bowley's trail name is Simba.
Chase [00:01:54] So cool story about that one too. I heard it one day. It's pretty swee. It's not surface deep, it's got some meaning behind it.
[00:02:00] Yeah . . .
Greg [00:02:01] What's the story?
Bryden [00:02:01] Should I tell . . .
Greg [00:02:01] Yeah.
Bryden [00:02:03] Yeah. So my Trail name is Simba. A little backstory on trail names in the long distance hiking community. A lot of people don't go by their real name. Nothing to be like mysterious or anything like that. It's just kind of this fun thing that people do on the trail. So I have the trail name Simba. And it's because when I was in the desert on the Pacific Crest Trail, I got this really bloody nose due to the dry air and it was bleeding all over the place, all over my face, all this all this stuff. And then I was with some other hikers and I couldn't stop the bleeding. And this girl said to me, hey, you know, the best thing for that would actually just be a tampon. And I was like, oh, yeah, that actually makes sense. So she gave me a tampon and I put it in my nostril and it stopped the bleeding. So I'm cleaning up all this blood on my face with this tampon in my nose and people are snapping pictures of my face. This is funny. And in the midst of that, I got this blood streak across my forehead and I was cleaning my face off and everyone said, Oh, Simba. Just like the Lion King. There's a scene where they take Simba, go Simba and grab the fruit juice on his forehead. So that's how I got the name.
Greg [00:03:20] Wow. That was deep, wasn't it, Chase? Wow.
Bryden [00:03:25] So since then, I've been Simba.
Greg [00:03:27] So blood streak on your forehead, tampon in your nose. Yes. Simba, nice. Do you have that picture?
Bryden [00:03:33] No. And I've been meaning to ask that girl if she could send me those pictures if she has them.. But no, unfortunately, I don't. And I wish I did. Hmm.
Greg [00:03:43] So you did the Pacific Crest Trail. Not last summer, but the summer before.
Bryden [00:03:48] Yeah. Class of 2017.
[00:03:51] Okay. Yeah. And how was that? Was that your first long distance thru-hike?
[00:03:57] It was actually my first ever backpacking trip.
[00:04:00] Oh!
Bryden [00:04:00] Was the first time ever backpacking.
Greg [00:04:02] Glad you, uh, started easy.
Bryden [00:04:06] Startin off with a whammy. I had done some car camping and some, you know, just casual camping for the past year, five years or something like that. But yeah, that was my first ever time backpacking.
Chase [00:04:19] Put us all to shame on his first trip.
Greg [00:04:20] And you finished?
Bryden [00:04:21] Yes, I did. Yeah.
Greg [00:04:22] That's that's impressive.
Bryden [00:04:24] Thanks.
Greg [00:04:25] I don't. I've been backpacking my whole life and I'd like to think that I would finish. But the Pacific Crest Trail, that's no slouch. Like that's a big, difficult trail.
Bryden [00:04:35] I guarantee you could finish for sure. I think it's more it's more of like a mental game. I mean, it just depends on how badly you want to hike the whole trail. And most the time that people who hike the whole thing are people who have wanted to do it in one stretch or something like that really badly. So. Yeah. Yeah. I guarantee you could.
Greg [00:04:55] So take us through . . . we don't need to go through the whole hike or whatever, but. . . what were some of the maybe the most memorable moments of that hike.
Bryden [00:05:04] Wow. So the entire trail is beautiful and there's a lot of a lot of locations that are sentimental like the desert. You know, it's . . . I had just started and it was like, uh. . . I don't know. It's just amazing. You know, I'm figuring out how to actually long distance hike and figuring out how to pack my gear. And so there's something that's really memorable about that. But as far as like scenery goes, or just the most beautiful places, the first ones that come to mind are definitely the Sierra in California. And then and pretty much just all of the state of Washington is just unbelievable. Yeah. I mean, the whole trail is amazing, but those are the two that really come to mind.
Greg [00:05:52] Nice. So when you went into I know as you're prepping for it, you were here in the shop quite a bit.
[00:05:58] Yeah, I was, actually.
Greg [00:05:58] That was actually before you started working here, actually. But, you know, you're asking us about gear and stuff like that. Yeah. We kind of pointed you in different directions and stuff. But what gear did you. . . . Let's maybe talk about some of the gear that you didn't like or you didn't end up using that that you took.
Bryden [00:06:16] OK. Umm, So specifically what I didn't like?
Greg [00:06:23] Yeah, maybe some of the gear that maybe didn't hold up well. Or you just found. . . You thought you'd need it, but you just didn't end up using it or any of those types of things. You wouldn't be taking onvlike the CDT, for example.
Bryden [00:06:35] So one thing comes to mind and it's something that we carry here in the store. It's the big Agnes Fly Creek, one person tent.
[00:06:45] That's what he took, not the copper spur, the Fly Creek.
Bryden [00:06:46] Yeah. Yeah. So I I took I actually had the Fly Creek for my entire PCT hike. I bought it initially because I needed a one person tent and I wanted something as light as I could possibly go. And at that point in time, I wasn't really as knowledged as I am now about other brands, options and what exactly you can do to even go more ultralight when you're long distance hiking. But the one person tents, as far as like durability, I will say that it did last the whole time. It definitely was put to the test. It was really dirty by the end. There was like a couple holes that definitely could have been avoided, like maybe, while I was in the tent, like my foot went a certain way and it got snagged by like a stick or something like that. Or at one point I had some duct tape over the mesh so mosquitoes couldn't get in. But as far as durability goes, definitely held up the entire hike. As far as functionality goes, the one thing that I didn't like and is a huge point to make that is the reason I won't be using the Fly Creek again is the front entry point.
Bryden [00:08:05] A lot of new one person ultralight tents have a side entry like Nemo and that is so crucial to when you're really tired after you just walk 25, 30 miles and one day you want to just get in your tent and just lay there and make your food or whatever you need to do. And a front entry is definitely not easy to do that in because you're laying on your stomach and your arms are out forward trying to mess with your stove. But with a side entry you're laying on your hip or side or whatever and you're just cooking your food right there in your vestibule. So that's that's one big . . . That's definitely the biggest gear that I got from here that I didn't really, I don't think I'll be using again.
Greg [00:08:52] Yeah. So then what tents are you taking on this? Cause you're taking a bunch of different tents and you're testing them out for us and letting us know which ones . . .
[00:09:00] So the first tent I'll be taking, I believe it might be the only one that I'm going to use, but maybe I'll try something else along the trail. The one that I have right now is the Nemo Hornet. It's the Nemo Hornet one person. Now, Nemo makes two different versions . . . (cough) excuse me. They make two different versions of the Hornet. It's just the normal one. And then there's one called the elite. As far as differences between those two, from what I've gathered is color, which doesn't really matter about weight.
Chase [00:09:32] Color means everything. Are you kidding?
Bryden [00:09:32] Yeah, it means everything. It looks better in photos.
Chase [00:09:37] Instagram!
Bryden [00:09:38] Yeah, but a color. And then the elite is three ounces lighter due to more mesh and less whatever it might be rip stop nylon or something like that. So there's two versions and I'm taking the normal one. Just the Hornet, which I set it up in my yard yesterday and it's actually pretty nice. I am really excited about it. And that one has a side entry.
[00:10:07] Right. So the Hornet looks very similar to the to the Fly Creek.
[00:10:12] It does, yeah.
[00:10:13] But, it has a door off the side instead of at the end.
[00:10:16] It does. But one difference I noticed from the Hornet to the Fly Creek is in the I guess I'll call it like the toe box. The area where your feet will be. . . . there's these plastic rods of some sort where your your guy lines, the Cordura or whatever will pull out. And that plastic piece creates this box that is has its own like freestanding frame of some sort. And I am really excited about that because something that was a challenge with the Fly Creek was my feet would get wet with the dew and my down sleeping bag would be like really moist every single morning just because I'm creating heat and then it's so close to the shelter of where your feet is and . . .
[00:11:13] Right, rubbing against the mesh and the rain fly.
[00:11:15] Exactly. So. Yeah, I'm pretty excited about it. I'm excited to try it out and we'll see how it goes.
[00:11:21] Nice. So you're taking the Nemo. You also have a tarp tent. Are you?
[00:11:28] Not specifically Tarp, Tarp tent brand. But I have a Z Packd tent.
[00:11:33] Oh, ok, Z-Packs.
[00:11:34] I have used quite a bit. I got it as a hand-me-down from another hiker. But yeah, I also own a Z- packs.
Greg [00:11:42] Are you going to take that? Are you going to leave that home?
[00:11:45] It depends. We'll see what I think of the Hornet right now. As far as weight goes, if I took the Z packs versus the Hornet, the Z-packs is obviously less than half of what the Hornet weighs.
[00:11:57] Wow.
Bryden [00:11:58] For, you know, like a video that I'll be doing and like seeing how they gave it to me for free, like I'm definitely down to try it out and do an honest gear review. And yeah, I'm excited about it. I'd like that it's free-standing. The Z-packs isn't free-standing. So that's, uh. . . If I'm in a storm or something like that, which I definitely will be. I'm . . . I feel a lot more comfortable with a freestanding tent.
Greg [00:12:21] Nice. So you told me that . . . I'm trying to remember it's been a couple of years. You told me when you got back that one of your favorite pieces of gear on the whole trip was your Western mountaineering sleeping bag.
Bryden [00:12:35] That is true. Yes. I was really liked it. Yeah,.
Greg [00:12:38] Yeah. So why was that such a good piece of kit for you?
[00:12:43] So to be more specific about what I had. I had the Western mountaineering Terralite bag. The Terralite is something pretty unique in the Western mountaineering line. And that's because it's a 25 degree bag, but it's not a mommy shape. It's more of a what do you call it?
Chase [00:13:03] Spoon shape?
Greg [00:13:05] It's kind of almost an egg shaped.
Bryden [00:13:08] Yeah, definitely egg-shaped. So when I'm sleeping, I I'm most comfortable kind of in like a fetal position where my knees are at an angle and in a mommy shaped bag that doesn't exactly like . . . you're kind of, I don't know, scrunched together. But with the egg shaped Terralite that, is very easy to do. So that was really nice. And then another big thing about that bag was the foot opening zipper. So you could unzip the entire thing on its side and then there's an additional foot zip that you can unzip that and the bag will totally unfold and act as like a blanket or a quilt of some sort. So you could do that. But if you don't want to do that, you can just have the full side zip zipped up and then the foot zip unzipped and you can have your feet sticking out. Cause my feet get pretty hot at night, especially on warm nights. So yeah, that was a really big thing for me. I really, really liked that. And I would for sure use the Terralite again.
Chase [00:14:15] How did it hold up for the whole entire trail?
[00:14:17] It held up really well given that I wasn't using a liner. So my oil, my like skin oils of hiking all day in my sweat was like, you know, just covering . . .
Chase [00:14:29] You didn't shower every night?
Bryden [00:14:31] Yeah. I had an ultralight shower . . .
Greg [00:14:37] Gross!
Bryden [00:14:38] But, uh. . . So, you know, this is definitely like a very specific activity that I'm doing that really is putting anything that I bring with me to use. So without using liner, my oils were like all over the inside and it definitely was getting stinky. And then I did notice from packing it into my pack and compressing it all day and then opening up every day, so on and so on for like five to six months. It definitely was not as lofty as I would like it. And I noticed that like since my oils were touching down over time, it definitely got clumped up in certain parts. Stuff like that. So overall, it held up pretty well. But I think like with a normal wash, it would have been back to normal. But yeah, that's cool.
Greg [00:15:28] What are you planning on using on the CDT?
Bryden [00:15:31] This time on the CDT I'm using the, also Western and it's the Ultralite. So it's got I think like a half inch or more of down loft, which adds, they say another five degrees worth of warmth and it weighs the exact same way weight. It's like one pound 13 ounces. Yeah. So it's . . . Chase and I know. We know. So I'm using the ultra light. This is a mummy bag, which I'm personally not too thrilled about. But for the extra warmth rating, I guess I'll sacrifice the egg-shaped that the Terralite has.
Greg [00:16:14] Right. Because CVT is quite a bit colder than the PCT, right?
Bryden [00:16:18] Yeah. It's definitely a totally different climate and. As far as like the elements and storms rolling through or whatever, that might be the weather. I think that I'm definitely gonna be challenged with a lot more this time around. So we'll see. Yeah, I'm thinking later down the trail when I get into Colorado, I might try a Versalite Western mountaineering, the 10 degree. See how that goes. But we'll get there when I get there.
Greg [00:16:49] One of my favorite bags that I've backpacked with. . . Well, back in the day, back when I was a teenager, I had the Mountain Hardware Phantom forty five. And it was like a 16 ounce, 45 degree bag. I used that for everything. I even used it in the in the fall and didn't obviously use it in the winter. But I used to really stretch the rating and I would just layer up my clothes if I needed to. And I'd unzip and use it like a blanket over me with down jacket, down pants on and stuff. And anyway, it blew away. I was I was on a climbing trip and the Cirque of the Towers and the wind rivers, we were climbing all day and we got back and my tent, my sleeping bag, my pad and all this other stuff had blown away. We were there. . .
Bryden [00:17:41] Wow.
Greg [00:17:41] We were there in June and the whole circus covered in snow. And I had my tent set up on a rock, a flat rock that I found had rocks there holding it down and apparently didn't have it well enough secured. So anyway, it all blew away. That sleeping bag was gone, nowhere to be seen. And and the tent was gone and the pad was gone. And . . .
[00:18:04] Man, that blows!,.
[00:18:04] Everything was . . . Ha, ha! That's blows!
Greg [00:18:06] I found my backpack . . . Good one! I see what you did there. Umm, so everything was gone except the backpack. I Had my backpack and found like a belt and a couple of other things. But the big things were gone. And anyway, so I was trying to find a replacement for it eventually. This is years down the road. I tried to find a replacement for that phantom forty five. So I just used it on everything. And I got the Western mountaineering summer light, which is a 32 degree bag for about the same weight as the whole 45 degree bag.
Bryden [00:18:40] I've used that bag before.
Greg [00:18:40] It's like one pound, three ounces and anyway, love the bag. Crazy about it. But I almost even get to warm in that bag. So I just kept unzipped and I used it like a quilt top of me. But anyway, I just I know there's some other companies out there that make really good quality sleeping bags that are also on the same level as western mountaineering. Definitely like feathered friends, I would say is one of them.
Bryden [00:19:09] Enlightened equipment is another one.
[00:19:11] You know, I've even been impressed with Rab. The last couple years Rab has really stepped up their game as far as sleeping bags go. .
Bryden [00:19:17] I might be trying a Rab bag on the CDT as well. Another that's like not really that well known. Is this brand called Catabatic gear.
Greg [00:19:27] Mm hmm.
Bryden [00:19:28] I've, I've got some I know some people on YouTube who have used them and they said that they're really amazing.
Greg [00:19:34] There's a company as well. Nanutuk or something like that.
Bryden [00:19:39] I was just going to say them. Yeah. Down in Moab. Yeah.
Greg [00:19:40] They they make some cool, cool quilts and stuff. Yeah. I was just gonna say though of all of the different really good quality bags out there I have just found that Western mountaineering for me. No I'm not, I don't have as much experience with like feathered friends and a few of the others. But for me their stuff is the most amazing balance of ultra light and durable and really good quality construction.
Bryden [00:20:09] For sure. Yeah.
Greg [00:20:10] And know even just unzipping my bags, even on my ultralight bags, the zippers don't snag. And on every other ultralight bag, the zipper snag like crazy. Yeah. And so it's just crazy to me that Western can do the ultra light, the quality construction and the durability. My Western bags are I mean, I've got one that's eight years old of heavy, heavy use and it's still in almost perfect condition.
Bryden [00:20:35] That's amazing.
Greg [00:20:36] And I just I take care of it. I wash it when it needs to be washed and I take care of it. I don't leave it stuffed in my stuff sack and and stuff like that. But it holds up incredibly well. And I haven't had a sleeping bag. . . I think in my life that's held up as well as the western bag. I'm impressed by their stuff.
Bryden [00:20:56] Yeah. I'm really impressed by their stuff too. It's definitely a personally just a product that I think I could stand by for sure. I would definitely recommend them to anybody, you know, cause a lot of times it's the situation where people aren't really ready to spend that much money on a bag. But when you tell them like this is a bag that you're gonna use for a long time, then you know, then they're more keen to buy something like that.
Greg [00:21:24] Well, there's more I want to talk to you about. So can you stay with us for the next episode?
Bryden [00:21:28] Yeah, absolutely.
Greg [00:21:29] Awesome. So we'll wrap this up for today. This is the Gear 30 podcast. And you know, one of the sayings that we have here. Gear 30, we have it on a big sign just inside our front door is a quote by Sir Ranulphlph Fiennes or something like that. He's a he's a British explorer. He was the first one to cross the Antarctic ice cap from from end to end, (clears throat)excuse me, by foot on him on his own. And anyway. Pretty awesome, dude. He said there's no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate clothing. And that's kind of become our motto here at the store. We adjusted it a little bit. We said there's no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate gear. That's part of the reason why we're doing this podcast, because we want to be a resource to help you find the right gear for your for your situation. The last thing we want is for you to go out in the mountains to have a great time, get stuck in a storm and get in trouble. Right.
Bryden [00:22:24] Definitely.
Greg [00:22:25] So we want to make sure you get in the right gear for the right experience and so you're safe and you're comfortable and all that stuff. That's what this podcast is about.
Greg [00:22:33] So thanks for joining us today and and join us for the next episode where we talk more with Bryden.
Bryden [00:22:41] Yeah. Thanks for having me on.
Chase [00:22:42] Well, you see out there.
[00:22:48] Thanks for joining us today for the Gear 30 podcast. Gear 30 is a specialty outdoor retail store at the foot of the Wasatch Mountains in Ogden, Utah. Like us on Facebook, follow and interact with us on Instagram @gear_30 and visit our Web site www.gearthirty.com For amazing deals on the best outdoor gear around. That's gear 30 spelled out G E A R T H I R T Y dot com. Don't forget to subscribe to this podcast. Leave us a review comment, ask questions and participate.
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Greg [00:00:00] This is Episode 2 of the Gear 30 podcast. On today's show, we discuss new gear that's coming out next year from Thermarest and a few other brands.
Greg [00:00:22] You're listening to the Gear 30 podcast. A community. You could even call it a support group for people addicted to outdoor adventuring and all the gear that goes with it. There is no shame here. In spite of what your spouse or partner may say, we believe it's OK to own 5 tents, 7 backpacks, and 18 jackets. Our slogan, inspired by the great Explorer, Sir Ranulph Fiennes, is, "there is no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate gear." So if you're an aspiring outdoor adventure, a mountain guide, or anyone in between, you're in the right place.
[00:01:16] Welcome to the Gear 30 podcast, where we just talked about all things outdoor gear and outdoor adventuring, so I'm joined today by Brandon and Chase. Chase is our head buyer for gear 30. Gear 30 is now a shop in Ogden, Utah. And so today we're gonna be talking about some of the new gear that's coming out for next year. And because Chase is the head buyer, he gets to go travel around to and to various trade shows and he gets to see all this gear a year in advance for the most part. And so he actually just just last week was at the one of our local trade shows, the WWSRA. And he got to meet with a bunch of different outdoor companies and see their new gear. So just want to ask you, Chase, of all the gear that you saw, how the companies that you met with. What were some of the things that stood out to you?
Chase [00:02:12] It's kind of hard to narrow down, you know.
Greg [00:02:15] Well, first of all, I guess maybe what were some of the brands that you met with them that you saw?
Chase [00:02:20] Okay. Yeah. So, we went with Norrona. If you guys aren't familiar with Norrona, look them up. They're an awesome company making some of the most bomber. Everything from shells to cool lifestyle pieces.
Greg [00:02:34] Yeah. I would say probably if there's a company out there that can compete with Arc'teryx as far as quality craftsmanship and stuff, they may be the only one that I know of that that are quite on that level.
Chase [00:02:46] Yeah, I completely agree. And it's Euro. So you know me. I like the euro stuff.
Greg [00:02:52] I don't know why, but I like Scandinavian gear, whether it's good or not. I just kinda like it.
Chase [00:02:57] I'm right there with you. I love it. So, we met with Norrona, jet boil, Danner, Thermarest, Rab, another company that I am a huge fan of. Icebreaker, Salewa. The list goes on and on and on. It was three days we met . . . We had about 30 minute break all three days. It was just back to back to back appointments. So I was busy, but a super fun. And I just got a geek out the whole time on gear.
Chase [00:03:30] That's one of the companies that I was really impressed with was Thermarest. I mean, back in, I think it was '04 when they kind of like made a huge push and everyone was super stoked on Thermarest.
Greg [00:03:43] The Neoair was brand new.
Chase [00:03:45] Yep, the Neoair, which is still a staple in their line.
Chase [00:03:48] And then it seems like since about '04, they've been making the same seeming pad. They did release the Uber light last year, but, other than that, they haven't done a lot. And this next season, next summer, summer of '20, they've got, they changed their valve system. It's a lot easier to fill up. And then everything comes at the pump sack now, which is kind of almost a standard in the industry. So I just think they're finally doing things that all the other air-inflatable pad companies out there have been doing for a while.
Brandon [00:04:22] What's a pump suck?
Chase [00:04:23] All righty. So, a pump sack . . .
Brandon [00:04:26] It sounds like one thing, but it could be another.
Chase [00:04:28] You're right. Okay, so the pump sack is . . . it's basically . . . It looks like a dry sack that you'd take on the river. Got a little bit of a little valve in it and you just blow into it and the whole thing, this pump sack inflates and then you roll that air into the sleeping pad, and it takes about . . . the old system, I'd say take how many breaths, how long would it take to blow up one of those stinkin Thermarest pads?
Greg [00:04:56] Now I always get dizzy and pass out, so it takes me . . .
Chase [00:04:59] After a long hike, yeah, you pass out by time it's blown up, so you forget how long it took. But now I mean you can do it and you blow into that thing four times and you can inflate the whole entire pad.
Brandon [00:05:09] You guys are weak.
Chase [00:05:09] Sorry we're not all like Brandon.
Greg [00:05:12] I know Brandon,. You you just got like . . .
Chase [00:05:17] Lungs of steel . . .
Greg [00:05:18] Yeah . . . godly cardio over there. None of the rest of us can . . .
Brandon [00:05:22] Ha ha! There's a guy named Lance Armstrong. I'll introduce you to him. He and I are on the same . . . were on the same . . . were on the same. . . steroids. And so we were able to, uh, blow up a Thermarest pad pretty fast.
Chase [00:05:37] So you either get a pump sack or you get on Brandon's cardio program and you can blow it up in about the same time.
Greg [00:05:42] A little bit of blood doping will get you there real quick. So those pump sack things though . . . I remember back in the day, back in the early 2000s when I was working at a shop, we carried Exped pads and they were down-insulated. And they were the first ones to do the pump sacks because you couldn't blow into them with your mouth because it would get moisture in there and ruin the down. So you had to use a pump sack. And that was the first time I was introduced to it. And I thought they were kind of a pain. Like I had a Exped pad. I'd pump it up with the thing, and I they were kind of a pain until one day, I'm trying to remember who it was. One of the sales reps introduced me to the proper technique of filling up a pump sack. You have to hold the hold the opening of the bag open about six inches away from your mouth or maybe maybe nine inches away and just blow toward the toward the bag and the whole bag will fill with air. If you put it up to your mouth there or whatever, then you're not really getting the benefit. But you, six inches away, you blow until the whole big bag fills with air and then literally like two or three bags full of air will fill up your pad and it goes super quick. Once I figured that out . . .
Brandon [00:06:54] Is someone pumping up a bike bike over there?
Chase [00:06:57] I don't know. We've got a squeaky little pump going on over there. Probably the rental shop blowing up some paddle boards.
[00:07:03] Yeah, we are at GEAR:30. No, that was a good point because I. I thought the same thing. Like what's the difference? But if you hold the bag, what, six inches away from well whatever there is to one breath out. It'll fill that whole bag up. Which is, it's weird.
[00:07:18] Science.
[00:07:19] It's the I mean it's a little bit of air from your mouth but it's all the other surrounding air that kinda gets pulled into it as well. So there's there's your tip for the day.
[00:07:30] You have a little thing - do da do do do, Tip of the day! Greg's tip of the day. Greg, you need your own . . . It's Greg's tips
[00:07:39] Greg's tips of the day.
[00:07:41] We'll work on that. It's episode 2. We're still early. We'll figure these things out as we go.
Chase [00:07:46] I expect of a few of these gear tips throughout these podcasts.
[00:07:50] So the Thermarest pads are kind of getting up with the times now. My experience with thermarest since the Neoair came out is Neoair was the lightest, warmest pad on the market. Back in the day, back in like 2003, 2004, 2005, somewhere in there. And other companies started coming out with air filled pads. But what I found is whenever I'd sleep on, I'd get cold. But the thermarest ones, I always stayed warm. So for a long time, there were other pads that came out, you know, Klymit, Big Agnes, and, uhh, well there are a whole bunch that are out now. But early on it was kind of Klymit, Big Agnes, some of those that started doing air-filled pads. And I found that even though those others were just as light and cheaper and stuff, I just would freeze sleeping on those. And so I stuck with the Neoair for a really long time. Now, that's not really the case. Most of those companies have have caught up. I still don't think they're, personally don't think they're quite as warm as the Thermarest, but they've caught up. They're warmer now, they're lighter and and Thermarest really didn't innovate much. They sort of eventually got left behind over the last five years.
Brandon [00:09:05] So Chase who who in the industry pushed Thermarest to innovate. And I know we sold a lot of Nemo last year.
Chase [00:09:12] Yeah, I think Nemo's a definitely a big one to push the innovation. A lot of people hadn't heard of Nemo. They're still a smaller-ish brand. They're out of New England area. New England Mountaineering, that's what the name stands for. And they have, in my opinion, the last several years they've pushed the industry as far as inflatable stuff goes. They start off with inflatable tents. That was like one of their staples. Didn't quite take off like they were expecting.
Greg [00:09:44] Big Surprise.
Chase [00:09:44] And now their two main focus is our sleeping pads and tents and lightweight. And they've really been innovating a lot. Their pads are fairly warm. I still think Thermarest gives him a run for their money as far as the warmth.
Greg [00:09:59] Warm to weight and warmth is probably still better than Thermarest.
Chase [00:10:02] So, they are fairly warm. I slept a lot on my Nemo pad and I really enjoy that thing. But I mean, it's good to see someone really put a fire underneath Thermarest.
Brandon [00:10:12] And it's interesting you said that. I forgot that Nemo started off as an inflatable tent company. But, do you remember . . . uhh, I just had it in my head. Klymit. Klymit started off is a thermal regulated vest and jacket.
Greg [00:10:26] Right.
Brandon [00:10:27] Until their pads took off.
Greg [00:10:28] Right. Yeah. They they would fill their jackets in their clothes with with noble gases to insulate because it was a better insulator than down and stuff like that. That obviously didn't take off.
Brandon [00:10:39] And it's a great idea on paper right. Yeah. It's a good enough idea to start a business with. And then the business still around. It's just that it's not time for that yet, I guess. I mean why does . . . why do some things catch on and go and then. And then inflatable tents just bomb. Somebody thought it was a good idea at some point.
[00:11:00] Yeah. You know. I don't know. I think I tried and true polls just kind of.
[00:11:05] Yeah. I mean I think there's a lot of advantages and disadvantages to it and it's more expensive if you don't have the the economies of scale helping you out on the price. And it's too expensive and it's something new that people are uncomfortable with because new is kind of scary for most people. And it seems like with a lot of outdoor companies that innovate, they have to really try to push those innovations for a while. Takes a while for the public in general to kind of catch on and get warm up to the idea. I know Kelty did air inflated tents like family tents for a while. They may still I'm not sure. Nemo, of course, did the air inflated tents. And and there there've been a few companies over the years that have tried it and then pull back from it. I think for them it's not that it was a bad idea necessarily. It's just they were losing too much money while they were trying to get people kind of warmed up to the idea that eventually they just stopped.
Brandon [00:12:02] So innovate, but not too much.
Greg [00:12:06] It goes in steps. There's a reason why Apple and all these other cell phone companies, each time they come up with an out with the new phone, it's like a few small steps better. First of all, they make more money off it. And second of all, if you take go from iPhone one to iPhone ten. Well, I don't know. They're not that much that would that might work, but.
Brandon [00:12:30] Yeah. But if you go from flip phone to iPhone 10, then you're like, whoa!
Greg [00:12:34] Yeah, it might blow people's minds. And yeah. You go from an $70 phone to a thousand dollars phone and without those steps there, that's little bit much anyway. I think that's part of it. I don't necessarily know the air-filled poles are, I mean . . .
Brandon [00:12:52] Ever a good idea?
Greg [00:12:54] I don't know about ever. But like all those family tents for Kelty, they were heavy, like heavier than just or at least as heavy as doing normal poles because to to reinforce those air poles so that you don't get punctures and stuff like that, it had to be pretty heavy. And you're trying to save weight, and that was part of the reason why Nemo did it. Hey, let's save some weight and we won't break poles and stuff like that. But then you get a puncture in the air chamber or whatever, then there's problems and stuff. So I don't know. It's not a bad idea, but I don't know that it's quite there yet. But anyway, one company we talking sleeping pads, one company that makes some really cool pads that got a lot of press for a while was Sea-to-Summit.
[00:13:42] And, you know, I think Thermarest has always been the leader in pads. I mean, before . . . years ago, they had like 90 percent market share or something ridiculous. They don't have nearly that now. And there's been, you know, between Big Agnes and Nemo and Sea-to-Summit and some of these others, they're kind of given Thermarest a run for their money. But I think Thermarest is still probably the leader, so it's good to see them innovate. But are there pad's still crinkly?
Chase [00:14:14] Yeah, they they still have that . . .
Brandon [00:14:15] That's a funny question.
Chase [00:14:16] That they still that thermal lining in there. I don't think they are as crinkly as they used to be. And I think as you sleep on them more and more, they get less and less crinkly. But there's they're still using the same technology that they've been using for a long time. So it's still you can still hear it in there. I don't think it's near as bad as it used to be. You know,.
Greg [00:14:37] That's the thing. You know, the Nemo pads. I don't personally think that Nemo pads are quite as durable as the Thermarest pads. I think they . . . I I've punctured multiple Nemo pads. I think they're comfy, but I've left holes in quite a few. Seems like my Thermarest pads hold up a little better. I think the Thermarest pads are warmer for the weight. But the Nemo pads are quiet and they're soft and they're comfy and. . . Same with big Agnes. And so I think that's where . . . we sell more Nemo pads and Big Agnes pads and we do Thermarest, right?
Chase [00:15:12] Hands down.
Greg [00:15:12] And I think that's the biggest reason.
Chase [00:15:13] I think one of the problems I mean, I was talking to Bryden. He's our friend that just got done with the PCT and he's going to be doing this CDT next week. He starts next week. And it seems like his most common failure on the Thermarest is the valve. That's where most of his problems stem from. And with his new valve Thermarest has put in . . .
[00:15:31] I see what you did there, he did there . . . . Valve stem from . . . I have to explain it.
Greg [00:15:41] Missed that one.
Chase [00:15:43] So it stemmed from that valve, you know. But this new valve system that they have, I think is going to take care of a lot of those problems. And so I think we're gonna see Thermarest repairs and warranties and stuff like that, problems go down even more in the future.
Greg [00:16:00] What other cool gear did you see?
[00:16:04] See, I do think the Nemo again is stepping up their game. They get lighter and and warmer. Big Agnes's releasing a cool . . . they have this awesome one man ultralight shelter and the name is escaping me, but it comes in. I think eleven ounces and a trekking pole tent. Most spacious one p sub one pound trekking pole tent I've ever seen. It was awesome. It's definitely I think it's going to be on my list. Is something to try out next year. Yeah. Give a little demo. They also have a three door tent to person thedoor tent and they thought I mean we have the debate of a one door tent or a two-door tent better? They said screw it, we're gonna make a three door tent and it's still pretty lightweight so you can choose how you want to sleep. I mean, all right, whatever. Yet three vestibules, three doors, whatever floats your boat.
[00:17:02] Greg, what are your thoughts on trekking pole tents and durability and stability.
Greg [00:17:06] I love them. I love them. As long as you're in a place where you can stake them down, so they actually stay up. Like, if I'm going to the desert, I usually take a freestanding tent. You know? I've even taken trekking pull tents into the desert and you just find rocks to pile up to hold your tent up and stuff. But, you know, if you're not in the mountains anywhere where you can stake them down. I don't see any reason not to use them. I love . . . Save weight. They can be very spacious, I think Bryden. And when he did the CDT, or not the CDT, the PCT, didn't he use a trekking pole tent? He used a Tarp Tent, right?
Chase [00:17:45] Yeah.
Greg [00:17:46] So that probably had . . .
Chase [00:17:47] No, sorry. He used a big agnes, a Copper Spur Big Agnes.
Greg [00:17:51] Oh, did he?
Brandon [00:17:51] Yeah.
Chase [00:17:52] Yeah.
Greg [00:17:52] Okay. He has a tarp tent now.
[00:17:55] He has a Tarp Tent now. Yeah. He just actually got a new Nemo for. . . He's gonna be using three tents on the CDT. He's going to be rotating out three tents. He's trying out . . . Yeah. He's got the Hornet elite from Nemo, the Hornet 1 P from Nemo, Tarp Tent and then one or two other tents, I'll have to ask him what he's using.
Greg [00:18:12] Yeah. I'm excited to hear how that goes because I've never done a long distance to hike like that, be able to see the how they hold up over that much abuse.
Brandon [00:18:23] One the one piece of equipment, one brand, the one company. He will defend his life with because of that trip. Because it saved his life. Is Western mountaineering right. Yeah. Which we'll get into later. But yeah,.
Chase [00:18:38] Jumping back to that tarp tent, he's I went and did some backpacking with him in Canyonlands with him three or four weeks ago. They had a Tarp Tent on there that his friend had taken the whole PCT and the AT with that one Tarp Tent. And now Bryden's been using that Tarp Tent. I mean for a tent, I think it's twelve ounces and it's got, pushing in six thousand miles on it. So it's they they hold up.
Greg [00:19:03] Yeah, absolutely. One of the brands of tents that we carry here at the store that is my favorite brand is Hilleberg. They're not as light obviously as the tarp tent or Big Agnes or some of these other brands. What I love about them is they are built to last generations. And so for the last 10 years that I've been backpacking with my family, taking kids and stuff like that, 7 years, I guess. I've been using a Hilleberg because I feel like if I took little kids and a dog and everything in some of these ultralight big Agnes tents, probably wouldn't last more than a year or two. And the Hilleberg now that I have is going on seven or eight years and, seven years probably. . .
Brandon [00:19:50] They have a new trekking pole tent coming out next year.
Greg [00:19:54] Hilleberg does?
Brandon [00:19:55] Yeah.
Greg [00:19:55] Oh, sweet.
[00:19:57] It weighs eight ounces.
[00:19:59] Well, there you go.
[00:19:59] No, not . . . It's pretty. Do you remember what it weighs?
[00:20:01] No, I don't.
[00:20:03] It's the new . . . I sent it to Bryden.
[00:20:05] Is it single wall or double?
[00:20:07] It's the double.
[00:20:08] Oh Wow.
[00:20:09] Double. Multiple functionality to it. I think it's I think it's I don't know if it was much over a pound or. . . But it's a trekking pole tent, so . . .
[00:20:22] Sweet. What I've been using. I've been using a four-person Hilleberg Nallo GT, which is a four-season tent. But I can . . .
[00:20:30] It's a house.
[00:20:31] But I can fit my whole family and dog in there, plus all of our gear. And it's seven pounds. So it's not the lightest thing. But for four people, that's actually not too bad. So anyway, I'm excited for the ultralight gear that's coming out. I just find for myself back when before I was married, I used all that stuff. Now that I'm married, kids and the dog taking the whole family backpacking, I have to carry a little bit heavier gear to hold up a little better.
Chase [00:20:58] Now, I'm kind of in the exact opposite stage. I'm switching over trying to go as light as I can.
Greg [00:21:04] Cool. Well, I think that'll wrap it for this episode. I'm sure that will have a lot of opportunities to talk about all the other gear that you got to see. You're gone to outdoor retailer this week.
Chase [00:21:15] Yep. Fly out tonight.
Greg [00:21:16] So you'll get to see tons and tons of other cool gear. We're excited to hear your report. I'm excited, too. All right. We'll see on the next steps.
Chase [00:21:27] See you out there.
[00:21:34] Thanks for joining us today for the Gear 30 podcast. Gear 30 is a specialty outdoor retail store at the foot of the Wasatch Mountains in Ogden, Utah. Like us on Facebook, follow and interact with us on Instagram @gear_30 and visit our website gearthirty.com for amazing deals on the best outdoor gear around. That's gear 30 spelled out www.gearthirty.com. Don't forget to subscribe to this podcast. Leave us a review comment, ask questions and participate.
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This daily podcast explores outdoor adventure gear, trip reports, and interviews with athletes and industry professionals.
Hosted by: Greg, Brandon, & Chase
This episode introduces the podcast hosts and sets the stage for upcoming daily shows.
Greg [00:00:00] This is episode one of the Gear 30 podcast. On today's show, we talk a little bit about Gear 30, what it is, who we are and what this podcast is all about.
[00:00:23] You're listening to the Gear 30 podcast community. You could even call it a support group for people addicted to outdoor adventuring and all the gear that goes with it. There is no shame here in spite of what your spouse or partner may say.
[00:00:38] We believe it's OK to own 5 tents, 7 backpacks, and 18 jackets. Our slogan, inspired by the great explorer, sir Ranulph Fiennes is "there is no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate gear." So if you're an aspiring outdoor adventure, a mountain guide, or anyone in between, you're in the right place.
[00:01:24] So welcome to the first episode of the Gear:30 podcast. We are excited to be able to talk to you today about outdoor adventuring in general and the gear that goes with it.
Greg [00:01:34] We I'm joined today by Chase and Brandon. We are.
Brandon [00:01:41] Well, how are you guys? A little nervous. It's okay. We'll help him out a little bit. Yeah.
Greg [00:01:48] So we're, we're in the gear 30 store in the lounge of our gear 30 store in Ogden, Utah, right at the base of the Wasatch Mountains. And so you'll hear a little bit of sound in the background. That's just customers shopping store, singing music store.
Brandon [00:02:05] Store Sound.
Chase [00:02:08] Nothing says gear through like a phone ringin.
Greg [00:02:12] Yeah. So. So this podcast is essentially just gear talk. You've got a bunch of guys that are avid outdoor adventures who love gear and have been working in the gear, the outdoor industry for quite a few years. And we're just going to talk gear. The new gear that's coming out. The gear that we love to use on on our adventures. We're also going to talk about different adventures that we have. We've got a bunch of other employees here that are very avid outdoorsmen. We've got some semi-pro snowboarders working for us. We've got a guy who a year or two ago, hiked the Pacific Crest Trail. He's going to hike the Continental Divide Trail this week. Actually, he's taken off to do that. Got some ladies that are hardcore climbers, mountaineers, mountain bikers, road bikers, trail runners. I mean, we've got quite the crew here. We've got some competitive trail runners. So between all of us . . .
[00:03:11] Did chase tell you he's going to be a competitive trail runner, an ultra- runner soon?.
Chase [00:03:15] I just joined this clan. I'm one week, too, right now. Oh.
Chase [00:03:20] Which one of you don't sell? First up is the Crimson Canyon Ultra. Going to do the 50 miler. Then next spring I'm shooting for the Scout Mountain entree. One hundred miler.
Greg [00:03:29] Wow.
Chase [00:03:30] Yeah, I'm experiencing the first pains of running this week, so IT bands are not loving me but . . .
Greg [00:03:38] When is the Crimson?
Chase [00:03:40] September 28. I got some time.
Greg [00:03:42] Yeah. Get some, get some good base mileage and don't go off the couch.
Brandon [00:03:47] He's on a . . . Well, we know that story. Chase is on a regimented schedule though. Training schedule.
Greg [00:03:52] Is he?
Brandon [00:03:53] Yeah, that's for a different show. But Chase is getting into it. So.
Chase [00:03:57] I'm trying.
[00:03:58] Yeah. I think there's a I think there's a podcast about what not to do but not today. Yeah.
[00:04:04] How not to do what Chase does.
[00:04:06] Now, Brandon interviewed me years ago and I I decided I signed up for the bear one hundred about three weeks before the race started and I hadn't been running. And Brandon's like, you sure that's a good idea? I don't know. And my knees blew up at about mile 70. I finished, but I was like hopping on one leg for about the last twenty five miles with hiking poles. It was nasty and didn't. I don't know. I didn't walk for months afterward or I hobbled,\.
Brandon [00:04:33] But no lingering injuries three or four years later? Uh oh. He's thinking about it. Bad sign.
[00:04:40] Just, just men. Just mental just mental injuries as the PTSD. Yeah.
Greg [00:04:47] So but actually, no. But for about a year afterward, I was having tons of problems, knee pain galore. Anytime I'd start running, I would have IT band issues.
Brandon [00:04:56] So. So Train.
Greg [00:04:58] So train. Yeah. And get a good base. Don't make up the miles too quickly. Get a get base. Let your body adapt to it. But I did a 50 miler the next year with my wife. She destroyed me. She just like I got thirty five miles into it and my knee was just killing me and she. But she's kind of does that. I introduced her to road biking. I'd been racing competitively. Her first year, road biking, she goes out and takes first in the big local 200 mile race here, the Lotoja. And she takes first to her age group and destroyed me. I mean, so that's that's kinda how she does things.
Brandon [00:05:38] As she should.
Greg [00:05:41] So anyway, I bet everybody that's listening is now quite impressed by my . .
Brandon [00:05:46] By your skills, particularly.
Chase [00:05:48] They have lots of trust in what we have to say.
Greg [00:05:50] Right.
Brandon [00:05:51] But you should mention you should talk about, though, like why? I mean, there's gear, but people who love gear. But then there's Greg Craig who can explain gear in ways I never knew. Gear could be explained like you you. It is not just the passion. It's something you study and even design. Like, it is something that you are very much into.
Greg [00:06:12] Yeah. Yeah. So, I mean, I'm really good at making a short story long. So we'll see how this goes. You know, when I was. I was about, I don't know, six, seven, eight years old. The obsession started and, you know, some kids did like 10 years old, some boys would hide magazines under their mattresses or whatever.
Brandon [00:06:35] No idea what you're talking about . . .
Greg [00:06:39] I would go to bed and I'd pull Mountain Hardwear catalogs out from under my mattress and North Face. And I was memorizing gear as memorizing the weights and the fabrics.
Brandon [00:06:49] That's when we knew you were different.
Chase [00:06:52] Early warning signs. If you do this, you might be like Greg in the future.
Greg [00:06:59] So it's it's just kind of been an obsession. I started designing my own gear as a teenager and making some of it and got a job at 16 at the local gear shop. And it pretty much worked in a gear shop ever since. Other than I spent a couple of years in Europe not working in a gear shop. But other than that, I've just always been working in a gear shop or teaching outdoor stuff. I worked with you up the university in a rental shop and taken people on trips, guiding trips and different things. And so it's just always been my my love and passion. And so, now Chase, though, chases the head buyer gear 30. And so he's actually probably a little bit more up to date on that brand new stuff that's coming out. I've I've been around gear for the last 30 years and know the last 30 years of gear pretty well. But really, it's been about the last two years that I have been out of the loop a little bit as far as that, the latest and greatest.
Chase [00:08:01] So you don't pull magazines out at night anymore?
Greg [00:08:03] No,.
Chase [00:08:04] OK
Brandon [00:08:06] You might have to start because you gotta get back into the industry.
[00:08:09] I do, really. But I found that there's there's gear that I really, really like. And there's a lot of new innovative gear out that I look at it. And I think, well, that's great, but that's not I like my gear for these reasons. And I can tell this is probably not going to be for me, might be for other people. But I found that there's certain gear that I just I always look at the new gear that's coming out. And if I see something I think might be better than what I'm currently using, I'll go after it. But otherwise I'm kinda a little bit set in my ways. That's not a good thing.
Brandon [00:08:44] Well, I should say I won't chime in much because I am not gear officionado auto as much I do. I do have a nice appreciation for good gear. But the how it became good or why it's good goes way over my my head. And so if I make your comments, it's purely on a usage basis. I've used it. It works, right. Or I like it. That's about as deep as it gets. I like it? Yeah, it works.
Greg [00:09:12] But you have a good foundation for gear use because you've been an avid marathon runner. You go to take your family camping into Yellowstone and all this stuff like six times a year it seems like. You're always, you're always out in the mountains, whether it's camping or hiking or something. You've got your own outdoor podcasts you've done for many, many years. And oftentimes you're out hiking somewhere and doing the podcast and different things. I mean, you're out doing gear demos all the time.
Brandon [00:09:43] So I don't just sit home, right? Yeah, I do that too. But yeah.
Greg [00:09:48] And you've worked in a rental shop and you've taught you've taken people on outdoor trips, you've guided trips and all that stuff. So you've got a great background. You may not have every detail of the gear memorized, but you know your stuff.
Chase [00:09:59] Well there is a picture upstairs on Brandon's desk with him pulling a roof in, I think, American Fork Canyon. And so sometimes I question, "is, is Brandon a climber?" And I look at that and see his rippling body and say, yep, I know he climbs..
Brandon [00:10:12] That was a couple days ago, actually,.
Chase [00:10:14] I think he was like, what, last year?
Brandon [00:10:18] Oh. So I used to could. Yeah, I got to take that. It's embarrassing. It was so long ago. But we've been, I've been outside for long. Yeah. Playing outside for a long time on a recreational basis. So anyone that's very serious in the mountains and serious about their gear. That's Greg Maybe more where you chime in on usage over time, which is heavy duty situations where I don't even like to put myself in those situations like that. I'm a fair weather person. So, yeah, like we're so lucky here in Ogden where we'd like to go skiing if it's like puking snow. It's like, oh, wait for a bluebird. It's cool. Yeah. And there's there's some of those out there.
Greg [00:11:01] Yeah. And then Chase of course he's a again he's our head buyer. He's he knows all the latest and greatest gear that's out but also a very avid outdoorsman. I was trying to get out at a time. I was just talking to you like two weeks ago and you told me about that like ten or fifteen thousand miles you put on your truck and like three weeks or two weeks of adventuring, just traveling all over the West. I mean, you're up in Glacier, up and and up into Canada, you're down in southern Utah, you're climbing your skiing, you're climbing and skiing in the same day. You betcha. So you're quite oh, how how it is to be single and not have kids.
Chase [00:11:43] Yeah, basically what Greg is trying to say say, Chase is very single and likes to go out the village.
Brandon [00:11:51] Ladies, if you like Chase's voice, you should see it's hair. Come check out gear 30. Yeah.
[00:11:57] Yeah. I'll be here podcasting from time to time.
[00:12:00] Now, what's the benefits of a shop doing a gear podcast?
Greg [00:12:05] Well, I mean, for one, we see all the new gear that's coming out a year in advance. So we know really what the latest and greatest is. And and so and we get to see not only the gear that we carry, but all the other brands that are contacting us, that want us to carry their brands. We get to pick and choose what the greatest gear is, what we think is the best gear. We also get a lot of feedback from our customers as to what gear they like and what they don't. When I was the head buyer here at Gear 30, because I like really techie gear, I brought a lot of tech gear in. And one of the feedback from a lot of the guys is I love this stuff. And the feedback from the ladies is, "this isn't very cute." And so then Sarah took over for me and now Makell, she's doing the buying and stuff and they've got the perfect balance between techie and cute. I mean, the clothes fit just right. They look good, but then they also perform in the outdoors. And so we've really got a good balance between the male buyers and the female buyers that really know what works, first of all, what looks good, what fits well and, and all the new stuff that's coming out that we're really excited about.
Brandon [00:13:20] Yeah, I should mention just two previous four because the gear 30 buys a certain way over in the other shop. I'm the marketing person here. So we do buy for what people in and around Ogden are doing and some of the adventures that are close to Ogden. And we're lucky to live where we live because you can run south to Moab and play in the desert. You can run north to the Tetons and get some epic alpine. You can play in our own backyard and just have a ball. And so we sell gear that users around here will, will want and need. So, no, we don't sell like Himalayan suits. And this kind of because not very many people out here are doing that type of thing, nor do we sell Surf Gear. You know, we have a few stand up paddle boards, but sort of surf shop. So most of the gear that we will preview is gear that is used in a shop that services the Wasatch Front.
Greg [00:14:07] Right. Yeah. As far as winter gear, we do wear big into the back country skiing, back country skiing and snowboarding, sporting. We've got amazing back country skiing here in the Ogden area and in Salt Lake. And so we cater to that. We also have some resort skiing gear and stuff we get to to see all that. Snowshoeing, of course, there's tons of great snowshoeing around here, cross-country skiing, do backpacking, climbing, mountaineering, trail running, general hiking, generally just outdoor sportswear, everyday wear.
Chase [00:14:41] Eating outside can forget that one. One of my favorite parts.
Brandon [00:14:48] He eats a lot.
Greg [00:14:51] Oh, to be young again, young and single.
Chase [00:14:53] Let's just keep bringing that one up.
Greg [00:14:56] So anyway, we we do have amazing gear, amazing access to a lot of great stuff. I'd say probably the one sport that we won't touch on as much as I think most of us would like to, we'll be biking. We're surrounded by like four really good bike shops. So we don't we don't do a lot of cycling gear, bikes and biking gear and stuff like that, unfortunately, because we all like to bike. We all like mountain biking. We like road biking and stuff like that. But we probably won't have quite the insight as some of the bike shops will do, although we could bring definitely bring in some bike shop people in for some interviews and hear about what the latest and greatest is there. So but yeah, like you said, we're an Ogden shop. We buy stuff for Ogden people. You know, you get a lot of information on backpacking and camping gear because that's kind of the big summer thing that everybody around here seems to love to do from the families to single people and single people. Chase.
Brandon [00:16:02] Chase is the only single person in Ogden. That's kind of weird. Yeah, that's why I'm here. But if you follow his because he is wearing a piece of tech gear that he uses every day, sometimes twice a day. And that's his Suunto on his wrist. And you can follow Chase because all of this stuff is public on the Suunto app. You can see how much he gets out, which is quite a bit.
[00:16:23] Yeah. It doesn't like to brag either. Well, we'll put his is info in the show notes or something.
[00:16:33] Yeah, yeah, that's a good idea. And if you're curious as to what we carry www.gearthirty.com.
[00:16:37] Gear 30. Yeah. And that's spelled out GEARTHIRTY.com So anyway. So that's what you can expect from this podcast and we will see you on the future episodes we see out there. Was the slowest.
[00:16:54] Thanks for joining us today for the Gear 30 podcast. GEAR:30 is a specialty outdoor retail store at the foot of the Wasatch Mountains in Ogden, Utah. Like us on Facebook, follow and interact with us on Instagram @gear_30 and visit our Website. Gear thirty dot com for amazing deals on the best outdoor gear around. That's gear 30 spelled out gearthirty.com. Don't forget to subscribe to this podcast. Leave us a review comment, ask questions and participate.
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