Back from Borneo

Well, I had a pretty awesome  three week vacation in Borneo.  I was busy every day seeing and experiencing  different things.  For the past several years I have spent the majority of my vacations doing backcountry trips in Ontario, but this year my friend Steve, who happens to be teaching in an International school in Kuala Lumpur in peninsular Malaysia, wanted to climb Mount Kinabalu.  The waiting list is like 6 months long for it so it needs to book early.  He asked if I wanted to join and I said sure…   Borneo looks like a good place for adventure with many things in close proximity to experience – pristine rainforest, whitewater rafting, scuba diving, nice beaches, mountain climbing, exotic tropical wildlife, huge limestone caves, great trekking…  kinda hard to beat all that, sounds great!

So several plans came together right before my departure and it lead for a nonstop action packed vacation.  I managed to get 3 weeks away from work. 

I flew in to Kota Kinabalu, the largest city in Borneo in the northwest, in the province of Sabah. After a day or so of acclimatisation, we  got started with rafting on the PADAS river.  After that was the two day rather tough climb to the summit of Mount Kinabalu, one of the highest peaks in southeast Asia.  On the way down, we basically walked down the cliff face on the Via Ferrata. After that was a 4 day stay at the Mantanani Islands, a small group of islands close by to the North of Kota Kinabalu, nice and relaxed, not very expensive, not many tourists and not developed (yet…).  There Steve and myself got our PADI night dive certification, did a bunch of daytime dives, and even got to dive a WWII wreck, the Eikyo Maru, a Japanese merchant vessel torpedoed by a US sub in 1945.  At a depth of 40m it is at the limit of sport diving  and we did our first decompression dives on the wreck as well. After Mantanani, Steve went back to KL, and I continued my adventures..  first on a 5 day, 4 night trip to go trekking in the Maliau Basin to check out the awesome old growth rainforest, and the 7 tiered Maliau Falls while I was at it. Then I finished off my trip with a trip to Sandakan to check out the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Center and to the Kinabatangan River to check out all types of wildlife – birds, crocodiles, orangutans, pygmy elephants, monkeys.  A lot of cool stuff.  I only wish I got to visit the huge caves at Mulu, or had a bit of extra  time to hang out on the beach instead of diving all the time.  Other than that, it was an excellent vacation, many memories and experiences to be had.  After that,, the tiring 20 hour commute home. 

I will be doing a few write-ups on my thoughts and tips on specific locations or trips soon.  I also got to use a bunch of new gear a lot, namely my Osprey Waypoint 65 travel pack, and my new boots.  I had second thoughts on the Salomon 4D boots.  They are a bit too full-on boots and too large, so I went back to MEC to exchange them a couple days before my flight.  I was planning on trying on the Vasque Breeze boots, but they had none in my size in stock.  So I ended up with some Keen Gypsum MID.  These wouldn’t have been my first choice but in the end I am very pleased with them and they have performed quite well on my trip. More to come…

Salomon Quest 4D Boots - First Impressions

Well, it looks like I ended up picking up a pair of Salomon Quest 4D GTX boots for my next pair, seeing as though my Lowa Renegades self destructed at the seams and I needed an intact pair for my impending Borneo excursion.  

I was considering many boots - Vasque Breeze, Lowa Zephyr, Keen Oregon PCT, Asolo Flame and the Adidas Trek GTX,  I really wanted the Adidas Trek GTX, because I like the proportion of nylon mesh uppers, I like the styling and it looks like what I have been looking for - a good balance betwwen lightweight and ruggedness.  But, alas shopadidas.ca didn't stock any soon enough for me to take on my trip - I would think they would have some in stock for the season by now.  It's mid April.  I wanted a boot similar to the Lowa Renegades I have been using for the past 8 yrs or so, but I didn't want one that had all leather uppers.  Ideally it would be lighter, still have a mid cut for some ankle support over rough terrain and still have a Goretex liner to make sure they are all season and all terrain.  I have been moving my gear towards and ultralight style of backpacking, and many ultralighters will only wear trail running shoes, but that really isn't what I want at this point.

After reading many online comments and reviews about all of these boots, many had a lot of positive comments, but there are always some negative ones, no matter what boot you talk about.  Common complaints are boots falling apart too soon, not being waterproof, and soles being too hard so they are slippery on logs and damp rocks.

To be honest, I didn't even try on a bunch of different brands at the store - I just picked the Salomon Quest 4D based on what I read online.  Almost all comments I read were positive, and the user reviews on MEC gave it a a really high rating.  They fit rather comfortable in the store, so I got them. Salomon calls them day hikers, but I certainly don't see the need to take anything heavier than these backpacking.  Putting them side by side with my old Lowa Renegades, these Salomons look like they are actually in a different class of boot, more notch rugged.  I would even call them heavy light hikers.  the tread is more aggressive, the uppers are taller, almost full height, and at least brand new, the soles are much stiffer than the Renegades.  I was hoping they would be lighter than my Renegades, but they are slightly heavier.  In a size 10 1/2, my old Lowa Renegades are 1354 g for the pair, where my new Salomon 4Ds are 1420g.  That said, it looks like there are quite a few better features in the Quest 4D over the Lowa Renegades - the higher upper, aggressive tread for muddy and loose dirt conditions, stiffer sole.  Some other better features are the built in toe cap and heel protector as well to prevent the soles from delaminating from the uppers when scraped on rocks.  Hopefully the integrity is better than the Lowa so they will last a while.  Perhaps I could have went a little lighter with the Salomon 3D fastpacker boots, instead of the 4D, but I don't mind a little heavier weight for the ruggedness.  After I get some good use out of these, I'll report back my final review, but at least so far, these look like they will do the trick in Borneo and much beyond..

Lowa Renegade and Other Light Hiking Boots

Well, I have about 2 weeks left to go before I leave for Borneo, and I haven't figured out what boots I am going to buy or use.

My Lowa Renegade boots are really not very usable at this point any more, especially  for a 3 week trip that involves a lot of walking and trekking in the jungle and mountains.  It's unfortunate because the boots aren't very worn out.  Only the seams on the upper near the ball of my foot where the shoe bends are all falling apart on both sides of both boots are seeing this  On the right boot, the upper is separating from the lower towards the arch because of this as well..  The rest of the boot is fine though, the soles are good and have most of their cushion in them, the rest of the uppers are good.  The boots aren't waterproof anymore, probably due to the same issue near the sides of the toes.  I would certainly call this a design flaw, because it the rest of the boot is good, but there is an obvious flaw if both sides of both boots are failing in the same way, yet the rest of the boot has (or would have) much more life in them if the seam rips weren't stopping me using them further.

     These Lowa Renegades I have only had for 3 years - I figure I have put about 400-500km on them or so.  It would be good if they fixed this issue since I bought mine, but the latest ones look the same as mine in the toe area unfortunately.  Other than this issue, I love these boots, enough to have had two pairs of them in a row.  I use these for my all round boot from day hikes to backpacking.  My ankles are soles are tough enough that I don't need a stiffer boot.  They fit my feet so well that there is zero break-in time required, both pairs I have had I have felt that way.  Although not ideal, I would actually go backpacking with them the day I bought them.  Some say these are too heavy for ultralight packing and I do agree that they are heavier than they really need to be.  I don't need full upper leather - it isn't doing all that much to me since I am not constantly scraping my boots on rocks.  The only minor complaint, other than this seam issue is the heel support needs to be a little more like a cup, contoured to the heel.  It puts a bit of a stress point at the roundest part of the heel and doesn't come back in, higher than the roundest part.  I don't know if this makes sense, but that's be best way i can describe it.

      I would prefer a goretex hybrid type of hiking boot/running shoe.  Still mid length, but mesh fabric like a light trail runner for the most part and an aggressive enough tread.  So, looking around there are many boots that fit this category, but none that stand out as the one and only.  I am leaning towards the Lowa Zephyr, a lighter boot than the Renegade.  I can't find anyone that offers these online from Canada - I already know what size I would take from my current Lowas.

 

Another appealing option is the  the Adidas Trek GTX looks like it would be great for my needs.  I have been waiting for shopadidas.ca to get some in stock but unfortunately it looks like they won't get stock in early enough this year for me to pick up a pair for my trip.  I would have ordered some from a shop in the states, some of which which just got some stock in, but it's too late when all the cross border time is figured in.  

    Oh well, I guess I have no choice but to decide next weekend and drive somewhere to get a pair of boots.  I'll see what I end up with...

Travel Packs, Travel Packs Everywhere – Osprey Waypoint 65

Looking for a travel pack, there’s tons of choices out there – brands, sizes styles, etc.  I don’t buy things in stores a lot of the time.  Simply for starters,  there are no outdoor type stores anywhere close to me, only 1/2 hr drive each way + away.  I can’t stand spending all that time driving to a store only to find out their selection sucks, they don’t have something in inventory, or it costs way more than it should cause they’re hosing people.  So I do a lot of research online and then shopping for things.  That’s exactly what I did for my travel pack.  I ended up getting an awesome deal on an Osprey Waypoint 65….. $189US(+$33CAD customs fees at the post office = approx. $222CAD at my door), delivered to me from Moosejaw which arrived last week.  I’ll give anyone $10 if you can find one anywhere near this cheap from a store in Canada after taxes – it’s simply not possible.

Anyways, for the pack itself, I did spend much time researching online, flip flopping between different brands, models and styles.  I dig the packs that have an integrated daypack that detaches from the mothership bag by means of a zipper or clips.  Even in that category there’s quite a few choices.  I was looking at the Osprey Waypoint, and Farpoint series, Eagle Creek, Deuter and some of the MEC branded ones.  I eventually chose the Waypoint 65 due to it’s size and some reviews I read about all the packs I was looking at.  Osprey is a great backcountry backpack manufacturer, and I was figuring that they can translate their knowledge of that to a travel version.  I would rather have that than the other way around – a luggage company creating a backpack.

Volume is another question – for someone who has not spent much time travel backpacking, especially in a tropical location, I have no idea how much space I would want in my pack.  Even though it might be a bit much for my impending trip to Borneo I opted for the 65 liter, since I would be able to use it for future travels in colder climates where I would want to bring more gear.  The Waypoint comes in two different lengths small and medium/large to fit different torsos.  I got the Large which also has a slightly higher capacity than 65 liters.  The Waypoint has been a model Osprey has carried for a while.  Osprey also makes a newer design slightly lighter weight, lower cost and less frill version of travel pack c/w daypack called the Farpoint series.  I originally was looking at this one but I didn’t opt for that one in the end as I read somewhere that the material is quite thin and may not be all that suitable for checked baggage.  I also do like the few extra pockets and don’t mind the slight bit of extra weight the Waypoint has over the Farpoint.  In any case, I am looking forward to using it and seeing how much gear I will have in it for my Borneo adventure.        

100 Percent DEET in Canada

     On the topic of DEET(N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide) insect repellent, people have widely varying opinions of the stuff.  Some regard it as liquid gold, won't leave the house without it and slather it on any chance they can get, while others won't touch it with a ten foot pole and treat it like it's nuclear waste.  Myself, I am mostly middle ground.  I try not to use it as much as possible since it is a nasty chemical, oily on your skin and it will even dissolve some plastics. I only use it when the bugs are completely insane such as Algonquin Park in June.  Luckily at least for myself, I am not affected by mosquito bites, only the pinch when they are actually biting and them buzzing around my head is annoying.  I don’t even get red bumps or itchy afterwards, let alone get a much worse blister reaction as some people do get after mosquito bites.  In my opinion citronella and all other ‘natural’ DEET-free repellents don’t do a thing for bug repellency and are just a scam plain and simple.  Last year in Algonquin I even tried some Insect Defend brand vitamin B / thiamine  patches you apply to your skin that supposedly naturally repels insects as you excrete vitamin B through perspiration, but all it did was annoyingly make my sweat smell like Alpha Bit cereal (yes seriously), and did absolutely nothing to repel mosquitos - I was still getting eaten alive like I was a piece of steak thrown to famished sled dogs after they had run the Iditerod. So that said, I certainly don’t love DEET but I will use it on occasion. 

     When I use it I would prefer to use the strongest stuff I can get.  In preparing to go to Borneo that definitely is the case.  Unlike in Canada where mosquitos don’t transfer many diseases other than West Nile, which I personally think is much overhyped, mosquitos in the tropics have the potential to transmit a whole slew of terrible diseases, some of them being incurable and don’t even have a vaccination for.   Japanese encephalitis, malaria, yellow fever, dengue fever are among some of the mosquito borne diseases and can attack either day or night.  Not only that, jungle leeches are repelled and can be removed with DEET.  So, I would like to have the strongest DEET available for the short period of time I’m going to be in Borneo.  However, Canada decided to limit DEET products for sale to 30% DEET in 2002 due to health concerns.  DEET in very rare cases has the potential to cause seizures, and there is some evidence that long term exposure to the stuff can cause insomnia, irritability and other ill effects, but again I only use the stuff when needed and for short periods of time.

     Luckily you can still get 100% DEET products in the US.  Canada has banned the sale of higher than 30% DEET in Canada but not the importation is my understanding.  So I bought a couple bottles of the Ben’s 100 (98.1% DEET) from EBay from the US – it arrived with no problems at my house.  You can only get Ben’s 30 here in Canadian stores, Muskol as well only is 30% DEET.  Just thought I would share this little trick if you are looking for the strong stuff and have no qualms about using it... sparingly.

 

Links:

DEET - Wikipedia
DEET Info – Illinois Dept. of Health

Tender Corp (Ben’s)

Countdown to Borneo

So I have a flight booked to Borneo and I leave in 5 weeks, I’m going to be there for 3 weeks and I am super excited.  Adventure, anyone?  In the past many years, I have been taking local-ish vacations, usually in the backcountry somewhere in Ontario.  My kayak old buddy Steve has been teaching in Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur) and a couple months ago asked me if I was interested in joining a trip he was doing to the summit of Mount Kinabalu in Borneo.  I said sure!  Mount Kinabalu is a 13,000ft mountain in North Borneo, Boneo being a large island in the South Pacific, comprised of 3 countries – Malaysia, Indonesia and a small city-state called Brunei.

            The trip to the summit of Mount Kinabalu needs to be reserved half a year in advance due to it’s popularity.  The issue being that it takes two days to make it up and back and there is limited cabin accommodations part way up on the mountain.  From the trailhead (Timophon Gate) to the summit, the trail is actually only 8 kms long, but the problem is you have to climb 2 km in that distance.  In other words it is extremely steep.  We are also doing the Via Ferrata when up there.  A Via Feratta is a semi mountain climbing thing where you are walking along the side of a rock face attached with safety harnesses, almost semi mountain climbing.

            I am super excited about the rest of Borneo.  Not to say that the Ontario backcountry is old hat, but Borneo is a very different almost alien environment and there will be lots of new things to experience.  Other than the mount Kinabalu trip taking 2 days, my schedule is free.  Borneo is an equatorial jungle island, with native .  The wildlife is amazing with orangutans, proboscis monkey, pygmy elephants, not to mention the lesser liked creatures.  Things that nightmares are made of such as flying snakes and jungle leeches that wait on branches and leaves for you to walk by and then attach themselves to you to gorge themselves on your blood expanding 2-5 times their original size.  You have to use DEET or salt to get them off.  Nice.  Some use ‘Leech socks’, sort of gaiters that the leeches can’t bite through on your calf, so you can just flick them off.

            Other than that craziness, there’s lots of other awesomeness – amazing scuba diving in Sipadan and other areas (haven’t been diving in 6 years, but great to do it again), whitewater rafting, sea kayaking, islands to camp on, huge limestone caves to visit, strange limestone pinnacles in the central region, lots of jungle trekking, and natives to visit in their long houses, hot springs and canopy walks.  Yeah, that should keep me busy for a while.

            I just bought on Osprey Waypoint 65 travel pack online after doing much research into travel packs.  It looks pretty sweet – has a zip-off daypack to use and 65 liter capacity should be more than adequate for what I am doing.

Links:

Boreno - Wikipedia

Borneo – Lonely Planet

Mout Kinabalu – Wikipedia

Sipadan – Wikipedia

Jungle Leeches

Rotomolded vs. Composite Kayaks

      Although there are more than two types of manufacturing processes for producing kayaks, really only two are worth talking about – composites and rolomolded polyethylene.  Composite fiberglass, Kevlar and carbon fiber kayaks are considered to be the pinnacle of kayaks to aspire to have.  After all they look nice and cost at least twice as much as their rotomolded high density polyethylene counterparts.  The rotomolded yaks look like some kid’s toy in comparison to the composite kayaks.  I want to want a composite kayak, but yet when I think about it logically, I just can’t.  The rotomolded is where it’s at, and I am actually amazed that so many composite kayaks get sold.  I guess I should back up a bit to explain what rotomold and composite is.

         Rotomold is the process by which there is a large mold cavity which is filled with some pellets of plastic – in this case high density polyethylene, a low cost tough plastic.  The mold is heated up until the pellets melt and cooled slowly while the mold is rotated – hence the name rotomold, huh?  As the mold cools, the plastic solidifies more or less on the outside of the mold in a consistent manner, the end result in this case being a kayak.  Rotomolding is good for when you can’t access the inside of a part to put another mold in for the injection mold process, which is the case for the shape of a kayak.

 

 kayak rotomold

      Composite on the other hand is a fabric – either fiberglass, Kevlar or carbon fiber, impregnated with a resin which hardens.  The fabric is mixed with the epoxy resin, then hand-laid into molds forming the outside surface.  A bag is placed over the mold under vacuum, making sure the resin is throughout the fabric and also is pressed firmly against the mold. The part against the mold is the outer surface of the kayak and is very smooth, the inside surface is rougher.  Nowadays gel coat is applied to the mold before laying in the fiber so the color becomes part of the outer surface.  The parts are taken out of the mold, and the edges are trimmed.  In the case of a kayak, the top and bottom have to be formed separately, since the mold needs to be accessible.  The two halves are glued together after hardening with a strip of molding.  The end result of a composite is a very stiff material and is lighter than rotomolding, since the material is very thin and controlled by hand laying.  

 hand laying the composite cloth in the mold

There’s really only two functional reasons why one would want a composite kayak over a rotomolded – stiffness or weight.  Composite construction is extremely stiff, though is not necessary for the function of a kayak.  By nature of it’s shape and geometry a kayak itself is very stiff compared to a canoe because the top is closed and not open.   Not only that, stiffness counts when there are high loads involved, that’s not the case in a kayak.  The weight concern is a little more practical, although not much.  A composite kayak is maybe 7 lbs lighter than a rotomolded one when you’re talking about a 50lb kayak, or about 10%-15% which is decent but not a huge advantage.  There is one other advantage, although not functional is aesthetics.  Composite kayaks look shiny and great which I think sways many people.

Rotomolded material on the other hand looks like kid’s toys probably because many kids toys themselves are rotomolded.  They’re plastic in all kinds of crazy bright colors- orange, red, yellow.  One disadvantage is the color will fade or discolor (i.e. red turn to pink) with constant exposure to UV light, although nowadays UV inhibitors in the plastic minimizes that effect.  Where HDPE shines it it’s toughness.  I throw my kayak around like a midget at a carnival and play plinko with it off the rocks on a regular basis and it keeps on ticking.  Most of the adventures and the geography of the area I paddle in, tend to have vary sharp rocks everywhere (i.e. Canadian shield) or are shallow rivers with shallow rocky bottoms (i.e. Grand River).  I also drag my kayak around on the grass and through stump covered and rocky portages.  With a rotomolded kayak, despite the scratches the hull gets, it’s not a problem.  If my kayak was a composite kayak, it would be shattered, full of holes and have patches all over it by now, not to mention I am sure a few trips would have been ruined due to a leaky kayak.  Not only that, it costs half as much as a composite kayak, as composites are very labour intensive.  All that makes a rotomold kayak the obvious choice.

The bottom of my kayak showing it's battle scars

      Like I mentioned earlier...  I want to like composite kayaks because they look real nice (esp. carbon fiber), but I just can’t in the end – the rotomold’s functionality is just so much better than a composite kayak.  When I see someone driving down the road with a composite kayak I wonder what these people actually do with their kayaks, because I’m sure they aren’t having as much fun as I am with mine.  I admit that I do refer to people with composite kayaks as posers.  Perhaps if you kayak in places with sandy beaches, not many rocks around, and deep water everywhere that’s fine, but if you really want some adventures the rotomold is the only way to go.