Gear Questions, Blowgun, Pager, and Camera

[SurferNerd]

Greetings fellow hikers, I'm starting the gear packing for next years hike. I want to have everything by November so I can get out and play around with everything to be familiar with it beforehand. I've got three pieces of gear I've been contemplating, all are lightweight and easily packed. They all have pro's and con's, so I was hoping for a few second opinions. First up, a 2 way pager. Now, I'm taking a SPOT, already bought, just not activated yet. But as for communication on the trail, email, and the such it seems pagers have the best signal coverage compared to cellphones. I'm thinking of like when I get to a town, how to phone up the hostel for a ride, KIT with my family, and general human contact. The motorola T900 has a battery life of 4 weeks on one AA lithium battery. The service is cheap and not an issue. Do you guys think its better to have a prepaid CDMA phone "Verizon" which forces me to take a charger and have to find charging stations, take the pager, or have you ever really seen the need to use a phone to contact hostels.

Second item, a blowgun. I've extremely fluent and accurate with the one that I have now which is a 48". I know for sure thats way too long and I can get an 18" 2 piece breakdown model that weighs 3 ounces including 24 sharp wire darts. I wouldn't mind having it for catching a squirrel, rabbit, or fowl for some delicacy eats. It's legal in all the AT states except Massachusetts, which it would be tied down and out of view. I don't want to take a gun, and a bow and arrow requires permits normally. What do ya'all think, take it or leave it? Any experience?

Third item, camera. Most likely the hardest item to pack for me. I want it digital, lightweight, battery efficient and universal AA compatible, as well as semi resistant to the weather. I've been looking at the Olympus waterproof line forever, but its lack of AA battery compatibility makes it an automatic no go. I've had my Kodak Z885 for almost a year, I love it, but its not efficient in shots per battery. I've been looking at the Canon A590, so far its my best looker. It has a viewfinder, so I can save battery by killing the screen, its AA friendly, its lightweight, and its SDHC compatible so that it will work with a 32GB SD card worthy of 20,000 pics. Any ideas, suggestions, reading points?

Thanks for the input!

[Phreak]

I'd say leave the blowgun at home. But that's just my $0.02.

[taildragger]

What are you tipping your darts with so that you can actually kill a duck (let alone a rabbit or a squirrel). I used to be good with one, and if the critter was much bigger than a mouse I'd most likely lose it.

However, you could be the hero of the shelter if you slay the invading mice. I've heard hiker chicks dig that

[drastic_quench]

So you're planning to poach game, with a blowgun no less, all through the AT?

I hunt. But I do it by the books, so I've got a problem with someone hunting with inadequate equipment (needlessly wounded animals) and no license through 14 states.

[minnesotasmith]

You'll never use it, for one thing. You won't get it out in time to deal with a threatening dog (feral hogs can be really mean, but how common are they?), and nothing else is likely to be a legitimate target. It's just extra weight and volume that you paid to have, and will likely get destroyed over the course of your hike.

Oh, and it's probably very illegal in NY and New England.

Bear spray, or just rely upon a proper hiking staff, is my advice for the defense issue.

[Bare Bear]

Too funny.......you are kidding right???

[taildragger]

Too funny.......you are kidding right???

Nah, he must be serious, he talked about cameras in the original post. Very serious indeed

[leeki pole]

...umm, fluent with a blowgun? that's downright scary........

[drastic_quench]

...umm, fluent with a blowgun? that's downright scary........

Yeah, I took Spanish instead.

[mister krabs]

I say bring the blowgun just for kicks, you can always ditch it later. Check the laws in all the states for both carry and game. AFAIK they're illegal in NJ. Doves taste goood!

[kayak karl]

What are you tipping your darts with so that you can actually kill

curare ??

[Nomad94]

You should take the 48" blowgun.

Don't let the lightweight guys get to you-- when the time comes for quality you don't want that 18 incher to fail.

[take-a-knee]

You should take the 48" blowgun.

Don't let the lightweight guys get to you-- when the time comes for quality you don't want that 18 incher to fail.

Certainly, use a surplus M2 machine gun barrel for a tube, shouldn't weigh more than 25# max.

[SurferNerd]

Well I've been looking into the legalities of small game hunting on the trail. And here's the thoughts and answers.

Taildragger: I will be tipping the darts with curare. I've already got my hands on a supply from a Cherokee Indian tribe in NC that are friends of my family. As for the shelter mice, it's a great and fantastic idea, but killing mice unless they are truly going to injure me or my grub is not humane.

Nomad94: I like the idea of bringing my 48", the extra weight isn't a problem, it's more the size. Even a breakdown model would be two 24" panels that are beyond the size I would want to carry. I contemplated figuring a way to turn my trekking poles into one, but it won't work without compromising the poles.

mister_krabs: I have verified its legality in all states to possess and carry, only Massachusetts poses its as illegal. As for small game hunting licenses, I have done a fairly good amount, and I'm waiting on a few replies from ATC people with information on the topic.

Bare-Bear: I'm quite serious, seeing as the only meat I will have is either freeze dried, or salt cured, it would be nice to once a week have a nice prepared meal of fresh meat.

minnesotasmith: It's not for protection at all, it wouldn't fatally injure anything larger than a rabbit, and I'm bringing bear spray for protection. It is perfectly legal in all states that follow the trail expect for Massachusetts, but that is possesion and carry, not hunting laws.

cortez_the_killer: I understand the feeling, I'm going to let animals suffer, and neither would I not go find it after I shot it if it where to run off. Using a poisoned dart, and proper FPS there's no reason why the animal wouldn't stop dead in its tracks. Hunting with blowguns has been around for hundreds of years, its not uncommon, and its not like I just started learning it. I've been playing with blowguns for over 10 years. It's not inadequate, it's just for small game.

[SurferNerd]

Any opinions on camera's or cellphone/pager communications?

[J5man]

Casio Exilim cameras - digital, 1/2 inch thin, telephoto, can clip it to your backpack strap. Great for hiking. Bring an extra baggie to store it in at night and when it rains.

[SurferNerd]

I love the Exilim's, I had one several years ago. It wouldn't work for the trail tho because of the rechargeable batteries. If it's not universally run from AA or AAA then it would be a huge detriment to find charging stations and carrying chargers. I couldn't imagine topping a cliff, and my camera is dead with no extra batteries.

[bigcranky]

The Canon is fine, use AA Lithiums for best performance and lowest weight. Though they are pricey. Great little camera.

No opinion on the pager. As a sectioner, I carry a cell phone turned off in my pack. I don't worry about carrying a charger, because I'll be back to my car in a week. For a thru-hike, it's more problematic. A phone is very useful at times, and you won't find many pay phones these days. (Though they are available, and a phone card weighs almost nothing.) I'd be tempted to just leave the phone and not worry about it.

[budforester]

Poison tips are illegal in my state, may be good to research that aspect for the AT states. Waterfowl and migratory birds are probably off- limits, too. If so, those would be a Federal crime.

[bigcranky]

I love the Exilim's, I had one several years ago. It wouldn't work for the trail tho because of the rechargeable batteries. If it's not universally run from AA or AAA then it would be a huge detriment to find charging stations and carrying chargers. I couldn't imagine topping a cliff, and my camera is dead with no extra batteries.

I used to say the same thing. I'm not sure I agree anymore. I carry a spare Li-Ion battery and a charger, and simply make sure I leave town with two fully-charged batteries. As I get three or four hundred shots per charge, I've never even come close to using both batteries before I got to a place where I could recharge them. Luckily, the charger than came with my camera is pretty small and light. (The one that came with my wife's camera is light, but it requires a huge heavy cord. Dumb design.)

If you are using Alkaline AA batteries, you'll need to carry several spare sets, which probably weigh as much as the charger and the spare Li-Ion. Lithium AA batteries are a lot lighter, but freaking expensive.