Marmot Guide 700 Fill Long Term Review

My friend Sophie brought this jacket for me in 2013 from Germany. Read the original review here. I started using it from 2015. So far I have been to Sandakphu, Chadar, Roopkund and Stok Kangri. This jacket has been through snow fall, rain, minus 30 degree celsius temperatures. It has literally been there done that. 

Therefore I am now qualified enough to write a long term review of the jacket. 

I love this jacket. I cannot imagine going to the Himalayas without it. I have used it as a mid layer, under my Marmot Precip rainwear, as the main jacket, as a pillow in my tent. I have used it in all sorts of applications. And I have always loved owning it.

After the latest Stok Kangri trek where I not only wore it to a height of 6000 meters but also walked in it through snow fall and rain (my rain jacket wasn't with me), I gathered enough courage to wash it.  This is after five years of owning it and wearing it to 4 different treks. I used the Granger liquid soap for that. I was very nervous about it. I thought the down would get all tangled up and never gain back the loft. But it got back to its vintage shape and form in no time when it dried up. Did all the dirt go? No. Most of the marks that I wanted to go are still there. But I think overall the jacket looks cleaner. 

Let me briefly write down what I did so that I myself remember and anyone who wishes to follow in my footsteps finds it easy to follow.

I filled a plastic tumbler with water and poured some Granger liquid in it and stirred it well. After this I soaked the jacket in it. The jacket had a lot of air in it. So it wouldn't sink in the water. From time to time I would carefully turn the jacket inside the water so every square inch got well soaked in the soapy water. 

After a few hours (I guess more than 7/8 hours) I did some very careful hand rubbing of the places where I knew it was dirty without taking the jacket out of the water. Around the cuffs, near the edge of the hood, on the arm etc. I let it soak again. 

Finally I threw the soap water out. It was really dark with dirt. I never took the heavy wet jacket out of the tumbler, like I would if it was a shirt. I filled the tumbler with fresh water again and rinsed the jacket in it so that the soapy water would wash away. After this I quickly took the jacket out of the water and spread it on a thin foam mattress. The idea was to let all the water out of the jacket. Never, ever wring it. Just let it lie flat and let the water go out naturally. Do not even hang it from anywhere. The weight can be dangerous. 

I let the jacket lie like that overnight. In the morning I took to the rooftop where the sun was out in all its glory. Again instead of hanging it I let it lie on the floor. It was still totally wet. I spread it out over a few newspapers. Once the front side was dry, it was turned over. The jacket dried out completely in about 6/8 hours of being in the sun. 

While the jacket was wet, the clumps of down could be felt. I was a little nervous but hopeful that nothing bad would happen. Once it was dry it was back to its old lofty self. Is it cleaner? The dark dirt around the cuffs is still there. But I think overall it looks brighter and cleaner. I will probably clean it again like this after another 4/5 trips to the Himalayas.

I love my Marmot. I hope it lasts forever. 

Black Diamond Walking Sticks

Ready for the expedition

In Chadar I fell down on the frozen river and broke my wrist. Before I could realise I had broken my wrist, I realised I had broken my walking stick. It was an el cheapo unknown stick without a major brand name. It broke somewhere in the middle. Tashi fixed it but I realised that there is more to a walking stick than just being a stick.  

In Amsterdam I had run out of money to buy a pair of sticks. I had bought too many other things. Therefore when Mezda went to the US I got Gublai to buy this pair of Black Diamond sticks for me and used it first during my Stok Kangri trek.

After ten days of using it in the high Himalayan altitude I must say the stick is pretty sturdy. The twist locks could have been a little smoother. The sticks are marked L and R - meaning they are for specific hands. This is not so much about the stick but the wrist band or loop which you wrap around the wrist. One is meant for your left hand while the other for right. I do not really know if it will be a major issue if I didn't use it that way and reversed it. 

Another issue with the wrist band is it is a fixed size of a loop. So in a really cold place if you are using a fat gloves, as I was on the summit day, it might be difficult to slide your hand through it.

Another negative issue - the stick being affordable and commonly available in the west, many other travellers have the exact same thing. In Changma during a tea break another lady confused mine with her. I think I shall put my signature with a black marker pen on my sticks.

Gorilla Tape Camo

Much as I loved using the Marmot Catalyst tent in Stok Kangri (read about it here), I realised the stuffing sack that it comes in is of rather thin material. Perhaps to keep the weight low. But I wasn't too bothered about the weight because the tent was carried by mules and the sack, I found, had a three-inch gash. Lucky that the tent inside was intact and I realised two things from this experience. I need to be more careful about this issue and use sacks that are of thicker material. Second - I need a good tent repair material to be there in my sack, should things go wrong on the way.

After some googling and amazoning I realised that the famous Gorilla tape is now available in India, albeit at a hefty price relative to what they cost in the US. I ordered for one from the Indian Amazon site. It cost me a total of Rs 1100. Outrageous. But if you forget about price, the tape looks and feels like bomb proof.

Gorilla tapes come in different sizes and colours. They have the traditional black. They also have clear tapes. I chose the third option which is the camouflage colour. I am not sure but there might be fourth option of white. Sizes are different in terms of width and length and the price naturally varies accordingly. The size I went for is 1.88 inch wide and 9 yards long, which is fine for me.

The first thing I did is used it to seal the gash on my tent sac. Well, it was easy to do the job. I can pass a judgement only after it is tested over a period of time in rain and shine. Essentially I cleaned the sac around the gash. Cut a strip that is longer than the gash. I held the cloth with a thick newspaper inside and applied the tape. There was no crease or anything. The tape is hand tearable. But I used a pair of scissors. I rounded off the four edges with the scissors, so that the corners don't come up later. I would probably wash it after a few days. That will give me some idea about how it holds after the wash. 

I wanted to also use it to repair the rain cover for the Deuter. It is really badly torn. I had given it as check in baggage and they just tore it apart. I realised the tear is too large for this tape. Must be wider than 2 inches. A gaping hole, to be precise. I think I will get the hole stitched with a patch and then cover it with this tape. Because it is really good as a rain cover.

I cannot use either of these covers when I hand the items over to someone else. Whether it is a horseman in Ladakh or an airline luggage crew in Germany. They are equally bad.

This Gorilla tape is going to be one of the first items I put in my trekking sac if I go anywhere with the tent. Meanwhile, I have to get a more thick material for covering both the tent and the Deuter. I guess I will talk to Alpine in Ballygunge Place.

Getting Ready for Stok

Rab Trek Gaiter

Today the Rab Trek Gaiter that I had bought off Amazon for Rs 2100 arrived. I bought it in size Medium. Good delivery speed. The seller is Trek Kit. They have a website of their own but I preferred to go through Amazon (same price) because their refund policies are great. I have had bad experiences with sellers who directly sell on Amazon (as opposed to the ones who sell through Amazon Fulfilled). 

I tried them on with the Meindl on this evening at home. I bought it now for the anticipated Stok Kangri trek coming up in September. The material is rip stop and seemed good. But it does not mention whether it is a three layered or what. It is certainly not Goretex lined. Therefore it can be assumed that it is not the most top of the line stuff. But I am fine to settle with something that is a little below the top of the line. 

There is a thick Velcroed flap with a push button on top and at the bottom. There is also a good fat zip that runs from top to bottom. The system is such that the closure runs down the shin bone. The strap that you use to buckle up is a rubbery material. I hope it is strong enough. This strap or belt is not fixed to one side with the buckle on the other end. Both the sides are loose. So you can pull it up from either side or both. There is a written advice on both ends to tighten it properly the first time and then trim it off. 

Like a good old middle class person with his typical middle class insecurities, I refuse to cut anything that came OE. I will see how to adjust it from both the ends and ensure that I do not trip on the loose end. 

There is an elastic around the ankle. There is also a rope to tighten it at the top (below the knee). There is a small hook in the front that you attach to the lace of your boots. 

So far so good. I shall see how it performs in Stok. A pair of gaiter is necessary in snow. It can also be worn in any hiking trip to keep the feet protected against loose twigs and pebbles etc. It can also offer some protection against water and help keep the feet dry. The advice is, wear it under the rainwear. 

I will have to observe how water proof it is and how durable it is. I intend to wear it every day while walking in the Himalayas. Not just in snow. During the Roopkund trek they gave me a very basic pair of gaiters. Those were made by Alpine in Calcutta. Hopefully these will be better in terms of look and feel and durability. I would have preferred for Rab to give us a small sack to pack these in. Gaiters tend to get muddy after the trek. So to bring them back home in your regular sack you will need to pack them in a plastic carry bag.

A Travelling Shirt

Of late I have become very fond of these new age technical material for sportswear. One great quality about them that appeals to me is their packability. They can be folded into a small ball and take very little space when you are packing. They are also easy to wash and quick to dry and obviously are very light. I was meaning to get for myself a travelling shirt for quite some time now but was undecided because they cost quite a packet. I already have a pair of cargo trousers from Marmot and a few T-shirts (Under Armour and Max). A shirt would complete the scene.

Two days ago I pulled the trigger on a Columbia travel shirt from their website here. This was with an eye on the forthcoming Stok Kangri trek. It was available at a good discount for Rs 1800. The shirt is yet to reach me. But I can always type down the details here. It's a Silver Ridge Long Sleeve in size medium and colour cypress purchased for Rs 1800 online from the Colombia India online store.

July 30, 2018

After a lot of back and forth mailing the shirt finally came home today. After placing the order they wrote back to me that they don't have my shirt in the size I had ordered. They can offer a coupon code with which I can make another purchase. There was no option for a full refund.

I had half a mind to buy a more expensive shirt (which apart from a superior fabric offers zippered pockets) but when I asked them for a coupon code they went silent. I then realised or assumed that they probably don't have the technology to generate a coupon code. So I ordered the same shirt in size L because I had read in the meanwhile in some online review that the shirts are a bit on the smaller side and one should order for a size higher than regular. This order was promptly answered and the order was executed.

But I have a word or two to say about the packaging. It's terrible. They used a very thin packaging material and packed it tight. I could have easily torn it apart while using my scissors to cut it open. In comparison, Adidas provides such fantastic boxes that we have ended up keeping all three of them. The Columbia brand is in the hands of some ghatia lala in India, for sure.

Now the shirt itself. Very nice cypress colour. Deep green. Size L is perfect for me. Though going by their sizing chart my size should be M. The pocket's closure leaves a lot to be desired. A very small square of a velcro. Also the flap does not fully open as the corner is stiched. The pocket is not meant for keeping anything very important, probably only small change.

There is a mesh vent in the under arm area. We will have to see how effective that is. There is also a loop for rolling up the sleeves.

The fabric is thin making the shirt very light. Very nice Marmot Transcend like feel. Perhaps thinner because that's after all a pair of trousers. Eqully smooth. Looks like water repellant. We shall see about that very soon.

Field Test Report After Stok Kangri

Somewhere outside Stok village

Wore this as a layer over my base layer of mostly black HD Lee during the 2018 September trek to Stok Kangri. The shirt is very light. Has two useful pockets. Packs really small. But one major disadvantage of the shirt is that it takes a relatively long time to dry off, if it gets wet.

Otherwise it's nice. It's not supposed to be a winter hiking shirt. But I used it and it worked fine so far as being a shirt was concerned. Just that the fabric does not have any special water repellant coating, like my Marmot cargo trousers. That dries really fast. This shirt got a bit wet on my penultimate day when I was walking towards Mankarmo from the base camp. Next morning it really took some time to dry out, despite being spread in the sun over a tent. So, possibly I will not buy another of this for trekking. But there is no reason to discard it either. It can be a decent shirt for my long drive trips. 

Long Nose Pliers & Adjustable Spanner

Today I had gone to the Bentinck Street area and took the opportunity to get for myself a pair of Long Nose Pliers (Taparia 1430N 170 mm) and an Adjustable Spanner (Taparia 1171N-8 205 mm). Together they cost me Rs 410. One for Rs 220 and the other for Rs 190. I can't remember which one cost how much. 

I bought them from my tested and trusted small tools supplier - Bhanubhai Desai on the corner of the lane in which you have the ABP office. Taparia is a good brand to go for. But I think the internet offers more choice and better price for these tools vis-a-vis Bhanubhai. Taparia itself has several types of long nose pliers. There is another type whose tips are pointed. Mine are rounded. Then there are various sizes. I am not even talking about various other brands that are available on Amazon or Flipkart. 

This is not really a review of the tools for their performance. Just a diary note to remember when I bought them and for how much. The spanner has a small measuring scale to measure the size of the gap/nut. I wonder if anyone uses it with any serious intent and purpose. But it looks cool. The nut with which you slide the spanner to adjust the size could be smoother. It gets stuck sometimes. It should smoothen up with use. But I don't have daily use of these tools. Specific tools are needed for specific types of work. If the right tool is not there for the right job, the work does not get done. 

The pair of pliers seemed a little small for my grip. The spanner is also not the largest. It's just 8 inches long. Longer would give better leverage but weigh more and take more space if I travel with it.