​Pre-trip refreshments

[Guest]

Not hoppy ales or winter trip hot buttered rum, although those are good too, but the little stuff that needs refreshing between trips. I need to get ahead of the packing game to pay the necessary attention those replenishment details.

Some of the zippered gear needs attention. A little cleaning and Teflon non-stick dry spray seems to do the trick nicely. I like that Teflon dry spray of a bunch of applications.

Fill the windproof piezo lighter. Check the flashlight batteries and spares. Sharpen a couple of knives. Make a new trip journal with rigid knee-writing covers. Check the weather radio.

Check the first aid kits. The zip-lock trash bag in the boo-boo kit shows that I need a few new band aids and a piece of moleskin. Replenish some toiletries.

Check the ditch kit. Oh yeah, I sliced up my huge contractor garbage bag for use as an interior ground cloth with some wet-met folks a year ago. Replace that.

How old is this tube of sun screen? Yeah, that would make a great grit-on-skin attractant, but its UV protection is probably long gone.

The more I look the more I find. Nice to have the luxury of a details day when packing.

 

[yellowcanoe]

oh yes the Advil from 2006. The duct tape around the pill bottle that now requires a crane to get it off. The eek..rusted tweezers. The triple antibiotic with the screw of the top full of dirt.

But what were your refreshments?

 

[tear_knee]

Apparently sunscreen only lasts about six months after being opened. After that, it's just what you said: nothing but a grit-on-skin attractant.
I should do this before I put things away. Pretty horrible to realize on day five of a two week trip that both tubes of Polysporin are at home in the bathroom cupboard, along with the fresh roll of moleskin.

 

[coldfeet]

Used some pre cut up moleskin this weekend on a finger blister, so good to pre cut them into different sizes and leave them in my red bag. Color helps me remember that's the first aid kit. But tough to see at night, need reflective tape. Mike I know you use that a lot, website suggestions?

 

[Guest]

But what were your refreshments?

Yuengling Black & Tan in the shop while gearing up. I’m packing light this time. Besides the usual paddling and camping gear I’ve got two step ladders, a box of tools, a big jar of Black Silk and a Mr Coffee, assorted presents and surprises, a case of Black & Tan and a case of Victory Hop Devil. Fortunately I know where to buy beer in Elizabethtown.

 

[Guest]

I should do this before I put things away. Pretty horrible to realize on day five of a two week trip that both tubes of Polysporin are at home in the bathroom cupboard, along with the fresh roll of moleskin.

I never seem to replenish the details before putting gear away either. I have a couple of good habits in that bad habit regard. I keep a Zip-lock “garbage bag” in the first aid kit and the band aid wrappers, moleskin backing and etc trash goes in that bag. When I get around to replenishing the first aid kits I have a pretty good idea of what I used.

The tube of Triple antibiotic ointment from the boo-boo kit often finds its way into the bathroom medicine cabinet. Sometimes the same happens to the bottle of vitamin I. That alone may be justification to refresh the kits just before a trip, not immediately after.

When I have to delve into the gear bags for home assistance that tells me to put ointment or ibuprofen on the next grocery list. The new stuff goes in my first aid kits, so any expiration dates are the most recent.

I should probably extend that habit to sunscreen, but I only use that goo in extremis.

 

[Guest]

Dang, I’m still finding detail stuff. Hey look, my tripping watch is off by an hour. I don’t care that much about the hour when tripping, but for tidal stuff I do like to know my timing. The date is actually more important to me than the hour; I realized a couple of years ago that I quickly lose track of the date (sometimes the month) and bought a watch with a date function.

According to my watch the date was the 3[SUP]rd[/SUP]. Uh, yeah, that would be confusing.

Color helps me remember that's the first aid kit. But tough to see at night, need reflective tape. Mike I know you use that a lot, website suggestions?

The reflective tape I have found best, both in adhesive tenacity and brightness, is this stuff. Pricey for length, but a little dab’ll do ya.

https://www.identi-tape.com/hi-intensity1.htm

But ya got me on first aid kits. I have reflective tape festooned on dang near everything hard sided, but both my personal boo-boo kit and the big group first aid kit are in soft side WP bags. Tape won’t work, I can’t very well sew on a reflective patch and most of the reflective cord and line I’ve used was crap for reflectivity, and would probably be a PITA dangling loose.

The big group first aid kit is in a bright yellow bag with FIRST AID + stenciled on two sides and is usually hung somewhere handy and visible, but something reflective on that bag would be helpful. My personal boo-boo kit lives near to hand in my essentials bag, but likewise lacks anything reflective.

I have a couple of small waterproof pouches, including a tiny 3x6 originally marketed for first aid; too tiny for me, but it holds my Swiss Army knife and Leatherman free of dirt and sand. Looking at them now none have any reflective stripe. Even the ones I’ve seen for cell phones or small electronics lack any reflective surface.

That seems a design failure. Especially for the small stuff that’s hard to find in the dark. See: Why I have reflective tape on my lost-in-the-tent jumble reading glass cases.

That brings up a question or two.

1. How to add reflectivity to soft shell bags? Hell, I wouldn’t mind having something reflective on my packs and large dry bags.

2. Anyone have a source for small to tiny waterproof bags with a reflective element?