In my pack

I remember the time when my old Bomika pack (actually my brother's) seemed to be on the verge of breaking down from the weight of the stuff I put inside it. At once instance, a little over a decade ago in Daguldol--a time when money was scarce, nalgene bottles were the craze, and gears were huge--I was severely over-packed and lugging two tents, several nalgene bottles, cookset and stove(s?), a whole frozen chicken, and a big-ass emergency lamp running on D batteries. Mid-trail I suffered cramps, and needless to say, my ego was bruised, right in front of the girl I was "making porma".

Times have changed. And since joining UPM, I've become a "smarter" packer. Camping equipment have also changed drastically; shaving off volume and weight tremendously. So comparing how much weight I was carrying, I might look like a ninny now compared to my "younger" years.

The typical gear pile before being stuffed into the pack

Surprise new gear!

Cece surprised me with a new Therm-a-rest sleeping pad after I got back from Mt. Guiting-guiting. It's from their ProLite line. Yay! What a sweet gal!

I sort of knew what she was up to, especially when we both got our dividends from REI. I've been frustrated with my old UtraLite, which I bought nearly 10 years ago. There's a mysterious puncture in the sleeping pad that I couldn't find even after the "bubble test" (submerging the inflated pad under water and checking for bubbles). The pad loses air in about 3 hours of use. 

In the last decade, a lot of new technology has allowed manufacturers to make their products lighter and compact when packing. ProLite is Therm-a-rest's lightest product to date.

I'm excited to take it up the mountains, even back to the sawtooth ridge of Mt. Guiting-guiting! 

While waiting for the next climb, we'll use it indoors, for now.