Yeah, it’s another flashlight video. If you aren’t a big fan of flashlights, just ignore the site for a week or so. If you do like lights, then you might wet yourself from excitement with all the flashlight goodness I will be posting.
Next up is a video for the JETBeam E3S, probably the classiest looking light that we carry. The E3S is the updated version of the E3P, with a slimmer body, much brighter LED, and improved (in my not at all humble opinion) looks. I’ve been sending a lot of these to businessmen and other guys that do not ncessarily want a black tactical light with a strike bezel on it. Check out the video below for more info.
The JETBeam RRT-3 is the latest model in the Rapid Response line. Like the other models, the RRT-3 uses a rotating ring to switch between modes. The RRT-3 has eight different modes: seven brightnesses from 1 all the way to up 1200 lumens plus variable strobe. 1200 lumens is about 15 times the brightness of a 4D MagLite, or, in other words, a crazy amount of light. The RRT-3 has a range of several football fields, easily, making it powerful enough for just about any task. Add in JETBeam’s attention to detail, top end machining, and flat out good looking aesthetics and you have a heck of a light.
A carry handle, remote pressure switch, and picatinny rail mount are also available if you want to fully trick out your light. Watch the video below for a better idea of what the light can do.
I managed to avoid the powerful lure of SteepAndCheap for a good year, mostly thanks to a bank account containing some pocket lint and maybe an Altoid or two. Their recent splitting of ski, snowboard, kayak, bike, etc. gear and focus on traditional camping gear and clothing has pulled me back in with several purchases in recent months. Of course, most of them were some form of merino wool.
The most recent purchase was of the Backcountry.com Merino Crew Short Sleeve Shirt.  Three of them, in fact. I already own a few BC merino items and have been impressed with their quality, so this purchase was a safe one. The BC merino quality, softness, and weave easily rival Icebreaker’s, which is a very high compliment judging from the several thousand (retail) dollars worth of Icebreaker hanging in my and my wife’s closets.
Most of my merino is long sleeve, winter stuff, which is quite dumb considering I live in a state that is over 100F approximately 11 1/2 months out of the year. A good bit of my camping, backpacking, and general travel is in the southeast as well, so I was on the prowl for lighter weight merino. Merino t-shirts are actually very comfortable in the summer, due to the temperature regulating properties of merino fibers. They wick moisture, keep you cool when warm, and dry faster than cotton. Plus, they have natural anti-funk properties, which is nice on multi-day outdoor excursions. You might reek and cause other hikers to recoil at your stench, but your shirt won’t!
Man, I can really babble about merino, can’t I? Anyway, the BC Merino Crew Shirts are nice. The shirts have sleeve and shoulder seams that come down on the front and back of the collar instead of the traditional top of the shoulder seams. The different cut seams do not rub your shoulders when you have a pack, meaning that the 50 lbs of crap you have to carry when backpacking with your significant other is not quite as uncomfortable. The merino is very soft and the material is relatively thin, same as the other BC pieces I own. The weave is a tighter weave than a lot of companies use, but it has a lot of stretch to it. The collar itself is a combination of a v-neck along with another piece of material that makes it a quasi crew neck, a combination that is actually nice and comfortable.
The only downside to the shirt is that it is extremely form-fitting, which depending on your fitness level, may or may not be a downside for you. It, unforutnately, is currently a downside for me.
Boulders and logs just don’t do it for me in my ripe old age. I like to be off the ground, which means Crazy Creeks and Therm-a-Rest chairs aren’t adequate either unless I get all Bear Grylls and built a platform out of downed redwoods and jungle vines or whatever he uses. Tripod camping stools have been around for a while, but the ones I have seen or owned were not exactly featherweight compact backpacking seats. Coleman came out with their Exponent Trekking Stool a little while back that looked to be both light and compact, so I picked up a couple direct from Coleman to see how they fared.
Carrying bag
The stool comes in a nice nylon carrying bag that can be left at home if you don’t want the extra weight. I keep mine in the bag mostly to stop at least a little of the dirt from the ground that winds up coating the stool’s legs from coating the rest of the gear in my pack. I was glad to have the bag on our recent Cumberland Island trip, thanks to the wet sand that coated the legs. Not having a bag would have meant that I either needed to figure out a way to get all the sand out of every nook and cranny of the stool or live with sand all over the rest of the gear in my pack.
Stool in hand (that sounds gross)
The stool’s four legs fold in half, a feature which gives the unit its nice and compact size. The legs are made out of aluminum and are rated to hold up to 200 lbs, according to Coleman. The seat is nylon and is held in place for carry by a Velcro strap.
Stool ready to go
Unfold the legs, undo the Velcro strap holding the seat tight, fold out the stool, and you have a surprisingly comfortable seat. I tend to be leaning forward cooking food or playing with fire when I am sitting in a camp, so the lack of a backrest does not bother me. Despite the small sitting surface, I find the stool to be much more comfortable than most other folding chairs on the market.
One note about sitting on the stool:Â You position one of the corners to go
This one is for the ladies
betwen your legs instead of on either side like a regular chair or stool. I have seen a couple of friends try to sit with the corners on either side, which means that the metal corners of the stool are jabbing you in the thighs or butt, which is not exactly a comfortable way to relax in your campsite. Well, maybe it is for some of you freaky kids out there, but not for me.
My wife and I have had our Coleman Trekking Stools for about six months so far and have been pleased with how comfortable they are and how well they perform.  The going rate for the stools looks to be $20, a very reasonable price for a versatile piece of gear.
I’ve been using a Camelbak Better Bottle (BPA Free!) on a daily basis for several months now and figured it was about time to let the three of you world know how it performs. In short, I like it and would recommend it to others. If your attention span hasn’t yet been ruined by the Internet, read on for the details.
I had a Better Bottle for about a year before I got this one, but I honestly only used the bottom portion and then only as a cup. When the BPA free ones replaced the old stock at all the outdoor stores, I grabbed a few of them to see if there was a difference. There wasn’t a difference in taste, performance, or any other noticeable bullet point, which was not a negative in any way.
The bottle is sturdy enough, along the lines of the millions of polycarbonate bottles out there that have been dropped on driveways, trails, boulders, and office building floors. It can handle just about any abuse with ease, maybe with a scuff or two in tow.
The cap on the one I have is the sippy cup kind, which I was at first hesitant about. They also make it with a more traditional screw off cap, but I wanted to give this kind a try. I am not able to guzzle water like normal, but that is a good thing. In my almost thirty years on this earth, I still apparently have not mastered the skill of drinking from a container and end up with half a liter spilled down my shirt every time. Drinking out of a Nalgene or similar bottle while driving was an even worse spectacle, having me looking like my bladder control was no longer sufficient. The sports top (or whatever they call it) forces you to drink water at the proper rate, keeping you from spilling the water, drinking too fast, and any other potential downfall that comes with a large mouthed opening. I have seen reviews complaining of leaks with the bottle, but these seem few and far between, and I can honestly say that not a single drop has ever leaked out of the six Better Bottles that are now in operation between my wife and I. Maybe the reviewers forgot to flip the mouthpiece down or did not screw the lid on tight enough, who knows.
The aluminum and stainless steel bottles don’t really do it for me, so the Better Bottle is my new water providing container of choice. One caveat I can give you, from looking at my wife’s bottles, is that the mouth piece will become quite gunked up if you wear lipstick (it cleans off easily enough), but I suppose that might be an issue with any bottle. Thankfully, I wouldn’t really know.
I’ve been using a 
