No. It flippin isn’t. Some days are awesome, other days are a pain in the ass, and it’s still nice to unplug every now and again.

So I went solo backpacking across Costa Rica, saw the capital, the Pacific coast, the cloud forests, volcanoes, and the Caribbean coast. It was a good time, and I’d go back again. Because I’m a work-a-holic, I also couldn’t resist visiting a gun shop, snapping some photos, and writing about the gear I used on the trail…

What did you take?

For two weeks, I lived out of this rucksack. The Tasmanian Tiger Mission bag was large enough to hold all my gear, but small enough that I could still sit with it on the bus rather than stash it underneath. I met two Canadian’s from Ottawa who had their bag stolen this way, so I definitely felt vindicated for my obsessive “kit never leaves my side” mentality. Additionally the two main pockets feature some simple internal divisions that let me make sure things like the umbrella, camera, and binos were always in the same place when I looked for them.

From a security standpoint, it was great to be able to lock the main compartments of the bag at the zippers, and still have an accessible rear pocket for little “need it now” bits like maps, guides, paperback books etc. The isolated vented pocket was also great for transporting damp clothing. Things don’t dry out in Costa Rica, but they do start to smell if you don’t give them some air. Having multiple handles on the top & sides of the pack also makes a big difference when you’re frequently shouldering & unshouldering, or shifting all your worldly possessions around you while you wait for a taxi-boat that may or may not be coming.

Because I am the hugest nerd you know, I also opted to take a wide-brim hat with me into the rainforests. The Tilley Had is Canadian-made, easily the most money I’ve ever spent on a hat ($80) and the most comfortable thing I’ve ever worn on my head. Tilley is pretty good at explaining themselves for why they think they’re hat is awesome, and I honestly was a little skeptical when I first put my money down.

But for field use: I’ve never had such a good solution for sun & rain. The wind cord only came into play once, and I was damn glad I had it.

I was there in rainy season, so the travel umbrella, pack cover, and stealth suit raincoat saw almost daily use. The stealth suit is easily one of the simplest pieces of kit I own, but damned handy. Made by Peerless Garments in Winnipeg, it’s an adaptation of the Canadian Forces goretex liner, converted into a standalone garment. Are there better pieces of technical clothing? Undoubtedly. But the stealth jacket offers a light, compact rain jacket that’s a step above the “pocket ponchos” that inevitably before stuffy suffocating feeling garments. Even when walking several kms in a heavy downpour with ambient temperature around 24 degrees C, the stealth suit was comfortable.

In the world of the Canadian Forces, apparently the stealth suit is designed to be worn under garments as an additional waterproofing layer, which explains why it has no pockets. I used it as a quick-on quick-off rain layer that I could store next to the pack-cover in the bottom of the mission bag. The rain could be threatening for hours, then start and stop at the drop of a hat.

What did you do?

Appropriately touristy things. I ziplined, I learned to surf, I kayaked the coast and mangrove swamps, I explored the cloud forest, I skinny dipped, I spent a lovely weekend at a lovely country house, I read paperback books, I drank in bars, I met a good many interesting people, I saw a wealth of wildlife. I intentionally tried to live outside the camera for a while, do more seeing with my eyes and focus less on capturing the experience.

Because really, I want a vacation to be about enjoying that time and place, not recording every moment to bring back and post-hashtag-share with you. No offense.

I also saw a sloth up close and personal. Bask in its glory.

What route did you follow?

I figured with 2 weeks, I wanted to see some of the country, but probably couldn’t manage all of the country. I booked spaces through AirBnB, which meant if I wanted to change my schedule at the last minute, I wouldn’t lose more than $20-30 a night. My first day I stayed in Alajuela and explored San Jose, then visited Jaco on the Pacific coast. I found Jaco very touristy (a town made up entirely of hotels, bars, and trinket shops) and left early in favor of Monteverde. The cloud forests and night tours of Santa Elena & Monteverde were fantastic, and I would definitely go back.

After 3 days there, I took a boat across Lake Arenal to La Fortuna at the base of the volcano. The hot springs in La Fortuna far exceeded my expectations based on previous visits to Canadian hotsprings. The addition of natural stones and a full bar cannot be understated. A weekend around the pool at a San Carlos country house rounded out an excellent time in the interior.

After that it was a long bus ride to Cahuita, a Caribbean coast town south of the port city of Limon (a place foreigners should take caution in) and on the North side of the national park that ends in Puerto Viejo. The Caribbean coast was a much more relaxed environment, and after one night in a slightly uncomfortable AirBnB, I opted to splurge and booked into a guest house run by a Quebecois couple. It was a good choice to round out the trip. I could easily spend closer to a full week on the Caribbean coast, and would love to paddle down across the national park.

But what about the guns man?

In San Jose, while looking for the pre-columbian gold museum (it’s underground) I stumbled upon a tiny gun shop downtown called Armeria Rex. Which is as good a name for a gun store as I can possibly imagine. Inside, their stock was almost exclusively handguns and handgun accessories, with a small selection of shotguns. Firearms are almost exclusively for home defense down there (crime is an issue, particularly in the capital and some poorer neighbourhoods) and once you’ve acquired the proper license to own a firearm, that doubles as your license to carry it.

While the salesman there explained that they have substantial taxes when importing, they can bring in firearms from all over the world. The entire country seems to work on a dual currency system of Costa Rican Colones and US Dollars, and this shop was no exception. They’re prices weren’t nearly as ridiculous as I was expecting. Ballpark $600 for a Baretta M9. And only $700 for the Vz61 that caught my eye. This Vz61 was a milsurp retrofit that had it’s full auto components welded up. It was the only “rifle-like” thing in the shop in that it had it’s folding stock intact. They also sold 32 ACP ammunition there, as well as a wide range of holsters and general sporting goods.

I noticed a wide variety of armed guards across the country, from everything to generic security at the local super market, to the Federal police checkpoints with full plate carriers. Drop leg holsters are still very popular down there, and I noticed a handful of insecurely retained handguns. Lots of Jericho pistols, Browning Hi-Powers, and Beretta Px4s. Not nearly as many Glocks as I would have guessed.

Apparently its possible for a foreign resident to legally acquire their firearms certificate down there and carry concealed. Only sanctioned police and security can carry openly. Personally I know a few friends who winter down there and would be very curious to learn more about that process.

We now resume your regularly scheduled Canadian firearms content…

The Lastenkraxe is substantially more robust than some of the other frame packs I’ve handled, using a fixed step at the base of the pack. There are many mounting points to attach either the Tatonka pack, or any oddly shaped or oversized gear that necessitates the frame system.

I found the carry system to be really solid on this pack. As a lightly built person I will always choose a more adjustable pack over one that “fits most.” Tatonka uses the V2 system, which fits similarly to an eberlestock, but without the weight those packs are notorious for.

One of the major advantages of the Lastenkraxe that I go through in the video is the ability to stand the pack upright on its frame. Unlike many packs that lie flat or slump, the Lastenkraxe can be firmly planted and won’t topple over. I find this especially useful in the camp when I am often looking for something like a bin I can take things in and out of. I like to keep a tidy site, and gear spread all over is gear that could easily get left behind, so the lastenkraxe offers an almost laundry bin like ability to keep things easily organized.

Rather than having to unzip and delve into pockets, the Lastenkraxe has a simple fold down top that covers the pack, but keeps it easy to get into and out.

If there is a short-coming of this pack, its that same lack of organizational pockets. There is one large bucket, and then three midsized flaps on the outside of the pack. But those exterior pockets don’t fasten shut, and there’s very little organization for smaller things.

Personally I use those external pockets to carry long items like axes or tripods that are good to have accessible and would be awkward to store inside, but I can see why some people might want more options when it comes to small compartments.

The Lastenkraxe will definitely stay on as my go-to heavy pack for years to come.

I on the other-hand consider myself a dedicated outdoors person. Its not uncommon for me to camp alone, earlier and later in the season than most people, and with only the necessities of equipment.

Drumheller Badlands

At the end of August we went into the badlands of Drumheller to hike and spend the night. I thought I’d ease her into the experience by staying in a structured camp-ground where we could park the car and would have a fire pit. I have to confess that I have always considered this sort of camping cheating: where 90% of your home comforts come with you and there’s a convenience store 20 minutes down the road to cover that last 10%.

So I was pleased when afterwards she suggested: “Next time lets go somewhere with less dogs and kids. A little further out?”

That meant going the opposite direction the next weekend: West into Kananaskis Country, leaving the car and hiking down a washed out trail to camp beside a remote creek.

It would be a test for Jess, who had never done truly “on-our-own” camping and a test for some the new equipment I’d picked up recently.

Tatonka Lastenkraxe and Tasmanian Tiger G82

With a few years at Wholesale Sports under my belt, and healthy addiction to gear, there is always new kit coming in and out of my closet. But the new additions this time filled a niche I’d been sorely lacking in: dedicated, full sized rucksacks for heavy loads and long hauls. I wound up with two packs, both from Tasmanian Tiger/Tatonka. Tasmanian Tiger is the military tactical branch of German-based Tatonka, but both lines are manufactured in the same plant.

We loaded and carried the Tatonka Lastenkraxe frame pack, and the  Tasmanian Tiger G82 rifle-transport pack.

Asolo Ptarmigan 3

The Lastenkraxe Frame Pack on the left and Tasmanian Tiger G82 laying down

With the much lighter Lasternkraxe on my back, it was a pleasant hike till we came to the creek and settled on a spot to set up. After assembling the tent, and making a quick and easy meal of soup heated on a pocket-lite stove, we went back for the G82. Once again, being able to unzip the two side compartments and assemble them into a smaller third pack meant that Jess could take some weight off my back by carrying the water and the shooting gear, while the core of the G82 kept the rifle and sleeping bags on my shoulders.That night we discovered something simple but incredibly handy about the Lastenkraxe: its metal frame allows it to stand upright, even when almost empty. The ability to use this pack almost like a laundry bin while in camp was really quite valuable. Because the Ptarmigan is a fairly small tent, we tried not to put too much extra gear inside. Instead, anything thats underfoot and needs to be stored can be easily dropped in the upright Lastenkraxe, and retrieved again without having to unzip and disassemble anything.That’s the sort of feature that puts a pack on the top of my “to bring list”, especially on trips that involve staying in one place for a couple of days. Using the upright Lastenkraxe as a free-standing filing cabinet is much easier trying to lean packs against trees and digging through layers of pockets.The Lastenkraxe pack is actually a separate part, with the frame and carry system as the core of the unit. This squared frame is designed to move things that would normally be difficult to carry, like loads of wood or barrels, and I’m looking forward to testing out this more universal carry system.It was reasonably warm for Early September in Alberta. No snow or frost overnight, just an early morning chill and some light dew. I am always cautious of the weather at this time of year. I end up packing a lot of extra warm gear in case things change quickly. For the first time we’d brought along instant-heat gel packs, in case the morning was too cold. I didn’t feel like I needed them, but they were a bit of extra comfort that makes getting up in the morning that much more bearable.