Friday night is often set aside for pushing myslef and testing gear. I like to experiment with covering a good amount of ground with a backpack. This is useful for both hiking and within my preparedness plans. The faster someone can safely cover ground to a destination the less overall exposure. For this outing I will be testing the Nitecore F1 flexible charger which will be reviewed soon. I try to avoid reviewing a gear item or add it to my kit without actual field use on multiple outings first. What am I packing:
1. Rev 24 Osprey pack.
2. EMS UL breathable rain jacket.
3. Tops/Turley PSK.
4. Blind Horse Knives sandi large tiger knapp with LMF ferro rod in a DIY Kydex hoder.
5. Pepper spray.
6. TP.
7. Malkoff MD2.
8. Fenix HL50 headlamp with extra lithium primary.
9. Equinox UL poncho with extension.
10. Cordage webbing pre cut for tie-offs.
11. Charging cables for all my devices.
12. Bug spray.
The Osprey pack is fantastic for running and that's exactly what is going on. Left at 9:30 PM from a packing lot. The route will cross major roads, be on paved paths, sidewalks, dirt roads, small hardly mainlined trails etc etc. Generally all over the place but only in areas legal to be in. I don't wan't to be running across someone's back yard at midnight. The REV 24 like the rest of the line has a hydration bladder with magnetic mouth piece. Water for a person is a bit like gas for a car. It's ok to be a hungry and tired within reason but never ok to be thirsty.
At night the headlamp and flashlight comes into play. The Fenix HL50 is a nice headlamp with a nearly beam for on the move. Also has nice run times and neutral white tint. The Malkoff MD2 with HI/LOW ring IMHO is the ultimate backup light. It's heavy but that weight and potted electronics has pros. The blue thing is an EMS breathable rain jacket with hood. I always carry an extra garment and as rain was threatening took the jacket. I could use the poncho but it's more difficult to jog through some areas with thorny plants however on occasion will just pack the poncho.
Field testing the new Nitecore F1 Flexible Power Bank for a up coming review. No gear gets reviewed or included in my kit without being used first. For longer trips and within my preps I try to keep everyone on the same diet aka all using the same battery type however for something like this having an extra battery is my primary requirement. The MD2 takes the same 3400 Lithium ion battery that I put in the F1 Power Bank. I can take the 3400 out of either and swap them around depending on need.
PSK and BHK knife. These have taken up residences in this pack unless otherwise required. Makes it easier so I don't forget them. Gotta have a knife and PSK! I picked a stainless knife so don't need to worry as much. Sometimes the pack gets wet etc etc and I don't really think about checking the knife as it isn't used all that often for this type of activity. Still I would rather carry a knife and not need it than need a knife but not carry it. There is a little PSK knife inside the Tops/Turley. Two is one and one is none.
Not too far into the night backpack jog decided to plug the F1 Power bank into my phone as was enjoying some tunes. The battery in the MD2 was fresh off the charger so not concerned however would give preference to the flashlight if the situation required. The Nitecore 3400 was at 4.2 volts as well.
Only stopped for a second as wanted to keep running without a break.
Headlamp worked great but as this was the battery's second outing it powered down. Used the extra Lithium Primary. HL50 is rock stable when running in the dark. Doesn't bounce or move in the holder.
Some ledge.
An entire family of raccoons are looking down on me. See the glowing eyes in the middle of the photo.
A river.
What are the stats for the night? I started at 9:30 PM ending at 2:20 AM. I mapped the route beforehand which showed a bit more than 20 miles however the electronics had it as nearly 22. A few times necessity made me cross streams and roads in different spots than intended or maybe my mapping skills or devise calibration are slightly off.
It measures till 12 midnight then puts additional miles on the next days stats. The total was 12.66 miles for 9:30 PM to 12 AM, 9.12 miles for 12 AM to 2:20 AM for a total of 21.78 miles. What did I actually use?
1. All of the water in the REV 24 hydration pack.
2. Extra battery for the Fenix HL50.
3. Malkoff MD2 to help change the headlamp battery. It was squid ink black and often foggy.
4. Nitecore FL Flexable Power Bank to charge my phone.
That's about it. Here is a video of the outing.
[video=youtube;q-_lH1fEm6U]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-_lH1fEm6U[/video]
1. Rev 24 Osprey pack.
2. EMS UL breathable rain jacket.
3. Tops/Turley PSK.
4. Blind Horse Knives sandi large tiger knapp with LMF ferro rod in a DIY Kydex hoder.
5. Pepper spray.
6. TP.
7. Malkoff MD2.
8. Fenix HL50 headlamp with extra lithium primary.
9. Equinox UL poncho with extension.
10. Cordage webbing pre cut for tie-offs.
11. Charging cables for all my devices.
12. Bug spray.
The Osprey pack is fantastic for running and that's exactly what is going on. Left at 9:30 PM from a packing lot. The route will cross major roads, be on paved paths, sidewalks, dirt roads, small hardly mainlined trails etc etc. Generally all over the place but only in areas legal to be in. I don't wan't to be running across someone's back yard at midnight. The REV 24 like the rest of the line has a hydration bladder with magnetic mouth piece. Water for a person is a bit like gas for a car. It's ok to be a hungry and tired within reason but never ok to be thirsty.
At night the headlamp and flashlight comes into play. The Fenix HL50 is a nice headlamp with a nearly beam for on the move. Also has nice run times and neutral white tint. The Malkoff MD2 with HI/LOW ring IMHO is the ultimate backup light. It's heavy but that weight and potted electronics has pros. The blue thing is an EMS breathable rain jacket with hood. I always carry an extra garment and as rain was threatening took the jacket. I could use the poncho but it's more difficult to jog through some areas with thorny plants however on occasion will just pack the poncho.
Field testing the new Nitecore F1 Flexible Power Bank for a up coming review. No gear gets reviewed or included in my kit without being used first. For longer trips and within my preps I try to keep everyone on the same diet aka all using the same battery type however for something like this having an extra battery is my primary requirement. The MD2 takes the same 3400 Lithium ion battery that I put in the F1 Power Bank. I can take the 3400 out of either and swap them around depending on need.
PSK and BHK knife. These have taken up residences in this pack unless otherwise required. Makes it easier so I don't forget them. Gotta have a knife and PSK! I picked a stainless knife so don't need to worry as much. Sometimes the pack gets wet etc etc and I don't really think about checking the knife as it isn't used all that often for this type of activity. Still I would rather carry a knife and not need it than need a knife but not carry it. There is a little PSK knife inside the Tops/Turley. Two is one and one is none.
Not too far into the night backpack jog decided to plug the F1 Power bank into my phone as was enjoying some tunes. The battery in the MD2 was fresh off the charger so not concerned however would give preference to the flashlight if the situation required. The Nitecore 3400 was at 4.2 volts as well.
Only stopped for a second as wanted to keep running without a break.
Headlamp worked great but as this was the battery's second outing it powered down. Used the extra Lithium Primary. HL50 is rock stable when running in the dark. Doesn't bounce or move in the holder.
Some ledge.
An entire family of raccoons are looking down on me. See the glowing eyes in the middle of the photo.
A river.
What are the stats for the night? I started at 9:30 PM ending at 2:20 AM. I mapped the route beforehand which showed a bit more than 20 miles however the electronics had it as nearly 22. A few times necessity made me cross streams and roads in different spots than intended or maybe my mapping skills or devise calibration are slightly off.
It measures till 12 midnight then puts additional miles on the next days stats. The total was 12.66 miles for 9:30 PM to 12 AM, 9.12 miles for 12 AM to 2:20 AM for a total of 21.78 miles. What did I actually use?
1. All of the water in the REV 24 hydration pack.
2. Extra battery for the Fenix HL50.
3. Malkoff MD2 to help change the headlamp battery. It was squid ink black and often foggy.
4. Nitecore FL Flexable Power Bank to charge my phone.
That's about it. Here is a video of the outing.
[video=youtube;q-_lH1fEm6U]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-_lH1fEm6U[/video]
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