First impressions: MLD Trailstar

It's mostly been gear talk on the blog lately, but spring has finally arrived here in Oslo so I'll soon be spending lots of time outdoors and writing trip reports!. It's such a high to see everything come alive again after a long, dark and cold winter. You can tell I just love subarctic winters right?.

This time I want to talk about a shelter I bought this winter, the Trailstar from the cottage gear manufacturer Mountain Laurel Designs (MLD for short). I have yet to try it in anger, so these will just be my first impressions. MLD categorizes it as a "hybrid tarp shelter", something in between a tarp and tent. Personally I view it as an advanced tarp, a pretty unique one at that.

What makes it unique in my eyes is the simplicity of the design and the amount of sheltered space it provides to 1-2 hikers, not to mention what everyone raves about: it's ability to shed wind.

The Trailstar is basically five identical panels of silnylon, sown together to form a star shape. It's held up by a hiking pole in the center (reinforced with dyneema to cope with the stresses) and a total of ten tieout points (5 is typically needed for a standard pitch). A second hiking pole is often used to raise one of the sides to make entry and exit easier like in the picture above. There's also a loop at the top of the shelter so that you may hang it from an overhead branch and create a large sheltered space where people can hang out. That's what I'll try to do at some point anyway :). Inside there are 5 small loops that can be used for various purposes, for instance to hang a bivy net hood, a tent light etc.

Not much more to say about it really. There are no zippers, vents, buttons, mesh or anything like that. Very little can go wrong with it. I like that.

I got mine in yellow, but you can also get in grey and olive brown, and with an optional stake set. The weight of mine is 542 grams including the stuff sack. It will be slightly heavier after it's been seam sealed. The price was 155 dollars when I bought it. Now its gone up to 169 dollars. Still a very nice price for such a versatile shelter. Oh, I almost forgot to mention that you get some very solid guyline/cord with it, the strongest looking I've seen to date.

Pitching the thing
The Trailstar can pitched in many configurations and at different heights. A low pitch of for instance 100 cm (39 inches) with pegs in all tieout points looks very bomber and should be able to survive the harshest of winds. Here's mine in that configuration with my Talon 22 daypack in front of it as a size reference:

Such a low pitch will of course decrease the usable living space by a lot, but it makes quite a difference in stability I would believe. MLD talks about a tight ground pitch being 36 inches, so you can go even lower if the conditions get really bad. A higher pitch at 47 inches (120cm), or maybe 44 inches, is what I hope to use the most as it makes the living space very roomy indeed for a single hiker.

Everyone talks about this being a very simple shelter to pitch. With practice I believe it will be, but I didn't think it was all that easy when I made my first attempts. I read Steven Horner's instructions and aimed for a high pitch. It was not sure how loosely I should lay it out on the ground and at what length I should adjust the guylines as a starting point. Pegging all 5 points also made it a squeeze to get under to set up the pole. Now I only peg 4 to begin with. I guess all this will become second nature after a while and that a pitch can be made in 1.5 minutes like MLD states, or maybe a bit more to make it drum tight.

I'm really looking forward to trying the Trailstar out this season!. I have a good feeling about about this particular piece of kit.

More about the Trailstar:

Reviews
Steven Horner's review
Colin Ibbotson's review (PDF)

Pitching instructions
Steven Horner's instructions
Bus stop shelter pitch by Blogger Zed

Videos (all too few to be found):

First look: Woolpower Full Zip Jacket 400

A year ago Hendrik from www.hikinginfinland.com wrote a great post about Woolpower, a swedish maker of high quality wool garments with some unique traits. This spurred my interest and I subsequently bought a "long johns 200" that I was impressed with. Wanting to test more of their offerings I contacted them to inquire about getting some items to test. They gave me a nice discount as a gear tester and a short time ago I received a box of goodies, among them the midlayer garment called the "Full zip jacket 400, which I'll give my first impression of here.

The full zip jacket 400 is part of their midlayer range and is noticeably thicker, warmer and heavier than their 200 range (baselayers). While the 200 baselayers feel very light and airy, this feels more like an advanced sweater.

It's got extra large cuffs with thumb loops, great ass-coverage (I know that just sounds wrong in so many ways) and an extra thick and warm collar. A zip neck completes the feature set.
 

What really is unique about the Woolpower garments is the fabric which is a mix of merino wool and synthetic. The inside, where most of the wool is, has small terry loops that trap the heated air from your body and wick moisture to the outside where it can evaporate. I've observed this process while going on walks with my 200 baselayers. My back will get sweaty, the loops will get damp as they wick, and moisture will appear on the outside, eventually evaporating and venting through my windshirt.

The outside is mostly synthetic which makes it tough and resistant to wear and tear. Some syntehtics added to wool garments is clever in my opinion. I've owned 100% merino garments which feel and function great, but they are very fragile and fall apart quite fast getting holes and tears.

The zipper, though seemingly proprietary, seems very solid too, and will probably last a long time before needing service.

So, when is this a good item to use? It is very warm, so even in winter this is not an item to wear while doing strenuous activities like snowshoeing in heavy snow or climbing hills on skis. I think it is best suited to being used in camp and as a piece to wear in daily life during winter. This is bomber winter insulation that may not appeal to the most hardcore UL people because of being heavier than down or syntethic insulation pieces, and not compressing well, but personally I like it a lot so far and will gladly carry the extra weight to enjoy its warmth and bomber construction. There is something very comforting about wool garments like these. I will write a review when I've had the chance to get some long term experience with it.

Like:

• Warmth
• Robustness
• Collar
• Long back
• Thumb loops
• Extra large cuffs
• Slightly oversized medium
• Sticker with the name of the sewer of my particular piece (Inta Bartule).

Dislike:

• Woolpower logo on the back of the collar
• A bit baggy cut on the forearms (small nitpick as it may be a good thing if wearing something thick beneath)

Other comments:

• Would love to see a hooded version of this and of the 200 base layers (including thumb loops).
• Visit lightweightoutdoors.com to learn more about the flexibility of layering.
• I also higly recommend Woolpower's website. Nice design and lots of info.
• And lastly, on a completely different note alltogether, check out this video if you have the slightest tendency to like 80s music. What a band they were. I feel old :D.
  

And the tarp goes to

The last entry: Niels! Congrats - can you send me an e-mail (thomas_gauperaa*at*hotmail.com) with your full address?.

I wish you all a happy new year!

Review: Montbell Thermawrap Parka

Everyone seem to be writing about their favourite gear of 2010, so I thought I should do a review of the Montbell Thermawrap Parka, an light insulated jacket that is definitely a fave of mine. It's got lots of great features, but it is still not without its flaws. Nothing is perfect right?





















The Thermawrap Parka is basically a light, windproof and water resistant hooded jacket with a layer of synthetic insulation. Montbell describes it as:

"simple, light weight, synthetic insulation that remains thermally efficient when wet. Whether it be a frigid mid-winter bike commute into the office or a harrowing belay high on the Compressor Route".

That the jacket still insulates when wet is of course a big plus compared to a down equivalent, like the Patagonia Down Sweater, which would collapse when water soaked through its shell. Still, wet insulation is something you want to avoid in any case, so I would recommend carrying a rain shell too if there is a chance of rainfall. Mine is a size large and weighs in at 13.4 oz (380 grams) on my scale. It's worth noting that these run small due to it being a japanese jacket. I normally wear a medium, so order a size larger than you normally wear.

The fabric used in the outer shell and lining is 15 denier Ballistic Airlight nylon with a DWR (Polkatex). Its very soft to the touch and does an outstanding job in blocking the wind - so much that I will be taking a long hard look at their windshirts when I wear out my Montane Litespeed. Montbell brags about the DWR treatment, claiming it can resist 100 wash cycles. This has not been my experience. I don't think its either more durable nor more effective than that on other garments I've tried

The insulation is 80gr/m2 Exceloft which I've found is very effective even though the layer is pretty thin. I think the jacket feels so warm because of a combination of the insulation, the ability to block wind and the very nice hood. Talking about the hood, lets move on to features.

The cuffs have what Montbell describes as "wedge shaped stretch panels". I like these for two reasons: comfortable fit + sealing to avoid drafts and snow.

The hood is adjustable and has a nice, snug fit. My only gripe with it is the adjusters that are close to the face and can be irritating at times when they stick out.

You also get two zippered pockets, dual hem adjusters and a micro fleece beard guard. Montbell also includes a stuff sack.

Long term use
I've been using the jacket a lot since I bought it, both when out hiking and in daily life. When hiking I've mostly used it in camp and at rest stops as insulation and it's done a great job. In daily life it is my goto jacket for most of the year and it's always kept me warm with a base layer beneath it. We've been having some really cold weather here lately with temperatures plummeting to -15C and that's more than it can handle, so I'm using a MH Monkey Man fleece as midlayer to boost warmth. This is a very warm combo though so its not something to use while on the move.

The DWR wore away like all of them do eventually, so I had to use some Nikwax spray to reapply it. Tiny holes have appeared on the back due to abrasion, leading to small dots of insulation leaking out. Nothing to bad, but I would've expected it to take more abuse. I've also been having problems with the zipper splitting - I guess this is normal zipper wear, but I have seldom encountered it in other jackets. In my opinion they should've used a stronger and more durable zipper.

Sizing and availability
Montbell products are not available in Norway so I had to get the Parka from the states. They offer a wide range of sizes and both a mens and womens version. Note that the parka is part of a series of synthetic insulation products - they also have a jacket, pant and vest.

Conclusion
So, is this something I would recommend getting? Yes, I think so, but maybe not for longer trips like thru-hikes because of the relatively weak zipper. Overall I think it is a great insulation piece which is really versatile, and quite affordable too.

Raffle: backpackinglight.co.uk solo tarp

I have a very nice solo tarp from backpackinglight.co.uk lying around not getting the attention and adventures it deserves, so I'm giving it to one of you readers.

The tarp isn't brand new, but it's not far from it having only been pitched in fair weather a couple of times to practice, never in anger. It's a high quality silnylon tarp with several pitch options. More information can be found on the product page at backpackinglight.co.uk.

To participate you only have to give a short presentation of yourself - I'm curious about who my readers are. Please leave a link to your blog or your twitter feed if you have one.

I will use random.org on the 1st of january 2011 to find out who gets the item.

Thank you for following my blog - I really appreciate it. Have a great weekend and take care.

How to stay warm in -40 C

Earlier this week I found an interesting infographic showing what clothing Lars Monsen and Hardald Tunheim recommends to stay warm and without frostbite at -40 celsius (-40 F). I don't know anything about Harald Tunheim, but Lars Monsen is probably the most well known outdoors person in Norway. If I bring my stove on a trip people will often comment "that is so Lars Monsen". He's super experienced after being an outdoors person all his life, and after completing several challenging expeditions, like crossing Canada with dogsled. He's made several TV shows and written books about his expeditons and about gear and techniques.

Here's the infographic with a translation to english below:

How to dress for extreme cold
These are some clothing tips from harald Thunheim and Lars Monsen, both dog sled drivers. They have both experienced extreme cold and know how to dress to avoid frostbite.

Head
Wool beanie with opening for face (my comment: balaclava?).
(Harald Thunheim prefers a fur cap with sides that can be connected below the chin with velcro. He also uses goggles and a face mask if there is a lot wind).

Neck
The neck is covered with wool.

Upper body
Wool sweater with neck, vest or down jacket.
Two wool shirts, short and long sleeve.

Outer layer
Windproof jacket made out of a strong fabric, and with a solid hood. Should be long so that it covers the buttocks.

Hands
Outer layer: Sealskin mitts that covers much of the lower arm (windproof).
Inner layer: Wool mitts.

Legs
Two wool long underwear bottoms.
Outdoor pant or fleece pant, preferably with reinforced knees.
Thick, insulated field trousers.

Feet
Thick wool socks, two pairs.
Shoes made from pure wool.
Use shoes that are a couple of sizes too large. Insert thicker and better isolated insoles as the cold comes from below.

Don't shower every day
Lars Monsen thinks that a layer of dirt protects against the cold, so don't shower as often.

This clothing setup is of course mostly geared towards dog sled drivers and people staying mostly stationary in camp, as well as people who don't like deodorant. Any heavy physical activity would probably make a person hot and sweaty, needing to shed some layers, but then again : -40 C is pretty cold.

Staying comfortable and dry when moving in -7 C
I went for a walk today in the forest close to where I live and I learned something, I always do when I am out.  The temperature was -7 celsius (20F) with some light snow falling and no wind.

When I left I was wearing synthetic socks with wool socks on the outside, hikings boots, high gaiters, Woolpower long underwear bottoms, Lundhags pants (cotton/poly blend), synthetic baselayer from Stormberg, Patagonia R1 hoody, Polar Buff, beanie, Marmot Driclime windshirt, fleece gloves and MLD rain mitts. I started out a little chilly and then I felt my back getting warm, so I removed the windshirt. After a while my ears got chilled so I put on the hood/balaclava of my R1. This shedding of layers and putting them on again continued the whole trip, with the goal being to not get sweaty.

Now you might say that getting sweaty isn't a big deal, and in summer it isn't, well except for potentially scaring friends and wildlife with your body odor, but it is in winter. Imagine you're working hard, walking on snow with your snowshoes on. You've felt your baselayer getting wet from perspiration, but you've not stopped to take care of it because you're a lazy or you don't want to make your friends wait. After a while you decide to stop to eat something and snap some photos, but you're stilling wearing what you wore while moving, not adding any insulation. Now you're not moving anymore so your body isn't producing warmth like before. Since you're still somewhat warm you're still sweating some and the sweat is evaporating from your skin, taking warmth with it. After a while it stops evaporating, but your baselayer is still wet and water transports heat 25 times more efficiently than air, hard facts that you definitely don't like in that situation. So, you really want to be observant and shed layers when needed to reduce sweating, and you want to put on some insulation as soon as you stop. I knew all of this beforehand of course, but I haven't been this focused on it before, mostly hiking in warmer conditions. In winter it is essential to be mindful of this.

Onwards, on snow

Glenn and me are still on our way to Rondane, but the going is getting tougher. A month ago we were camping in typical late fall conditions with temperatures around 5 degrees celsius and rain. This time we were trodding along in 10-15 cm of fresh, wet snow. Physically demanding hiking, but also exhilirating to be on the move in such a beautiful, serene landscape, muffled by the soft snow.

This time we didn't leave early to take advantage of the light - we just accepted the fact that it would be dark most of the time anyway (the sun sets at 3:45 pm here now), so we didn't rush it and left at 5 pm, taking the train to Eidsvoll where we left the trail last time.

It was quite chilly when we got there, with a stiff breeze from the north making us quickly put on beanies and hoods to stay warm. First order of business was to get some bone dry firewood to reduce the effort of making a fire. We hoped the local gas station would have some, but they didn't. They told us to try the local Europris shop, not far away. A bag of 25 litres of birch wood was quickly secured and we were on our way to find a suitable place to camp. To get to where the trail started we had to walk several kilometres along roads that criss-crossed the landscape of fields and farms. It was dark and we made sure to have our headlamps on so we would be visible to traffic. The red blinking light on the battery pack of my Gamma headlamp worked great to make us visible also from behind (thanks for that feature Alpkit!). At some point we realized that we wouldn't reach the trail head before it got too late, so we got off the road and climbed to the top of a hill to find a suitable spot there. It was hard going to get up, especially with the added firewood, but we found a nice spot, put up the Nallo and got a fire going.

After the now obligatory-on-all-our-trips chips+beer combination, and Real Turmat, we retired to our sleeping bags, Glenn opting to sleep outside with a bivy. I slept very well that night (yay!), only waking up a few times to change my position, but then dosing off quickly. My WM Ultralite bag and Exped Downmat 7 kept me very warm and snug, even though I wasn't feeling toasty when it was about time to get up, probably because I was getting hungry.

We'd agreed to get going earlier than last time to take advantage of the daylight, so at 8:30am I got up and tried to wake Glenn.

He was deep asleep inside his warm cocoon of summer bag, winter bag and bivy, so it took some shouting and shaking to get him to react :).

A thin layer of snow had fallen during the night, covering the gear we had left outside. Glenn was happy that he had made a little tarp for his multifuel stove before retiring the previous night.

Breakfast was porridge in a bag for me, and porridge in a pot for Glenn. I wanted to try one of the homemade prepackaged meals I had left from this summer's trip with my brother. It's basically just microwave porridge mix with cinnamon, nuts, home-dehydrated apple pieces and nuts. Great stuff and so nice to just eat from the bag and not having to do any dishwashing afterwards.

After breakfast we proceeded down the trail at a good pace, happy to be on the move again. The snow slowed us down, but we were all smiles nonetheless. The first part was still close to civilization as we passed farms and houses, but soon the trail moved into the forest. Being the first people on the trail that morning, we could see the footprints of several animals on the fresh layer of snow from the previous night. We could even spot the miniscule tracks of forest mice. Amazingly we also saw insects buzzing about close to the snow, but of course at a more sedate winter pace. Still, I didn't know that any insects were active this time of year.

After hiking something like four hours, we found the hut we were planning to stay the night in, the "Lysjøhimet", a hut that is available for people hiking on the "Pilgrimsleden", the Pilgrim way to Nidaros in Trondheim. Much of the early part of Rondanestien is basically Pilgrimsleden, they share the same path

The hut is not fancy by any standards, being open to anyone all year round, and probably not having people look after it on a regular basis. It consists of a bedroom, kitchen and a living room with a fireplace and a cast iron oven. The kitchen has some plates, mugs and cutlery, but that's basically it. This used to be the main building of a farm (husmansplass) that was operated until the 1940s. The old cast iron, wood fired, stove is still there, but we didn't use it. Interesting to take a closer look at something like that though. I guess the people using it on a daily basis got their technique down, being able to regulate the heat by feeding wood to the different fuel chambers.

The house was freezing cold, so we soon started to look for some firewood. The shed outside had a nice supply (we left money for what we used) and both the oven and the fireplace were soon in afterburner mode, heating the place up so that we were able to warm up and dry our gear. It was so nice to just sit in front of the fireplace and talk and relax - not a single work related thought entered my mind. It's been pretty busy lately.

The next day we cleaned the place and brought firewood from the shed to the next visitors. We also wrote an entry in the visitor's log book. Most people seem to visit the hut in the summer months, and many of them are from other european countries, like France and Germany. One of the entries was in german - maybe Hendrik can translate it if he reads this blog entry. I think they thought the place needed to be renovated, but then they found the fireplace and that made all the difference.

Like the previous day the going was quite tough, with an extra layer of snow that had fallen during the night. Once more we were able to study tracks made by animals running around in the early morning hours. Maybe you can identify these tracks? Glenn thinks it's from a fox:

We had lunch close to a lake where people use to go swimming during the summer. I had gotten a bit sweaty during the last hour and paid the price by getting a bit chilled. It's so important not too overheat when hiking in winter conditions. The key is to continually put on and off layers and not being afraid to wear very little at times, maybe just a baselayer and a windshirt, and then putting on the puffy layers when stopping to eat or take a break.

Rested and fueled up we continued northwards, just enjoying the views.

After maybe an hour hike we reached an intersection where the Rondanestien and Pilgrimsleden parted ways, our starting point next time. The hut Lysjøhimet was 100 kilometres from Oslo, with 320 to go. I reckon we're something like 310 km from Rondance now. We both feel that this is a project that we will be able to complete, probably next year. This being such a good experience to me personally, makes me want to do more winter camping. It's a great feeling to be able to have a good time under such challenging conditions, well compared to the hiking I do the rest of the year anyway.

So what did I learn from this trip?

Temperatures around 0 degrees celsius makes for challenging conditons. Everything gets wet eventually and it will be hard to dry your stuff if you don't have a fire going for a long time, or if you don't heat your tent with the stove (be careful!). I've found that a thick transparent plastic bag used as a pack liner works best to keep things dry. Silnylon bags etc. just get wet. I've ordered some cuben drybags from MLD to try too.

Next time I will wear even less than I did this time when moving to avoid getting a sweaty back - it wasn't a big problem, but getting chilled at the lunch stop wasn't necessary.

Don't make a fire under trees laden with snow like we did. The hot air that rose made the snow melt and drip on us :)

Some gear reflections:

Woolpower long bottoms - great! very warm and surprisingly light. I think I will get hooked on their selection of warm clothing.

Glenn's samekniv, a HUGE knife traditionally used by the sami people of northern Norway. It's heavy for sure, but very versatile. It's for instance great for chopping branches and small trees. I've considered getting one myself, but have ordered a Bacho Laplander Saw instead, as well as a Mora 840MB Clipper knife. That should cover most scenarios.

GG Mariposa Plus. Like it a lot, it's the pack I use the most. Got pretty wet this time though because of the conditions we faced, but can't really fault it for that. I have a couple of other packs on the way now that I think will replace it, the Laufbursche Huckepack and the BPL Absaroka. Have to reduce my "collection" since it is getting a bit out of hand, so will be posting on gear swap forums soon :).

Dryer lint. Not really gear of course, but thought I should mention that it is very effective as tinder!

Hope you enjoyed this post, let me know if they get to long winded, or if you have other comments. Take care and have a great week!.