Articles about gear and equipment
8th
Jun
Update and WARNING: The solar setup described below has become problematic for several reasons: The panel that goes over the aluminum strip down the center of the roof interferes with the maintenance and weather sealing of that strip. The panels butting against the strip, while not preventing maintenance, do make it more complicated. Due to […]
25th
May
Now that we’ve had a few weekends to take out our Mantis camper from TAXA Outdoors, we’re finally ready for the grand tour of our new home away from home. We purchased the first generation Mantis. In fact, ours is #12, so among the first to hit the streets, so-to-speak. We love how open it […]
18th
May
I tend more towards backpacking than car camping, yet the ability to bring a basecamp—a home—with me on trips has always been appealing to me. I am lucky enough to be married to a wife who has shared that appeal, and so a little over a year ago, after watching the progression of small camping […]
10th
May
If you’ve followed our journey on the TAXA Trailer Owner’s Facebook group, you’ll probably know we’ve struggled a bit with our tow vehicle. What you probably don’t know is how painful this decision process has been. We started the search in February, well before our Mantis was delivered, so we had plenty of time. We […]
8th
Apr
One of the steepest learning curves when we first started using our camping trailer was learning how to manage our power. Camping used to be fairly simple. You had certain items that needed power, and when they ran out, you couldn’t use them. But with our camping trailer, suddenly we had large, expensive batteries that […]
19th
Nov
Over the years, I’ve carried my fair share of heavy gear. On backpacking trips, my record is in around 14 pounds of camera gear alone. Though I know folks who’ve carried more than that. Still, my goal is not to have the heaviest load. Especially as I left my 20s, carrying a lot of stuff […]
18th
Nov
Although hiking in the mountains is my passion, I also spend a fair bit of time exploring more urban landscapes as well. My urban gear is much different than my outdoor gear, tending much more towards prime lenses than zooms. What I’m going to outline here is the typical bag I bring to and from […]
11th
Aug
As most backpackers and avid outdoors folk know, traveling in the backcountry holds certain risks. For many, that risk is managed through adherence to bringing what were originally known as the 10 essentials. The original essentials list has morphed and grown over the years, but it comes down to the main concept, bring what you […]
4th
Aug
Earlier in the year, I explained the limitations of my lighter Osprey atoms 50 pack. Beyond 35 pounds, it tends to get uncomfortable, and past 40 it’s downright painful. And with 8 pounds of camera gear, it doesn’t take much to hit up against the upper limits of that pack. A recent trip had me carrying […]
28th
Jul
Updated 8/10/2015 REI, Adventure Medical, and other companies have build quite a market around complex pre-built first aid kits. These kits can come very organized with quite a few components to them. They are often tailored to general circumstances, and contain a lot of potential yet unneeded trash. I believe that first aid kits are […]