Gear talk

You'd be roasting in full winter bag in Jan/Feb for sure, especially if you're staying in huts. In late Feb/Mar in the south island last year when the weather wasn't for the most part great, ...

Yes, the difference was that when the canister was nearly empty, the MSR could burn with a hotter flame and with more gusto than the Outer Limits yellow brand. That one died a slow painful ...

""izogi said... RE: SPOT Satellite Messenger Thanks for the tips, it's making things somewhat clearer. On a tangent, do the iridium sat-phones not actually have voice coverage 100% of the time? If voice calls are available the entire ...

I found Insect repellent by Bushman (Australia) works fine, no grease, no unpleaseant smell. If you don’t mind repelling human as well, Aroguard is another brand you can go for.

Yes their are many brands available at any good outdoor shop.

Has anyone tried the new Gregory Z55, and how does it compere to the Osprey Atmos 65? Would appreciate any feedback on either or both.

I been wondering, How do the Possum/merino blends compare with the pure merino / synthetics on the market? Does anyone have any experience?

Ended up getting a pair of La Sportiva boots and even they are a bit wide for my "A" width foot, which is especially difficult to get a good for considering it is a size ...

I have always had the baskets on my pole so am not quite sure what they would be like without. The problem would be that you stick the pole into a muddy bit and it ...

99% of the time I wear shorts with gaiters, long for snow or going off track in bush, short for everything else. I use gaiters to keep out the stones and mud, but fully expect ...

Well you do see some strange sights on the trail sometimes! There's a great product for chafing called Bodyglide which is for using around your neck and arms under a wetsuit and cyclists use it ...

Just got my stove sorted out and the man who fixed it was Kevin Devoy in Waihi Ph- 07-8639695 Kevin was the Optimus dealer in NZ for many years. He is now retired and not really ...

Or any Caltex service station will probably have it - they sell/label it as "Calite" (in 1 litre clear plastic bottles) and it will usually be with the kero/meths etc

Long story short, we want one of these tents, but Macpac is all sold out, isn't expecting new stock until maybe October, and I have googled the "entire world" in the last day or two ...

Ah yes, I think the recession must have got to them. I was told that MacPac would definitely have a branch in Rotorua within the year. Guess when I was told that, about exactly a ...

Every now and then i use some sterie tabs that are normaly used to clean babies bottles buy them at food town. Started using horleys hydration replace just recently to good effect. dont feel wasted ...

Or you can use your empty pack, or the removeable foam most packs have up the back..less to carry :)

Probably would use a standard foam pad for this trip.Do not have time to organise a inflatable. At the moment trying to decide between a Insulmat AO Aero Mtn, but they do not seem to quote ...

Cactus deep winter, its the benchmark alpine pack, NZ MADE!!!, 50L (all you need for a 2 wk trip..), and weighs sweet FA (1100gms compare that to ALL other brands 50L packs, I did..)

I had some garmont explorers.. they broke accross the ball area of the sole. Crap but hey, just my opinion :)

Haha that is a funny story regarding the wheelbarrow, I have been to that hut how far is the main rd? I remember it being about 1km? the 'sprained ankle' tramping is a classic... say ...

Hey treehugger, Also, some snowshoes such as ours have a wire bail which levers up under the foot arch to assist in climbing steep slopes. A valuable tool i must say. Aardvark

From memory Hallmark had a pretty good reputation in the 80's,we used a four person Hallmark tunnel tent on a winter trip around tongariro and it performed really,I don't know what happened to them though.

The articulated pair that my partner has used in the past was a Charlet Moser with a two strap system. These did not require the boots to have any particular features. The only down side was ...

I think you will be pretty much right in a good pair of shoes. Most of the track is of a very high standard and there aren't many places left on the track where you ...