Gear

Gear talk: the Leica 8×20 Monovid- probably the best quality small monocular ever made

Carrying a small optic can add a great deal of enjoyment to many a hike. However, the weight and size of binoculars can be an issue for many. If you can accept the limitations, a monocular may suit. The Leica 8x20 Monovid is probably the best quality small monocular ever made.

map measurer

Map measure of the month: the Sakurai centimetre curvimeter

The Japanese made Sakurai centimetre measure is simple and attractive but has lost the capability for very accurate measurement over the past couple of decades.

knife

Knife chat: the SwissBuck Legend- obsolete, but still a good choice

The 65mm SwissBuck Legend is an interesting little tool that may suit those looking for something just a little different. It was the result of a collaboration between Swiss knife maker Wenger and one of the oldest knife makers in the US- Buck Knives.

Electronics

Gear talk: Pad-Pal, the world’s lightest electric sleeping pad inflator

A pair of lungs is lighter than the little inflator looked at here, but the Pad-Pal is, by far, the lightest electric sleeping pad inflator in the world. It is doubtful that anything lighter could be made.

map measurer

Map measure of the month: Harvey Maps 25k and 40k ‘map-measure-go!’ laces

It is not often that a new design of map measure appears on the market. Harvey Maps bucked the trend in 2022 and released a fun little product- boot and shoe laces complete with printed scales to suit their most popular map scales- 1:25 000 and 1: 40 000.

Gear

Gear talk: the Pembrokeshire Coast Path- post-hike gear review

Three Points of the Compass has just returned from backpacking the Pembrokeshire Coast Path. Two September weeks in Wales threw at me varied weather conditions- from strong wind and horizontal rain, to hot sunny days and cold nights. This is a post-hike look at the lightweight backpacking gear I carried.

ditty bag

Gear talk: repairing a punctured Thermarest NeoAir sleeping pad

A quick look at the repair of a punctured Thermarest inflatable sleeping pad using the Instant Field Repair Kit

Electronics

Gear talk: RovyVon Aurora A5 USB-C ‘glow-in-the-dark’ Keychain Flashlight

Following a couple of upgrades, the third generation of RovyVon Aurora A5 glow-in-the-dark (GITD) keychain flashlight is now (probably) the best ‘keychain’ hand-held light available to backpackers. It has now replaced my Nitecore NU25 headlamp on trail

Cooking

Gear talk: Vesuv titanium windshield

A new purchase- a simple titanium windshield sized to fit my favourite Evernew pan. It may be expensive, but improved efficiency is something always to be sought.

Gear

Gear talk: adding caps to my MSR Groundhogs

An easy hack to make pushing pegs into the ground a little easier- adding plastic caps

map measurer

Map measure of the month: the Carl Zeiss Jena/Freiberger Präszisionsmechanik Kurvimeter 78

The Freiberger Präzisionsmechanik company is based in Saxony, Germany and has a long and convoluted history that has seen many name and structural changes. From 1965 to 1990, they were part of the Kombinat VEB Carl Zeiss Jena optics parent company. The Kurvimeter 78 map measure looked at here dates from that period of Soviet control.

Gear

Gear talk: peg selection

Three Points of the Compass has tried various combination sets of pegs (OK, stakes to our friends across the pond) with my various tents over the years. I suspect many of us have. There is no one-size-fits-all peg, though some come damn close to being perfect. Some ground or soil types or weather conditions such as wind or snow lend themselves better to more specialised pegs.

knife

Knife chat: Victorinox Pioneer X and Pioneer Farmer

The Pioneer X and Farmer each provide one additional tool over their two-layer cousins. That extra tool, either scissors or saw, may be enough to tempt you

map measurer

Map measure of the month: Elliott Brothers opisometer

Elliott Brothers were one of the foremost instrument makers of the 19th and 20th centuries. The two opisometers looked here are prime examples of their craft

Gear

Gear talk: a replacement of the Zpacks Duplex vestibule double-hook apparatus

Backpacking the Southern Upland Way recently, I reached out one evening to close and tighten the vestibule doors- twang! One of the hooks had broken. I tied it shut for the remainder of that hike and simply used the other side of the shelter. Back home, I found thirty seconds to replace it with one of those sent to me by Zpacks

knife

Knife chat: Victorinox Pioneer and Pioneer Electrician

The Alox Pioneer knives from Victorinox are good looking with well made robust tools. These two-layer options from the 'medium-pocket knives' range differ from each other only slightly and either may provide exactly the tool set required.

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