Gear Updated

Our original gear list has changed. We’ve added a few gems and have also dumped some poor performing or no longer useful stuff.

The Losers:

Stuff that hit the trash can.

#1 on the loser list, a spot earned for being total failures, are those Solomon XCR Pro 3D shoes. They served me well for a while, but then when it got really wet they soaked through and left me totally uncomfortable. This happened while at Yakushima. Worst of all, they have NO E-MAIL so I can’t even tell them what a failure their product is.

#2 on the loser list is are the Seal Skinz gloves. They leaked very early on and continued to make my hands miserable. When I need gloves next (next year probably), I’ll go for some liners and a waterproof shell for them.

#3 (in my book, not Todd’s) are patagonia or any non wool shirts. They smell bad really quickly and aren’t as comfortable as the wool shirts. I now have three Icebreaker Bodyfit 150 shirts, and that’s it.

#4 My smartwool zip long sleeve shirt had to go. It was too tight and made me look like I was emo or something. I left it at Elliot’s place in Japan in case someone there wanted a shirt.

#5 My Treo 700p phone. Sprint screwed me over this month by taking away all of my discounts (thanks… I’ve been using 0 minutes.), so I’m porting my number over and will just use my Nokia from now on. Goodbye monthly fee.

The Unneeded:

Stuff that’s getting shipped back home (thanks, parents!)

When I get my new shoes (below), I’ll get rid of my Rainbow Sandals. I love them, but they take up a bunch of space and my new shoes can be used in their stead. Don’t get me wrong – these are the best sandals I can imagine… I just don’t need them anymore.

Headphone amp and its 8 AAA batteries. I love this thing but it turns out that our laptops and MP3 players put out enough juice that it’s not a necessity.

All socks. I love my Smartwool socks more than life itself, but they won’t work with my new shoes.

Terramar wool leggings. I don’t think we’ll be anywhere cold enough to need these. Plus I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – the crotch area leaves enough room below to store a bag of groceries. It’s weird.

My awesome R. Kelly style sunglasses. They’re great, but not necessary.

The New and Exciting:

Vibram Five Finger shoes. These things are so cool it’s ridiculous. They are very light and thin (which is a lot better for your legs and joints), and look like ninja shoes. Todd has the classics, which he got in San Francisco, and I’m getting on the gravy train late by having a pair of KSOs sent to Bangkok.

Luxury Lite Cot. This thing is fantastic too – it’s the smallest portable cot, and is super comfortable. Great for staying at people’s houses who don’t have couches, sleeping in the airport with an overnight layover, camping, or sleeping in the park in Pamplona after running with the bulls.

It could be argued that we don’t actually need to be bringing our beds around with us everywhere we go, but… it’s just so cool and there’s nothing worse than sleeping somewhere uncomfortable… like a cave floor for example.

Sea to Summit Silk Liner. If you’re going to bring your bed around, why not have luxurious silk sheets to go with it? The liner is smaller than a coke can when packed up and weighs a fraction of a pound. It unfolds to be like a super thin silk sleeping bag. It only gives you about 10 degrees of warmth, but it’s very comfortable, fits the Luxury Lite perfectly, and has a convenient stuff pocket at the top to make a pillow. As a bonus, I can use this if we stay at a hostel some time.

KettleStack Kettlebell. For taking our crossfit workout on the road there’s nothing better (or even comparable) than the kettlestack. We carry the lightweight handles around and buy cheap weights wherever we go, or use the gym’s. Check out my gadling review of them.

AlokSaks. After the fiasco in Panama that left Todd’s video camera half-inoperable, we’ve wised up to water protection. These bags take up no space, keep water out, and can also be used as pillows if inflated. They’re also very good for packing with and “shrink wrapping” our stuff by forcing all the air out. We each got enough so that we could sink our backpacks underwater and our clothes and electronics would be dry. I reviewed these for Gadling as well.

Tiny portable hard drives (link goes to something similar.. ours is a no name from Akihabara). We bought new hard drives to store all of our pictures and video, and put our old ones in these enclosures. They use the same cable we already carry for our phones and mp3 players, and require no extra power source.

Fenix L1D flashlights. Todd lost his Arc Light and decided to go with a Fenix flashlight. They’re bigger than the Arc Lights, but are also a ton brighter, last longer, and have cool accessories like red filters and light diffusers. I had to order one too. They haven’t come in yet, but we should get them in Bangkok.