Gathering Gear: Netbook

Over the summer I have been prowling on the local online classified ads trying to find a cheap netbook that I could take with me to India. After a couple of months of looking I ran upon an ad for a Hannspree 10" netbook. The owner had bought both a Mac Book Air and this netbook at the same time. He seemed to have quite a bit of money and just wanted to get rid of the netbook, it was exactly what I had been waiting for.

It's fast and was in mint condition so I bought it for $120. I will be hauling this around India with me to keep in touch with others and keep the blog up-to-date (with updates every 1-2 days while abroad).

I'm keeping it short today as I have a ton of packing and other things to do before I go!

It's now less than two days until I leave for India.

Gathering Gear: Misc. Items

I just received my order from Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC), full of random goodies that I had ordered for my trip.

Airline Tote - $18

The original reason I bought this was to store my bag inside of for my flight to and from India. While it will still be used for its original intended use it will also be getting used on a regular basis throughout my trip! There will be a variety of times when I have to leave my bag alone, whether it be in hostels or bag rooms at train stations. With my bag having no easy way to lock all the openings I will just throw it in this plain-looking, soon to be dirty, bag, put a lock on the zipper and everything will be secured!


Alpine Rain-cover (for my Aether 60L pack) - $15

The alpine raincover from MEC will be serving two purposes during my trip in India. First, it will be a raincover! No surprise there..

Its second use will be to help keep my bag secure from pickpockets and thieves. After putting the cover on my backpack I realized it does a good job of covering all the zippers and top-loading drawstring. I will be keeping this cover on my bag even when there is no rain in the forecast to make my bright orange backpack standout less and cover any zippers/openings that lead inside my pack.


Hikers Mosquito net - $20

At first I was on the fence about whether or not I should buy a mosquito net. From what research I've done on the internet it seems the majority of other travelers didn't use their net, discarding them halfway into their trips. After some though, I bought one from MEC for $20. I have a feeling that with my budget, or rather lack of, I will be staying at my fair-share of shady and rundown hostels. I hope this mosquito net will not only keep away those possibly carrying Malaria, which is on the rise in India, but also save me from waking up to a cockroach, or other insect, running across my face.



Stuff sack, Mag-lite, TSA locks, releasable cable ties, and of course.. Canadian flags!

Stuff Sack, 9 liter ($8) - For my dirty laundry and hundreds of other random things.

TSA Locks ($10x2) - I bought two Transportation Security Administration (TSA) approved combination locks. TSA locks are great because they allow you to safely lock all your luggage on planes and trains. The workers at these facilities have a special master lock that can open your locks, without damaging them, if they need to inspect your bag. I bought a simple combo lock for my airline totes that shows me if they opened my bag during transit or not. The other lock is a retractable cable lock so I can secure my bag to benches, poles, etc while I sleep.

Releasable Cable Ties ($3 for 25) - These are like traditional plastic cable ties except instead of having to cut them off they have a release function! I'm confident these will come in handy during my trip for a multitude of things like tying up my mosquito net.

Mag-lite ($10) - It's a smaller mag-lite that uses AAA batteries. With the frequent power-cuts, and having to navigate dark back alleys, in India it may become one of my most used items. There is a good chance I will be buying a better one when I land, but this will serve as a good backup.

Canadian Flags ($1-3) - Cliché I know, but how could I resist?

Gathering Gear: Digital Camera

Seeing as my current digital camera is older than I care to admit, I thought it would be a wonderful time to pick its successor. Over the past couple weeks I went out and bought three cameras: the Sony WX1($220), Sony HX5($340), and Samsung ST550($280).

My choice, the Sony HX5!

I held on to all three of the cameras for seven days to compare their features and photo quality versus their respectable prices. The Samsung had a duel LCD screen, one being on the front, which is a rather attractive feature for those traveling solo. Unfortunately the photo quality and other features paled in comparison to the Sony cameras. With the Samsung out of the picture, no pun intended, it was down to the two Sony's.


In the end it really came down to size, WX1, versus extra features, HX5. I returned both the Samsung and Sony WX1 to the store, keeping the Sony HX5 for its impressive features and built in GPS which will come in handy for geotagging.

Gathering Gear: Backpack

Here is it, my backpack of choice for India:
Osprey Aether 60L

I have been waiting almost a month for a backpack I ordered in through a local hiking store to arrive. The city I live in has a very limited selection of stores to choose from that stock quality backpacks, so I was getting quite distressed with my trip now less than two weeks away. After work yesterday I decided enough was enough, I headed over to the store to start looking at some other options. On the way to the store my phone rings, they just received my backpack from the dealer!

There are a couple of issues with the bag, mainly security and 'lockability'. Overall, I love the bag's design and how comfortable it is. I am currently brain storming to find some solutions to the security weak-points, I'll keep you updated on my progress!