The site is over 2 years old now and only getting better. Of course it has been through about three different servers, but I'm getting it stabilized. Thanks to all you who have had input. Many are listed in the Hall of Honor.

Now for other news...

I have received a new Hennesy Explorer Ultralight A-Sym Hammock (ain't that a mouthful), I plan to use it on my upcoming field training exercise and give a review when I return. I'm also taking that Ozark Trails pad to see if I can catch some cold weather.

I also have a new light to test as a part of a BackpackGearTest.org test. It's called the LazerBrite and it is a dang interesting and VERY bright LED. I tried it out last night on a machinegun range and it was so much brighter than the chemical light sticks I had to mask the light. It could make a cool candle lantern replacement.

And lastly something I have been waiting for, for a long time - my Moonbowgear sil-nylon Gearskin! I have been playing with it and hope to get an early morning hike in tomorrow with it. It is a little heavier (probably the bigger mesh pocket) than I was planning, but it is actually more comfortable than my original Gearskin. After some use I'll add it to my Gearskin Review.

Last night we finally got some good rains. So at abut 2300 I headed out to the local camp site and spent a good rainy night in the Clark Jungle Hammock. This afternoon I finished writing the review.

Not much to say today except that I've started testing the LazerBrite Light and I just got off the trail this weekend after escape and evading the drunk redneck hunters and the 4 wheelers. Hard to imagine a sport that combines shooting, drinking, 4 wheeling, and midnight, but somehow they do it here.

While I'm at it, I want to put in a plug for AT Forums. This site is growing very rapidly and looks like it will be a great force for the AT as well as for the prospective thru-hiker. If you hike the AT, are planning a thru-hike, or a veteran thru-hiker come on over and contribute to the dialogue.

I've just updated my Ion Stove instructions based on some questions from people at Backpacking Light eGroup. Ain't experimentation grand.

Man I need to go hiking!

Just a small update. But I was recently asked what all those milliliter measurements I use in stove tests really meant to a backpacker. Since I found that a cap from a soda bottle is really not 1/4 ounce, just a little less - I switched to an easier to use ml measurement because a cap full of alcohol fuel is really 6 ml. All my alcohol stove tests are now shown in 6 ml fuel increments because I measure fuel in a soda bottle cap while hiking. I've gone through all my stove tests and added how many caps full of fuel that equals.

Just a small update. I've been fiddling with my new stove design and reading some performance notes from my trail tester Trail Yeti who just finished the AT - congratulations Yeti.

Now about my new stove. It's still in the R&D phase, but the more testers the better. If you are interested in making one and giving me feedback, please do. I decided to rename the stove though. See, my original Turbo V8 was an inspiration from AYCEs V8 stove, but it has evolved beyond what the V8 stove is. It is still a double wall alcohol stove, but that isn't anything special, just the small can size. I no longer use V8 cans because grape juice cans are cheaper, but I also add fiberglass insulation to wick the fuel and increase cold weather performance. It does not have a priming cup and needs no special priming. Instead of pressurizing itself with the pot serving as the seal, this stove uses an integrated pot stand to improve low fuel priming and performance.

It is the latest stove in a quest to make alcohol stoves that are more fuel and weight efficient. Early Riser compared it to the NASA Ion Drive which uses a very weight efficient propulsion theory to slowly build speed to a point where they can out perform heavier but rapid accelerating chemical rockets. I like the analogy, so I named the stove the Ion Stove.

Today from about 0200 to about 1400 my e-mail server bounced all my e-mail, so if you were writing me, please do it again. Sorry for the inconvenience.

I've also got a new Hennessy Hammock coming to test, a Crazy Crib Hammock, and a LazerBrite LED light. Hopefully I can get some of these out in the field soon.

Oh, and I'm STILL waiting to get a good rainstorm to test the Clark Jungle Hammock in. I got that hurricane, but I didn't get a chance to test in it because of work.

And for the last thought, in 10 days this site will be 2 years old. Only 6 months on this server, and I'm beginning to think this server sucks too.