Gears in Mind, Not on Hand

noThose persons that I have climbed with, and those who have followed my Multiply posts, all know that I am not a gears person. It was only in the year 2009 that I bought a decent backpack (Deuter ACTLite 35+10). It is that time also that I decided to buy a local tent (Apexus Tadpole - red), and my reliable trek shoes (TNF Plasma Gtex XCR Boa II). I bought all of these necessities, after 2 years of climbing, just in time for my Mt. Apo climb. 

Now that another biggie climb is in the picture (Mt. Kinabalu, Sabah Malaysia), I need to upgrade my other gears, or that I need to buy those that I don't have yet. As of the moment, I have my eyes on these babies....

Petzl Tikkina 2

HEADLAMP 

We all know that one of the most important part of a mountaineer's survival kit is a headlamp. During my 3 years in mountaineering, I have seen different types of headlamp used. There are cheap headlamps (like what I usually use) which you can buy from hardware stores at the mall, or from tyangge stores ran by the Chinese, lols. They are priced somewhere in between 100-200php. Also there are headlamps that are somewhere in between cheap and expensive, like Energizer or Eveready which ranges about 300-800php a piece. And of course there are branded ones, like the most famous Petzl, Black Diamond etc. which is priced from 1000-5000php, Philippine distributed. You can procure these branded items through the internet but the price range is almost the same if you will include the shipping cost.

I have been using a cheap generic heavy headlamp before I upgraded to Energizer, which I haven't used yet since it is relatively new. What I don't want to happen is the headlamp dying on me just when I needed it the most. So I decided to get a cheap and decent Petzl Tikinna 2 headlamp in my favorite color, orange.

Tikkina 2 is priced at $19.95 last time I checked, shipping not included. If converted to Philippine peso that will be roughly around 900php. Locally distributed, it is priced 1400php almost. It has two lighting modes, and a battery life of 190h at economic level. It has two LED that can light up to 23 meter range at maximum level. Not a very good choice for search and rescue, but just enough for normal climbing condition. Just pray you don't get lost in dense jungle, hehehe.

Originally, I dreamt of getting a high powered headlamp, Petzl Myolite (with Xenon bulbs and can light up to 100m range in maximum power) which costs around 5000php. Climb trip priorities inifinitely delayed the purchase. So I am settling on this not so pricey torch.

Deuter Wizard

ASSAULT PACK

Aside from the regular packs that we climbers lug to the campsite, there also cases where assault packs are needed. Assault packs are small bags enough to carry our basic necessities like water, food, and med kits usually for hikes from campsite to summit. One good example where this is needed, is Mt. Guiting guiting in Romblon where you need to camp at Mayo's peak then assault to summit the next day bringing as little as you can to help you maintain balance as you negotiate the ravines and slippery ridge terrain.

I haven't bought one eversince I started climbing, and I considered buying one for the sake of the Mt. Kinabalu climb, since we are taking the Via Ferrata and we need to have both our hands free in scrambling down the boulder face of the summit. 

I have checked Altrec.com, and saw that this is priced at $28 or something. 

Deuter Futura 24 SL

TALL PACK

I have been using a 45L overhead pack since late 2009. Although I have other packs for lighter loads, this has been my staple for overnight climbs. I realized that the larger the backpack, the more stuff you will bring, ergo the heavier your load will be. Whereas when you have a small one, you will be forced to leave some of the comforts at home. I still don't know if all my necessaries will fit this 24L bag, but this is still for consideration and not needed immediately just like the previous 2. 

I haven't checked the price of Futura 24 but I bet it is around $100, an amount which I could use for something more important.

I am still on the budgeting phase where I try to balance my personal expenses, my travel expenses, and my gears expenses. It is only now that I realize that this hobby is much more expensive than others. That I realized when I passed by a golf shop and saw that a club set (main gear in golf) of Calloway is only 14,000, which is same price to a branded foreign tent (just one of our necessities). I cannot imagine how I survived this hobby, with just a meager amount left for my travel expenses. Because I don't buy gears, maybe? Lols.