Although the iPhone can be used in the outdoors, it’s not exactly designed to handle the rough and tumble of hiking in the outdoors. You might get a tough case but the sensitive touch screen can still break easily. You’d have to be really careful if you’re going to be taking the iphone on a hiking trip.

If you want something that’s really meant for the outdoors then you can’t go wrong with Samsung’s B2100. It’s so tough that you can treat it like a piece of rock (almost anyway) and waterproof so you can talk in the rain (if you can get a good signal in the middle of the trail that is). You can even submerge the phone in water so if it gets dirty simply clean it with water but the surface of the phone is so easy to clean that most of the time all you need to do is wipe it clean.

It doesn’t skimp on features either. The stylishly rugged B2100 comes with multimedia capabilities like music player and 1.3 mega pixel camera, extremely loud speakers, noise cancellation technology for crispy clear conversations, FM radio, basic web browsing and a very useful flashlight. The 128 x 160 pixel screen is clear and easy to see.

As you might expect from a tough outdoor phone, the B2100 weighs more than most normal phones at 106 grams. Fortunately it’s not a bulky phone compared other submersibles.

Jason Klass managed to steal some of the latest rain cover prototypes for your internal frame backpack from the Gossamer Gear Laboratories. Check it out (Shhh..)

[media:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQWaRTGRSkY]

When I was just starting out hiking and camping I used to pack my sleeping bag loose into the backpack or even tie it on the outside. It took me 3 trips before I started using stuff sacks to store my sleeping bag. These cylindrical shaped nylon, usually waterproof, enclosures protect your bag from unnecessary wear and tear and also from the rain.

Material

Most stuff sacks are made of newer fabrics like coated polyester and ultralight silicone-impregnated nylon.

While the material itself is waterproof, the drawstring closure in most stuff sacks is not so be careful about getting it into water and if you tie your sleeping bag to the outside of your backpack make sure you at least cover the drawstring closure with a waterproof material to protect against rain. A plastic bag will do in most cases.

Newer stuff sacks like the eVac Dry Sack from Sea To Summit don’t use drawstring closures but instead you roll the sack down and then close the buckle. This accomplishes two things. First, when you roll the sack down air is pushed out of the base so water can’t get in. Second, it allows you to save both space and weight. The weight saving though is not such a big deal. You only save a little bit of weight but the space saving is much appreciated.

The lightest stuff sacks are made of silicone-impregnated nylon parachute cloth. It can be as light as 0.5 oz or even less. GoLite employs this type of material and they made an improvement to the drawstring closure by adding a collar instead of just a drawstring and flap configuration. Outdoor Research on the other hand uses a good waterproof fabric called Hydroseal. This fabric is tough and can handle rough use but still limp enough to mold itself to the contents of the sack. This stuff sack is available in the drawstring-flap configuration as well as roll closure secured with Velcro bindings.

Compression and Size

Most stuff sack suppliers have some sort of compression model with straps, laces or double drawstrings that reduces the volume by up to half. You can also stuff in your down jacket or parka together with the sleeping bag into the sack. Make sure that yours is big enough for you to easily put in whatever you intend to put in.

Don’t get a small stuff sack just because you think it would save you space because in most cases you’ll just have unused, wasted space in your backpack as a result. Another problem is that even if you can cram your sleeping bag and other stuff into the sack when you’re at home, doing so in less than ideal conditions on an empty stomach with the cold wind biting at you can turn it into a monstrous task. Get one that’s big enough to take its load with extra room to spare, leaving it soft, malleable and easy to stuff. I use Outdoor Research Hydroseal DryComp Sacks but I’m thinking of getting the eVac Dry Sack from Sea to Summit for myself.

Jonsky also writes at hubpages with articles on down sleeping bags, stoves, tents and other camping gear. He is also a writer for http://www.hiking-camping-world.com. Check out the range of down sleeping bags on that site.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jonsky_Sicuna
http://EzineArticles.com/?Using-Stuff-Sacks-For-Your-Sleeping-Bag&id=1991254