EP 161 - Best Gifts for Backpackers in 2023

[00:00:00] Tayson: Hey everybody, welcome back to the Live Ultralight Podcast powered by Outdoor Vitals today in this episode We're gonna be talking about the best gifts for backpackers this upcoming holiday season I've got Derek here our marketing director on to discuss this with me And we're just gonna go through a whole bunch of different categories of gifts for different price points different types of people And hopefully by the end of this will just make your life a little easier I know personally when it comes to the holiday season. I can get a little stressed out for like Just what gifts you know you need and some of that. I mean thankfully Being in working here at Outdoor Vitals Sometimes that is a little easier for me and I probably lean on that too much So hopefully today we'll give you some ideas from Outdoor Vitals. Maybe we'll give you some ideas just in general as well But Derek, how you doing today?

[00:00:51] Derek: I'm doing great Honestly Maddie, and I are actually in the middle of what you were just talking about we are in the middle of Stress and we're actually starting to stress a little bit about what we're supposed to be getting for people right now

[00:01:01] Tayson: But we got to talk about that because it's November 1st like stress shouldn't exist already right

[00:01:07] Derek: well for

[00:01:09] Tayson: Yes, yes, you're right about that,

[00:01:11] Derek: but For us we are actually meeting up with our family during Thanksgiving time for Christmas because you have swapped them yes, and so Everything's bumped up a month. It's just why we're starting to stress We haven't really gotten very far at all yet And so we're like oh well actually that's only in a couple weeks when we're supposed to go and drive and visit family and and Do this gift exchange so for some people like like me and my wife. It's it's the time to worry about it

[00:01:37] Tayson: Yeah, the most important day for me is the last ship day.

[00:01:42] Derek: No

[00:01:42] Tayson: yeah No, no no I set a goal every year to be more proactive with it, and I've gotten back I've gotten better, but it used to be like Christmas Eve. I was going around town trying to like figure things out and so Thankfully, I'm I'm better than that now and hopefully I'll continue that But no, I don't think this should be a stressful thing. This should be good thing fun thing You know so hopefully by us. You know talking about this early enough on it'll it'll just help make life a little easier for Listening, but

[00:02:16] Derek: well honestly I really do think this is going to be a great resource for anybody The only reason I'm stressed a little bit right now is because I've already given Some of the ideas that we want to share with you with some of my friends and family There's there's some good ideas We've got that really whether you're a backpacker or not or your friends and family or backpackers or not There's some really great things for anyone And and we've kind of both had some experience proving that concept with Family and friends over the years, so I'm at the point right now where I've I've already used my good ideas I should I guess we could say and got to come up with something new here, so but but we'll figure it out.

[00:02:56] Tayson: Yeah Let's let's do this really quick. You know we have the marketing director on the podcast, so he's gonna want to hit this point, but We are gonna have an early Black Friday sale another thing I just want to note too is and I'll let you give the details on that in a second, but We have a lot of members a lot of Live Ultralight members who have a lot of credit in their accounts Now is a great time to spend that and even if you're not shopping for say a backpacker There's a lot of great options that we're gonna cover today They can still be very applicable and allow you guys to make sure to spend some of that credit So be thinking about that now is a great time to to use that bank account that you've been storing money into all year But Derek I guess give us the the high -level quick pitch of what the sale is gonna be

[00:03:46] Derek: So our early Black Friday sale is first and foremost early as Tayson mentioned It's gonna be if you wait till Black Friday I guess I could put that way if you wait until Black Friday and Cyber Monday You've missed it completely. It's gonna be that early So I can't give you the details yet on exactly what the dates will be I just want to make sure if you are on our email list or you signed up to receive text make sure you're checking those Updates we will let you know with good amount of time to make sure you can take Every opportunity and take advantage of that of that sale That out of the way some of the cool things to be excited for is it's gonna be site -wide Everything on the website is gonna be on sale. You're gonna be able to get some pretty big discounts There's some blanket discounts that that's gonna apply to everything But that is going to stack on top of anything. That's already Discounted a little bit and so there's certain products on our site that will be you know The prices are lower this time of year on top of that a side wide discounts will They'll pretty much give you some pretty significant discounts that you can look forward to one product I won't tell you which one is gonna be up to about 60 % off Once this is how it goes live and so Make sure you're watching your inboxes, make sure that you're kind of waiting for that. The discounts is a part of it, but the other side is that with every single order we're going to be giving away free bonuses. So, no matter what you order, you're gonna get something for free and then there's additional opportunity for free gear based on order value. And so, if you've got a list of listen to this podcast of things that you want to order and you can order it all in and one order that's going to basically increase the amount of free backpacking gear. And these are this is going to be a legitimate gear. Not just like, you know, a sticker or something that you can get. So make sure you are taking advantage of the free bonuses. The discounts. And right now is the time to kind of get that list in your head or written down somewhere, what you want to get, whether it's for you, for friends for family and then you can take the most out of that sale. When once it goes live, I believe this podcast will be coming out right around the same time that sells happening. So if you hearing this, make sure it's on your radar.

[Editor’s note: This sale discussion referred to the November 2023 release window. The dates, discounts, bonuses, stock, and offer terms are historical and should not be read as current.]

[00:06:04] Tayson: Okay, let's let's jump into it. I was kind of talk about like some winter plans and some stuff we've got going on, but I think let's just jump right into the gift ideas and if they come up they come up. So first category, I want to start with was best gifts for kids. I have two kids, I take them backpacking. And so what, what it works in that category, I guess. And Derek, I know you've got lots of little nieces and nephews and things so it can be on your radar if you don't have too many ideas. But I'm gonna start off with number one. I mean, what my kid will be getting is likely a pedal bike. I mean, that's not really a backpacking related thing but I just I'll throw it out there. That's like I'm always looking for Anything that gets my kids outside even if it's not say backpacking, right? So, they'll be that, but some other ideas that I came up with when I'm thinking about what my kids love doing. When we go backpacking. Number one, they love my hiking poles. So like, you know, you may not want you, I mean you can't, right? You can you could totally get them, a pair of like really nice polls. Like we we offer Komperdell but you may just want to go into to Walmart, Costco, whatever, and get a cheaper pair of hiking poles to let your kids play with my kids. Love them and make them feel super legit on the trails. And there's something about that that just makes clicking off Mi more enjoyable for them. So, I've been number one, number two like fire starters. My kids love fires. So getting them like a Pyro Putty or something like that. That's going to just be like something they can kind of play around with the fire obviously under supervision. But I know that my kids would really enjoy that like giving them something that would allow them to start the fire versus just watching dad, you know, so that's something that came up.

[Editor’s note: This was a parent’s personal 2023 gift example, not general permission for children to handle fire. Fire starters require close, active adult supervision, age-appropriate judgment, and compliance with current fire rules and product instructions.]

[00:07:34] Tayson: Something they love well backpacking. and, Also. Fishing poles like go get him. The twenty dollar fishing pole that's got you know certain Ninja Turtles on it or something like that. Kids love to fish. I think it's a great time to just get them on that track. And, and my kids love anything to do with, like, tackle for fishing, like bait hooks, all those silly looking things, they just sit there and play in the dirt with, with all of the, The Tackle, right? So, anything related to those, I think are your kids are gonna enjoy and it'll be stuff that they can look forward to go backpacking with later.

[00:08:35] Derek: You know, about three weeks ago. Yeah, about three weeks ago. I actually took my nieces and nephews fishing for the first time in their life. I was with their dad, my brother-in-law and and we took him fishing. That's a live. Just like a block away. Essentially is the distance I guess from upon that stocked, with Fish. And so we have these polls and we took them just down the street, a little ways on this little nature walk, I guess it runs by their house to This Pond and they loved it. And so there's five of these kids. There's three girls two boys and they all loved it. All of them have, you know, all kinds of different ages. All kinds of different interests. But I think that's I think that's a phenomenal idea. Definitely the fishing poles are tackle, just getting them out there to do that especially the first time or when they're young they and you do the work for him a little bit, you know. I could hook on the line then they love it, you know.

[00:09:25] Tayson: There's something for kids to hiking to like a destination. And so hiking to a lake is Just always works so well for my kids because like, when we get to the lake were there, and then there's stuff to do, I can throw rocks, I can fish, we can set up camp. We can, you know? So so yeah. I think that's a Good one to have on your radar. Last one I'm gonna put in here for kids. That. I don't, this isn't coming from a ton of experience. So, obviously with our whole podcast, right, the purpose of this podcast is to be informative to educate. And help you guys go out on trail more confidently. Hopefully, also, just Inspire and be entertaining, too, but clothing is like a big thing for kids, right? Obviously, like Outdoor Vitals, we sell high-end, ultra light, performance clothing, and when you talk about kids, kids don't take care of stuff. They're crazy hard on stuff, they get it, crazy dirty, they stained it all the time and so it's tough to know what to do. And so historically, I've just made a lot of my decisions on what to acquire based off of Just inspecting individual products that I have in front of me. I'm not necessarily going out to say Patagonia and buy my kid at 200. One of the few companies that have a kid's line. Not saying that's the wrong thing to do. I just haven't been able to justify it with how fast my kids grow. I mean, I have a Four year old and a student to be seven year old. So Something that was referred to me as a good option was actually from a company called Decathlon. They do make some kids apparel and it is much more affordable, but it still has that outdoor Focus. So that might be something if your kids do need some clothes, some backpacking outdoor clothes, jackets might be something to look at I have yet to do this. So this is a, this is an unproven thing. Maybe leave us a comment on YouTube on the podcast on YouTube. If it's something that you've tried or or do get product, and let me know because it's something that I've had a shopping cart built a few times and I just haven't pulled the trigger, but I need to get my kids a little bit better, winter clothes and something that's just A little better than what I've got for him so far.

[Editor’s note: This children’s-apparel discussion was recorded in 2023 and was explicitly untested by the speaker. Verify current fit, materials, and product information independently.]

[00:11:38] Tayson: So I know you guys are all be like why does not Outdoor Vitals make kids clothes and The great question. The biggest reason is just the market size is so small and so for a company is small as us. We cannot justify it with numbers, right? So you know, maybe one day, but obviously we would even if we went down that path, it would be a slow progress. We'd start with, probably more like teenage kids and young girl. It would not jump straight to like Toddlers and and stuff. So yeah, no need to ask that question. I'll just answer that.

[00:12:14] Derek: So before we move on to the next category, I actually do have two ideas that we haven't talked about the kids gifts. Now these I really think that your kids will love them, but they are a little bit more on the Practical side, as well, and both are actually Outdoor Vitals products. So, one thing that I've learned a lot from my nieces and nephews and different kids that I've interacted with, and my family, and things is that everybody loves their own fort or their own space. And so, getting them, something like a tent, especially an ultralight tent, that they're able to carry a little bit easier. We'll give them kind of a sense of fulfillment, like, hey, this is my tenth. This is MySpace that can set it up in the living room. They can set it up in the backyard or you can kind of start taking the backpacking and they're going to be more excited about it because it's theirs. Everybody likes to feel like this is my thing, right? So when you're younger, And so specifically, I'm thinking of a freestanding tent like something like our Dominion one person that's something that they could carry even if it's all They Carried, even if they're really young, but it would be there. And then they would love that even at home. A little bit. Another kind of more practical idea is a top quilt. So this is kind of for those of you that maybe want to get your kids hiking a little bit more with you. Backpacking, a little bit. You want them to say comfortable and have a really fun time. The top quilt can help with that in a number of ways one. It's so lightweight that. Yeah, if they want to carry it, they can carry it and it's not going to be a problem it compresses. So small it can fit in like a little, you know, even their school bag. And that's not going to be a problem. Um, but on the flip side, especially if they're younger kids, they're really short or really small, you could even get away with, you know, something like a 30 degree quilt, that's really light and really compressible. Because I mean at that point if you're you know you're only three or four feet high, most of your body is going to be in the foot box inside of that, pop quilt. And you can you can clip the bottom buckle on that. And then then basically fold it over on itself to layer it for some extra warmth. So they're gonna stay warmer while carrying a quilt that is lighter. No, it's not built for specifically for them but because, you know, if your kids are smaller, you can fold it over, you can still keep them warm in colder conditions without having to, you know, buy a zero degree quilt, or something like that. And it goes back to the same thing. This is theirs. They have that sense of entitlement to it and ownership, but on the on the more practical side, it can keep them warm and it's light enough and small enough from to carry

[Editor’s note: This was historical product-use commentary, not current sizing or temperature guidance. Use current manufacturer instructions and child-specific fit and safety judgment.]

[00:14:53] Tayson: nice. One. Another thing I thought about its kind of funny, this is not Taking advice. It's just something I do that. It's probably not the way to parent, but you could get them like a bag of candy or something, like their favorite candy and just say, this is for, when we go backpacking, because anytime I go backpacking, I let my kids choose like a candy or a treat or something like that. They get to take that out there and just something that they've always like loved the kind of goes along with that scenario. So or my kids really love the biscuits and gravy Peak refuel meal, you know. Maybe I should just give them like my oldest, you know bag of that or something in a candy store. All right. Next time. Go. Backpacking. Like this is for that and just kind of a little incentive I guess to get out there and do some of that kind of stuff that, you know, you want your kids to get into it at a younger age so that it can be a healthy lifelong habit. But All right, let's move on from kids here. Let's talk about, let's start on the cheaper end and then we'll move our way to the higher end. So first category would be gifts under 25 dollars. What do you got

[00:16:00] Derek: under 25 dollars? I think some of the best gifts are, you know, you've mentioned, firestarters already. But honestly, those are just applicable for anybody. Anytime having something that you can rely on start. The first is the stocking stuffer. It's just, it's just awesome. Totally, totally. Okay. Any other time I would also say a pillow again, whether you're a Backpacker or not, we've actually had a lot of reviews come in. You know, as a marketing director I see a lot of the feedback we get from customers on things that we're doing a lot of testimonials or reviews, and you'd be actually really surprised. The number of people that specifically say in the review that, you know, I swapped this pillow out for, you know, the pillows on my bed because I like it better. So, you know, our ultralight stretch pillow that we've got on our website. We've just actually did an upgrade on it. We've come up with a separate a newer model, I guess you could say that Scott. Silicone non-slip dots on the back so it won't slide around in your tent or on your pad and it's also got these tabs on the side, these reinforced tabs. So you can tie on a pad strap and and really reinforce and lock it in place. So, I mean, these these pillows the only way like 2.6 ounces and they pack down, you know, smaller than my palm here. It's just such a lightweight item and it works so great for anything. Whether you're traveling, you know, you whip that thing out on a plane, or on the bus or whatever. You can kind of lean against the wall of the window and be way more comfortable. And it really is a good in my opinion, a good gift for anybody and it's under 25 dollars.

[00:17:38] Tayson: And with that, that version two, we did offer two different heights so you can dial in. Kind of, if you're say a side sleeper you can get the taller one or. But yeah, I mean I said to your point, even if you're not a Backpacker I do take them when I travel in case I get to a hotel and it has like the worst pillow ever, which happens. And then it can really mess your neck up or something. So I know I can sleep with that so I do take it and I've gotten a lot of those away in the past for Christmas

[00:18:04] Derek: gifts. I've got one more that I would think is a great gift for under 25 dollars on, at least, on my list here. And that is Socks, which I know I was on my list. That's the thing that I know, you know. It's a Christmas Laura's like, you know, you socks are the worst gift. You know, there's kind of got this or the best they've got this reputation for that. But honestly if you really think about, if you get some backpacking socks you know actually it's one of the best gifts. My personal favorite is darn tough. Yeah, they've got that lifetime warranty. So you give the socks once and then that person basically gonna have socks for the rest of their life. Um, they're just so much better for anything you're doing outside with, you know, keeping your feet warm and comfortable and and not having the kind of the downsides of cotton socks or whatnot. So Darn Tough socks are honestly, great gift.

[00:18:56] Tayson: Yeah, I have given those for Christmas gifts before and they've always been very well received, especially when you explain the lifetime value component, if they're not familiar with them. So yeah, it's it's a solid one, that's a solid one and one that was on my list. But other ones that I've got, I've got two other ones I have given in the past titanium, cooking, wear or just like cook cooks and the past. So, you know, I've done like alcohol stove, which is always kind of a fun one because everyone's a little bit of a pyro and they love like playing with stuff like that. And so, that's a good one.

[Editor’s note: This was a personal 2023 gift anecdote, not a recommendation to play with fire. Alcohol stoves involve open flame and fuel hazards; follow current manufacturer instructions and applicable fire restrictions, and never treat them as toys.]

[00:19:33] Tayson: Obviously like pots or even this would be a little bit more than 25 but like the like our optimist, Just that just a really lightweight backpacking stove for like goes on, like, a fuel cannot the alcohol version or, or even, titanium spoons, but, pretty much that whole category of like, titanium cookware. As been something that a lot of people will typically have some kind of cooking gear. It's not always like the premium titanium stuff, right? And so, I'll throw this out there actually. Now, what I find works best for Christmas or holiday shopping is if you can find those little niches of things that people want, but they won't buy for themselves, which is getting harder, right? Like, as a society. If we want stuff, we buy it now. We live in a time of a lot of abundance in a lot of ways, right? Yes. There's a lot of people that live, you know, below poverty levels and things like that. But there's, there's a lot of A lot of people spend the money they do or don't have on stuff that they care for, right? So, That's like a really important to him. So fighting these little niche categories of stuff that like they want, but they may not be able to justify that cost or like, you know, like I have a spoon. Why do I need like a titanium spoon? Like, little things like that will. It's like, It's a want, maybe not a need all the time. Finding those I think is is the the pocket here that I'm looking forward with gifts. So yeah, titanium stuff. Cooking gear is, is up there. One that came up and this one may be as more of a need, but in my mind, it's more of a need but like a medical kit a first aid kit for backpacking. You can buy those in kits. Now, And and they're just one of those things that, you know, some other thing that like, sometimes people just don't think about. So sometimes that is a benefit to help them think about that or upgrade their their first aid kit. Especially these are people you care about, right? So those are some of the ideas I had under 25 pillows. Again, socks has been a phenomenal one. I think people the older you get the more socks. Makes sense is a gift. Anyways, anything else under 25 or around 25?

[00:21:43] Derek: I think that's that's about my list right now.

[Editor’s note: The preceding prices, products, weights, warranties, and availability were discussed in 2023. Verify current product information before purchasing.]

[00:21:47] Tayson: Let's jump to the 50 dollar category. This one

[00:21:51] Derek: is a good one, honestly, 50 dollars gives you a lot of room for some cool stuff. Obviously, you can cover if your budget is 50 bucks, you can cover anything. We just talked about, but it opens up some more things that I think are even cooler first and foremost on that list is the altitude. So we've got the altitude Sun hoodie and then we've also got the altitude performance tees, which is a long sleeve and a short sleep version. Those are phenomenal. Far, as we are aware the altitude Sun, hoody is the lightest weight synthetic. Hoodie on the market. It's just under four ounces depending on what size you get. And it is so breathable. This thing is lightweight, it is breathable it. Wicks moisture really, really well. And then it dries really, really quickly. And so, it's just an all-around greatly or whether you're in warm weather conditions and just want to block the sun. Keep yourself from getting sunburned on your neck, your arms or whatever or you can use that as, you know, obey or the winter. Because it does so well that we can moisture off your body. And then and then drying, you know, it's in the winter is still a great Baseline player any time of year and obviously for the short sleeve or long sleeve tee options. Those same qualities. Apply both of those are just going to be a little bit lighter since there's no hood and on the shore leave. There's, you know, just these short little sleeves on it. So on, I don't know if we're gonna get to this later or not, but that's something that would be on my personal Christmas list. Like what I want is more altitudes. Um the performance you get out of these things for under fifty dollars is insane and there we have multiple color options because of the different fit options like the long sleeves or the hood. There's just a lot of things you can do with it. A lot of different applications be it. Backpacking. Wearing to the gym wearing around town. They look nice. They're just a comfortable, really, really functional piece of equipment piece of gear. And honestly, I would really love to get an altitude tea or hoodie or anything.

[00:24:01] Tayson: All right, I'm going to cut in here because I'm realizing that your list is probably going to be identical to mine Dance. I'm looking at the next one on there, which is down booties, which is all on my list that's been something I've done in the past. So like our LoftTek Hybrid Down Booties. phenomenal gift because it's basically just a Really warm pair of socks that they can wear to sleep. And for Backpackers specifically, a lot of Backpackers that's a very big concern. They have is keeping their feet warm and it's kind of a niche enough product that a lot of people don't know these things exist. So that's a great one. You give those to him, just like look, you should never have cold feet again and unless you're like in Waist of your conditions where your bag is way underrated or your pathway underrated. But now, like this kind of a gift that keeps on giving, because every time they go to backpack and they take those like, they're gonna remember you for keeping their feet warm every night then in forward. So if you guys have ever heard of

[00:25:01] Derek: Hike Oregon, she's got a YouTube channel. Well, her name is Franziska but her YouTube channel is Hike Oregon and we've had her out with a couple other people to come backpacking with us once or twice and we ended up giving her some of these these booties and At first, she didn't really think too much about him but then and then she used them. And now I was, I got an email from her fairly recently. And she basically says she uses some pretty much every trip except for in the summer when it's just kind of too warm. They're just so light and so nice to have like Tayson said, you just you just know you just know you're going to have warm feet, whatever happens on your trip, your socks get wet, you step in water, you know, whatever. Your shoes are soaked. You can peel those off and get into these booties when you call into your tent and you just know you're gonna have that extra bit of insulation and for just like a couple of ounces, it is so worth that piece of mind and comfort while you sleep.

[00:25:58] Tayson: Yeah, if I would have had down booties, I would have saved myself getting frostbite twice on my feet so that's actually was the motivation to initially. Develop these not that it's like a new or completely new idea but specifically like The Loft Tech hybrid aspect because in both scenarios. My feet got wet for very prolonged periods of time. And I didn't have be due to tons of situations and stories that I can tell at a different time and end up getting frostbite and losing feeling in toes for about a month at a time. So, Great, great piece of gear and a lot of people really really like them. What else, what else can be under 50, you know either Outdoor Vitals gear or non-Outdoor Vitals gear for for Backpackers

[Editor’s note: This is a personal historical frostbite account, not a claim that down booties prevent frostbite. Frostbite and persistent numbness require prompt qualified medical evaluation.]

[00:26:40] Derek: well I just thought well I have one two, hopefully isn't one. You just thought of but we've got These foam pads these closed cell foam pads and 25 though, right? That's been

[00:26:52] Tayson: they could be under the other category but great one, great one.

[00:26:55] Derek: They fit under this category as well. I do think they're worth mentioning. I mean for for such a low price

[00:27:01] Tayson: where I gotta stop you. These are probably top of mind for you because we just went on a trip.

[00:27:06] Derek: We did we did

[00:27:08] Tayson: Talented, good, tell them what you did.

[00:27:10] Derek: Well I was packing the night before as one does, right? And Thought I had everything laid out and on the ground. I was just kind of throwing it in my pack, probably had it packed.

[00:27:22] Tayson: And then you got kicked out of the bed, you know, and had to sleep on the floor. See, blew it up to sleep on it. Left it there. That's good.

[00:27:28] Derek: No, no, no. This was just totally just me messing up. Just 100%, it never basically my sleeping pad, my insulated sleeping pad, never made it into my pack and I realized once we were already on the road and you know, heading towards the trail so we get on the trail and I, you know, I didn't I didn't even want to open my pack once we started hiking because I didn't want to confirm that fear. I just wanted the face it when we're actually setting up camp, if it was a reality, I was still, I was My fingers at that point hoping that you know. Okay, maybe I'm just Not remembering putting my pad in there, maybe it is in there when I opened my pack to set up camps tonight. I hope it's there. You know it was not, we get to camp start setting up and and yeah sure enough my pad was not there I had brought one of these eighth inch foam closed cell foam pads. Um so I figured well at least I have this it's like this tiny little bit of insulation and at least this tiny little innate of an inch of cushion from the hard ground as well. Thankfully one of our other team members nerissa, she had brought an eighth inch foam pad too, as well as her insulated pad and she's like, yeah, I don't really need it, the ground's level, my path is not gonna be sliding around. If you want to borrow my borrowed, her foam pad as well and Tayson had a Sit pad, like a little sit pad that I borrowed to. So, basically, all I had that night was two of these 8 inch foam pads. A little sit pad that, you know, didn't even come close to, you know, covering my body's height as well. When I laid it out on the ground and me and then I just used the foam on my CS40 back panel, which Purposefully has a lot of ventilation and holes through it. Yeah I slept that basically slept on top of an empty backpack. Yeah just stuff my whole backpack underneath me that sit pad and then I had a Nova Pro jacket that I didn't really I didn't really want to wear that to bed. So I wanted that up as well. And then on top of those three items I just stacked, those eighth inch foam pads. And I was gearing up to kind of have a miserable night.

[00:29:38] Tayson: I told them to wake me up and get the car keys at some point. When he decides that it's going to be

[00:29:43] Derek: too cold because it wasn't cold night. It was, it was cold. It

[00:29:46] Tayson: was freezing temperatures, and a lot of moisture,

[00:29:48] Derek: I'll tell you what, I have actually never, and this is not exaggerating. I have actually never seen that much ice on the inside of my tent and that's not because the tents don't, you know, breathe. They do they have a lot of ventilation, but we were fairly close to like a

[00:30:04] Tayson: Yeah. Like we're next to a pond and the ground just had so much. Moisture in it.

[00:30:08] Derek: And so that combined with the freezing temperatures, there was just so much ice on the inside of my tent when I woke up. But that's the good news. I slept inside. So well, that night I mean, I woke up to see the eye, so it wasn't like tossing and turning throughout the night and getting cold. I was actually incredibly warm on top of the closed cell phone pads, which was surprising. I mean, this is only a fourth of an inch of foam at that point on top of some other items that are kind of, not the most ideal things to be sleeping on, but it worked great for me. And that really came in handy when I forgot my insulated pad.

[Editor’s note: This was one person’s historical emergency outcome, not a cold-weather sleep protocol or evidence that quarter-inch foam provides adequate insulation. Plan an appropriately insulated sleep system for expected conditions.]

[00:30:08] Derek: So other other things about this pad, is it? It's just so light. It weighs just what

[00:30:50] Tayson: two and a half to.

[00:30:51] Derek: Yeah,

[00:30:52] Tayson: maybe three for. The six

[00:30:54] Derek: you're looking at yeah, two to three ounces depending on the link that you get and this thing can fold, it can roll. You can kind of put wherever and just whip it out as a Sit pad. If you're taking a break on the trail kneel on it, when you're you know, setting things up in your tent whatever you want. It's just so useful. And then it also does if you do want to insulate where you're sleeping a little bit more. If you lay it out underneath your insulated pad, it kind of helps prevent your path from sliding on your on your tent floor as well. There's just a lot of things you can do with this. So I want to add that. Like Tayson said it's probably more in the under 25 dollar category but before we move on to things a little bit more expensive, this is just something else that It's just so useful.

[Editor’s note: The preceding prices, weights, product specifications, and availability were stated in 2023 and may not describe current products or conditions.]

[00:31:35] Tayson: Yeah. One other thing that I'm going to put in this 50 dollar category, you'll likely be just over 50 for something like this but a tenkara fishing rod. Oh yeah, something I've gifted multiple times and I've been very well received, but if you're not familiar with what a tenkara fishing rod is it's basically a telescoping really long Rod. Then you just tie the string for basically fly fishing to the end of it. So you it's really for rivers and smaller ponds and lakes and things like that. Tenkara technically comes from like Japan, but you can find someone on Amazon some kits for close to 50 bucks and they've been pretty solid for me. I think the brand I've used is called Angler's Dream. Yeah. There's some much nicer pulls out there where you can spend 100 to 200 dollars for sure. And I'm sure someday I'll get a hold of some of those. But if you just want to kind of give it a shot, you can get into a poll for pretty decent price. And the nice thing is my entire fishing kit. That includes like pliers. The poll. A little box of flies, Etc. Is like less than 8 ounces. So for an ultralight Backpacker, it's a, an easy thing to add in. and just You know, fish if you want a fish or, you know, you hardly notice it if you don't end up fishing at all, so good idea. Okay. Let's jump to. I guess, what do you have? Do you have under 200? I have under 250, I didn't specify this or I don't know. Some of these categories here is going to get the middle area. And then what we're gonna do is we're gonna talk about things that we have in the past and things that we want for Christmas. So, this is kind of, we'll just say, this is the gray middle area of 200 to 250 dollars, ish of gear.

[00:33:28] Derek: I would say, I would say that, you know, if you're okay with it and I would think a good category to talk about. Once we know past this under 50 dollar Mark is I mean prices of things can vary so much from there, you know, you can get anything from 120 to 300 and 380 or more, you know, and not have a ton of items that fit in each category, but I think a good category to talk about would be, you know, if we're gonna look at slightly more expensive items, chances are, you've got a specific person in mind that you want to get those more expensive items. For some of them, that means a lot to others. Your wife, whether it's family member or friend and you just want to know. People might want to know what's the best thing I can get for that person. So I do have some ideas specifically for, you know, what would you get for You know. A woman may like for me my wife, that would kind of be in that category around 250 dollars, a little bit less. And for me that is hands down the Vario Jacket. The vario jacket is 210 dollars full price and this thing just can do so much and it doesn't matter if if she's a Backpacker or hiker or not, you don't have to be a performance athlete to to have this performance level gear. It just can make anyone's life so much more comfortable and enjoyable. Now here's why so My wife, I did, I did get her a Vario Jacket and she wears it all the time. Any time of year, she loves the full zipper on the front. It's really easy for her to put on take off. It has a really flattering fit. We do have women's specific sizing with the vario and a few different color choices as well. But the amount of warmth for how much weight this thing is just makes it so so comfortable. And Keeps her the right temperature. So it's just nine ounces. And there's, there's 3dfx insulation inside that really just stretches with you when you move. So with this really flattering fit, you know, if she's kind of walking around or running anywhere or doing whatever, you know, it allows the jacket basically can breathe with her a little bit more and keep her from overheating. But if she's just sitting there stagnant, You know, hanging out. Sitting on the plane you know they've got the AC turned way too high on airplanes

[00:35:48] Tayson: pretty much every time you go from overheating, one second to freezing like as soon as you get in there, right, right. So

[00:35:56] Derek: if she just sitting on the plane this thing is nice. Just to throw the burial on with that with that full zipper is just really easy to put on or take off and That insulation will actually inflate more when it's not being stretched and those fibers are being pulled to allow more heat to get basically passed through. So, that jacket is amazing and because it's so light and packs down so small, she can take anywhere, she can fit in her purse if she wants to. It's just not something that you have to worry about. As far as bulk goes or wait, really, she can take it anywhere and it looks good. So that probably be my first idea for that. 250 dollars or under category, but specifically, I think that's a really, really great gift for women.

[00:36:39] Tayson: Yeah. I'm sticking with jackets for a second. I thought you were actually gonna say the Nova Pro. I will say this the Nova Pro in the Smoke color I don't know if we have stock on this, hopefully, we do but that in person, the amount of women that will walk by our booth and see that on a mannequin and stop come back and sometimes buy a 250 dollar jacket on site just on a win because they like the look of it so much. And then obviously, it's a really warm puffy jacket packs. Down Etc. That's only one to be on your radar for for that the other one that I'm going to say kind of fits in that category of like a want, but not always like a high knee is the Tushar Rain Jacket. So our Tushar Rain Jacket. it's around 230 dollars, 225 full price, and that's a piece that like Always justify a rain jacket in that case like spending a ton of money on a rain jacket. Because a lot of times at least out here, like, you're not wearing a rain jacket. Every day, you're not wearing a rain jacket on every trip, even where every day of a trip all the time. And so it's one of those pieces where you're like, well, I could buy like a frog tog forty dollar rain jacket and it gets me by and you know, whatever. But but it's it's like gonna be going to like that upper echelon of Premium, if you were to get them, a Tushar Rain Jacket, the Tushar Rain Jacket. It's an amazing piece. It's been, you know, featured by outside magazine and Backpacker magazine as you know, best Backpacking, rain gear, it's a phenomenal piece. A lot of really cool technology in it from the 3D printing, in it to using two different types of membranes, Etc. So one of those things that may not always be like Like, top priority. Like they can justify themselves spending money on it, but if you got it for him, it's going to be rain jacket. They can have for years and years and years and, and just enjoy the benefits of a well, venting piece. That's not going to wet out. That's,

[00:38:38] Derek: that's a, it's a really cool piece. So, that's actually one that I have on my own personal list of what I would want for her for Christmas. Is another Tushar Rain Jacket. I I currently have one. It's one of our prototypes that I've been testing since before we launched them. So on. Yeah, the old navy blue ones, you kind of might see in some of our YouTube videos. If you are subscribed to our Channel there, but it works so well because that prototype was far enough along where we were pretty much ready to launch it at that point is just continue to work, but I loved it so much that I would want another one. And for the same reason, like I can't justify necessarily like buying another one. Since I have that one, that I've been using, it works great. But I mean the colors alone on that thing, just make it look so nice on the final. You know product the final launch product that you guys can order right now on our website, but you know Tayson's, right. This thing is got a lot of attention and with good reason The rain technology built into it the durability of this thing. If you guys want to know what the jungle test is I really really suggest you get on our website. Look up the Tushar Rain Jacket and kind of go read down in the description more about the jungle test. This is super, super impressive stuff but they this this rain jacket is 7 ounce range. Jacket goes above and beyond in performance. So yeah, that's definitely one that I would actually want another one. So yeah.

[00:40:05] Tayson: Okay, anything else in this category? I mean I will say I've given jackets before they've always been extremely well received it's a very Universal product right? And it's also a product that a lot of people wear through or I don't know like they they change out a little bit more frequently or something so I just don't think you can go wrong with a jacket but yeah

[00:40:27] Derek: well Here's kind of, I guess a little bit of a story. I'm probably the only Backpacker in my family like, out of my siblings and parents and whatnot, but last year, two years ago, maybe my my dad came by with my mom there come down to visit kind of this area and stay with my wife. And I and and my dad ended up picking up a Nova Pro jacket, which we've mentioned before for women. But really, it's a great gift for men as well. We have, we have sizing for both men and women. But anyways, he picked this jacket up and it's become one of his very favorite jackets. The warmth for the weight and the comfort you get out of this thing is amazing. Lo and behold, you know, a month or two later. I got a text from my mom. She's like, you know what? I Could I get one as well? I'm like oh yeah of course. So she orders one and then within you know a couple days I think it was she texted me again. It's like I want to get one for your little sister. She's like going to college, she's she's always cold up there and Logan, USU campus has got this crazy winter time going on and so she wanted to buy one for my sister. And so, you know, now three, three members of my family have the Nova Pro and they all loved it. I was just up visiting last weekend, hanging out family, a bit and still they're walking around in Nova pros and and this is an awesome jacket.

[00:41:42] Tayson: Yeah.

[00:41:43] Derek: And like I said, they're not Backpackers anybody will love it.

[00:41:46] Tayson: Yeah. Anything else in the 2005, our category either from us or not from us?

[00:41:57] Derek: You know, I honestly don't know the price of this but I I'm sure it's under 250 dollars. Is the Helinox chair. That's a great gift. I mean, If you want a luxury item, that's an amazing one really is just if you're like me. You're not very flexible, right? So you try sitting on the ground, you last about five minutes before deciding out. This is terrible, I'll lay on the ground but sitting on the ground. It's just not comfortable and it's kind of socially unacceptable for me to be laying on the ground by the fire with everyone else sitting there just kind of weird but

[00:42:33] Tayson: We gotta work on that Derek.

[00:42:35] Derek: Yeah, I just am not a flexible guy

[00:42:36] Tayson: chair away for a while and make it work on the ground.

[00:42:38] Derek: You'll notice Tayson I'm always finding a rock or a log because it is significantly more comfortable than the ground. Just because yeah that's well and here's the backstory though, it's not just it's not just more, you know, this lack of flexibility that I've developed recently ever since I was in kindergarten or first grade, you know, when they try to have you sit, cross legged and things during story time or whatever I could not, it was just the worst thing of my entire life even as a kindergarteners or first grader to sit cross leg is just sitting like that. if you're like me is it is not an option if you want to be comfortable, but Helinox chairs, they're really not that heavy and I'm sure they're under the 250 dollar price point. That would be a phenomenal gift for for Backpackers as well.

[00:43:26] Tayson: yeah, I'm just still hung up on the whole floor setting thing and how like, so when I was in Malaysia, I mean that's all we did was sit on wooden floors. If you're in a nice house that might be concrete or tile. Yeah. But you sat on the floor like everywhere, right. And I mean I developed calluses on my feet, which is like the weirdest thing you can imagine on the top side of your foot. I would. develop calluses just from sitting on the floor so much and so, I think sitting on for me, sitting on the floor is almost like Stretching comfortable motion. The only thing is eventually it'll start to like my back will start to get tired. But leg wise, I I mean, I was just say I don't love Helinox chairs and and you know, those kinds of chairs but it's just I never noticed I guess I never realized how much you don't like.

[00:44:13] Derek: Just I hate just sit on the graph, there's a backrest, it's great. You know, if I can prop my back against like a boulder without street. It's my legs out straight in front of me. That's that's great. But yeah, I just on flat ground with nothing. It's just You got me for five minutes and I'm getting up and doing something else. I'm gonna go lay down somewhere, you know, that's that's about what I got. So

[00:44:32] Tayson: I've got another idea. I think this would fall into the 2005 category. This is an expensive product, but you know, they're still just, it's still the best product in my mind which is the Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XTherm NXT. So the X term is basically like an extreme winter pad. So It's something that you would use when you had out in the, in the dead of winter. Now, we talked a lot about taking a three season pass. Layering it with closed cell foam pads to make a four season pass that does work. I've done it a lot, right? But if you want, like the Cadillac of winter, backpacking sleeping pads, the Therm-a-Rest XTherm should be on your list, it's gonna you're gonna pay for it, right? Like, it's like a 200 plus dollar Pad, but wait to warmth, and also even durability factor of that pad. Very high, very great pad, something a someone who's willing to backpack in cold months, winter months would surely love. So absolutely. Okay. Let's jump to, you want to do what we want for Christmas, or what we've given in the past. We've hit a lot of what's giving in the past, so maybe we should just clean that up and then we'll jump to what we want for Christmas. Okay. Our address for what we want for Christmas. If you want to send it in, is just kidding. So what else? If we get in the past that's been well received personally.

[Editor’s note: The preceding product, price, warmth, and durability statements are historical opinions from 2023, not current specifications or cold-weather guarantees.]

[00:46:06] Tayson: Garmin inReach is something that I've either helped people acquire in my family, or, you know, given This has been an interesting one watches so that's like can be more expensive purchase but actually we just put the COROS PACE watch onto the website and you can find some slightly cheaper watches. But the biggest thing I've noticed is that even for people who aren't like Trail Runners and Backpackers they like the watch and the number one reason why it's all the rage now to monitor things like heart rate. For health purposes even if you're not some big. Packer, right? So, I literally just gave my dad. My previous watch, not, because he wants to, like, track miles on his watch. But because he wanted to check for things like sleep apnea. His pulse-oxygen levels when he's sleeping and just learn more about his health from a watch, which you can learn kind of a ridiculous amount of information about yourself just for monitoring, heart rate and pulse oxygen. So, I have a watch on there. I have some people get watches in the past and that's that's been a really good one. Well there's there's a few more things

[Editor’s note: Consumer wearables and pulse-oxygen estimates are not a diagnosis of sleep apnea or other health conditions. Use qualified medical evaluation for health concerns.]

[00:47:16] Derek: on watches for move on there. Personally, one of the best things I like about watches is when I'm running or I'm out on the trailer or something, I really like to be as minimal as possible. I hate having to carry around Keys phone, especially, phones are just so clunky and you know, you put in your pocket, that's the worst place. You can put a phone when you're running around is slapping against your leg and whatnot. You really don't want those weird looking armbands and sticking a phone there, but If you want to be able to listen to a podcast or music or anything else, you know, if you don't have a watch, like that's kind of what you have to do, you have to bring your phone along, right? But a lot of these watches is, we have the COROS APEX 2 Pro, that we are now stocking for our Live Ultralight members. That one does allow you to download whatever you want on it and listen to it with Bluetooth headphones and And that's, that's my preference. I like to have all of those. Those health-monitoring metrics like Tayson mentioned. But I also really love to be able to listen to whatever I want and not have to take anything with me. I just kind of Disconnect besides my watch, no one can send me texts, no one can call me. I'm out there running. I can, you know, hike, I can Trail around whatever and just listen to my audiobook or music or whatever and and still have that luxury and still be able to monitor, you know, my distance or my heart rate. Make sure I'm doing okay. And so yeah, those watches are just kind of nice to have and yeah when you're when you're phone is near it. So just your enduring your day-to-day, you can't set it up to get You know, any of the Smartwatch capability things going on there. So you're texts and whatnot, show up on the watch as well.

[00:48:53] Tayson: No. Okay. And then I've obviously given away a lot of sleeping bags and a lot of backpacks over the years all well received the popular one right now because again sometimes when you're shopping around, you're not always buying for the extreme Backpacker. The KotaUL has been one that I've given quite a bit and tons of people use. It tons of people love it because anyone who's ever gonna travel at all whether that's in the car on an airplane, Etc. They just fall in love with that backpack. So anyway, a lot of those and then obviously Outdoor Vitals sleeping bags. I've given away countless sleeping bags for Christmas and always will received, but any other ideas for just things you've given in the past. Yeah,

[00:49:37] Derek: so I've already mentioned some of the jackets I've given away but on top of that, I've also given away booties which we've covered, but those were really, really well to received. I don't think we need to dive into those anymore. We've kind of covered just how nice those can be altitude hoodies. Those have been really well received as well. I have my father and law. He's a football coach down in Mesa. Arizona, always out in the sun all day long, and he loves it. In fact, when they, when they came and visited, they, they made sure to pick up a few more altitudes as well. So, yeah, that's another really good one. Backpacks, the KotaUL like Tayson mentioned. That's that's a great gift. And then one we haven't talked about actually is the Ventus Active Hoodie. Hoodie is probably one of our most popular products right now. It has been featured in outside magazine Backpacker magazine. And it is just

[00:50:30] Tayson: a phenomenal all-around. Well, here's why I think that makes a lot of sense, too. Is that's another one of those products that's in a slightly Niche category. Meaning it's not a puffy jacket, but it's not like a sweatshirt, right? Like so it falls in this category of being like a sub 7 Oz, weight, puffy, hoodie. You can be active in and so, kind of because of that kind of Falls in that, like, People really like, is like what the heck is this thing? And they try it on, they fall in love with it. And it's, it's a, it's a cool piece because of that, because it's just not like a big puffy jacket. It's not like a, you know, the other side of that, with the sweatshirt. And so, it falls into an interesting category that I think works well, as a gift out of any of our layers at any of our apparel layers.

[00:51:16] Derek: The vent is to me, has the widest range of comfort, as far as temperatures go for sure. It's crazy how much events and breathes, which allows you to, you know, keep it on even when kind of the temperatures are heating up a little bit, obviously, can't be walking around in like 80 degree weather and be comfortable with that thing on. But 60s, you can probably still be wearing it as long as you're not really exerting yourself, but I've even been comfortable in the Ventus down to 20 degrees when I am out being pretty active. So anywhere between 20 and 50 to 60 degrees, depending on activity levels, you can actually be comfortable in the Ventus as long. as you're acting like I said, activity levels, match, kind of that that temperature and what the event is, can really handle, you got to keep some realistic expectations, it's not going to be It's going to be way too warm, if you're running and it's 50 degrees out that's just not going to be okay, but or if you're just trying to sit there and do nothing and it's 20 degrees, you're gonna be way cold. But with varying activity levels and just doing lots of different things. Like, that's kind of a It's like a jacket that you can wear all day, especially, have a lot of friends. One of them, he's in construction, I got him a Ventus and he wears it all the time in the fall when he needs to do like a project that you know, requires some, some extra protection. He'll put on a layer over the Ventus so he can still, I can win the winter. So we can still have that insulation and that breathability is got these nice vents in the underarms but really he just kind of wears it all day long and then takes on or takes off or puts on other layers, depending on, you know what he's doing.

[Editor’s note: The temperature ranges and comfort claims above are personal 2023 reports, not performance guarantees. Comfort varies with activity, weather, layering, fit, and the individual.]

[00:52:55] Tayson: Yeah. Yeah. I think that covers most of what I've got for things that in the past. If you've if you just I'll throw this out there, I didn't say this earlier but you know just backpacking food in general can be kind of a good filler item too that I've given away at times where it's like, okay, give you this. I'm going to throw a couple of these meals or something in there, but I typically like to let people kind of choose their own like shoes and food, you know, are things that are a little more tailored to your own preferences so unless, you know, that person it's something but

[Editor’s note: The preceding named products, features, prices, and popularity statements were recorded in 2023 and are not current recommendations or specifications.]

[00:53:33] Derek: so I've got one right idea here and this isn't something that I've actually given to someone yet, but I think it fits it's

[00:53:39] Tayson: kind of this year's getting this item.

[00:53:41] Derek: Yeah. Very it's very possible. I won't tell because you know maybe they'll maybe they'll listen to this podcast but It fits into the niche that that Tayson's mention, you know, of things that maybe someone can't or won't justify buying for themselves, but they, they really would like it once they get it and start using it, right? And that is the Nebo windbreaker. So there's a few reasons for that. There's there's been a lot of people that I've heard say, you know, I don't know if I need a windbreaker, my rain jacket blocks the wind, right? Plus the rain jacket. Also blocks the water. So can I just do that? and kind of the argument for that is you know, your rain jacket, even if you have the Tushar Rain Jacket, It's not going to be very breathable. Our Tushar Rain Jacket is vapor breathable but not air permeable. But the Nebo is breathable and so air permeable,

[00:54:40] Tayson: air permeable?

[00:54:41] Derek: And so, There's been a lot of feedback where people have told me, you know, I'm not really sure I'm gonna have a great use for it. And then I'm like, you know, I've kind of convinced them to try it out anyways and then after a few weeks they've come back to me and say you know what? This is actually become one of my favorite piece of gear ever. This windbreaker is basically just again a couple ounces, it doesn't weigh very much at all

[00:55:07] Tayson: dude I think tax down to maybe the size of the baseball, right?

[00:55:11] Derek: Yeah. It's

[00:55:12] Tayson: and it's just a couple ounces. So it's a like it is something you can literally throw in a purse, right? Or you could throw in. I don't know for all you guys out there with fanny packs like it's gonna slide into a tiny fanny pack for sure. Like it's it's so easy to just have on you but just kind of. Yeah, a lot of you can come from just by having it with you all the time all

[00:55:32] Derek: the time. It's not a problem to have there at all. You can shove in your pocket if you want to. But What really kind of surprises people about. The Nebo windbreaker is, you know, how warm it actually keeps you, a lot of people don't realize that. Usually the worst culprit for, you know, making someone feel cold is actually wind chill, right? That's the most underrated cause of feeling cold. And so by shedding some of that wind chill with something like this Nebo windbreaker, you can actually feel a lot warmer without having to add any actual insulation. And so for just a couple ounces, you can have that comfort and On the flip side, you're not gonna start feeling sweaty and clammy and nasty like you would under a rain jacket. Again, some of people think, you know, well the wind excuse me, the the rain jacket will block the wind, which is true, but it will not let air through it to help you breathe. And So eventually, you're actually going to feel colder wearing a rain jacket because your own sweat is going to start to cool down and make you feel kind. Of cold and nasty versus the rain, or the windbreaker. You don't really have that. We've specifically designed it to be. You know, when blocking and breathable at the same time and it has this nice balance of that. And so, the Nebo Windbreaker one of these products that a lot of people have this mindset of, I probably won't justify spending, you know, I think it's

[00:57:00] Tayson: like 140 dollars or something 138 I think. Yeah

[00:57:04] Derek: they're like I can't justify spending that because I've got you know, see these other things that I can make work right. But once they actually have one Almost every time the feedback that I get talking to these people, is that I wish I would have bought this way sooner.

[00:57:18] Tayson: Yes, let's talk a little bit about just some Use cases because I think it's hard to always paint a picture like, when am I gonna use a windbreaker, especially, when that's not a supernatural piece that people already

[00:57:28] Derek: have, right? There's an I use mine every single day.

[00:57:31] Tayson: Yeah, yeah. starting there, anyone who is say, exercising outside on a daily basis could Use product every single day, from Fall to Spring. I just went on to run this morning. At a quick like five miles. It was 304 degrees at my truck, which is cold when you get out of the truck. But the second you get like 100 yards down the trail, the Nebo Windbreaker is a perfect item for that, right? Because it's going to breathe, it's going to let out heat. But it also like Derek said, the biggest Thief of of really being cold. Is, I wouldn't even say wind. I would say even like, breezes, right? Like sub 10 mile an hour. Winds just can also just steal heat all the time. You have to be on the top of the mountain and blasted by wind. That's not even what we're talking. Just like any air movement, slow, air movement. Yeah, so so anyone who is consistently exercising outside? During all of the winter months is definitely one use case. I actually kind of had a flashback to that whole, the whole conversation. We had about getting on airplanes and like freezing and like, getting too hot, and too cold. That's where a windbreaker works really well is that thing is super tiny and I may be in the middle of the summer, but I'll still take one for airplanes because I'll throw that on an airplane because it gets cold up there and all you need is like, you don't need a jacket. A lot of times on there, you just need something. Because there's so many vents blowing in every direction at 100 miles an hour, right? So I've used it there in the fall, like, fall and spring. I have one on me, or in my backpack at all times because a lot of time again, it's like well it's warm but then a breeze picks up and suddenly cold or, or you just need like you almost want to just switch. The shirt sleeve shirt to a long sleep. I'd be better right now. That's exactly what I'm going for that piece. So, those are just some use case scenarios off the top of my head, obviously, like, four, backpacking, tons of use, because you can actively hike in the piece. And and not overheat. Not generate too much moisture build-up, etc, etc. And they dry so fast because it's it's a 100%, polyester know, I want. It's a synthetic material. I'll have to check that. That's that's I should know that but it's a synthetic material that dries extremely fast. So even if you did work up a little bit of moisture on it, I'll say where your backpack is on your back. You pull that thing off, it's going to dry in. And be ready to go again. So just a phenomenal piece with a lot of there's just a couple use case scenarios but I don't know if you've got any other use case scenarios.

[01:00:07] Derek: Yeah. Like we, you've talked about running but there's also, you know, writing your bike, any kind of air movement at all, even if you're not even riding your back very fast, and it's slightly chilly with that breeze and you're wearing a t-shirt underneath. A windbreaker is gonna do the job 100%, you don't need a hoodie. You don't need a jacket, throw on the windbreaker, you're going to be comfortable and not overheat. Eventually what happens by throwing on a jacket if you're not? You know, careful is you start sweating and then you're cold anyways. Right, from that wet jacket, fabric all over you so, Again, I mean, I wish we'd have thought of this sooner, but this is a great gift and only 130 dollars. Full price. I mean if you're watching out for our early Black Friday sale like this is a

[01:00:47] Tayson: phenomenal opportunity. 500 dollar. Right item

[01:00:49] Derek: take give someone a gift that they're probably most. I won't say always but most likely they haven't bought

[01:00:55] Tayson: for themselves. Okay, we'll get off our little soap box of preaching the Nebo because we've drilled that point home, but let's talk about what we want for Christmas. I'll let you start mine. Actually are not related to Outdoor Vitals, I'll say

[Editor’s note: The preceding product performance, price, and availability statements were recorded in 2023 and should not be treated as current specifications or universal guidance.]

[01:01:15] Derek: that. Okay, okay, well, I've mentioned the Tushar, I've mentioned the Altitude Hoodie or tees, more of those just so I can have more to wear throughout the week. Another thing that's on my list actually is, again Outdoor Vitals stuff and it is the two-person Fortius trekking-pole tent. The reason I want that is because my wife, and I really enjoy backpacking and going on adventures with her. And currently, I just, I only own the one-person tent and I'm always taking out on company trips. Usually we've been able to borrow a two-person tent whenever her and I go out but it'd be nice just to have our own two-person tent to use whenever we want. And so the two-person Fortius we both really really like because I'm like there's some Ultra Lite tent designs out there that You know, if you're on one side of the tent, you get kind of jipped on headspace just because of how the angle of the tent. Is. But in the Fortius, both of us have ample Headroom, no matter which side of the tent were on and just plenty of space with the double doors, double vestibules, there's never been a time using that two-person Fortius where we've wanted any more space at all. So that's definitely on my list.

[01:02:35] Tayson: Okay.

[01:02:35] Derek: Yeah. As far as other backpacking gear goes Helinox chair would be pretty. Dang nice.

[01:02:43] Tayson: Something I'm gonna pitch really quick. I'm gonna jump in here and I hope we have not over sponsored this this podcast, but we are actively growing what's inside the member exclusive section. So those of you that don't know, the Live Ultralight membership is a store credit membership, 10 bucks a month, it should ten dollars a store credit in your account instantly. And that also gets you access to basically a gated set of products that we personally use test out in the field. That's, it's essentially, if you were to go on a backpacking trip, it would be everything in our pack, right? Those, those kinds of things and we're actively growing that we're starting with a lot of food items. So look for a lot more food to be popping in. Headlamps. Battery Banks. There's a handful of things that are that are we're adding in there. Helinox chairs has been one that's come up. We'll see if we can we can pull that together and put that in there. But the whole point of this section is to give you really a place. A One-Stop shop for you to go and get stuff. But also a gated access area where you can get the absolute best prices on these things because you're going to get your 10% off that all members, get off of everything on our website. Plus you can get rebates back in the terms of store credit and so and that's Auto applied. It's not like we're saying. Oh male this into us for this rebate know like like an instant rebate. And so there's a lot, a lot of good things that are coming in that section. So just wanted to throw that out on your radar and all in preparation for Black Friday. You may as well sign up for the membership to get extra savings on our sales because those savings stack up.

[01:04:26] Derek: I will say that we've mentioned before the kind of towards the beginning of the podcast, but during our early Black, Friday sale, everything sitewide is going to be discounted. If you're a Live Ultralight member that discount is going to be a decent amount larger, so you're going to get way more savings as a member. So if you've been at all, thinking about the membership. Like Tayson says, this is probably the best time of year to just jump on that, get better deals, you'll be able to get You know, all kinds of stuff access to those, members-only products. It takes into talking about and just it'll be a lot easier for gifts or just getting things for yourself on the trail, you know.

[Editor’s note: The membership pricing, credits, discounts, gated products, and Black Friday calls to action above described a 2023 offer. Current terms may differ.]

[01:05:06] Tayson: Okay. Anything else that you're wanting for Christmas?

[01:05:10] Derek: Honestly, I think that pretty much wraps it up, I Am a simple, man? If I have those things, I'll be I'll be pretty happy.

[01:05:18] Tayson: Nice. Okay, for me, obviously, like I I own a lot of gear, I guess you could say, so I'm not gonna go with anything in that category. It's trying to think of other stuff, and I've actually started to take my dog back out on trail. A lot with me, and I've realized that I probably need to gear her up with some gear. So I'm actually gonna be shopping for myself, I guess you could say for A dog pack. Probably some winter like potentially a winter jacket. If I'm gonna take her out in the real cold where we go in the winter and just some pieces like that, maybe even something, I guess I kind of have it taken care of what I could have her sleep on, but that's kind of what I actually was thinking. I'm like, what do I need? What do I want? And that was the first thing that came up is like, I can't take my dog and some of the conditions that I'll be heading into this winter. And so, it's probably time for me to get her some backpacking gear. I tried some cheap stuff years ago and I just didn't work super well. So I'll probably Fork out the money to go with more of a name, brand more proven gear, get it fitted really well and we'll see so,

[01:06:30] Derek: you know, actually speaking of that Maddie and I just got a dog as well and and we love it. We love it at death. But last night actually we were we were thinking about dog jackets. I go out running with, you know, our dog pretty much every morning and then I was like, you know I don't want to stop in the winter or you know, I'd like to take her on Trails for hikes and things too. So we're thinking about and what kinds of cool. Jackets and coats and things. Can we get so that the dog can come and we can all just go have some fun. That's that's a we would just actually thinking about that last night. Yeah, I need to do some

[01:07:06] Tayson: research because my dog is a, is a poodle mix and so Powder for seven years. But in the winter, she gets a lot of snow stuck in her paws. So, I may even have to look at something like that, if I'm going to take her on one to two night overnights in Winter conditions, That would be something I would have to, to look into. I'd be interesting to see how she could do. Like, cross-country skiing. Yeah. Like could she follow our tracks? Could she just sink to the bottom? I don't know. Maybe I'll dabble around with that, but yeah, I think that's, that's probably number one on my list. The other another thing that's coming, that's not available yet. I really want to get the armband for COROS armband, that's a heart rate monitor, that's just that much more accurate than the watch for, for really high level, you know, Fitness tracking, and things. You know, I already really enjoy like my my in reach and some of those products. I may be looking, I don't do this by Christmas or anything like that, but maybe looking at a few more, say car, camping type of type of items. So those are always good ones. Things like You know, really small, let's say, tent heaters. If I'm taking kids or it's just, you know, those kind of conditions that's the thing about in the winter that people don't think about a lot is a lot of Darkness. A lot of Darkness, you may be sitting in that tent a long time.

[Editor’s note: This was a brief historical mention, not heater-use instruction. Use only equipment explicitly approved for the shelter and follow all current manufacturer fire, ventilation, and carbon-monoxide warnings.]

[01:08:39] Tayson: Not always fun to jump straight into a sleeping bag, especially if you have the ability like car camping to to do something else. In the next 12 months, I see a rooftop tent in my future or something like that, but probably won't pull that off by that by Christmas or something like that. But just some other ideas, I'm floating out there. I've just cool stuff that I see that I've kind of been against rooftop tents for a long time, but I'm, I see a few advantages that I may, I may lean into any other things that I Would that cool? Cool. New stuff I've seen.

[Editor’s note: This rooftop-tent idea was a personal plan proposed in November 2023, not a current forecast, purchase plan, or product recommendation.]

[01:08:39] Tayson: Oh, you know, we skipped one that is in the membership. That is a pretty

[01:09:26] Derek: cool Gadget. FLEXTAILGEAR pumps. Oh, that's right. And that would actually fit under the under fifty dollar gift as well.

[01:09:33] Tayson: Yeah, so we've got the FLEXTAILGEAR Tiny Pump X2 comes with a lantern, which I have actually found really useful. I didn't think I would, I have. So that's a nice one. Especially if you're blowing up more than one pad or whatever. Like it's it's good for all scenarios but for me like if I'm going with my kids I'm taking that every time just cuz I'm blowing up more than one pad. I'm car camping. I'm going with. I'm in, you know, why not take that? And it's still super light. So a lot of people will still backpack with it year round. I usually draw the line at like a two night. Two to three night trip is kind of where I start drawing the line of like, I'll just use the pump sack versus that and that's, that's just a preference thing. A lot of these guys, I think are gonna be taking on our 100 mile trip. So

[01:10:16] Derek: I I use mine again similar to Tayson two or three nights is the max if we're going to like a week long trip or something. Yeah, I probably won't take it but honestly it a lot of that is probably from the charge aspect of some of these pumps. If you use it for, I think. Five or six days in a row. You should be okay, but, but you're gonna pretty much run low on the charge and half the time. I don't remember to charge it before a trip and so I go. I go remember

[01:10:45] Tayson: your pad. What did you have the FLEXTAILGEAR pump on our last trip and notepad?

[01:10:50] Derek: No, I did. I didn't have the I didn't have the pump so I didn't pack that for no reason, thankfully. But, but honestly, it is so nice to have like, when, when you do remember a pad and If it is like, you know, a shorter trip and you don't, I'm not really worried about whether or not it's charged because, you know, it's probably still got enough charge in it. I'm the worst at that. By the way, I've had headlamps die. I have actually had one trip where my FLEXTAILGEAR pump was dead, brought for nothing. I am pretty terrible at making sure, some of my gear is charged before I leave, but yeah. But either way, I mean, it does actually last quite a long time. I just, I just personally don't take it on a week long trip for that reason and because, you know, it is a few extra ounces when I'm carrying like tons of pounds of food, for that long. So,

[Editor’s note: The FLEXTAILGEAR use patterns and five-to-six-day charge estimate above were personal observations recorded in November 2023, not universal runtime or battery-performance guarantees. Check current model specifications, charge status, and manufacturer instructions for the intended trip.]

[01:11:35] Tayson: yeah. All right, we better wrap this up but I did mention this a little bit earlier headlamps is also something I've given in the past. Great Christmas gift we do have the NITECORE NU25 and an HA11, now from NITECORE in the membership. So check those out. Awesome. Awesome, headlamps super proven. Again, if I've given headlamps in the past multiple times and people love headlines, you can have enough headlamps. I've realized this I have a lot of headlamps, I'm not gonna tell you how many and when we got the new ones in, I was still excited to go get both models for my own personal storage. I just love, I just love headlamps, so you can never have too many headlamps or socks, so just remember that. Okay. You guys joining us. It's always fun to just kind of play this out on our minds. Hopefully just spark some ideas if you needed any ideas for this upcoming holiday season for others. Maybe it's yourself anyone. Make sure you guys shop the Black Friday deal. If you guys found this helpful at all, make sure to rate and review the podcast. Make sure you're subscribed at helps us as we grow as a company and help more people get outdoors more comfortably and more confidently. Derek, thanks for coming on, hope you enjoyed it. Absolutely. Having you come on here, you get to do all of the pitching, you know. So I don't even have to be a Salesman on this thing. I like Not that, that's the point of this. But but yeah, I mean, hopefully there is some really good insights in there. And yeah, make sure you're subscribed.

[Editor’s note: This closing Black Friday call to action was tied to the November 2023 release and is not a current promotion.]

[01:13:10] Tayson: Hope you guys have an awesome holiday season. I hope you keep backpacking through the winter. That's a goal of mine. I really want to see more people, not just go straight inside. For the whole winter and knock it out and see the Sun and not, you know let themselves get into a funk per se, you know, get outside, make it a priority and I hope we'll have more content coming on this podcast of ideas and ways to help you bridge that Gap and do so confidently. Confidently, comfortably, obviously, we're not saying go out there and be uncomfortable, you can be totally comfortable. Backpacking exercising, whatever it is in the winter, through the winter stopped off the right knowledge and the right gear and that's what we're gonna help you with in some

[01:13:52] Derek: future episodes. So, yeah, Pro tip definitely look into getting cross-country skis or at least making friends with somebody in a rental shop. It's just so fun. I mean, if you've never done that before, especially in conjunction with backpacking, it's just so fun. Definitely something. That'll get you out moving around and like Tayson said, just hopefully stay out of that funk. But, yeah, winter, backpacking. Stay tuned. There's going to be some more stuff this year, I think.

[01:14:21] Tayson: Okay, we'll see you guys later. See out there on the trail.