The New Deuter Pace 30

ISO: Something That Dan Likes

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Light as a feather stiff as a board. To anyone that has done team building activities, this statement might make you cringe. To the uninitiated, imagine someone standing on a wooden platform 10 feet off the deck with 6 people waiting to catch them screaming, “Keep your back stiff as a board and imagine yourself light as a feather!”

This statement also holds true for ultra lightweight backpacks. On one hand, you want your pack to be light (light as feather); on the other hand you want it to be able to carry a load without feeling like you're strapped to a backboard (stiff as a board). With this in mind, I decided to try out a new Deuter pack called the Pace 30.

When I first picked the pack up, I realized it easily met my first requirement of being light as a feather (2lbs) while still having a lot of sweet features - a vented waste belt with goo stash pouch, gear loop as well as a front panel roomy enough for a helmet - making this pack an excellent, jack of all trades.

Since the pack screamed "DO IT ALL," I decided to test it doing a couple of different activities - an approach hike and climbing. I was hoping to test it with more climbing but our “hike” turned into a full on bushwhack, “If you are curious the approach was rated a BW3+. We're talking a full on alder vaulting, black berry bush, and things that go F*** in the night experience.” Even at about 25lbs, I barely noticed the pack while doing my best Rambo impression through the brush, “Sorry for jumping on you Dan I was little caught up in the moment.” This is primarily due to the tensioned Delrin U-frame stay system that adds just enough stiffness (stiff as a board perhaps?) to keep the weight on your hips while still being super flexible.

The pack is super streamlined and compresses down easily which allowed me to stalk my prey…I mean follow my partner without getting snagged on limbs or anything else that goes bump in the night. In the end, the fabric held up better then I did. I don’t know if this was due to the bombproof Hexlite 210 fabric or the fact that my face took the brunt of the abuse. Either way, this pack held up so well that Sylvester Stallone would be impressed. This versatility and durability at $99 dollars makes this pack a must have for Spring 2010.

Pro’s: Lightweight, durable, and affordable makes this all-arounder appropriate for all your alpine endeavors from fast and light alpine climbing to back country skiing, “Yes it does carry skis!!!”

Con’s: I don’t know. The fact that it isn’t called the Jack of All 30 or the Rambo 30. Or maybe the fact that I have to give this back to the rep and won’t be able to acquire my own until Spring 2010.

Bonus: My friend Dan likes this pack. Dan never likes anything. Enough said.

Specs: 2lbs Capacity 30L MSRP: $99.00



Associate Blogger Jeremy Park can be found hiding in the alpine ranges of the Pacific Northwest and occasionally ditches a day of work to return from his adventures. As a crusty contradiction, he enjoys ice and rock of all types and more importantly, lives for general tomfoolery.


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The Deuter Guide 45+ Alpine Pack

SWM ISO: My Amazonian Goddess

Filed under: , , , , , , , , , , by: TRuC



I see backpacks as a necessary evil to outdoor endeavors. They never fit right, are too heavy, don’t have the right bells and whistles, are uncomfortable and the list goes on. Personally I would love to have a Star Trek Transporter magically teleport my gear to the prearranged bivy/campsite anytime I hike or climb. Seeing as the chances of this actually happening (I’ll hold out and hope that I’ll eventually marry some Amazonian goddess that will schluf my gear anytime I want) are zero to nil, I am on a continuous search for the “do everything” bag. This bag would be comfortable, light weight, durable, and have just the right frills – basically, I want the perfect satchel for my gear. As you can see, there’s a reason I haven’t found my Amazonian goddess. However, I’ll settle for the current contender for my “do everything” bag - the Guide 45+ from Deuter. This all around alpine pack is made from a 1000d nylon Duratex and 420d Microlite fabric making this beefcake, well, super beefy. Both of the fabrics are PU coated, making this bag effectively waterproof (minus the occasional river dunking or typhoon conditions since the seams aren’t taped). My first impressions of the bag out of the packaging are mixed. On one hand, the bag is super durable (beefy fabric, beefy zippers, beefy…beefy) and seems to have all the right bells and whistles ( A-frame ski holders, ice tool holders, NO trekking pole holders, NO pull cord to lunch Patriot missiles, etc.), there are add-ons that seem unnecessary. This includes the side-access zippers and bottom compartment access zippers - I’d have one, but not both. As for the bottom compartment separator - I’d probably cut this out. All of these features are nice but add a lot of unnecessary zipper weight. Another feature I would like to see would be some sort of haul system using maybe a 3-point haul system for more vertical travel.

First impressions aside, I started packing the bag. Although listed as a 45L bag, I think it’s a little conservative (think far right wing conservative). I packed all my climbing gear, a rope, a bivy set up, food, stove and still had enough room for a bottle of wine. Compare that to my current 45+10L alpine pack which barely has enough room for the essentials much less enough room for a small flask of whiskey.

The Guide is also the most comfortable alpine pack I’ve ever used. Most light weight packs, the shoulder and waist straps are so trimmed down that they feel like a boa constrictor working on squeezing out your innards; leading to sore muscles and massage therapist bills. The Guide was a champ even on a 2 mile 2500ft approach.

There are plenty other things to like about the pack. Like a high priced stripper I once knew, this pack strips down to nothing but the bare necessities, the simple bear necessities. You can easily, “easily” being the operative word here, remove or put back together the pack stays, hip belt, and foam sheet - which doubles as an emergency bivy pad. On other alpine packs, I’ve found that removing these things can be easy but putting them back in can be a huge pain in the ass (I still haven’t fully gotten my Grivel Alpine Pack stay back in and I’ve had it for almost two years!!!!).Even stripped down and sans hip belt, the Guide was super comfortable. Although the “stripped down system” isn’t perfect and you can’t remove the top lid, it is by far the best system I’ve seen on a alpine pack. All in all, it's a nice alpine pack.

Pros: Über durable (no worries about punching through the pack materials with your crampons), Strips down easily, SUPER comfortable to carry, Reasonably priced at $169 (It was the cheapest pack out of all the comparable packs)


Cons: This is the heaviest pack (4lbs 4oz.) out of all the comparable alpine packs I looked at (I looked at Black Diamond, Osprey, Cilogear, and Grivel). This could easily be fixed by losing the bottom compartment opening and the internal separation flap. Neither of these changes would take away from the carrying comfort.

Bonus: Printed directions underneath the top lid on how to facilitate a rescue that doesn't involve you running around naked.

Conclusions: Amazonian goddess this pack is not (no one’s perfect) but if comfort and durability at a stellar price point is what you're seeking, then get this pack for all your alpine endeavors. Specs:


Volume: 2750-3350 cubic inches
Torso: 16.5-20 inches inches
Weight: 4 lbs. 4 oz. (3lbs. 10oz. min. weight)
Dimensions (HxWxD): 29 x 13.5 x 9.5 inches



Guest Blogger Jeremy Park can be found hiding in the alpine ranges of the Pacific Northwest and occasionally ditches a day of work to return from his adventures. As a crusty contradiction, he enjoys ice and rock of all types and more importantly, lives for general tomfoolery.










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Coghlan Camping Toaster -

The Little Toaster That Could

Filed under: , , , , , , , , , by: TRuC

Welcome to my review blog; something that I've kind of always wanted to do but just never got around to doing. I'm not saying that I actually have more time on my hands, but lets just say that my fruitless searches for reviews on certain things have led me to start this in hopes of providing more random reviews on things that make me excited enough to write about.

Case in point:

I love trips. I love camping. I love car camping. I feel that I have dedicated enough of my youth to backpacking that, well, I just don't find it fun anymore, whatsoever. Some may call me a wuss, but you know what? I can handle the defaming in exchange for a nice relaxed evening with a super grilled bbq, propane heaters and an adequately roomy tent for me, my wife Heidi, and our dog. A good nights sleep always sets you up for the next days send...not to mention a potentially limitless night of fun and antics by all your friends, regardless of ability.

Ahh, I remember the day I decided to shed the backpack and all the super light, gram shaving, titanium-tyvex-whup-de-doo-dad for the fat Coleman double-burner, 3-fold crash pad-turned-sleeping-pad, 2 tents (1 kitchen and one for sleepin') and all the great creature comforts associated with car camping.


So, with that little bit of background on me, lets get on with the review!

About a year or so ago, the car camping gurus at Coleman put out a toaster oven . A big, heavy and heavy duty propane toaster oven. At first, images of the typical Coleman family portrait enters the imagination complete with monster size SUV's, gargantuan tents, Eddie Bauer flannel, Jansport day packs, Mossy Oak camo bibs, finished with his, hers, little his and little hers ATV's.



But then you think "Hmmm. Toast." How great would that be?! Well, it'd be awesome if you could justify spending as much as $115 on one. Reviews of this thing tout some wonderful foods to bring to the campground (i.e. pizzas, blueberry muffins and yes, toast). I checked one out at a local store one afternoon and suddenly got the urge to get one, but got cold feet before totally committing (the evil "recession" voices got to me).

Later that week, I told Heidi about it and she found this rickety stove top toaster that I, in my spoiled and stubborn man-ego mind quickly shut down and said "I'd rather eat cold bagels than cook with that thing." A week later we were sitting in the cold shadows of a mountain, eating crumbly, cold bagels that went down the gullet as easy as an unchewed, sideways tortilla chip. I decided to check out this little toaster.



Enter the Coghlan's Camp Stove Toaster


At less than $5 bucks, I figured it would be worth a shot. The box that it comes in has an image of nicely toasted slices of bread that makes you wonder if the science behind the design actually can toast that evenly.


The following weekend, I was looking forward to trying this thing out. Images of crunchy, toasted bagels danced around my head as I smacked my lips in anticipation. Heidi, opened up the contraption and started putting it together. 4 wiry brackets snap and click to their place...at least they were intended to. A little fussy in the design, the ends didn't want to stay hooked in their base plate homes and popped out occasionally during initial set-up.

Once everything was put together, you slap it on top of the burner on your stove and crank it to high. The heat caused the plate to oxidize and seemed ready to warp but those Canadians at Coghlan designed and assures that it wouldn't. Sure enough, it didn't but I'd make sure to give it some time to get hot and expel any heat reactive fumes before putting anything on it for the first time. One of the wires 'poinged' out of it's holes under the heat but with a couple of forks as our hands, we got it back to it's home.


We loaded it up with 4 bagels. It's maximum capacity. You're instantly hit with that homemade-toasty smell. Something that kind of brings a smile to your face. After about 2 minutes I flipped my bagel and toasted the outside and a minute later - TOAST.

So if you have never had a perfectly toasted bagel or slice of bread while camping (I'm not talking about skewering your bread with a stick or knife and rubbing the flames in a wax-on, wax-off motion), you owe it to yourself to get one of these things. It worked like a charm. After the initial burn, the toaster set-up, took-down and cleaned easier than a pair of nail clippers (you get the idea).


You just can't go wrong with something this inexpensive and easy.
Here's a great breakfast recipe that we made (credit to my fellow co-workers):


1 tomato - sliced thin

1 avocado - sliced thin

cream cheese - however much you typically like on a bagel

2 bagels (I found that an Asiago Cheese Bagel)

Salt and pepper to taste

Serves 2


See you out there!

T
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