Zsup~!

I was very inspired to do this post after finding an amazing outdoor shop in Osaka, in the ATC building. Its a Japanese shop called 'LOGOS', which sells lotsa cool stuff from huge tents, to mini bbq stands. ATC building also houses another outdoor gear shop belonging to a departmental store at its upper levels, selling huge specialised stuff like Canoes, surfboards etc.

So the last time I reviewed my gear I gave a review of the following items, my Backpack and Daypack, my Gloves and my Boots. So this time, I'm gonna review some other pieces. Specifically, my Trackpants, my Mid-layers, and my Thermals baselayers.

So first up, my thermals are made up of 2 sets of Heat-tech from UNIQLO. I purchased them at SGD 25 per piece (Top, Bottom) The reason I purchased them was because I checked out the reviews and found all to be favourable, and considering that I'm going to Japan and these clothes are made by the Japs for the Japs with great Jap reviews I made it a point to get them.

I started off in Japan wearing a purple HEATTECH top and a black bottom. For most of March I was seeing temperatures below 10 degrees celcius in the day and lower at night. Which started giving me doubts as to the effectiveness of the HEATTECH at keeping me warm. Which also meant that for most of March I was miserably cold, even while piling on the layers, and when I entered a heated area, I had to perspire and melt to nothingness.

Now that I'm in Osaka however, I changed my set for another, a set of Black bottoms and top with turtleneck. This set shined. I was seeing temperatures of just above 10 degrees but at no point of time was I freezing cold. Even when it rained today! I figured that it meant that my HEATTECH was actually working, definitely for this set because it keeps me so warm I can stand in winds of 20-30km/h in only my thermals and a t-shirt and pants! (Tested and proven on the Umeda Sky Garden!) I figured that it probably meant that the start was just way too cold for me, and that resulted in me obtaining a down jacket that was on clearance for about SGD 50 odd.

The verdict? HEATTECH is good. But only good enough for temperatures slightly above 10 degrees if you wish only to wear that and another top layer. Any lower and you'll need to start piling on the wool and down. To buy or not to buy? Well I definitely don't regret my buy, but at 25 bucks, its a little steep, but for stuff that works, I definitely recommend it. [There is better stuff out there by other companies that are more price exclusive, within the hundreds range, so this is the best bet at a mid-range thermal that works]

Next up are my Mid-layers. I have 3 mid-layers, 2 by UNIQLO and 1 by Millet. Let me start off with the Millet. The Millet is a Polar-tec material which is reputed to keep one warm, even in really cold temperatures. Sad to say. It disappointed me when I first reached Narita AP. In temperatures of about 5-7 degrees I was shivering and piling on another Mid-layer before my outermost Waterproof layer.

The Uniqlo one was the next layer I padded over the Millet. Which didn't give me much chance to review it until I wore it on its own. Either ways, it worked pretty well for something under SGD 20. Most importantly though was that it was light, damn light, which means ALOT when backpacking for long periods.

After using them for the past month though, I can safely say that they both work pretty well. The Millet more than the UNIQLO thats for sure, due to its better fit and material.

The verdict? Millet cost me SGD 72, which is not something to be laughed at, which would also mean that I'm likely to pass on that kind of purchase in the future, but right now I feel that I didn't get a wrong buy. As for the UNIQLO mid layers? Sure go ahead, they work fine as fashion wear and even better as functional wear.

Last of all, are my Trackpants. I bought them from Marina Square at an outlet store for SGD 19, they are branded (Sportiv) and fit me real well. I was rather skeptical about bringing along a pair of trackpants at first, because I thought they probably wouldn' shield me from anything. However it turns out that this pair of trackpants works wonders here. Firstly, it blocks wind, nothing short of major gusts of wind gets through this. Secondly? It's water resistant. VERY water resistant. In fact I have had a few clashes with the elements and I can head for shelter about half an hour in the rain and still the pants are merely damp. Not to mention that they dry fast, which only adds to its ability to maintain dryness! I dry my hands on them all the time after washing and poof the water evaporates away instantly, well nearly instantly.

The verdict? I have a second pair that I bought for Rainestormyr. Which turned out to be loose fitting on her. So now I am going to acquire it from her. What does that tell you? I love these pair of trackpants. And at SGD 19? They are a STEAL. Nothing comes close, especially if they are travel pants at that price.

Well thats all for now, stay tuned for my next review, which will be my Waterproof Jacket, Flatware and perhaps a couple of other equipment.

This trip has been a minor experiment with my equipment. Almost all of which is new, and me being a virgin backpacker would like to share the pro's and con's of my equipment.

For this trip I have brought what would have equated to a soldiers full battle order and more. Perhaps equal in weight, but way better in quality. The stuff I have are, Vaude Astra 65+10 backpack, Marmot Phoenix Waterproof Jacket, Millet Polarstretch Mid Layer, The North Face Fortress Peak Full Gore-tex boots, The North Face Apex Bionix Gloves, Chamelius Sunglasses, Millet Axiome 32 bag, Sportiv Trackpants, Uniqlo midlayers and Heat-tech. Those are the items that I use most often.

In this post I shall review my gloves, boots, and bags.

First up, my gloves. The North Face Apex Bionix gloves.Supposedly water-resistant, breathable softshell which is ideal for cold excursions, with light insulation. Sounds good at the price of about 50 bucks. But it turns out that its unbelivably true. The insulations so light that it leaves my hands cold, even without the wind or rain touching it. As a result, the hands take far too long to warm up in the gloves. It is also not ideal for cold excursions, because it blocks wind like cotton blocks wind. The only thing I'm willing to give it, is the fact that its water-resistant, in fact almost waterproof, as I have worn it in the rain, held wet stuff, washed it, dipped it into water, and my hands are still dry.

Verdict? Not too happy with the gloves, as they are currently of little help to me in single digit temperatures. I would however recommend them to climbers who are expecting showers, or wet conditions.

Next, my bags. My Vaude Astra 65+10 is excellent. It comes with a rain cover, enough compression straps to ensure that all the stuff within it is locked down tight, and the bag fits really well, not to mention the hip belt positions the weight of the bag really well. I have no doubt that this bag is an excellent purchase at 180 bucks. My Millet however, is slightly disappointing. Its extremely light, just over half a kilo for a 35 litre bag is excellent, plus it comes with water bag compartment, straps, hip belt, and the main compartment with lid. It also came with two plastic back panel supports, which I removed so that I could squeeze the bag into my main backpack. On hindsight, this is starting to look like a seriously bad idea. It seems that the bag is unable to position weigh properly without the back supports; even though they are really just two plastic sticks. I have carried the bag for two weeks for in-city trips, and I must say that its a real pain to carry it. However at 52 bucks for such a cool bag, which would probably work really well with the supports, I can't complain.



Verdict? Vaude Accept 65+10 is perfect, great price, great look, great performance. Millet Axiom fails to perform, but I would still recommend it for light packers.

Lastly, are my boots. My lucky buy. The North Face Fortress Peak Full Gore-tex boots. These boots are fully equipped with Gore-tex waterproofing, leather outers which repel water, and a really nice insole. Best of all? I managed to get it under a hundred dollars, cost it was apparently a used pair. Not that it affected me at all. The boots have seasoned very well, and I have tried it time and again for its waterproofness, and Gore-tex has yet to fail. The leather uppers are extremely smooth to touch, and one can hardly expect it to repel water, but it does with class. The insole is amazing, as I have walked a whole day with these boots on (mind you these are not light, probably close to 3 kilos of shoe) and not felt even slight fatigue in the heels. So far in this trip, these boots have yet to fail, although they are starting to show signs of wear and tear; the folding area at the toes are starting to get worn down due to friction, but its no real issue, unless you mind staring at the upper absorb water, which at the end of the day fails to get past Gore-Tex.


Verdict? Perfect buy. Yet to fail, extremely comfortable, protects from cold, and is worth every single cent I forked out for it. Normal retail price may shock the tootsies out of you, cos its about 300 bucks for a pair.

With that, I end my first gear review post. The gear I have with me will endure 3 months of torture, with little washing and lots of use, perhaps I'll have problems with them, perhaps not, but I will update it here for all to see.

-.-"

After bath time, both sides of the shirt smelled the same again...

Rinse and repeat. Dashing around in the city, taking alternate day baths to save money, letting the sweat soak and marinate the shirts just to see what would happen...

This was one of those places which was so well heated inside that under all those layers, my clothes were totally damp. I didn't take off any layers until I really couldn't take it any more, partly to see how much the Agion could take, and partly because there wasn't really a convenient place to plant it.

Again, it gradually became more and more obvious which side of the shirt was needing more care to keep fresh.

Good stuff, this!

If I wasn't smelling fresh enough I would never have dared to take this picture. Two days without bathing, and I stripped off my jackets to do this photoshoot under a sakura tree in Hikone Castle grounds, one of Japan's National Treasures. There were visitors all around us, and nobody so much as sniffed when I walked by. I know this could be because they are a polite people, but I doubt it.

I have to say, the T-shirt really works well in more ways than just being so amazing that I haven't had to use my one other spare tee yet, keeping me carrying minimal clothes and less whiffy than otherwise. With the shirt on, my jacket layers aren't getting to stink as quickly as in my previous travels. To put it indelicately, it doesn't matter whether I've used any deodorant on my armpits, as long as I have the magic (half of the) shirt on.

It is also praiseworthy that the material of the test shirt is fantastic - it feels ultra good on the skin, and I very much like sleeping with the shirt on. A touch of comfort in the days of roughing out...

I think if I had Agion Tech's treatment on my clothes, I wouldn't bother with bringing more than two sets on any of my backpacking trips. One for in case it rains, the other for just wearing on, and on, and on! In fact, if they bottled and sold the stuff in a spray can, I'd probably douse all my clothes in it so I know I never have to worry about being smelly again!

In a couple days, we're headed for hotsprings and monkeys. I'm going to bring the shirt in with me to the sauna. I want to see how it holds up against sulphuric fumes!

We woke this morning at 8 and checked out of our comfy internet cafe sleeping place to head for our day trip destination. Matsushima Bay, one of the top 3 scenic sights in Japan. There were a number of routes we could take to explore Matsushima. Thus there were a few things we had to decide.

First was which station we wanted to start from. We could either start from Hon-Shiogama Station (300yen)and take a cruise down over to Matsushima or start from Matsushimakaigan (400yen) and take a cruise over to Hon-Shiogama Station. No matter what the cruise would cost us 1400 yen.

Second, was the cruise we wanted to take. We had several choices, of which we attempted to make an online reservation at an english site (http://www.marubun-kisen.com/english/index.html) which would cost us only 1260 yen due to a 10% discount for online bookings. However, the reply we got was that they would get back to us in a few days time, of which we didn't have, so we steeled ourselves for a 1.4k yen charge for the cruise. The routes available were either from Hon-Shiogama to Matsushima or vice versa or Hon-Shiogama round trip or Matsushima round trip.

We figured that since we wanted to check out Matsushima bay, and have the cruise too, we picked our cheapest option. Which was to take the cruise from Hon-Shiogama, which would cost us 320 yen reach via train, the cruise costing us 1.4k yen and returning from Matsushimakaigan 400 yen.

However when we reached Hon-Shiogama we were greeted with a pleasant surprise. JR operated a cruise line too. At we could get the 10% discount on the spot, so we took it immediately and left for the cruise which was to depart at 12, 10 mins from the time we reached the station.

The cruise itself was quite leisurely, watching people feed the amazingly fat seagulls, and the islets move by.

Some pictures.

After a leisurely 50 min cruise, we hit Matsushima Bay. Which wasn't all that bad, the surroundings were serene, and peaceful. We took a stroll down to the tree-lined path to the temple. And we spotted a stall selling Sendai's specialty. Cow's Tongue (Gyu-tan). We had a sample each, and boy was it good. Even to me, considering that I am honestly quite averse to such things. However IMO, I wouldn't consider it a delicacy, and pay the exorbitant prices exhibited at JR Sendai (averageing 1k yen). Kim did however purchase a portion to eat costing 500 yen. Also, Matsushima's specialty seems to be shellfish, to be exact oysters. Didn't try that, cos I'm not really into shellfish.



Walking down the pine tree lined path to Zuiganji Temple, was total serenity. The tree's gave shade and an aura of peacefulness.

So, I finally get a connection thats long enough to do stuff. At 1,940 yen for the whole night, which makes this place my staying place with a roof overhead and warmer, I think its pretty cool. Compared to a hotel which brings us round to about 4k? I figure, its worth it. (Comes with food and drinks and toilet)

Ok, so begins my post of Day 0, From Changi Airport to Bangkok Suvarnabhumi AP. I hit Changi AP to meet up with Kim before Check-in and just as I left house MX called to ask what time we were going to meet up *shocknhorror* To understand this, Changi Airport is situated in the Eastern-most-ish part of Singapore, Kim and I stay rather far East, and MX stays way out West. *shocknhorror* Well anyway I told him the time, and he went ok, so I assumed he'd be there.

So I hit Changi AP with my mom and met up with Kim. Whereupon we realised that the flight opens at 1455 and not 1555. Which is expected upon hindsight, cos the gate normally opens an hour before the plane rises. So we looked around, and called MX, who didn't pick up the call, and more *shocknhorror* so we decided to check-in first w/o him.

Soon the one and only person to come send us off reached.

Luckily, he arrived within the next 15 mins with his parents. Apparently he took taxi down.