Fishin’ Buddy Chest/Lumbar Pack Preview

I’m going to call this a PREview, rather than a REview. I’m doing so mainly because this pack is a creation that I’ve been involved with from the start. I probably have more of a subjective opinion on it than an independent reviewer!

The Fishin’ Buddy is being produced by Mountain Ridge Gear in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Mountain Ridge Gear owner, Eric Lynn, and I have a long history of backpacking and fishing the backcountry together. Several years ago we hatched the idea of a lightweight, simple, versatile fishing pack that could be used both with and without a backpack, and that would be manufactured in the US. Our initial discussion was held on the banks of a tiny trout-filled stream in the central Colorado wilderness. I remember sitting there thinking that the small nylon pouch hanging from a lanyard around my neck, safety-pinned to my shirt, was a beginning, but that we could design something that could do so much more.  Eric had been on his own quest for such a pack, so we put our heads together and started talking.

After countless trail miles, dozens of campfire discussions, and lots of trout later…fast forward to deep winter in February 2012. Eric and I had skied up a snowed-in two-track, hauling pulks loaded down for a few days of winter camping. While we sat around the wood stove, sipping Jamesons and listening to snow sift onto the tent, we decided to kick the Fishin’ Buddy project into high gear. What you see here is the product of all of that planning, design, and on-the-water testing. We think we have a fishing pack that has everything you need and nothing you don’t.

The Fishin' Buddy is completely compatable with any full-sized backpack or day pack.  Shown here with a Kifaru Spike Camp backpack (2,300 c.i.).

Worn as a chest pack, the cross harness is very secure.

The Fishin' Buddy is a very versatile pack.  Show here worn as a lumbar pack, using the integrated, hidden waist belt.

A fold-out hook-and-loop panel on the front of the pack makes organizing flies and fly boxes easy.  It's completely adjustable with the paracord/cord lock system.  The front compartment also features mesh tippet pockets and handy, zippered storage.  The inside front panel is show here with a Simms Patch fly box, which can be mounted inside or on the hook-and-loop fly patch on the outside of the pack.

The roomy main compartment can hold a variety of larger items such as fly boxes, line spools, tippet, camera, small water bottle, snacks, etc.  Both compartments feature waterproof zippers.

Although not designed specifically for tenkara anglers, the design of the pack is very "tenkara-friendly".  Two loops on the bottom of the pack allow up to two tenkara rods to be stowed and carried there while hiking.  This is especially handy when fishing on the go while carrying a backpack.  Simply pull your rod off the bottom of the pack, deploy it, and start fishing!  Shown with my 11' Iwana and 13'6" Amago, both produced by Tenkara USA. There's also a bungee cord on the bottom so you can stash a shell or windshirt.

Streamside tools are easily attached to the front of the pack, using the military-inspired MOLLE webbing.  This keeps them handy, and doesn't poke holes in the fabric of the pack.  A handy hook-and-loop fly patch on the front easily accomodates a ripple foam fly patch or a fly box like my Simms.

Mountain Ridge Gear will have these versatile, lightweight, minimalist packs up on their website in the next few days.  They're made right here in Colorado, USA, by a veteran-owned small business.  As co-designer, I realize I'm biased, but I think this one's a winner!

Dimensions (stuffed):  10.75" x 6" x 7"

Capacity:  420 cubic inches

Weight (includes cross harness and waist belt):  1 pound

Retail Price:  Check Mountain Ridge Gear's website soon!

Ah, Spring!

Sitting here in bed this evening, listening to Yes perform Roundabout on Spotify, I took some time to reflect on just how very lucky I am.  I'm guilty, as I think we all are, of getting so wrapped up in work and daily minutia that I don't take time to count my blessings.  I have rewarding work, an awesome family, beautiful daughters, and a wife who lets me go out and chase wild trout in even wilder country on a regular basis.  I'm also very fortunate to have a wonderful river and canyons holding tiny streams closeby.  Little "blue lines" as Tom Reed would say.  And lastly, I have spring!

Spring.  That time of year around these parts when the first hummingbird shows up at the lonely feeder outside the kitchen window.  A time when it's 25 at night and 70 by noon.  You have to run the heater in your truck in the morning, and the air conditioner on the way home from work.  A time of phenomenal caddis hatches on the Arkansas River.  A time when those caddis and the blue-winged olives share the same air above the water.  I think, perhaps, that the time between my last day of backcountry skiing and Memorial Day is one of my favorite times of the year to fish.  What about you?

How Tenkara Got Its Hook In Me

An online acquaintance of mine, Karel Lansky, recently had a contest on his excellent blog, Tenkara on the Fly.  He was looking for a winning story about, among other things, how anglers discovered tenkara.  I didn’t participate in the contest, so I thought I’d write a bit about how tenkara got its hook in me.

First, I need let you know that I’m a backpacker, of the lightweight variety, verging on ultralight.  I’m a backpack hunter who totes both a rifle and a traditional bow.  I’m a backpacking fly angler, and before that, several decades ago as a teenager, I backpacked my way into the Colorado backcountry carrying a yellow Eagle Claw Trailmaster pack rod.  It’s always been that way for me, hauling my life around on my back.

There are really two men to whom I credit my discovery of tenkara.  Back in 2009, when I read Ryan Jordan’s stories about tenkara over at Backpackinglight.com, I was immediately interested in tenkara.  I took a good look at what Ryan was writing and posting in some videos, and I thought “HEY, I GET THIS!”.  I already held Ryan I very high regard as an ultralight backpacking expert.  About that same time I also noticed Daniel Galhardo’s writing, and climbed on board his website at Tenkara USA.  Shortly thereafter, I got my first tenkara rod, the collaborative project that Ryan and Daniel put together to produce the Backpackinglight/Tenkara USA Hane.  And that was it.  That Hane rode in my pack all over the Colorado backcountry and I’d hate to put a number on how many cutthroat, brown, brook, and rainbow trout it has taken.  Later, I stumbled upon the likes of Jason Klass, Karel Lansky, ERiK Ostrander, and others, who have really taken my knowledge to new levels.  Recently I had a chance to fish with Jason Klass and Daniel Galhardo in Rocky Mountain Park, and meet tenkara anglers from all over the Centennial State.

Along the way I found a hunger to tie my own tenkara flies, and I’ve since found it to be an extremely rewarding way to expand my knowledge of tenkara.  Taking a big brown from a tiny stream with a fly you’ve tied with the deer hair from last year’s buck is just simply amazing!

All told, I don’t really know if I discovered tenkara or, in a long and winding way, if tenkara found me.  It fits so well within the muscle-powered, lightweight, low-impact, minimalist ways I was already living in the high country.

New Gear, Warmer Weather!

Each year I spend part of my spring break backpacking and fly fishing. And guess what? It just so happens that’s exactly what this blog is all about! This year I’ll be stepping off into the wild with several pieces of tenkara gear and backpacking equipment to test. Some of them are never before seen prototypes. Some of them are items that have been around, but are things I haven’t yet wrung out.

Here’s one such item. Chris Stewart, over at Tenkara Bum, recently sent me the Daiwa Kiyose 30 SF rod for backcountry testing. This rod is designed with the backpacker (that’s me) in mind. I’ll be fishing this rod and testing a few new lines in the process. Stay tuned! I’d like to see if it can keep up with the now-discontinued Backpacking Light/Tenkara USA Hane that I have…a rod that’s caught an awful lot of backcountry trout the past two years.

Daiwa Kiyose 30 SF tenkara rod...a backpacker's special

Also during the next few days I’ll be taking the Fishin’ Buddy chest pack out for a spin. My good friend, Eric Lynn, owns a Colorado company, Mountain Ridge Gear. MRG produces American-made packs, pouches, tactical gear, and now a chest pack specifically designed for the backpacking and day-tripping angler. Eric and I have knocked around this idea for over a year, and it’s great to now have the first Fishin’ Buddy for a field test.

Eric Lynn, owner of Mountain Ridge Gear, and I (Mt. Evans Wilderness, Colorado)

(note my Backpacking Light/Tenkara USA Hane rod stashed on the front of my Kifaru Koala)

I plan to continue to burn my Emberlit stove for trailside lunches or tea. That stove is so handy and light!

Lastly I’ll take my best friend Patrick Smith along to see if I can teach an old dog some new tricks. You see, Patrick has yet to try tenkara after 45+ years of backcountry angling. He’s finally leaving his rod and reel at home, and taking my 11’ Iwana on this trip. I’ve tied him up a good selection of tenkara-specific flies, stashed both furled and level lines for him, and gotten plenty of SD card space freed up in my camera to record history taking place.

We're heading out in the morning.  I can’t wait!

Vargo vs. Emberlit Wood Stove Comparison

I thought I'd post a short explanation of why I've chosen the Emberlit over the Vargo wood stove.  Last weekend I had a chance to try out the Vargo streamside during a day-long tenkara outing.

Both stoves are ultralight, compact, and effective.  My choice of one over the other has a lot to do with the diameter and length of sticks they will burn.  In a previous review on this blog I showed how the Emberlit can burn sticks that are a nice diameter and relatively long.  The Vargo cannot do this, and must be fed with considerably smaller sticks.  What this requires is more constant tending of the fire.  I do like the way the Vargo almost assembles itself, since all of the pieces are joined by hinges.  It's a little more tedious assembling the Emberlit, although not difficult at all.

I was able to break some juniper, sagebrush, and narrowleaf cottonwood sticks up into pieces that were small enough to fit inside the stove, but it required me to really stick with it and keep it stoked.

Another feature I like about the Emberlit over the Vargo is the placement of the ventilation/draft holes.  The Vargo has a ventilated floor which gets covered and clogged up with ash and pieces of wood, and the side placement of those holes on the Emberlit seems to draft better and more effectively.  In all, both stoves are great ultralight woodburning trailside stoves that allow you to have unlimited fuel that doesn't have to be carried in your backpack.  Emberlit gets the nod on design and fuel size.

A big thank-you goes out to Randall Haynes for loaning me his Vargo stove.  Thanks, Randall!

Anything Goes

This is the time of year around here when anything goes!  Some days it seems we're on the early edge of spring, and other days we still realize it's winter.  Last weekend I was lucky enough to have a day of sixty-degree weather and some time to return to a little semi-desert canyon in which I've spent an enormous amount of time over the years. 

The fishing was slow, but I was fortunate enough to have a nice brown hit my very first cast, smacking a Killer Kebari that I had just tied a few days prior.  Holding out for a little bigger fish, I returned him to the creek without a photo.  I spent the rest of the afternoon with only one more fish in hand, but I sure had a wonderful time listening to the voices in the water and getting my head cleared of winter cobwebs.  Along the way I had time to test the Vargo titanium hexagon wood stove.  In all, it was a warm, relaxing, productive day in many ways.

Tools of the Trade

Cold Steel Trail Hawk

Head weight:  12.6 oz.

Handle weight:  10 oz.

Total weight:  1 lb. 6.6 oz.

Head length:  6.75"

Cutting surface:  2.5"

Handle length:  21.75"

Price:  $36.99, plus shipping

My Trail Hawk in the foreground, and Mojo Slim's in the background.

During a recent extended weekend of backcountry skiing and winter camping in the central Colorado Rockies, I had a chance to look at several splitting axes, hatchets, and tomahawks. This was also the first time I had a chance to take out my Cold Steel Trail Hawk. Some months ago I had purchased the Trail Hawk, and I spent some time customizing it. This work included applying an antique patina to the head, using mustard, vinegar, and paper towels. This process is explained here, and a number of other sources.  I also removed the set screw that attaches the head to the handle, smoothed and flame colored the handle, and applied a coffee grounds and stain finish. It took quite a bit of time with wet/dry sandpaper and steel wool to finally get the head in the shape and finish I wanted, but I think it turned out pretty well. The final step was to sharpen the head shaving sharp with wet/dry sandpaper and a mouse pad. I am not completely satisfied with the handle, but it’s quite functional and will work until I can finish a new handle.

Two Cold Steel Trail Hawks during some recent backcountry testing (above) and some of the tools we had in camp (below).

Why in the world would a lightweight backpacker carry a tomahawk? I’ll make a short story long. For some of my summer rambles I wouldn’t take it at all. These are my lightest weight trips. All I ever need are my own two hands to break off squaw wood to feed a tiny fire, or at the most my feet to stomp thumb-sized wood into pieces for my Emberlit UL stove, my Kifaru wood stove, or a tiny campfire if there’s a fire ring. BUT, I also venture out into what I call “shoulder season”. Early spring and late fall. For those times, I need a way to split up arm-sized pieces of wood that I’ve cut with my Fast Bucksaw or my Corona folding saw. I’ll be found carrying a larger Kifaru wood stove…either a small stove or a medium stove. Having the ability to split those arm-sized pieces of wood in half is a must. In late fall I’m also out hunting deer and elk, and having a ‘hawk with which to split the pelvis of a big bull is pretty handy. Couple all of that with the ability to pound tent pegs with the hammer poll, and you have a very handy backcountry tool. Move even later in the year when I’m winter camping and backcountry skiing alone or with one partner, and the ’hawk really comes into its own. Burning a Kifaru large stove in my Sawtooth shelter, I can take rounds of beetle killed lodgepole pine or dead standing aspen, up to 5” in diameter, and split them up with the Trail Hawk. Winter camping with nighttime temps dropping down below zero requires a LOT of stove wood. I have been pleased with the velocity at which I can split wood, provided by a longish handle and a relatively light head. The Trail Hawk will also split up kindling just as well as my Gransfors-Bruks Mini Hatchet, but at a fraction of the cost of the latter. I also have the ability to easily remove the head from the handle if I want to make wood shavings for tinder, using the head as a hand tool. I plan to carry my Trail Hawk on many more backcountry trips!