It will be interesting to see what is old hat 10 yrs. from now. I've seen a lot of changes over the years. Most are good. I started backpacking when cotton was king and pack frames and pack bags were sold separately. They weren't sold as a complete combo.
Am I old, or what?
Just a few years ago (circa 1994) I laid out some gear at the campfire:
Camera (2 rolls of film - missed a lot of good shots waiting for the better ones)
Video Camera (over a pound and lousy pictures)
Sony Walkman with 2 cassettes (extra batteries)
Cellphone (heavy with no signal)
A book (small print because I could see back then)
I prophesied to my son that someday we'll get all this into one case. I had know idea how small the case would be and that it would also include:
Computer with internet access
GPS
Video in HD.
Camera with almost unlimited photos
Library of books vs. a book
Unlimited music selection
Movies
Flashlight
All that stuff is in my smart phone!
So, what's coming next? Well, we need lots more cell towers or satellite access.
We'll get the 3D holographics like in Star Wars.
Sunglasses that displays GPS, Night Vision, and what your hiking buddy is looking at.
Lighter and more durable fabrics and cordage. We'll call it MSHL (Micro Super Hyper Light)
We'll have survival foods in pills or powders. Some of this stuff will access nutrition from things like wood, grass and dirt. (It will taste like strawberries.)
Oh yea, don't forget your Mr. Fusion.
Clothing that adapts to climate and is not only self cleaning but cleans you while you wear it.
Animal language translator, though all they ever say is, "What's that", "Don't kill me" or "I'm hungry".
This is just the start. Let's keep dreaming.
Originally Posted by Shug
I am very interested in this. I would love to have the ability to communicate anywhere if necessary.
I think that we'll continue to see lighter fabrics, better cold weather gear and better/lighter ways to recharge batteries (ie solar, nPeg, etc...) and longer lasting batteries.
I like the idea of the sunglasses with GPS and night vision.
Somebody on the PCT-L list made a very good point the other day talking about those nPeg thingies...I think that we'll continue to see lighter fabrics, better cold weather gear and better/lighter ways to recharge batteries (ie solar, nPeg, etc...) and longer lasting batteries.
I like the idea of the sunglasses with GPS and night vision.
It went something like this... "I can carry a whole lot of batteries for the same weight as one of those, plus extra just as spares".
Wisdom!
Sometimes technology takes us in the wrong direction of where we want to go.
Can you imagine carrying your hammock, suspension, and UQ in your wallet pocket?
The fabric would be something lighter and stronger than a space blanket. When stressed (someone gets in it) an electro chemical interaction it would generate it's own warmth. You might have to carry an extra one for cold nights.
Your tree huggers would be the biggest part of your sleeping gear because trees really don't like the braided fishing line that could tow a car. Don't worry, the following year someone invents a kevlar balloon tube that works better than our straps.
I'd like to see aerogel finally make it into mainstream products.
I remember reading something in Backpacker some years ago about a new catalyst technology that did something crazy to the fuel to make it burn more efficient. I don't recall ever seeing anything come of this.
Its probably very possible to create a better fuel, but you'd loose a lot in the trade offs with everyone's favorite spirit.
I think purely from a theoretical design standpoint we could make a much better water boiler. For instance, I always imagined something a bit like the Kelly Kettle take the chimney and make it more of a corkscrew like a laboratory condenser column.
Denser energy storage is a likely area we'll see improvements on and if you add up your cell, headlamp, and camera, there's a place for it.
I imagine shoes have plenty of improvements to be made in weight as well. Its clearly not the main selling point and so its not advanced at the same rate.
It appears we're just recently seeing seam welding being to enter the market. That will be worth watching.
You always see the interrupting post where someone comes along and says something like, "you're worried to much about weight blah blah blah"and they've got a point sometimes but gram weenies help drive innovation and bring down costs so that all of us can enjoy the advancements.
I'm sure we'll see leaps forward in fabric technology. I think cuben fibre will become mainstream and there will be other brands of UHMW cloth available-hammock, tarp and clothing weights will tumble.
I think well see solar clothing too and ultra light solar panels.
"Active" camouflage clothing will be the norm for stealth hikers, hunters. The US forces are already experimenting with this---a kind of noise-cancelling, but with light waves. Whatever is behind you is sensed, and light waves in the same pattern are sent out in front of you so you effectively blend in to your background from the perspective of the observer..will initially be heavy.
An effective bear and/or wild dog deterrent, maybe based on sound above our range of hearing, will be developed.
A full day's meals, including snacks, will be purchased at once from Mountain House, etc, already tested, with correct calories for various sized people, adequate fibre, minerals, etc and you will be able to choose exactly depending on how strenuous your trip is expected to be, your weight, age, fod preferences, etc...taking all guesswork out. Just buy one kit for each day.
Last edited by sturgeon; 11-14-2010 at 16:16.
Ohhh, lots of good comments here
re: aerogel... A company called "Pacific Outdoor Equipment" was the first outdoor company I know of to dable with the aerogel technology. They released something called the "Hyper High Mountain Pad" which weighed in at 25 oz (709 g) - pretty good for back in those days. I was never able to find an R-value on it, but from reports it seemed to do pretty good for 0-20-f temps. I would say probably comparable to the "Exped DownMat 7" which is 880 g / 31 oz and has an amazing R-value of 5.9 (!!!)
re: water boil times. Hey, I am with you on this one! I freaking love my mini-atomic but it just has a number of very serious safety issues with it. You ask just about any thru-hiker of stories about alcohol stoves and chances are they have meet somebody on the trail who has burned part of their gear and come close to starting a forest fire because of them. Facts are simple: long hike = tired person = careless at dinner time = poof goes the down jacket / sleeping mat / cloths / tent / tarp. I know it happened to at least two people this year (2010) on the PCT. Serious issue. The safer course, of course, is to take canister stoves (jet boil, soto, msr, etc) but than you have to deal with the weight, availability, and disposal of the canisters. And we all have heard the stories about white gas - which pre-dates my camping era so I have no personal stories about them - giggle - though they are still used a lot. So yeah, I hear you on this one. Where exactly is the technology that allows us the boil time (or faster) of the Jetboil without the hellish weight of the Jetboil and the hellish size of the jetboil. Excellent "what should come next" issue!
re: shoes - I think the massive migration away from boots to trail shoes is one of my favorite changes... and it is all thanks to the rest of the industry! Without the rest of the industry creating lighter weight gear, we'd still all be lugging around 60lb packs and still having to wear 1.5 pound boots on each foot. Having gotten my own pack weight down, I have now switched to 'Brook Cascadia 5' trail shoes - very very awesome shoes!
Oh, and about the gram-winnies comment... you are dead-on right!!
This brings up something I would like to see. Don't know how many of you have put out the money for ExOfficio Boxers but they are the undeiniable finest boxers that hikers can buy and wear. I would really love to see that type of technology expand into an entire layering system for hikers. I know ExOfficio already has a decent product line, but to see an entire layering system made out of this material would rock!
Yeah, I have been pushing for this for a loooong time!! I end up buying individual meals from hawkvittles.com and than building my own... but it would be sooo sweet if one of these type of companies could start pushing out the "daily meal" packages. Excellent suggestion sturgeon!
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