Of the two flavors, my favorite is the Honey Almond. I am a sucker for sweeter cereals and this one out sweets the Maple Nut. The flakes are nice and crunchy, even when left sitting in milk for a few minutes. The nut clusters taste great, but I think that they should be smaller in size. The photo below features a big ‘ole chunk of nuts that can really hurt your teeth if you aren’t prepared for it. In the box of Honey Almond that I tested, I found at least 6 nut cluster that were a little over 1.5 inches in diameter. Ouch!

These cereals, like all Bear Naked products are free of artificial flavors or preservatives, contain no cholesterol-hydrogenated oils-or trans fats. High fructose corn syrup is not featured on the label and does not give these grains their kick of sweet. Rather, honey and evaporated cane juice give this cereal it sweetness. If you have eliminated sweets from your diet, then this cereal may be a bit much for you with 11 grams of sugar. One of my other favorite cereals, Kashi’s GoLean Crunch also contains 11 grams of sugar, so don’t be too fooled.

The Bear Naked Nut Cluster also contains 22 grams of whole grains and 3-4 grams of dietary fiber, depending on the flavor, and 4 grams of protein. These values are on par with some of Kashi’s and Cascadia Farms’ offerings, coming in a tad lower with the dietary fiber.

The cereal retails for $4.49/box and carries a higher price tag than some of its’ competitors. However, if you are a coupon cutter or know when to look for deals, I am sure you can find it for lower. The box I have offers a 75 cents off coupon, not bad. Available at your local Target.

There are two options that you can choose from when drinking out of the GSI Stainless Steel Wine Glasses. You can choose the more traditional wine glass with a detachable plastic stem or you can choose the increasingly popular stemless wine glass.  For camping, I prefer the stemless wine glass as there aren’t many even surfaces around the campground for you to place your wine glass on.  Without the stem, you get a little more stability.  For whatever reason, I have really grown to like the stemless wine glasses vs. the stemmed wine  glasses, but that may just be a personal preference.  If stems are more your style, the GSI stemmed Stainless Steel wine glass is a cool option.  One thing that’s nice about the stem is that it unscrews and fits inside the wine glass, making it compact and break resistant while traveling and packing.

The stemmed GSI Stainless Steel wine glass weighs in at 4.7 oz. while the stemless wine glass weighs in at 2.9 oz.  So if you are worried about weight for backpacking, stemless might be a better option.  Each glass can hold 10 oz. of fluid, so there is plenty of room for your wine and room for swirling the wine to help it breathe and activate its flavors.  The stemless GSI wine glass retails for $10 and the stemmed GSI wine glass retails for $13.  I think these are fair prices for what you can, especially since they don’t break like glass wine glasses do.  For more information on the GSI Stainless Steel wine glasses, please visit GSIoutdoors.com

If you love to cook and love to camp like I do, finding a nice camp stove that fits all your needs isn’t always the easiest thing to do.  The Primus Profile Duo is the best car camping stove I have ever used! For starters, I am a big grill person. Anytime I can grill up my food, I am a much happier camper, whether I am camping or at home doing a little grilling with a nice cold micro-brew.

I’ve cooked a number of different foods on the Primus Profile Duo including, hot dogs, sausages, steaks, chicken, and vegetables.  The Profile Duo uses propane as its fuel source and after 2 minutes after firing up the grill, the grate is piping hot and sears in the flavors in whatever you are cooking.  This is especially nice when you want to cook red meat and want to cook a steak or burger medium rare to medium.  You want to get some nice grill marks on the steak and seal in the flavors, but you don’t want the meat to cook too fast on the inside.  I cooked 4 New York Strips on the Profile Duo with a request of medium rare to medium and the steaks turned out perfect.  This is not something you generally expect from a camping cook stove.  If you need to cook something a little slower, the grill flame gets much lower, this way you won’t burn whatever it is you are cooking.  That said, when I’m not using my charcoal Weber grill, I am definitely using my Primus Profile Duo.

The Primus Profile Duo comes with an automatic start, so all you need to do is turn on the gas and turn the red knob to get a spark and the flame pops right up.  Simple as that, no throwing matches into the grill hoping for a miracle.  The Duo has a burner that you can use to boil water, cook up some eggs or bacon in the morning, or just about anything you would use a stove burner for.  The grill grate is lightweight and non-stick, so after doing your grilling, it’s super easy to clean off.  Beware; I would not use a metal brush on this grate as this will scratch the non-stick surface.  If you are cooking something greasy or drips a lot of liquid, there is a drip pan in the bottom that you can empty out once the grill has cooled down.  This way all your grill droppings are in one compact place.  For wind protection and to help keep up the lid, there are two folding shields on each side of the grill.  When you’re done grilling, the top folds down making the Primus Profile Duo compact and easy to transport.

The uses that I think would be good for the Profile Duo include; car camping, tailgating, people living in apartments with grill restrictions, and those who are limited with space.  The price of the Primus Duo camping stove retails for $120 and is worth every penny.  I have friends that have similar camp stoves by other brands that are 40+ years old and have been handed down in the family.  So as long as you treat the stove nicely, I am thinking you can get your money’s worth.  For more information, please visit PrimusCamping.com

The first thing that strikes you when you take the Hybrid Trail Cookset out of the box is the incredible weight or lack there of. The pot and pan, bowl, and spork total 7.9 oz! Titanium alloy is really one of the best materials to bring to the backpacking world because of its low weight and nearly indestructibility. By using titanium, snow peak was able to make a very thin pot and pan that will still be able to take a beating. I really liked how the bowl nests inside the pot and the pan caps off the set on top, making a compact package. You can fit a backpacking stove like the snow peak Gigapower or a canister of fuel inside the set.

Because of the capacity, the Hybrid Trail Cookset is probably best as a solo cooking set or for people who don’t mind cooking portions separately. The pot has a capacity of 26 fl oz while the pan has 14 fl oz. This is enough to boil water for about a serving and a half and the pan can only hold two eggs if squeezed in.

To test the cooking performance of the Hybrid Trail Cookset, I filled it with water and tested the boiling time with my snow peak Gigapower Stove. The 25 oz’s of water hit boiling at 3 min. 28 seconds, which is plenty fast for me. The extremely thin construction of the titanium pot and pan allow for very quick and efficient heat transfer. However, the thinness can also be a bit of a downside because it isn’t as even of a heat spread as a thicker metal would provide. This is definitely one of the tradeoffs with lightweight titanium cookware. I cooked up a few pieces of bacon in the pan/ lid and was happy with the results.

As far as cleaning goes, there was a caked on residue from the bacon cooking that took a bit of work to remove. Because the titanium is not treated with any non-stick surface, a little bit of elbow grease is required for cleaning. I filled the pan with water, boiled it, and then used a mini scraper from GSI Outdoors to scrape off the carbon residue.

I would have been quite satisfied with just the pot and pan set but snow peak includes a silicone bowl that serves multiple purposes. The bowl nests neatly inside the pot and is capable of withstanding very high heat up to 400 degrees. It can be used as a bowl or cup depending on how you handle it and it always returns to its original shape. It is food-grade silicone and cleans really easily.

Finally, the set comes with a titanium mini-spork that I absolutely loved. To be honest, all you really need for backpacking food consumption is a good spork and this extremely light-weight and durable one does a perfect job.

Overall, I found the Hybrid Trail Cookset from snow peak to be a great lightweight backpacking cookset. It will definitely be in my pack for most trips and I recommend checking it out yourself.  For more information on the snow peak Hybrid Trail Cookset, please visit SnowPeak.com

As re-usable water bottles become abundant on store shelves and new water bottle companies are popping up like weeds, we feel there needs to be a way to cut through the clutter.  Often times, we are approached by several water bottle companies for review and while we do find some of the companies worthy, Stanley has been one of our favorites.  Stanley has been a household name for many decades for people wanting to keep their coffee or soup warm throughout the day.  When I heard about Stanley reinventing the brand a few years ago by offering new product lines, I was skeptical.  Having an interest and passion for the outdoor and active lifestyle, I had no interest in a thermos that was bulky and heavy with new colors.

For two years now, we have been testing out a number of Stanley products and the brand has truly made a change worth talking about.  Some of the products we have been testing include; Nineteen13 1-handed water bottle, Ink recycled mug and travel mug, Ink Flask, Tea Infuser (my favorite), Carbonated Drink Bottle, Two Stage eCycle mug, Earth Friendly Man Lunch, and Two Cup Vacuum Bottle.  As you might notice, we have been able to test out a number of the Stanley products over time.

For our recent test, we decided to take all of our Stanley products up with us on a hut trip to see if they can stand up to the active lifestyle above 11,000 ft.   One of the newer products by Stanley is the earth friendly man lunch box.  This is nice in case you have chips or crackers that you don’t want smashed or a sandwich that you don’t want smushed.  With its’ hard shell, this lunch box will keep pretty much all your food protected.  It has a nice tight closure, so you don’t need to worry about the box opening up in your pack.  (in case you are wondering if you could use this to keep your food away from bears, the answer is no!)  I really liked the fact that it was compact, but it still was able to hold enough food for a day out.  The shape also lends itself nicely to fit into a pack versus a square lunch container that is too boxy.

The Tea Infuser which is my favorite is amazing!  If you are a tea drinker like myself, you like both loose leave tea along with pre-bagged tea.  The tea infuser allows you to place your loose leaf tea into a tight knit wire basket that adjust to lift in and out of your hot water.  This is nice if you life to make your tea leaves last more than one cup.  The top of the tea infuser is pretty beafy and might add a couple ounces, but I am still a huge fan!  If there was any Stanley product in my collection, the tea infuser is by far the most used product.  Please note, if you are a coffee drinking, this can also work for coffee.

The 1-handed Nineteen13 water bottle is a stainless steal bottle that allows water out of the bottle by pushing in a button and to keep water from exiting, you just let go of the button.  This bottle is probably the least favorite out of all the Stanley bottles I tested.  The folks at Stanley saw me drinking out of your standard plastic squeeze bottle and thought their product was a better solution.  I personally like the idea of being able control the amount of water that is coming out of the bottle.  With the push button, you get a pretty weak flow and when I am thirsty, I would much rather prefer a squeeze bottle. This bottle is targeted towards the cycling market, but if on a bike, I think time on my handlebars is precise, especially if you are in traffic.  If you care more about the style element, this bottle does look pretty sweat.

The other Stanley product that made the top of our list is the Two Stage eCycle  Mug.  In this mug, you get a stainless steal outer that acts as a separate wall to keep the mug insulated.  If by chance you need another mug, the stainless steel outer shell separates from the plastic inner mug.  This is nice if you are trying to keep flavors separate but don’t want to take two mugs along.  Example; if you are drinking tequila at night and coffee in the morning, you typically don’t want to mix flavors… Speaking of drinking, if you want to store your liquor separate, Stanley has a pretty stylish flask.  The flask came in handy to store peppermint schnapps on our recent hut trip.

Overall, we have been pretty excited to use most all our Stanley products.  Whenever we are out and about carrying around our Stanley mugs, we are always getting compliments on how cool they look.  If you have a soft spot in your heart for the environment (which you should), most all Stanley products are made out of recycled materials and many are recyclable when the time comes to get a new one.  So if you’re trying to decide between the millions of reusable mugs on the market, I would highly suggest most the products we have tested by Stanley.  For more information, please visit ShopStanley-PMI.com

Spork? For some of you, this word may be a tad foreign. However, Light My Fire is attempting to make the word and their product, sporks, a household, or shall I say campground favorite. Light My Fire hired Scandinavian designer Joachim Nordwal to aid in product development.  The end result, an extremely handy combination of a spoon, fork, and knife; each spork has a spoon on one edged and a knife on the opposite side (see photo above). This combo allows you to to decrease the number of utensils you have to keep track of in your pack, decrease dish washing time after supper, and ultimately decrease the amount of weight (even if just ounces) that you carry out on the trail-off to work-or while on a picnic.

These sporks are heat resistant, which we can attest to. We washed our sporks multiple times in the dishwasher and utilized the heat dry setting and they came out looking just like new.  We also have used the sporks to aid with our campground cooking of mashed potatoes and stirring various other hot, or near boiling liquids.  Each time, the spork retained its’ sleek shape. The sporks also are quite durable and have survived their time in the bottom of a pack, as well as some bending back and forth at home.

Light My Fire’s sporks come in 19 colors in the plastic model and is also available in a titanium version. The sporks also come in a variety of sizes. The Little Spork, the smallest, states that it is good for toddlers and those with small hands.  I personally loved the little spork for eating my yogurt and salad while at work because it is compact, reusable, and came in 3 fun colors. The Little Spork does not actually have a knife edge on it, making it safer for little ones; the prongs that act like a fork seem a bit sharp for super young ones, use your own judgment. The Adult Spork is a tad larger, see below for specs, and features the knife edge; we used the Adult Spork as a cooking and eating utensil. The Spork XM is the supped up spork, featuring greater durability, surface area, length, and the sharpest cutting edge.  With that said, the knife will not be cutting any cans, but can easily handle peaches, pears, some veggies, and even a baguette if you are patient. The extra length keeps your hands clean and protected and is great for stirring and turning items on the grill. Overall, a fun new addition to our camp kitchen.

For more information on the spork options and other creative products, please check LightMyFireUSA.com

Water bottles are all the craze these days.  Each and every company puts a different spin on delivering water to you via the following features: BPA free, stainless steel, extra cool, seal proof lid, carbonation safe, and the list goes on and on.  Clean Bottle puts an entirely different spin to your typical bike bottle by touting that they are 100% leak proof despite having your typical screw off top, while also having a screw off bottom.  The screw off bottom is designed to allow you to truly clean every nook and cranny of the water bottle, thus eliminating the nasty gunk that tends to build up in plastic bottles.

We are all about trying new things and were excited to see how a bottle with two points for potential leaking would perform over time.  After 2-3 months of serious use on the bike, in a backpack on a hike, or simply around town, we have yet to have any top or bottom leaking.  I like to use various powder mixes for energy or recovery drinks and have found the Clean Bottle a great go to bottle because I know that once I am done with my orange flavored beverage, I can throw the bottle in the dishwasher and don’t have to wait for the bottle to lose that orange taste in the next couple of days, which I normally do with my old plain plastic bottles.  The top, bottom, and body of the bottle are top rack dishwasher safe and I have yet to encounter any melting or loss of seal.

Clean Bottle is made of a stiffer plastic which may be great for the longevity of the bottle, but it also makes drinking from the bottle a tad harder.  To get the flow of fluid going you have to put a little more squeeze into it with your hand.  This wasn’t a major deal breaker for us, but at the end of a super long ride I may beg to differ.  The Clean Bottle is also a tad smaller, holding 22 ounces and not your typical 24 ounces.  Once again, not a deal breaker.  The bottle fits easily into every backpack side stash we tried and all the bike cages we have on our bikes as well.

As a bonus, Clean Bottle donates 10% of their profits to cycling and eco friendly organizations, which is pretty cool.  With an MSRP of 9.95 and a special deal if you buy 4, Clean Bottle may be a nice change from the freebie water bottles we all have from various races!

As a value shopper I like to get the most bang for my buck.  I typically buy the largest bottle of shampoo, conditioner, sunscreen, lotion, hand sanitizer, and camp soap because it is the best value when broken down by price per ounce.  The bad thing about buying in bulk is that when you are constantly traveling, on and off the trail, bulky items are not your friend.  Space saving travel bottles, or accumulating hotel freebies, becomes the way to go. Fortunately, the inventors at Humangear have added an incredibly valuable solution to my quandary, GoToobs!

GoToobs are easy to refill-wash-and use travel bottles made from a super soft silicone, that is easy to squeeze even the last bit of the tubes comes out.  The silicone is BPA and PC free, approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the carrying of food products. GoToobs are equipped with a one way “no drip” valve which allows you to squeeze out just the amount of product that you want.  The less dense the lotion or product, the lighter I recommend that you squeeze, otherwise the product will not just squeeze out, it will shoot out!

The best feature of the GoToob is the wide mouth of the bottle and the ease of refilling the bottle with each use.  The bottles or toobs, I should say, are also super easy to clean, giving you the ability to put different products inside and not having to buy a ton of containers: the tube and collar are dishwasher safe in the upper rack, while the flip cap can be easily washed by hand in warm water. My GoToobs have been through the dishwasher 2-3 times so far and they have come out looking like new.  I was not afraid to put ketchup in my larger tube after carrying shampoo for the last 2 trips out of town. Another nifty feature to highlight is the inclusion of different labels on the collar.  Simply twist the collar to the desired label, for instance shampoo, and twist on the cap.  I loved this feature, but the lack of space at the collar does not allow for the vast number of contents the GoToob may carry in its lifetime.  I think I can live with that and use the back up color coding method, as the tubes come in 4 colors: pink/red, green, blue, and clear.

The GoToobs come in three sizes to help meet your needs (see the chart below)  Even the largest one (pictured above), which carries 3 ounces, meets the 3 ounce rule while flying.  Speaking of flying, I used the GoToobs at elevation and stowed them in my carry-on during a recent trip; I am happy to report that there was no “burping”, leaking, or exploding within the bottle, which commonly happens at altitude. The medium size, which I used for my shampoo, has a suction cup that is great for traveling and when you want to have free hands and don’t want to put your tube on the unsightly shower bottom. The suction stayed on for an entire 24 hour period, which I was pretty impressed with.  I think its’ success had to do with the bathrooms extreme humidity.

I had only 2 complaints, which were not deal breakers for me and should not be for you, the GoToobs seem to attract lint and fuzzies from Kleenex, fleece etc. and water can get stuck in the lid if not properly dried out.  I can’t do anything to fix the fuzzy problem, but placing the GoToobs in a separate stash compartment should do the trick.  Also, simply shaking out the water or using a bit of towel to dry the inside before putting it back in your pack after use in the shower is also a good idea. I did not have a leaking problem or hand sanitizer or sunscreen, which I didn’t take into the shower with me.

The GoToob is going to become a regular for my upcoming backpacking trips and out of town family visits. They are extremely easy to use, seem durable, and can be used in a variety of scenarios.  Don’t be swayed by the price tag, as you are getting a great product that you can rely on.

MSRP ranges from 6.45 for and individual small GoToob to $24.95 for a set of 3 large GoToobs.  For more information, please visit Humangear.com

Recommended for:

Shampoos, Conditioners, Lotions, Suntan Oil, Liquid Soaps, Condiments (ketchup, cooking oil, etc.), Hand-sanitizer, Body wash, secret sauce, magic potions, and many other low and medium viscosity fluids.

NOT recommended for:

Pressurized products like shaving cream/gels/foams (in metal or hard-plastic cans),Contact lens solution, BioSilk detangler, Moroccan Oil hair treatment, Some essential oils, “Gloss Serum” by Organic Control Systems, Clinique “Take Your Day Off” Makeup Remover, Liquid Stevia, Nature’s Gift Calendula Repair Cream, Bumble and Bumble Finishing Balm, Neutrogena Sesame Oil, Some Japanese watery-dries-to-powdery sunscreens,Charmar Land & Cattle Cowboy Magic Detangler Shine, and Hydrochloric Acid (duh).

Heading for a hike or a day at the zoo? Maybe you are looking for some slim storage for the pantry or for camping? Then these are the containers for you.

We first used these containers to bring snacks to go. The slim design is great for bringing nuts or other snacks to work or even on a hike as the container takes up very little space. The container even kept the carob chips from melting in our trail mix while it sat in the front seat of the car.

The 10oz size and two way lid allows for or small or big munching snacking and is great for portion control. Easy to open even for a toddler, we also noticed that the containers stayed closed and can handle a little bang up from a drop on the floor.

Besides snacking, we used the containers in replacement of a plastic bag for buying bulk. We kept another plastic bag out of the landfill and also kept from buying too much of those expensive items like pine nuts. The nestable containers also are great for slim pantry storage we experienced for ground coffee and flax seeds.

Another great feature about this Aladdin product is that they are microwave and dishwasher safe for easy heating or reheating and easy washing.

The Aladdin Recycled and Recyclable Snack containers cost $7.00 a piece and come in Chalkboard, Lily or Lake. For more info on the line of Aladdin portable food containers go to aladdin-pmi.com

A light weight camp stove is a must for any traveler that wants to go fast and pack as little as possible. However, it has to work or the consequence can be serious. M.S.R. has been making stoves and other cookware for 40 years and they know that keeping things simple is the best way to ensure they work.

The SuperFly is about as easy as it gets. It works with most self sealing canisters, the kind found at any outdoors store. The SuperFly isn’t really a stove so much as it is a small gas regulator with four pot stabilizers on top. The gas is regulated by a small but sturdy rotating arm that folds down when not in use.

To get the stove going simply slide it over your canister and screw it down tight. Turn the arm to get the gas flowing slowly. Then it’s a matter of using a lighter or match to ignite the gas. M.S.R. makes a version of this stove that has an automatic lighting function, but I prefer the old fashioned method due to it’s reliability. Once you have a flame going you simply regulate the temperature by turning the arm.

The four pot stabilizers do a good job of keeping your meal steady and cooking. They are a bit on the small side, so large pots may not work or may require a bit more attention. That said if you are using the SuperFly stove you are probably using a smaller pot anyway.

In actual use the SuperFly brings water to a boil in a reasonable amount of time. Since most of my camping is done at or above 9,000 ft. I don’t expect quick boiling times. On the M.S.R. website the boil time is listed at 3 minutes and I can believe that. Temperature regulation was reasonable. I don’t try to get fancy and do a lot of simmering or sautéing when in the field, it’s more of a boil and turn it down a bit style for me. For your basic backcountry meals the SuperFly has enough adjustment to keep you from burning your dinner.

When you’re done cooking clean up and storage is simple. Just let it cool, unscrew it from the canister, and slide the stabilizers together. Again, it couldn’t be easier.

Packed weight is only 5.9 ounces. The storage sack provided is the perfect size for the stove, a canister, a lighter and some utensils. Having everything in one place makes it easy to get dinner started when time is of the essence.

A good cook stove is one of the most important pieces of equipment you can own. Being able to cook a good meal quickly and easily can make or break a camping trip. For those that travel solo or as a pair the SuperFly is a great choice when it comes to your cooking stove. Light, small and reliable, it simply gets the job done. To see this and other products from M.S.R. go to www.msrgear.com.

MSRP- $59.95