Platypus Handheld Bottle

Taste free, BPA free, and Foreign Country free. Yep - Platypus collapsible bottles are made right here in the USA (Illinois and Washington). These bottles go with me on EVERY backpacking trip. I use the 1 liter size - which weighs in at only 0.9 oz (1 oz with the push/pull cap)! They weigh about 80% less than a Nalgene and take up about 1/5 of the volume. I typically throw two of them on the outside of my pack. After my bladder is dry - I usually switch over to these bottles so I don't have to unload my pack to refill. After I drink one, I can easily just roll it up and slide it into my pocket or the front pockets on my hip belt. They come in really handy for extra capacity at camp - without lugging unneeded weight all day. The new Platy Plus bottles weigh a little more (1.3 oz) but give you a softer but more durable film, "Slimeguard" and an easy to use carrying handle. For a crazy ultralight set up - grab one of the Taste Free Drink Tubes (trim the hose a bit) and screw right on to the bottle - creating a small, lightweight bladder - that is still easy to use around camp at night.

Cascade Designs - Platypus Website.

For more info, call 417-877-8855 in Springfield and 913-851-2244 in Kansas City.

MSR Hubba 1 Tent

Shelter sweet shelter. The MSR Hubba tent sets up super quick thanks to its 1 pole, hubbed construction, and gives you 40" of headroom - so you can actually sit up to read or change clothes. Meant for the lightweight crowd - you can set it as a double wall at 2 lbs, 15oz or stop being a sissy and travel "fast and light". Dropping down to just the fly and optional footprint - weight drops to just 2lbs 2oz! The spacious 9.5 sq foot vestibule keeps your pack and shoes dry or provides a place for the dog to chill out. At a little over 7' long, there is more than enough space by your head and feet to store excess gear, or that food bag that you decided not to hang that night. Yeah - you won't do that again. MSR even gave you options. The Hubba HP loses 6 more ounces and goes from 3 season to 3+, when you need to keep the warmth in. For you sick, ultralighters out there - there is a new verison called the Carbon Reflex 1, that is based on the original design. While losing the freestanding option - the change to non-hubbed, carbon fiber poles, and a lighter fabric, drops the weight down to 2 lbs 4oz!!!! Yeah, "Cowboy Camping" is cool - but sometimes it rains.

MSR's Website.

For more info, call 417-877-8855 in Springfield and 913-851-2244 in Kansas City.

Sigg Bottles

World wide there are 60+ billion tons of plastic waste produced every year. If you are still contributing to this - you deserve a punch to the kidneys. Sure - recycling your plastic PET water bottle is good - but why even buy it in the first place? Using a reusable water bottle is way better for the environment and can make even a poser look hip. Trust me. With over 100 new designs created every year (from 1000's of submissions) you can find one (or several) that allow your own freedom of expression to shine. Sigg water bottles are extruded from a single piece of pure aluminum for a seamless, leak proof bottle. They are then lined with a proprietary secret formula - which is baked on - so no cracking or BPA's to worry about! Look you gotta drink water - so trust the guys that have been doing this for over 100 years. Plus - when someone says "nice bottle" - you can simply smile, and say "yeah, it's the way forward."

Sigg's Website.

For more info, call 417-877-8855 in Springfield and 913-851-2244 in Kansas City.

MSR Reactor

I've always been a big fan of my MSR Dragonfly because I can cook ANYTHING on it! Its my ultimate gourmet stove. But when I got my MSR Reactor canister stove I was blown away. I'm incredulous at how fast its able to boil and have my food ready. Its become my go to stove for most needs lately because with a 1.7 liter pot in which stove and fuel will pack and weighing only 19oz, it is the perfect two person backpacking stove. It is so efficient with its radiant burner and heat exchanger that I barely have time to put my food in before it boils. While I don't have the cool accessories to go with it, sorry Jetboil guys, it outperformed you boiling almost 2x as fast(i.e. less fuel for me to carry for the same amount of water boiled. Not to mention with a built in regulator for fuel pressure, the efficiency does not began to drop until I'm almost out of fuel anyway. So whether I'm out in the back country or eating ramen in the store so I can afford to get to the backcountry, my Reactor is going with me, that is of course unless I need to simmer something on my Dragonfly;)

MSR's Website.

For more info, call 417-877-8855 in Springfield and 913-851-2244 in Kansas City.