Katadyn Hiker Pro Water Filter

I can’t even tell you how many times while on a motorcycle ride or a hike we needed drinking water and we were near a river, stream or a lake. The days of buying drinking water are officially over now that we have this Katadyn water filter. There is free water all around us, it just needs to be filtered. Not only is it cheaper to filter your drinking water but it also saves all those plastic bottles that bottled water comes in.

I’ve known that water filers existed for a while, and its something that has been on the list to get, but usually with us we get stuff when we absolutely need it. This was one of those instances.

We were backpacking in the Nordhouse Dunes, there was no drinking water available here but this was this huge lake near by. Instead of carrying enough water for the whole two days, which would have been very heavy, we decided it was time to get a water filer. Katadyn is the most popular of the brands and has very good reviews. It weighs 11oz. and comes with a carrying case, so all the components stay together. The price is $75.



Katadyn Hiker Pro Water Filtration kit

We used it today for the first time and we absolutely love it. It’s so easy. You drop one hose in the water, and you pump out clean drinking water throught the other hose. The clean water goes directly in to your water container - a bottle or in my case the Platypus. The process is quick. It was faster for the two of us to do it. Mike pumped the water and I was poured the filtered water in to our water containers. It didn’t take very long either and the water was delicious.



Our Katadyn in action at Lake Michigan

Packing list for a 6 week motorcycle trip

Moto-camping July 2008 - Nebraska

Back on July 4th I was packing the ST3 for the trip out west. I thought I was going to be on the road for 7.5 weeks and I was bringing all the things I might need during this time. Once the bike was packed I realized the ST3 was the heaviest it’s ever been.

The ST3 has been very heavy two times before, the time I rode with my Friend Sandy out west in 2006 for 10 days (I brought lots of camping stuff and clothes) and it was even heavier when I did the 9 day southeast ride with Mike in 2007 (I brought my lop top).

While finishing packing I actually ended up taking some things out to lighten up the bike, but in the end the ST3 would not even be making this trip since it still wasn’t running right the day of the departure. The broken valve spring which was fixed a few days may have been fixed but now the bike kept stalling.

We really wanted to leave on time and in a few hours I had all the items that were packed on the ST3 off the bike and I was trying to fit them on all on to the 954RR. Not everything would fit on the smaller bike with soft luggage so I had to leave a whole pile of stuff behind, basically clothes and luxury items.

I learned from this experience that very little can get me by on a trip. I have always packed light for trips regarding clothes but this trip would qualify as “ultra” light. All I can say is that I never missed the extra clothes I would have brought, well… there were only two things I wished I had brought.

Below is my detailed packing list with pictures.

Clothes



I brought 5 hot weather synthetic fiber, moisture wicking shirts (there are only 3 in the picture because I'm wearing one of them and I'm washing the other at the time of the picture), two long sleeve, one short sleeve and two sleeveless. The benefit of these type of shirts is three-fold. They dry quickly so you can wash a shirt like that at night in the sink and it will be dry in the morning. They pack really small and don't wrinkle. And when you sweat the moisture wicks away from your body. 5 shirts was an ideal number for riding on this trip. I'd wash some in the sink if I needed and always made it to laundry day with no problems, which was once a week.

But when I was packing I forgot about something very important. What was I going to wear off the bike? I originally had a couple of cotton t-shirts packed but when I had to re-pack the bike I left them at home. This was a mistake since I didn't want to wear my wicking stuff on the bike and off the bike. I ended up purchasing two cotton t-shirts during the trip.



I also brought moisture wicking layers for the legs. When it's hot I wear short bicycle type moisture wicking shorts, when it's cooler I wear the long moisture wicking leggings which are made of a thicker material. I should have brought two pairs of the short ones, I wear those more often in the summer, That way I didn't have to keep washing the one pair over and over, sometimes daily. I also brought a pair of regular non-cotton shorts (not in the picture because I was wearing them at the time of the picture). Good for sitting around and sleeping.



On this trip I brought one pair of convertable pants. These pants have zippers on the pant legs and convert to shorts in seconds - great for hiking. If you only bring one pair of pants these are the ones to bring. During this trip I never felt I needed a second pair of pants, even though originally I had packed two pairs, but left one pair behind.

For an extra warm layer, I had my black thinsulated long sleeve pullover with fleece on the inside.

And for off the bike and also used as a warmer layer under my riding jacket, my black Gortex waterproof windbreaker jacket with a hood.



When it was really cold I would wear my Gerbings heated liner, when it was really hot I could wear my cooling vest. I ended up not wearing the cooling vest on this trip at all. I should have worn it on the ride through Arches National Park, it was so hot there, but I didn't bring it with me on this day ride, I left it at the motel - duh.

The one thing that I originally packed that I ended up leaving at home was the liner from my Fieldsheer jacket. I didn't have the space for two jacket liners and I couldn't wear them both at the same time anyway. On those really cold nights when we were camping, it would have been nice to have the Fieldsheer jacket liner to wear around the camp ground (it doubles as a jacket) and to sleep in. I wore the Gerbing liner instead as a warm layer but when the Gerbing is not plugged in it's not that warm, since it's not thick. I made do with it but thought the Fieldsheer liner would have came in handy a few times and it weighs hardy anything although it's thick and does take up some space.





Besides my motorcycle boots I brought two other pairs of shoes. A pair of hiking boots and a pair of flip-flops. I always tour with my flip-flops. They are great for wearing in the showers at the campgrounds so that you don't catch some foot fungus. And they can be used around the camp site to air out your feet after a long ride. And as slippers in someone's home. They are small and weigh nothing.

The Merrill hiking boots above, I bought them just for motorcycle trips. I have a pair of Vasque hiking boots to wear for serious hiking, but they are big, bulky and heavy and much better for cooler temps. I needed smaller and lighter boots… lighter as in weight but also lighter as in for hot weather... and for bringing on the bike. These vented hiking boots are awesome for summer bike trips. They actually fit in my tank bag.

Motorcycle Gear



I usually tour with three pairs of riding gloves. Rain gloves and two pairs of riding gloves. The reason for two pairs is simple. If I lost a glove on a ride I would be out of luck. No MC dealer carries small gloves like the ones I wear. I like to carry two pairs just in case I loose a glove, which hasn't happened yet. It's also nice to have two pairs in case one gets wet in the rain. In light rain I wear regular MC gloves, it really has to be pouring for me to put on rain gloves.



A thin fleece balaclava and silk glove liners can be used to wear under the helmet and under gloves when it's cold. While camping in cold weather I wear the balaclava rolled up as a hat and the glove liners serve well as gloves. The thin silk keep hands very warm and both these items weight practically nothing and take up hardly any space, so I take them along even on days rides.



I always have two helmet visors with me, a tinted one and a clear one. The one I'm not using fits nicely in my tank bag. I have it inside a protective cloth so it doesn't scratch. A worn out long sock works just as well.

Electronics

Electronics weigh a lot. It’s not just the items that you have to lug, you also need the power cords and the chargers. Unfortunately I need them. On this trip I ended up leaving my iPod and charger behind. I needed space for the lap top and other things.



Electronics weigh a lot. It’s not just the actuall items that you have to lug, you also need the power cords and the chargers. On this trip I ended up leaving my iPod and charger behind. I needed space for the lap top and other things.

I usually keep all my cords and chargers in this mesh Eagle Creek bag, on this trip all the stuff I brought barely fit in to this bag. I brought two cameras on this trip so I needed the two camera battery chargers. I brought two chargers for my cell phone, the one you plug in to the wall outlet and the cigarette lighter charger to use on the bike. And the GPS charger.

Also pictured but left at home, iPod chargers and one of those small portable power inverters (blue thing to the right of the bag).




The heaviest and biggest of them all, my lap top power cord. can't they make these things any smaller?



My lap top, wireless mouse and mouse pad, shown packed in the larger picture. I have this ultra soft, thick but light lap top case which I love. Besides bringing the lap top, I also needed to bring some paper work on this trip. The pink plastic envelope worked out nicely although paper does tend to weigh a bit.

Since I was bringing this pink envelope I also used it to carry all my paper maps, receipts, documents and notes. It kept everything very organized.



I have two batteries for each of my cameras. Pictures are very important to me. This way I don't have to worry about running out of juice in the middle of the day and I don’t have to charge my batteries every day. My Pentax and Nikon batteries last 1-3 days and I take lots of pictures. The old Canon battery for my old Canon Elph Powershot only lasts a day sometimes less. I always buy cameras with rechargeable batteries, I like them best. On this trip I only took the Nikon and Pentax cameras, I also have an extra SD (Secure Digital) card incase I fill the other two. All my new cameras use SD cards now which is nice, the extra one can be used in either camera. The old Canon uses a CF (Compact Flash) card. I'm trying to faze out old technology.

I found a plastic soap dish (see insert in the above picture). The spare camera batteries and the spare SD cards fit in there and since everything is now protected from water, I can keep this container in the tank bag.



And lastly, I don't leave home without one of these multiple outlet plug thingies. It’s great for charging all the stuff simultaneously at a camp site where they usually only give you two outlets and that's if you're lucky to have electricity, or in a motel room (there never seems to be enough outlets in motel rooms).

Camping



From left to right: my Northface 40 degree sleeping bag, Big Agnes sleeping pad and a mummy sleeping bag liner. All light items, the sleeping bag is the largest but all three items actually fit inside one of my soft saddle bags.

The sleeping bag liner is a new item bought just before this trip, I'm glad I got it. It adds extra warmth, depending on the type of liner you get, you could be adding as much as 9 extra degrees of warmth to you sleeping bag. But that's not all it does, it keeps your sleeping bag cleaner. This way you just have to wash the liner once in a while and the sleeping bags stays clean for years.

I've been using my Big Agnes insulated air core pad since 2006 and I like it a lot. Having to blow it up is a drag, but because it's filled with air it keeps you insulated from the cold ground. There is an inflating device that will blow this pad up but we can't seem to find it in any of the stores, we'd have to order it on line and it just hasn't happened yet.

Even though I've used my Northface Wasatch 40 degree sleeping bag since 2005 without any problems, I found that many nights while camping on this trip I was cold. My Northface Wasatch was my the first and still my only mummy sleeping bag that I bought specially for motorcycle trips. It packed small and it didn't weight much and it was under $70. On the past trips around the midwest, southeast and southwest trips, the night time temps during summer tend to stay warm, between 70 and 50 degrees. Before this trip the coldest night that I've endured in my Northface sleeping bag was in 2006 while camping in New Mexico at around 6-7,000 feet in elevation, it dropped to around 45 degrees and I remember being cold that night.

On this trip even with the sleeping bag liner, I was cold a few nights when the temperatures dropped in to the mid 30's overnight in the mountains. I will need a warmer sleeping bag for camping at higher elevations. I have two zero degree sleeping bags which are warmer but they are not good for bike travels since they pack large and are heavy. I use them when we're camping with the truck.



Camping pillow is a must for me.



Camping towel, I use a small one



A headlamp is a necessity while camping. This is a discontinued Rayovac light that is superior to all others. I used to have another headlamp but the power button was located on top of the light and many times while I was unpacking the headlamp at my destination I would find that the headlamp was on wasting the batteries. Something had pressed on the button while the lamp was packed away.

After a few trips I decided to put the headlamp in to a small box, this way nothing could rub against the button and turn it on, but that was crazy to carry a special box for a headlamp. Mike had this Rayovac light and I liked it. There was no button here, to turn this headlamp on you have to turn the dial. It's very hard for this dial to turn by itself so the batteries don't get wasted. This headlamp also has three types of lights, a bright LED white, a regular white bulb and a red light. The red light is great because it doesn't attract bugs like the white light. All the newer headlamp designs use buttons and it's hard to find a headlamp that had three lights in one. I wish they would still make this headlamp, it's great for moto-camping.



We have a Eureka Apex two person tent. We also have a tent liner that protects the floor of the tent from rips. We also now bring a regular blue tarp that can be used for various things like extra shelter from the rain, or an extra floor liner when camping on rough rocky terrain. It can also be used as a picnic blanket, a table cloth or a clean surface to step on when you need to change your clothes or place your gear on while packing the bikes. We also use it to cover our gear while camping to keep it dry from the rain or morning dew. The tarp is great. Mike carries all these things on his bike.



I carry my water in a Platypus type system. This is my old Platypus in the picture, it's 1.8 L, the new Platypus that I brought on this trip holds 3 L of liquid. At first I was like wow, this thing is big, this thing is heavy when filled with water, but it worked out great especially while camping. At times when it was hot 3 L of water wasn't even enough. While riding I'd have the Platypus strapped to the top of my tail bag, easily accessible for a drink. I like the Platypus better then the Camelbak (which I also have) because it's easier to fill, since the opening is like an opening from a plastic bottle. On this trip we had even used my Platypus to take a shower with.



For this trip I had to buy a large brimmed hat. The sun is very strong at higher elevations. Since I like to hike I have to protect my head from heat and my face from the sun. I picked up this hat at Jax in Fort Collins and would keep it on top of all the other stuff in the top case. I've never had a hat like this before, it really does work, I'm glad I got it.

Packing it all



To pack loose items like clothes, especially socks and underwear I use these cinch sacks. On this trip I had two of these cinch sack filled with clothes.


Miscellaneous stuff



Bottles are too bulky so my vitamins were kept in a zip-lock bag.



I like to use a sponge in the shower instead of a Loofah. This one is great for camping because you can hang it on the wall, instead of setting it down on the yukky shower floor.



Some other things that I bring on long trips:

Travel wippes - great for cleaning up while camping when there is no water near by

A small folding rain umbrella - I've used this umbrella many times, it's small and light so I keep bringing it. I've used it to keep the contents of my luggage try while packing in the rian. It can also be used for shade

A first aid kit

Sunglasses and case

Extra key for motorcycle

Travel alarm clock

Bug spray

Sun screen

Nail file, clippers, small scissors and makeup (mascara, eye liner and lip stick)

In the black case are my regular toiletries:

Lip balm
Tissues
Contact lenses
Contact lens Solution
Eye Drops
Headache Medicine
Shampoo
Conditioner
Lotion
Tooth paste
Toothbrush
Listerine
Floss
Hand Sanitizer
Deodorant
Razor
Q-tips

In addition to all this stuff, the things that come very handy on rides are plastic shopping bags, actually the more bags the better. We use then to carry dirty laundry, use them to put stuff you want to keep dry when it rains and you can use them as garbage bags when camping.

Review: Gerbing's heated liner - first ride

I bought a Gerbing's heated liner a few weeks ago. I bought it directly from Gerbing.com. Many other places that sell the Gerbing's liner don’t even sell the size I needed and when I checked around all the other places were selling them at the same price.



My liner is a size 38/28

The liner was $199
The temperate controller was $69
The accessory plug was $15



The temperature controller plugs in to the liner and connects to the accessory plug, which plugs in to the bike



This past weekend was my fist ride wearing the Gerbing's heated liner. After 875 miles and two full days of riding and wearing the Gerbing's heated liner I have to report that I am very happy with my purchase. The Gerbing's liner kept me much warmer then my Widder electric vest ever could, and not just because the Widder is a vest and the Gerbing's is a full sleeved liner. The Gerbing's heats up more then my Widder and with the added heat of the heated sleeves it keeps me warm all over. I especially noticed that with the heated sleeves, my hands stay warmer longer so I don’t have to use the heated grips as much.

When I used to use the Widder vest, I still had to bundle up a few layers to stay warm. With my Gerbing's liner all I had on was a long sleeve shirt, the Gerbing's liner and my jacket and I was comfortable even with the temperatures in the upper 40’s.

I’m going to try and compare my Widder vest to the Gerbing's liner for some people that are thinking of switching from a Widder vest to a full sleeved Gerbing liner.

My Widder vest is the previous model and I never did buy a temperature controller for it. All I had was an on and off switch. The vest never got so hot that I would have to turn it off, so when I used it I’d usually just keep it on for a while. So I never thought the temperature controller was really necessary. This past weekend riding in the upper 40’s my Gerbing's was on at about the half way setting, when I switched it to full the liner turned so hot I had to turn it down immediately. The thing really heat up.

The Gerbing's liner has a few large cords running through the liner and sleeves. You can feel them in there, but actually they didn’t bother me when I was wearing the liner. In the Widder I never felt any wires.

I would have liked for the Gerbing's liner to be a bit longer especially in the back. It did ride up on me at times especially while leaned forward. The Gerbing's has this elastic knit type waistband once it moves up it stays up, but the material is not that thick or poofy. The Widder was longer and vest is kind of thick and poofy, it stayed put.

Also, the plastic square on the Gerbing's liner where the cords plug in to, I can feel it when I’m wearing the liner, but again it doesn’t bother me. it’s a bit larger then the plug area on the Widder. Another ncie thing on the Widder cord, it’s coiled, the Gerbing's cord is straight and long so you kind of have to tied with a rubber band so it doesn‘t flap in the wind.



Gerbing's liner



Widder Vest

I’m getting used to the temperature controller on the gerbing I guess I would like it to have numbers on the dial instead of the red light. When the Gerbing's liner is on, the red light lights up. On the low setting the red light blinks slowly, on higher setting the red light blinks faster and full heat setting the red light stays on continuously. You have to look at the temperature controller for a while to figure out if it’s blinking fast or slow. If the dial had a number on it just one quick glance could tell you what setting it’s on.

The Gerbing's liner is not very bulky and I really do like the high zipped up collar, it does keep the wind off the neck. Overall I’m very happy with the product so far, mainly because it does keep me a lot warmer and that is the whole point of heated gear.

Widder electric vest woes

My Widder electric vest is about three years old now. My vest is the old model, which I picked up new really cheap, it was about half the price of the newer model that was already out. I get a lot of use out of it since I ride in cooler temps frequently.

When my vest wasn’t heating up last weekend I knew something must have broke and I started to think that if I can’t fix it, I’d have to replace it.

After doing a lot of reading about the problems people are having with the Widder vests on the message boards, it looks like the vest itself is very well built, but the cable, wiring and switch is not. With heavy use the wires and the switch tend to break easily.

As I read though people’s post I found that many of the wires break near where the cord plugs into the vest. Probably because of the constant bending of the wires, when sitting on the bike.

After checking my cable and switch, I didn’t see anything extraordinary, Mike also looked at it and at first found nothing, after testing the electric current, which was broken, he started looking at the cord again and noticed the crack in the cable.



A small crack in the cable, I didn't even see it at first

Apparently the wires were broken inside. It looked very much like the break that others have experienced, right where the cable ends and plugs in to he vest, right there where the cable has to bend.



Broken wires inside the cable

The cable itself is very stiff, it doesn’t bend easily, so over the years the cable and the wires tend to break. I think Widder knows of this was a problem because they have recently re-designed the hook up system. Too bad many of us are still stuck with old vest and old hook up cables.



New Widder hookup (from the Widder website)

After cutting the cable and re-splicing the wires, my vest seems to work again. The electric tape is protecting the spliced parts. I guess I’m going to try and find a good deal on a old model hook up cable, the electric tape won’t stay on forever, especially in cold weather and rain.



My hook up cable - fixed for now

Dual-Sport boots for small feet

Getting good motorcycle gear is not easy for a 5’5” woman, although in the last few years there has been more gear available in smaller sizes then ever before as more women get in to motorcycling. All the sudden I don’t have to look really hard for good gear, there are many choices and woman’s gear no longer is a stripped down version of the men’s gear. But that’s for street riding.

Off road riding is a whole different game. Plenty of boots for motocross for women, but not Dual Sport riding. I had no idea that getting Dual Sport boots for my size US 7 Euro 38 foot would be so difficult. A lot of Dual Sport boots just didn’t come in small sizes. I only found a hand full of boots that would fit me.

My first boot order was in the beginning of October, I wanted a pair of boots dedicated to riding my dual sport, because I didn’t want to get my sport touring boots all muddy and dirty plus I wanted taller boots, with more ankle protection and a stiffer sole for standing on pegs.

I ordered a pair of Sidi Canyon Sypatex, but my size was on back order and after 4 weeks I started looking for something that I didn’t have to wait for.



I ordered a pair of Gaerne Explorer boots next. But after a week, the vendor contacted me and told me he couldn’t get my size, they were also on back order.



My third boot order was for the AXO SR4 boots, but again, a week after I placed the order, I was told that my size was not available in the US, even though they had it listed on their website and AXO does have the boot available in Europe.



Oxtar Infinity boots didn’t even make it to an order, even though they are made in my size, US doesn’t import the smaller sizes.



I was now getting very annoyed. I had a dual sport bike but not boots. I wanted boots for my Texas trip at the end of December, so I ordered a pair of motorcross type boots, that I could use for trail riding in the future, and maybe touring? I got the Alpinestars Tech 4 boots.



I took them out for a ride, but being tall and really stiff, I didn’t see how I could tour with them, they were not comfortable to walk in.



Yea, I’m making a fashion statement, leather pants and motorcross boots. Still waiting on some textile pants, but that's another story.

So I still wanted a pair of Dual Sport boots, out of all the boots out there, only these were available in my size.



Four VRX boots… never heard of the brand.



Daytona Trans Open GTX, I love Daytona boots and have two pairs for sport touring but at $450 I was having a hard time with the price tag.



BMW Santiago, not the cheapest but not that expensive either. All leather and waterproof, these seemed like the best choice from the three. I placed my order and they will be delivered tomorrow. Will they work? I hope so, I'm out of choices.

Tail rack, GPS and helmet for the XT

Well, I’m out with a cold. My nose is dripping non-stop, just in time for the weekend. And if that wasn’t bad enough, it’s going to be sunny and in the mid 50’s all weekend.

I ran out in the morning and picked up my license plates from the dealership. They came in about two weeks ago. There was a package outside, it was the XT225 tail rack I bought for $45 (with shipping) from North Cascades Motorsports on eBay.

I decided to do the install although with a runny nose it took twice as long as it would have normally, it took 20 minutes. It was the easiest install I’ve ever done on any of my bikes, the last bold didn’t want to line up as easily as the others, it never does.



Tail rack



Stock tail section



Step 1, remove handles



Step 2, mount rack in to the same holes as the handles, replace handles



I had an extra RAM mount ball u-bolt, so I mounted my Garmin Quest GPS



I know, I know, one of these days I have to get that warning sticker off my gas tank. My GPS with the shortest RAM arm, and two days ago I got my off road helmet, an Arai DX Storm Orange. I love the colors on this helmet, I love orange. I found a deal on eBay on this helmet, O don’t get too many deals, I wear an unpopular size, XS.

I’m still waiting on the brush guards that I ordered, they were discontinued so I had to get some other ones, I guess I should get them next week.

The off-road boot situation for me is the pathetic, I didn’t want motor-cross boots but wanted more ankle protection then what my touring boots offer, I wanted an adventure touring boot, well, guess what, most of the really cool ones don’t come in my size, woman’s size 7.5 or euro size 39.

Out of the ones that were available, I picked one, it was on back order, I picked another boot, their source couldn’t get my size even thought the boots is made in my size, but they don’t export the smaller sizes t the US, so I just found another pair of boots, I’ll find in a couple of days if I can get those or not.