Tag: gear


  • Our feet are well engineered and actually do a better job at removing stress from knees and hips than cushioned shoes. Traditional shoes with heels forces you into an unnatural position which is more likely to result in injury. There are a number of experienced long distance hikers and ultra-runners who use minimalist sandals or…

  • Today  there is a wide range of ultralight shelters including traditionally designed tents using exotic materials to move them into the ultralight weight classification. Many of the ultralight shelter designs came from people’s experiences on long thru hikes combined with a desire to find the lightest possible shelter while still providing adequate protection. I think…

  • The best source of information is your EARS. Form your own opinions, don’t just accept what other people say. Believe what your ears tell you when listen to music! Remember that many people who write about audio are biased in one way or another.  Beyond that, There is often a lot of  hype to justify very…

  • Speakers

    You should always chose your speakers first, and then select components which work well with the speakers you have selected. All speakers have flaws which you must choose between so speaker preference will be extremely personal. This is often demonstrated by people who agree about the relative merits of a amplifiers or DAC but disagree about speakers.  It’s also useful…

  • Headphone amplifiers were almost un-heard of until the 1990s, though many receivers and integrated amplifiers had fairly good quality headphone jacks. As headphones have grown in popularity, and fewer people are purchasing classic stereos, headphone amplifiers have emerged as a product category. The “headphone jack” on smart phones and laptops tends to have mediocre sound…

  • Today, most music content is digital. This content might be stored locally in a computer file system, on CD/DVD media, or is streamed from some service such as Spotify, TIDAL, Apple Music, etc over the Internet. To play this digital content you need a device which as able to read or receive the digital content…

  • Audiophile Websites

    Audio Communities Audio Asylum Audio Circle Audioholics avforums diyaudio Hydrogen Audio Steve Hoffman music forums Headphone Community Sites head-fi.org super best audio friends head-case.org headphone.guru “Magazines” Stereophile The Absolute Sound (TAS) What HI*FI? Enjoy the Music Positive Feedback tnt-audio – old school website Audiophile Style – Podcasts and articles Sound on Sound 6moons – site…

  • Headphones

    Headphones are becoming the dominant way people listen to music as people shift from using records and CDs played through a stereo to streaming services played through a smart phone. Unfortunately, many people are using the earbuds provided with their smart phone, tablet, or laptop which has a significantly lower sound quality than most of…

  • ZPacks Hexamid

    Review Item: ZPacks HexamidOptions: Cuben with NettingManufacture Year: 2010Listed weight: Cuben shelter, guylines, and bag 8.9ozWeight as delivered: tarp+attached guylines 8.3ozMSRP: US$259, no longer made I have a first generation which uses three zippers that meet at the top peak. Joe has now switched to a single zipper to save weight and reduce the risk of zipper…

  • Shelters

    Shelter selection should be based on how much room you need and the conditions you expect to encounter (rain, snow, wind, bugs, blistering heat, etc). For example, if you only camp in mild weather it would be silly to buy a mountaineering tent designed for expeditions since it will be more expensive, heavier, and not…