Gear Nerd: March 2014

006- REI Flashback

Available from: No longer on REI's site. Maybe eBay?

Bottom line: Excellent small outdoor pack, especially when you want to rock the retro hiker vibe.

High points: Terrific, retro styling. High quality for the prices. Not many fussy points. Simple, easy to use in almost every respect.

Caveats: Price (~$45 new- a touch steep for such a simple pack. No waist strap. Shoulder straps loosen with the slightest tug.

Wishlist: A slightly larger version. A Flashback 22 or 25 would fall into the same range as Tom Bihn's new Guides Pack, but could come in at 40% or less of the cost.

Why I bought this bag: I've had a REI Flash 18 UL for about 5 or 6 years and it has been my go to adventure bag that whole time. The Flashback seemed like a great update to my older bag.

Regrets: Doubting my old Flash 18 UL. While I love the styling of the Flashback, the original flash still fits my actual outdoor needs slightly better, being a touch lighter and slightly more comfortable.

005- Tom Bihn Smart Alec

Available from: Tom Bihn

Bottom line: Excellent compromise between a conservative work/school bag and a useful/comfortable adventure bag.

High points: Best materials I've seen on a backpack. Top loading design. Removable sternum and waist strap.

Caveats: Price ($160 + $10 Shipping). Waist strap not ideal for hiking and load carrying.

Wishlist: A Tom Bihn gatekeeper compatible hiking waist strap that is more comfortable and carries the load better.

Why I bought this bag: I've been looking for the one bag that does it all for a long time and have never really found it. About a year ago I bought a Tom Bihn Synapse 19 (see my post about it here). It is a fantastic little pack and accompanied me on several adventures. However, it was better for travel than for outdoors adventures. I have long used an REI Flash 18 for my outdoor adventures, and have generally been VERY happy with it. However, the Flash 18 is simply too narrow to fit normal size (8.5 x 11) size documents and the like. My iPad 2 would fit with a lot of effort, but deforms the bag. I've come to prefer top loading designs for mist uses, but my pack also needs to be able to carry papers, textbooks, iPad and occasionally the laptop. The Flash can't do that. And the Synapse was a touch fussy about handling bulk items like sweatshirts when hiking. Further, the Synapse lacked any way to attach substantial volume to the exterior. The Smart Alec deftly threads the needle between carrying an office/school load and carrying a weekend load. Plus it gives you the ability to attach items to the exterior in a variety of ways. And it does THAT without looking like a trail pack.

Regrets: As conservative as I like my bags, I'm wishing now that I bought a version of the Smart Alec with a color panel down the top-center. Maybe gray.

Bihn's small clear pouch is clipped to an 'o' ring in the side pocket of the Smart Alec.

This pack would easily hold five 1L Nalgenes in a single layer in the main compartment.

The dyneema lining really sets Bihn's bag apart from other manufacturers.

Cutaway view of Tom Bihn Smart Alec.

004- Vargo Folding Stove

Available from Amazon here.

There appear to be two versions of this stove: one titanium and one aluminum. Mine is the latter.

Bottom line: It works!

Caveats: It took about 20 minutes of steady feeding to boil 16oz of water. I was not using the best wood, so your milage may vary. The oil camp cup I used was not particularly stable sitting up there. I can't recommend this combination. A proper camping pot would probably be safer.