Just a sampling of some gear that goes into Sam’s fannypack. The items change according to the nature of the outdoor experience—but small camera (far right), GPS and radio (far left), always go along.
My radio attaches to the chest cross- strap of the daypack, totally out of the way — don’t even know it’s there until needed. A ringing cell phone shattering the quiet peacefulness of the niche is as welcome as a swarm of black flies. However, a phone can have a place in the kit. A boy phoned his father to announce a bear was climbing his tree stand with mischie- vous jaws. The father came to the res- cue. I admit, I have stopped in out-of- the-way places to call someone just to say how much fun I was having and, “too bad you aren’t here.” Where the cell phone works, there is nothing wrong with a quick call to home to let people know you’re okay. While not a member of the life-
saving team, it’s worth mentioning I carry a rangefinder as routine. I like knowing in yards how far it ac-
The bivy shelter setup is hard- ly noticeable in the woods.
tually is across a canyon I intend to cross. And it’s useful before and after the shot. Before the shot, the rangefinder tells me how far off that critter stands. While not needed for most pokes where distance is not a factor, the rangefinder is perfect af- ter the big boom to put an end to the “350-yard shot” that was exactly 247 yards. My Leupold RX-1000 TBR Rangefinder computes angle on far- off opportunities. We all know that either up or down means the bullet strikes higher than on the flat sight- in range. But the RX-1000 eliminates the guesswork, showing just how to hold. This rangefinder has an angled carry loop that puts it flat against the fannypack belt.
Water Water is more important than
food. Lack of water can bring on de- hydration in only a day or two of ex- posure. The modular kit allows for daypack and fanny pack containers, as well as a highly worthwhile item —the water filter. Mine is the PUR Hiker Microfilter. It captures bad little animals, such as Giardia, cryp- tosporidium, and bacteria at the 0.3 micron level (but not viruses). While micron is a dying term in hard sci- ence, it remains a useful reference because it refers to one millionth of one meter. Obviously, 3-1/10 of one micron is pretty small. Cheap- erThanDirt Company sells many different water filters, including the Frontier Filter at only 10 bucks. The Frontier fits into a shirt pocket at less than one ounce and pledges to serve as high as 20 gallons of water at 99.9 percent effectiveness against
Close-up of how radio and knife, in this case a Bench- made 710 folder, are carried handy and ready for use by attaching to cross-strap of either daypack.
38
Before the modular kit, Sam used a large back- pack for carrying his gear, along with tie-ons. The modular kit is much better because it can be broken down into those elements required under specific circumstances. Here, however, the bivy is set up and all is well.
REALITY CHECK • 2011 SPECIAL EDITION
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