Tag: backpack

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Mosko Moto Nomad Tank Bag

I have a love-hate relationship with tank bags.  They’re great for keeping all of the essential things you need right where you can easily access them, but then all of the things in the bag tend to become a tangled mess. If you have a larger tank bag things can all but disappear, and looking for that second ear plug or tube of chapstick can quickly turn into a pull over and dig in your bag affair.  Thankfully, Mosko Moto has taken a completely difference approach to how a tank bag is organized, and fused it with so many innovative features that calling it a tank bag feels like an understatement.

The Nomad is a dynamic, multi-layer, gear swallowing and organizing tank bag that can be suited to any type of ride and any type of rider.  You can stuff the thing full of gear and load up the MOLLE on the top, or you can go fast and light and carry just the essentials, sucking the tank bag down on to the bike to go “high speed, low drag” in tacti-cool parlance.  Literally, this thing can be configured however you want to use it, allowing it to be the tank bag for just about everyone.

As with any other piece of Mosko Moto gear, a container ship of thought was poured into this bag, and it shows in the product’s final design.  The MOLLE on the top layer lets you install the included map pouch, or you can run whatever MOLLE compatible accessory you choose up top.  The MOLLE is sewn on to a beaver tail—open it and you’ll have access to your quick access items like your maps or GPS.  The next layer down is all about organizing your small items like charging cables, a tire pressure gauge, and earplugs. Below that you’ll find the main compartment that can swallow up a DSLR camera (without a battery grip), your rain gloves, or other large items you need to stash.  Below that is a sleeve that will accept the included 1.8L Platypus water bladder which is awesome for when you don’t want to have to wear your water.  And finally, all the way at the bottom of the bag, you’ll find two straps that turn the Nomad into a backpack, so you can park your bike and easily take your tank bag with you.

Backpack mode is something you’ll start using all the time.  Want to ride to a hike?  Just pack your Nomad.  Parking your bike in someplace sketchy? Just engage backpack mode so your tank bag and its contents can stay with you.  Want to easily bring all your gear from your tank bag into your tent?  You get the idea.  The Nomad is held onto your bike with a fully adjustable harness that goes around your frame up top, and has plenty of adjustment to fit on everything from my Super Tenere to a dirtbike—if you’re willing to stay back on your seat.  At the bottom end, you’ll find two cam straps (which are far superior to plastic strap adjusters) with Velcro that keeps the strap tails tidy.  One side has a male buckle and the other has a female buckle so these straps turn into your waist band when you’re in backpack mode.  I told you this thing was well thought out.

In use, the Nomad has proven to be an outstanding piece of gear.  With the exception of the tedious process that is installing or removing the map pouch (the snaps catch on the sung MOLLE bands; Pro Tip: use a MOLLE stick or a long flathead screwdriver to lift the straps over the snaps), the Nomad is hands down the most versatile and useful tank bag I’ve ever had.  There are too many other features to list in this review, as things like strategically placed Velcro patches and mesh pouch dividers would require 1000s of words to explain properly.  Trust the fact that Mosko Moto did their homework on this bag.   They’ve figured out how to add in all this versatility without taking up all of the gear room in their bag.  In other words, they’ve put in a perfect amount of organization so my days of rat’s nest gear tangles are over.

When you first get your Nomad, spend some time exploring the bag and playing with loadouts to figure out the best way to pack the bag.  That container ship worth of thought that went into designing and making the Nomad means that you won’t get the most out of it without taking some time to get to know the bag.  Try out backpack mode, put the map pouch on, put the raincover on, (it has a window so you can read whatever’s on top of your bag even with the cover on.) and you’ll be able to get much more out of this bag.

Mosko Moto’s Nomad Tank Bag is a great piece of gear.  You can pack the thing to the gills and expand the beavertail to handle quite a lot of kit, or you can run it scrunched down and out of the way with just the essentials.  Accessing your gear is quick and easy, and knowing that you’re not reaching into a tangled mess or accidentally pulling out extra unwanted items is a huge bonus—especially when you’re fishing for gear while under way.  The ability to carry a water bladder and backpack mode really expand on the use of this bag, and are features you’ll find yourself using all the time.  The bottom line is that the Nomad is an incredibly dynamic piece of gear that’s quite possibly everything you need to carry everything you need.

Full Disclosure:  Mosko Moto provided the Nomad Tank Bag to American Adventurist at no charge for the purpose of this review.
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Good To-Go Backcountry Meals

“Oh wow! That looks like real food.” Adam exclaimed as I poured the contents of a package labeled Classic Marinara with Penne into a bowl.  We both leaned in for a closer look.  What we saw looked just like pasta and sauce you would eat at your dinner table—and it also smelled excellent.  Spoons were quickly employed and seconds later we were staring at an empty bowl, contemplating what we had just eaten.  It turns out the folks at Good To-Go weren’t kidding.  Their dehydrated backcountry meals are awesome, and completely redefine what a meal in a bag can be.

If you’ve done any sort of backcountry adventuring, you’ve no doubt had an experience with freeze-dried food.  Most folks tend to pack freeze-dried food on their backcountry outings because it’s light weight, easy to pack, and easy to cook.  But if we’re being honest, we all know that freeze-dried food isn’t the most enjoyable culinary experience out there, which is why you’ll see folks crush a whole meal on day one and struggle to finish a third of a meal several days in.  What gets me is the sodium overload that results from eating an entirely freeze-dried diet.  Sure, you can pack other, bulkier, less durable, heavier foods, but that can quickly turn a fast and light trip in to an expedition loaded for bear.  Planning your meals is an art and a science, because if you fall into a calorie and/or nutrient deficit on your adventure, your enjoyment of the adventure can really take a beating.  Thankfully, Good To-Go has figured out how dehydrate backcountry meals that you’re actually going to look forward to eating every single meal of your trip, meals that will keep your belly full and your body well fueled.

Good To-Go is dehydrating flavorful, chef-created meals, and that makes all the difference in the end product when compared to a freeze-dried meal.  In other words, Good To-Go is recreating dishes from all over the world and packaging them in a way that the dishes’ original awesomeness is just minutes away from a reunion with some moisture.  You’ll notice the difference the second you crack the seal on a Good To-Go package—your nose is hit with tempting aromas.  When you’re done salivating over the smells, look in the package where you’ll find recognizable ingredients instead of assorted colors of cubed something.  Heat up some water and pour it in.  While you’re waiting for your meal to rehydrate, take a gander at the ingredients on the back of the package.  Here you’ll find words you recognize and a nutrition label that adds up to better for you than other backcountry meal options.  Try this: Pay attention to what’s in your first few bites.  You’ll be blown away by the taste and texture.  Each ingredient tastes like the real thing, and you won’t spend your time wondering what cubes you’re eating.

Dehydrated meals will take a longer to cook than freeze-dried meals, and if you’re in a cold or windy environment, you’ll need to take some extra steps while cooking or you’ll be eating a cold meal.  Start with using water that is at a full boil.  Give the meal a quick stir and then insulate the package in a hat or a pannier box, something that keeps it out of the wind and cold and you’ll be in good shape.  Dehydration also doesn’t produce quite as light of a meal as freeze-drying, but this token weight penalty is more than worth it for far superior food.  Once you’re waiting on the clock for your meal to cook, make sure you follow the part of the instructions that tell you to hang out and think about how big the universe is—enjoy where you are and that you are outside.

Good To-Go meals taste great, and the simple experience of eating food that has the texture and the other properties of real food is will completely reset your expectations of what backcountry food can be.  All of the meals are made with natural ingredients that have real nutritional value, so you won’t be eating pounds of sodium and countless mystery cubes over the course of a multi-day trip.  Better fuel for your body also translates into better performance on your adventure and keeps the group’s morale up.  Take a second to insulate your meal to keep it piping hot, and then take a few minutes to take in where you are.  Hopefully, you’re in an awesome spot outdoors and you’re about to eat a meal that you’re actually going to enjoy.   Don’t be surprised if you find yourself reaching for a Good To-Go package when you need an easy meal at home—they’re that good.

 

You can learn all about Good To-Go by checking out their website.  You can order Good To-Go’s excellent meals directly from their website, or drop into your local outdoor gear shop.
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The Goldilocks Approach

When it comes to packing for a moto trip, it’s easy to get carried away.  Pretty soon, you find yourself with 17 changes of clothes, and more camping gear than you could use in a month, all for a three-day trip.  On the other hand, what will you do if your machine breaks down, you run out of water, or the weather takes a 50 degree mood swing?  Bringing enough, but not too much gear is a long practiced, ever evolving art.  It takes a bit of practice to get it just right.  Here are some tips and tricks I’ve learned that can help you better prepare for your next moto adventure.

In the frenzy of packing before a trip, it’s all too easy to forget something only to find out said thing is missing once you reach for it at some point on your ride.  Do yourself a favor and compile a list, and check things off as you set them out by your bike.

Invariably, you’ll need to get to something mid-ride.  Which pannier is it in?  How deep is it buried?  If you know these answers, and pack your gear so that your ‘need it now’ items are easy to get to, then you won’t have to unpack your whole kit looking for your extra gloves when the weather turns chilly.  I can’t stress how important it is to always put your wallet, phone and keys in the same place. The very act of adventuring means you’re disrupting your schedules and habits, and keeping as many things consistent as possible will really help to smooth out your trip.  This philosophy really comes to a head when you’re scrambling to find your raingear!

You’re also going to want to leave some empty space in your bags so that you can pick up extra items.  If you decide to stop at a grocery store at some point on your ride, will you have room to carry this additional food?  Smaller light weight dry bags or stuff sacks are a great way to pack your food  or organize your panniers or bags. They pack down to almost nothing when empty, and a single dry bag of food is much easier to handle than a number of individually packed items.

As you’re loading your bags, take some time to consider what’s going to happen to your gear as it vibrates and bounces around on your ride.  Bolt heads, hard items rubbing on softer items, and soil on gear can really do some damage to your kit.  Padding and/or taking the time to securely strap your gear down is time well spent.  Fail to do this, and you may discover that you’ve worn a hole in some expensive piece of gear.

There will usually come a point where you will begin ‘the cull’ and remove the non-essentials from your kit.  Do you really need an extra sweatshirt, or can you wear your riding jacket if it’s cold?  Being creative with your packing can also be a huge space saver – I like to strap my water shoes to the crash bars.  They don’t fit well into a pannier and I don’t care if they get wet on the ride.

If you have a mechanical in the boonies, the ability to fix it yourself can be worth the bike’s weight in gold.  On the flip side, if your bike is in good order, are those tools dead weight and taking up valuable space?  If you’re traveling in a group, coordinate on what kit you’re bringing.  You don’t need six tire irons to fix a puncture.  Being meticulous with bike maintenance goes a long way to prevent mechanicals on your ride.  Know what might break on your bike, and know how to fix that that potential problem.  Practice using the tools you’ll bring to work on the bike and you’ll quickly fill the voids and cull the chaff.

Now that you’ve spent all this time collecting, organizing, planning, and packing your kit, you need to take a minute to make a very important, yet often overlooked setup adjustment to your bike.  You’re strapping somewhere between 40 and 200-plus pounds to the rear of the bike, more if you’re carrying a passenger (pillion).  Your rear suspension will sag more, and this will throw off the handling of the bike.  If you’re really overloaded, your suspension can bottom out harshly and that can result in you getting a soil sample.  On some bikes a simple preload adjustment and some additional rebound and compression damping will suffice.  Other bikes will require a spring swap to properly handle the additional weight.  Take the time to figure out what adjustments you need to make to have your suspension properly setup for the weight you’ve added.

Packing for moto trips is process that you’ll find yourself continually refining.  Take note of what works well for you and apply that to your packing for each successive trip.  You will quickly find your sweet spot of comfort and convenience, and no matter what the adventure throws at you, you will be ready to enjoy each and every moment.  If you’ve got some tips to share, please post them in the comments!

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Therm-A-Rest NeoAir XLite Max SV

There’s a new way to inflate a sleeping pad, and it’s called the SpeedValve.  We all know of the traditional way to inflate a sleeping pad:  Unscrew the pad’s valve, wrap your lips around said valve, and start puffing.  Depending on the volume of the pad that you’re inflating, this may take just a minute, or it may take several minutes and leave you feeling slightly hypoxic by the time your pad is fully inflated.  However, if you have a Therm-a-Rest pad equipped with a SpeedValve, such as the NeoAir XLite Max SV, inflation and deflation happen a whole lot faster.

The SpeedValve uses science (Bernoulli’s principle of fluid dynamics) to inflate your sleeping pad much faster than a traditional sleeping pad valve would allow.  With a traditional valve, you are supplying 100% of the air going into the mattress from your lungs.  The SpeedValve uses all of the air from your lungs and it draws additional air from the atmosphere into the sleeping pad.  The end result is that much more air goes into the pad per breath, and your pad inflates faster.  Once you’ve got the pad almost full, you close the SpeedValve just like a drybag, and use the traditional valve on the corner of the pad to dial in your desired pad pressure.  Deflating a SpeedValve pad happens much more quickly than with a traditional pad valve too, and the days of slowly rolling a pad up as you bleed out air are over.  The SpeedValve is awesome, but it does have a learning curve.

Entertaining situation: Ask your friends to try inflating your NeoAir XLite Max SV without telling them how to use the SpeedValve.  Some people will try and blow as hard as they can into the pad, like they’re playing toot the bottle.  Others will just stick their face into the SpeedValve and blow.  When you’re ready to enlighten your friends, hold the SpeedValve a few inches away from your face and blow slowly, like you’re trying to blow out 100 candles on a birthday cake in one breath.  You’ll know when you’ve got your technique dialed because you will feel air moving past your face as you blow, and your pad will inflate surprisingly fast.  Closing the SpeedValve is the other thing that requires technique, as the dry bag style rolling process must be done right, or you’re going to be waking up on the ground.  As with any new piece of gear, the SpeedValve takes some learning, but once you get it figured out you’ll feel bad for folks who still have to work with traditional valves.

The NeoAir XLite Max SV is a terrific sleeping pad in terms of comfort, and with the L size pad weighing in at one pound five ounces, it’s become my go to pad every time weight is a consideration.  The L size allows for my 6’2” frame to stretch out with my entire body on the pad, and at 2.5” thick I can sleep on my side without contacting the ground.  With an R value of 3.2, the NeoAir XLite Max SV is a three season pad that will make a bit of noise when you move around on it, but it’s much more quiet than the ‘crunching bag of chips’ sound that other lightweight sleeping pads are known for.  Every night I’ve had on the NeoAir XLite Max SV has been a night of restful sleep.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDIH7CiofUw

Therm-A-Rest has applied science to give us a new and faster way to inflate and deflate a sleeping pad, and I have to say that I’m a fan of this new system.  Granted, there is a bit of a learning curve and the second valve is technically one more point of potential failure, but these points are overshadowed by the performance the SpeedValve offers.  Less time inflating a pad is a convenience feature, but the first time you nail the inflation technique you’ll find yourself saying “worth it!”  Likewise, deflation is a much more enjoyable experience too.  No longer will you spend time doing the slow knee-press roll-up of your old sleeping pad.  Comfort and support have been outstanding for me sleeping on my back and my side, and a good night’s rest in the backcountry is invaluable on multi-day missions.  I’ve routinely found myself opting for the NeoAir XLite Max SV over a thicker (3.5”) and much heavier sleeping pad that was previously my favorite.  With the NeoAir XLite Max SV, I sleep great and I’ve cut over a pound from my kit.  Therm-A-Rest offers the SpeedValve in a number of their field proven pads, so go check one out at your local gear shop, or at http://www.cascadedesigns.com/therm-a-rest