GearFlogger

Make Your Own First Aid Kit

Living in Alaska earthquakes are always on our minds, and with National Preparedness Month just around the corner we thought it would be a fine time to revisit some of our preparedness advice. There were five essentials we covered there, the tl;dr being: trauma kit, survival gear, water, food, and communication.

One thing we did not include was a first aid kit, assuming everyone absolutely has one. Asking around, we found that is absolutely not the case, and some people are uncertain about exactly what should be included. Before we get started, a disclaimer up front: a first aid kit is for things that will not kill you. For things that will kill you - hello, massive blood loss - you should also have a trauma kit. Tl;dr tourniquet, clotting gauze, pressure dressing and chest seals, plus the training to use them. But first aid kits are great too, because minor wounds are far more common, especially for all the little floggers in our lives. And with that in mind, here we go!

The Ski Guide Manual by Rob Coppolillo

Rob Coppolillo, co-author of one of our fave books, The Mountain Guide Manual, is at it again with the perfect sequel: The Ski Guide Manual: Advanced Techniques for the Backcountry. Another great title from Falcon Guides, TSGM is an up-to-date treatment of everything backcountry skiing, by an author who as one of the first 100 Americans to earn the prestigious American Mountain Guides Association international certification in mountain guiding.

TSGM is crazy full of good information. Even the trivia - you do know about smotli, right? (we didn't, page 57) - is instructional. Everything from planning to up to down to debrief is covered, with great photographs and illustrations, and lots of sidebars that call out important points. Rob's real-life experience makes frequent appearances to drive home points, and he's humble enough to give space to guest authors to write about their specialities such as split-boarding, teamwork and checklists. There is literally too much to cover, so we won't even try, we'll just leave you with our highest recommendation: buy this book! Read this book! Do it now!

The value here is just ridiculous. If you backcountry ski at all, you're at least dimly (hopefully more so) aware of the risks of traveling in avalanche terrain and on steep icy slopes. Reading this book is an investment in saving your life and the lives of your teammates, and the price of entry is almost negligible compared to what we spend on all the shiny sexy gear. So if you want to learn about smotli and everything else you need to know to be a safe and efficient backcountry skier, here are your answers.

$21.99 at Amazon

UTTy Gear Storage Strap

We almost took a pass on reviewing the UTTy, and we'll be the first to admit that would have been a mistake. It just seemed too simple: a four-foot strap of one-inch wide nylon with four double hooks that slide up and down and lock in place. Seems like a yawner, right?

It's not. The day it arrived we hung it up next to our gear area, and there it has stayed to organize hiking gear and packs for all our outings. Normally for gear organization we tack up a 2x4 and screw some hooks into it, but wood is expensive these days and once it's in place it's a pain to move or customize without rearranging everything. The UTTy lets us easily reconfigure the hooks up and down the strap - it's just like a fastex buckle, except with a cam lock. As we sort gear for whatever the next mission is we just hang it on the strap: bear spray, medical kits, trekking poles, food bags, clothes, climbing gear, you name it.

The UTTy is just a better solution than 2x4s, at least for light to medium weight gear. It's designed to support 8lb per hook - 16lb per double hook - and 75lb total on the strap. We are pushing it significantly beyond that limit at the moment with no problems, but probably best to stay within those specs. The whole unit weighs jus 5.4 ounces, so it's a great portable solution as well, especially if you know you're going to be somewhere where gear gets wet and needs to hang dry.

There are basically three versions of the UTTy, all with a 4' strap: the UTTy (4 double hooks), the UTTy Hockey (6 double hooks), and the UTTy Van (4 double hooks and a grommet for a biner, so you can run it horizontally to stow it). They are all dead simple to use, and the only improvement we can think of would be if they sold just the hooks, so you could add them to your own 1 inch webbing. Also, some different styles of hangers, for example ones designed to hang from a horizontal strap or to clamp instead of hook. We're sure UTTy is on the job coming up with more customization options, but for now it's just a great way to organize anything you can hang on a hook, either at home or on the trail.

From $35.00 at UTTy

Kahtoola NANOspikes Traction System

One thing you can rely on in Anchorage, Alaska is frequent freeze-thaw cycles in the winter. It makes walking to school and work a challenge and sometimes outright dangerous. Also high on the suck meter is trying to get someone's car unstuck on an icy road while you're slipping around yourself. The solution is some kind of ice cleat, and we've found a great one for everyday use.

Kahtoola makes every kind of traction system for your feet short of full-on climbing crampons. We've long used their MICROspikes, which have little fangs on the bottom, and they're great for trail use but you definitely don't want to wear them anywhere you don't want little holes. Want you want for everyday use are the NANOspikes, which have very small tungsten carbide posts - they're not really spikes - that are fantastic for bare ice.

Here's the thing: there are a lot of traction systems that do a great job on ice. What separates them are two things: ease of use and reliability. The NANO spikes are tops in both. They go on easily and securely, fitting over the top and back of your footwear with straps that distribute the pressure evenly and gently. They also come off easily, if you're heading into an office building or home, and they come with a handy storage sack that they fold neatly into. Reliability has been great so far - we'll do some medium and long term updates later in the spring - and they seem built pretty tough. We've never had Kahtoola gear fail on us yet, so color us optimistic.

We'll throw in a third benefit: the NANOspikes are the closest feeling to not wearing traction devices on your feet. Some systems feel like they elevate your foot too much, and/or are unstable while walking. The NANOspikes are very minimalist, stay in place solidly thanks to the straps and the little traction nubs on the inside that go against your sole. The NANOspikes are our go-to traction system these days for everything short of serious off-trail or vertical adventures, and did we mention they even come in extra small for the little-feeted amongst us?

$49.95 at REI