Gift list 020812

That been said, I try to maintain a “gift list” of things that I know I am wanting, and keep it available for anyone at any time. Well, this comes and goes. I usually get one started several times a year, but I inevitably lose it or something. So I’ve wanted to put one on here, so I can drop/add stuff to it from virtually anywhere. And, here it is:

Outdoors

My outdoor interests fall into 3 categories: canoe, camp, and bike. I have made good progress on the camp part, and want to begin more on the bike and canoe parts.

Camp:The most important items that I need are:

Large backpack – research incomplete – must be large enough capacity for week long, or winter weekend (Gregory has a nice pack, in the 5000-6000 cu.in range, but a complex fit system…)
Sleeping gear – I am waiting as of this writing for a report back from the trade show to see whats new for the coming year. Polarguard Delta will be more commonly available, upgrading from Polarguard 3D fill. I think for now, I will only say that I want the Mountain Hardware 3D upgrade (45 degrees). I plan to buy an MH "big bag" after the new lines come out. The upgrade bag may be spoken for on my gift list, and should be ordered through Sunflower Outdoor in Lawrence, as they have spent considerable time helping me choose.

The above items are needed before I can begin sustainable backcountry camping, and leave “car camping” behind. (The fact that my pantry items are set, is perhaps not suprising). Other items of lower price and lesser importance (but equal attraction) are:

Headlamp – Petzl (brand) Tikka (model) $35
waterfilter – got it
small ditty bag – something to put my "personal gear" in; hygene + playing cards + alarm clock + notebook & pen… I have a Samsonite bag which is just a little too big for this use.
approach shoes – undecided
flute, pipe, wind instrument – I decided other too many people take guitars and harmonicas on camp trips. I want to play a simple flute thing. Should be good quality, and not too big.
Coleman classic Stainless Steel cooler – my father’s is finally wearing out after 30 years. $110
Meridian Platinum GPS receiver/mapper – I picked this model for biggest screen size and most RAM. If you know of better reasons for picking a different model (besides price), I’d be happy with it too, then. $350 + $15 training video.
Oregon Scientific SAME (specific area message encoding) weather radio/alarm – $60
stainless steel flask – for hooch. Just a few snorts. Could fit in the ditty bag above.
heat generating lantern – I can’t decide between the Coleman Exponent Excursion (tiny mantle lantern, $42), or a candle lantern. Good gift idea, either one.

Canoe:The most important item that I need is:

Canoe rack for 95 Dodge Dakota ext.cab $400ish

Since my being able to canoe depends heavily on my truck, I will group some truck items into this list of lesser canoe items:

dry bags – undecided; I need to get all my camping gear before I know what size dry bags.
life jacket – undecided; still shopping.
Mothers brand canauba wax, and Mothers cleaner. Seperate items. Order from their web site. The combined Cleaner Wax leaves white marks on my plastics, thats the only reason I don’t want it.
floor mat for pickup – unimat (all the way across) grey carpet. Needs to have good tread, as I tend to push the carpet all around. I’m hoping that a unimat will help resist that.
Pair of GMRS radios (not just FRS), or a CB. – for long trips. The pair of radios is for talking to caravan buddies. Also for hiking/camping/canoeing buddies.
baby Shop-Vac – what I need is a wet/dry vac for cleaning out the truck, that is small enough to haul up & down my stairs. The baby Shop-vac looks like the right size. I hope its powerful enough.

Bike

I actually need a lot of bike items – paniers, a better bike, etc – but I am again waiting to finish my camp gear so I know what bike gear I need.

Computer/TechI am building my own PC. You can send money for the MB and CPU (and cooling fan), and will buy them last. In the meantime, I’ll need…

Computer case – Model 970AX from circotech.com. Black finish. Its on sale right now with a free upgrade in powersupply. I think someone has vouched for this gift on my list.
cd-rw – undecided. Fast and compatible, internal. Should write all formats. Handy if it reads DVD, too.
DVD-RW – the same unit that Apple uses as OEM is the best bet right now, as being most compatible, etc. But, I haven’t finished my research, so I don’t have the name.
hard drive – fast and compatible. I will be running Linux on my new PC, so if you know it works with RedHat, its probably a good choice. Capacity doesn’t need to be in the terabytes.
monitor – 17″ or bigger, .24 or less dot-pitch. Vertically flat is probably good. Remember I am a graphic designer. I am partial to ViewSonic brand, but any great monitor is a great monitor. Will continue research.
new iMac with the 17" wide flatscreen screen would be nice. It would keep the monster PC I am building company on my desk.
Another tech item would be a mini-disk player/recorder. I plan to use it as a portable hard drive, as well as a music device. Either the Sony MZ-N707BLUE (or BLACK) or the Sony MZ-N1

(cont’d)