Two sets of shoes and two watches? That’s a bit disappointing. Not that you need to have one product from every category, it just seemed a little odd to have two pairs of products that are basically the same (obviously different strengths in each).

So how does the Steripen work with the Platy bottle? And have you tried using the Steripen with water bladders, eg. Camelbak? I’m finally (slow learner) moving from classic water bottles to hydration, and water purification is the one thing I haven’t worked out.

I, too, was somewhat disappointed to see two shoes and two watches. With all the different pieces of gear out there I would have expected to see 10 different items listed. But, anyway, thanks for the info.

you know what happens when you introduce air into water under UV light (of a certain wavelength)? You get ozone, which is even MORE effective at killing bacteria and protozoa than just UV light alone. Now why is it that none of these UV water purification companies can’t combine BOTH actions in a single product? I’m still waiting. The other problem is chemical contamination requires activated charcoal filtering.

Two shoes, two watches. . . yeah, I know. But these items were just too darn good! Seriously, though, the context for my ‘Top 10’ is not to be comprehensive to everything in the industry or to be concerned with categories, like Backpacker, Outside, etc. The Gear Junkie awards are just that. . . my personal opinions from hard use in the field on the best gear I have tested all year. These are the items that rose to the top. The shoes are completely different (one for road running, one for trails/in the woods). The watches are closer in performance, though the Suunto is a true expedition watch that you can wear for 365 days, while the Garmin is amazing for 20 hours or so until its charge runs out. The use scenarios were different enough. And both were more than worthy.

Re the “Steripen working with the Platy bottle”. . . no, I didn’t do that. Good point. An old-fashioned Nalgene 1-liter bottle is the vessel for purification with the Steripen.

Besides using the nalgene bottle for purification you can use it empty enroute to put small breakables in inside your pack.

The Steripen website FAQ indicates that the Steripen is not recommended for use with hydration bladders; water should be zapped in a separate vessel before addition to the bladder. But then I ran across this http://www.steripen.com/stuff/contentmgr/files/1/02ac755595468c5da0c8d224bef3c2db/misc/a_lbladderp248revised9408.pdf which indicates that a Steripen inserted directly into a 3L hydration bladder can indeed cook the microbes sufficiently to purify. Admittedly it takes a looong burn time to do it, and prefiltering of turbid water would be necessary to make sure the UV light can kill the organisms, but it could be made to work.

Hi Stephen
I was at your wonderful presentation at the Outdoor Adventure Show on Sunday. I was the guy in the front row, way over to the right of you. You can check out my backpacking misadventures at
http://sites.google.com/site/isawtman/

I love those platypus bags, too, But I was backpacking in the Boundary Waters last May and I dropped a cap from one of them on the grassy shoreline of Lake Gogebic. I had a heck of a time finding that cap in the tall grass. Platypus needs to attach the lids like other bottle manufacturers do.

Stephen,

Noticeably absent from your top 10 list this year is The Original Buff. I realize you have to give other products some attention, but you could have at least made a footnote or something for the Buff (cuz I know it’s still your all-time favorite piece of gear).

Stanley – The Buff won years ago. Check this out: http://gearjunkie.com/greatest-gear-of-5-years

Just picked up the Xenon… it seems fantastic, but I’ll weigh in with a real world report after use in the field.

Jerry