Jolly Gear Sun Hoodie Review, Sounds that Trigger Happiness, and Water Filter Science

Charlie

To the bonus segment. To be honest with you, I forgot to play pair of special segments, so I'm just going to move the sun hoodie over to the bonus segment. That's how we do things here at Backpacker Radio is half ass and last minute. We've been so preoccupied with beignet and just generally getting fat around town and the weather. The weather, yeah. Oh, yeah. We'll get to that in the question of the day in a second. But this is a sun hoodie that has been mentioned more than any other sun hoodie in the world of backpacking by a lot on this podcast. And of course, just around the world is the Jolly Gearson hoodie. We've had Jolly on the podcast twice, so I should be upfront about the fact that I'm obviously a very biased person here. If I hated this thing, I would not tell you guys because I like Jolly so much. I can also say with a very genuine, authentic heart here that I do really like this piece quite a bit, but if I didn't, you wouldn't know about it.

Katie

I feel like it's hard to meet Jolly and then say anything negative about anything.

Charlie

Honestly, I think that's part of the brand too. Is like, he is such a sweet, jolly guy. He comes by his name very honestly, for sure. But I have worn the Jolly quite a bit on trail both in like this formal testing phase for the series and prior to that. And I'm going to go through the features that I really like about it. One that doesn't apply to me, that I know is a very much appreciated feature is the pony.

Katie

That's huge.

Charlie

The ponytail hole in the back. Unfortunately, my hair doesn't grow enough to test that feature. But I know obviously many ladies, and anyone obviously with long haired guys too, are a big fan of that. Jolly is a ponytail hammer himself. This is a crucial feature I'm learning for all sun hoodies is that if the hood itself is too big and light, there's really nothing stopping it from just blowing off your head. This was the issue that I ran into with the Kettle Mountain no Fry sun hoodie, which is like an incredibly popular sun hoodie. And I don't understand it because I wasn't able to get it stay in my head for even a second.

Katie

How often are you keeping the hood all the way up? Because I guess maybe I've never hiked with one with a ponytail slit like that, but it just gets too hot on my neck with my hair.

Charlie

Yeah. I feel like for the purpose of doing this series like, if I'm not going to have the hood up, what the fuck is the point of testing how it's done? Hoodies.

Katie

Fair enough. But when you're just regular backpacking.

Charlie

Yeah. This goes back to the foundation of this series altogether, which is I'm either very well qualified or poor, poorly qualified for the series because I don't really love the category of sun hoodies for the exact reason that you're touching on. I get hot really easily, but I've also had skin cancer, so I have to find out some system to either shade myself or just douse myself in chemicals.

Katie

And you're also the one that poo poos the sun umbrellas. Or are you the one that really likes it?

Charlie

I'm very pro.

Katie

I knew one of you. Is it chance that doesn't like them?

Charlie

She thinks they look stupid.

Katie

Oh, they do look stupid.

Charlie

But that's okay.

Katie

I'm still going to carry one.

Charlie

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. But yes, for the purpose of, like running, having the little draw cord around the edge of the hood here, it's crucial. Like, I haven't had any issue with this flying off as long as this is cinched down. Obviously when it is cinched down, it's going to sit a little bit more tight. So you're going to trap in even more heat that way. But that's the trade off that you have to make to actually keep your hood on. Yeah. I just don't understand the sun hoodies where you don't either have like some sort of weight at the front or some cinch system. And a lot of the hoodies, I'm realizing, don't have either of those.

Katie

So I'm realizing now what I usually do in really windy conditions is I put my hat on over the hood.

Charlie

I've seen that quite a bit.

Katie

It's not fun.

Charlie

And that's too hot for me. Yeah, Like, I want. I need some airflow between my head and I know I'm wearing a hat too, but like between my head and the hood because. Yeah, I just overheat so quickly. So the hood system here is really nice. Um, the other feature I like is the sizing of this. So the medium on me wears very large. Uh, I'm generally between a medium and a large. I have a feeling I'd be swimming in a large on this. Um, but I like this because, like other sun hoodies I've tested where they're like an athletic cut, having the sleeves be slightly too short. Like, if you extend your arms as you're doing Frequently with trekking poles. And like the it going above your wrist level is insane to me. Like you're not doing the sole thing that a sun hoodie is supposed to be doing, which is protecting your skin. No issue with that on this one. Plenty of length with it. Even with your thumbs through the thumb holes. The thumb holes are appropriately sized.

Katie

Does it go over your knuckles? Nothing burned for me on the cdt. Like my nostrils and my knuckles.

Charlie

Yeah, that's a good question.

Katie

This, it looks like. Yeah, it looks like a long cuff. That's really nice.

Charlie

Yeah, he does size them really big. I assume some of that is just cuz he is a giant person. So like, you know, he's building stuff that works for him and then I'm just sizing it down appropriately based on that. But I really appreciate the bagginess of his line of sun hoodies. I think they work perfectly for what they're supposed to do. It's got the breast pocket, which is nice. Big enough you can actually fit like something substantial in there. A map. I think you can get your phone in there. I have to test that right now. Yeah, you could definitely get your phone in here. But the breast pocket is big enough to be functional. Definitely get some snacks, whatever emergency stuff you've got. The defining characteristic of the Jolly, you know what I'm about to say is just the designs.

Katie

Oh yeah.

Charlie

Like people wear jollies because it is a fashion statement on trail and Jolly is a very design minded person. And when we finished the San Diego Trans County Trail, it was like surprisingly cold. After we finished and we went out to the bars afterward and I left my warmer clothes at the Airbnb that we were staying at. So I just went out and bought like the cheapest hoodie that I could find. And then when I met up back with the guys, I sat down with a new hoodie. He goes, dude, that is in your color palette. Like he's like such a design aesthetic minded person.

Katie

You're such a warm autumn.

Charlie

Exactly. I learned recently about all the different color palettes. Actually Jabba's girlfriend does like that as part of her services.

Katie

No way. I've always wanted. Actually don't tell me, because then it's going to be my favorite colors that someone tells me I can never wear again.

Charlie

What I learned was, I think naturally you just kind of back into the colors that work for you. I know a harsh red unfortunately does not work for me, having gone to the University of Wisconsin. Certain colors just do not work with my skin tone, which is Somewhere between milk and yogurt. Um, but yeah, all this is to say is Jolly comes up with really cool designs on their shirts. And like, if you pay attention to thru hiking in any capacity, if you see any of like the. If you follow through hikers on Instagram, you've seen Jolly gear hoodies and there

Katie

was a while there when you could track what year someone hiked by. There was the. When I first got into through hiking, there was one specific pattern that blew up. I can't even describe it, but it was kind of a teal mint green. And anytime I see someone with a picture in that, I know that they thru hiked in 2022.

Charlie

And Jolly's intentional about like retiring designs. He's good at creating anticipation and demand by just like to your point, every year he's got new designs. The one that I've got here is actually a collab with Sawyer and another shout out to a friend. I'm obviously pals with Travis at Sawyer and I think Sawyer actually commissioned this own design. So Jolly didn't have anything to do with the design itself, but it looks like a nice.

Katie

It is a good one. I never would have known that's branded. I. I like it when brands do sponsored things that it's not. You're not walking down the trail with just Sawyer. Sawyer.

Charlie

Totally agree. Yeah. No, when.

Katie

Yeah, that does say Sawyer.

Charlie

Yeah. When Sawyer does stuff, they. They put thought into it.

Katie

So this is well done.

Charlie

Yeah. Overall, it's honestly just. It's a really. When I tested this recently after having tested a bunch of them, like I'm just reminded by like all the features are definitely thought out for backpackers. Like because different hoodies are made for different crowds. Like obviously sun hoodies are really popular in the fly fishing world and I'm sure they have an entire different consideration set relative to backpackers. I will say the one thing that I've liked about some of the other sun hoodies that I've tested compared to the Jolly gear is just how much more technical the fabric is. I do like with the Jolly gear. It's got some spandex, so it's got some stretch. Like that part is comfortable. You never feel restricted when you're going through a motion. But some of the polyesters on the other shirts are perforated and I think they just breathe a little bit better. So I'm gonna kick his ass and see if he can get some more technical fabrics in the mix because I think that would be a cool addition to his lineup.

Katie

What upf is this Good question.

Charlie

I should know that.

Katie

I feel like sometimes UPF and breathability are just natural enemies. Yeah, I'd take a UPF 50 not super breathable over a mega breathable UPF 10.

Charlie

Yeah, I can't actually access the Internet right now. I will fill that in in the show notes. That is an important one. I'm gonna guess it's 50 based on just how sheer the is. That being said, I have been impressed by some of the other sun hoodies with how like light both in color and in fabric weight and they still maintain a UPF 50 is like that does exist and I think that's pretty incredible. So that would be my, my biggest knock on the Jolly gear is I just don't. I don't think it's the most breathable sun hoodie. And maybe he's got new designs where he addresses that more. But at least of the ones that

Katie

I've tested, that's 30 based on Google AI. But it's also the machine that lies Y.

Charlie

So okay, 30.

Katie

Correct me if I'm wrong.

Charlie

Yeah, it's a better guess than what I just pulled out of my ass. We'll go with that for now. But overall, love jolly, love the guy, love his gear. All the features are very well thought out. And I, I think, as we learned with our conversation with coach today, like a lot of your apparel decisions just come down to fashion choices. So if that is, you know, your primary concern, Charlie's gonna have some fucking really cool designs and he gave me a Preview of the 2026 line. I'm guessing they're probably on the website by now.

Katie

Describe it in one word.

Charlie

Well, there was a bunch of different designs and there were some that were a little bit more like pared back a little bit more my style, more like the 40 year old dad style. There were obviously a lot of the classic, like very flashy designs and I'm sure everything's out on the website now. So me trying to preview it. It doesn't make any sense when you can just go look at it. But yeah, overall, Jolly gear, awesome. I'm going to go. We have got an official rating scale. They're on the Chaunce boob scale per her demand.

Katie

You need to listen to the podcast. What does that mean?

Charlie

Yeah, it's a very long story and I won't have time for it right now. But Chon boobs, I think the high water mark thus far is I gave the North Face sun hoodie a 7.2. I'm gonna have to Recalibrate my entire system. Cause I'm now realizing having tested more, I should probably bump the North Face. But I think the Jolly sits in number two firmly for me. For the ones that I've tested on this podcast, I'm gonna go 7.1.

Katie

Okay.

Charlie

Yep. Heard it here. First to the trek propaganda portion of today's show. Very excited to have Katie here because she is our most prolific writer and we're often featuring her articles. And what better way to feature her article than to have the author herself share the article with you, the listener?

Katie

Absolutely. So by the time this airs, this might be a little bit old, but for me right now, recently we went to 80 trail days where we got the chance to talk to a bunch of hikers. And one question we asked them was what their favorite piece of gear was about 500 miles into the trail. So we put together an article with some of our answers. The ones we heard the most gossamer gear, the LT5 trekking poles that came up a handful of times. We also heard several water bottles smart water variations. The Migo bottle. The through bottle seems to be the trend.

Charlie

Was there one that stood out the most to you in terms of we

Katie

heard both a lot but we had one person who talked about the Migo like it saved his life.

Charlie

I don't know enough about the Migo.

Katie

Tell me about the Migo I so I've tried it. It's by Mazama Designs and Miranda goes outside. Both great people to support and it is a little bit wider than a smart water bottle and the draw of it is it screws off at the top into a wide mouth bottle and has the little cap to be smart water bottle sized.

Charlie

Interesting.

Katie

So it makes it easier for water collection and it makes it easy to filter. My only gripe with it and it's user error and I know it's user error. I just don't play around when it comes to water filtering is when I squeeze the bottle to filter I've often sque squeeze too close to the threading of where it screws to make it wide mouth and I pull the threading apart and so I've gotten dirty water and my clean water. The answer is just be more aware when you're filtering water and you won't have that issue.

Charlie

But that's a good thing to highlight because somebody who's doing this for the first time might not even be aware that they're doing that. So potentially drinking contaminated water.

Katie

I've gotten sick once from contaminated water. So now anything that Messes with my water filtering. I don't.

Charlie

That's a good thing to be sensitive about.

Katie

I don't do anymore. But people love. Might just not be the bottle for me, but I recognize it's a great design, and it was one of the first two to kind of fill that niche. And it's. It's great. And I've heard great things about it from a lot of people.

Charlie

Love that.

Katie

And then I'll highlight one more. Our booth was across from Sam Bob. So I feel like the whole weekend we really did just have the. The sight line into his rotating door of people buying the Sambo. Specifically the Alpha 90 seems to be the biggest trend. The Friday of Trail Days, you saw people walking around in all sorts of things. And then the Sunday of Trail Days, it felt like every third person had an Alpha 90 on.

Charlie

I think some of the conversations we had yesterday were off the record. I'm guessing this one was, but let's just say that there's some cool fabrics in the pipeline. We can say that much.

Katie

Yes.

Charlie

Yeah. I think things will probably look different

Katie

at this point, even a year from now. Yeah. Even with cottage brands, which is exciting.

Charlie

That is exciting, for sure. I'd be remiss if I didn't ask. How was Trail Days?

Katie

Trail Days was great. It was my first Trail Days ever. My first time spending that much time around 80 hikers.

Charlie

Yeah.

Katie

Which is great. I was telling. Telling you earlier how I feel like my interaction with 80 hikers is largely people who leave mean comments on my articles. So in my head, I have this very negative perception. And it was fun to go talk to real people who are not just saying mean things on the Internet and walk away with these idea of, oh, people are kind and nice. And it was very fun to talk to people. It was fun to see some people whose blogs I'd been reading get to catch up with them, meet them in person. We had a cherry pie eating competition.

Charlie

Yeah.

Katie

I'm sure you saw that. I'm sure you saw Vegas. That was wild. Yeah.

Charlie

Vegas is undefeated in all these food competitions.

Katie

I. I don't know if this is true. Someone said he got second place in the rotisserie chicken last year.

Charlie

Oh, I thought he won. I. Whoever said that, I wasn't there. So I. I have no idea what Jess would know. She's got a more reliable memory than I do. But I thought he won.

Katie

I've now already forgotten.

Charlie

You know what? Maybe I think what happened was. Was he showboat. No, I don't remember.

Katie

I just heard from multiple people that the rotisserie chicken was hard to watch because at the end it was just a crawl to the finish line. Whereas the cherry pie eating competition, maybe everyone else was crawling to the finish line. Vegas put that thing down and he's not even through hiking this year. He. He just. He put it down no problem.

Charlie

He doesn't have it. You know, he took a moment.

Katie

Yeah. He. He was on his last bite. He kind of looked around. Everyone else had easily half the pie left to go.

Charlie

That's funny.

Katie

He savored it.

Charlie

Yeah. Yeah. The rotisserie chicken eating contest took way longer than anyone was anticipating. I think it was like 15 minutes is like.

Katie

So I get a point. The sound of the oil and hard to listen to.

Charlie

Once a rotisserie chicken is no longer hot, it's a completely different meal. It's just. Yeah.

Katie

Coagulated. Yeah. It's not oils.

Charlie

It's not fun. Cool. What'd you think of the tent city slash giant bonfire scene?

Katie

It was great. It was very fun. Met a lot of people. Don't remember a lot of them. But everyone. Everyone seemed great.

Charlie

How does AT this is probably the most obvious question of all time. How does AT trail days compare to cdc?

Katie

It's not. It's not in the same book. It was wild. CDT trail days. Very, very fun. Was much, much more mellow. Mostly just a vendor situation. Maybe I wasn't invited to the fun stuff, but it didn't seem. Not that the vendor stuff isn't fun, but it didn't seem like there was much of the social scene of it. And I. At least in my perspective, I think CDT trail days is way too early. It is so early. Very few people are hiking into it. Yeah. My year, it was April 21, I think. And I think the average start date of the CDT might be somewhere in early May.

Charlie

Yeah.

Katie

Um, so I know I went to CDT trail days and then took the shuttle from trail days to the terminus, but I. I think even I started kind of early. Um, so I think it would probably be. I'm sure there's way more logistics. You can't just wave the magic wand. But if they just held it two weeks later, I feel like more people would hike into it.

Charlie

Yeah. I also feel like CDT trail A should be like a mid season thing. I know it's hard cuz there's not that many through hikers and it's like a pretty good split compared to the other trails between northbound and southbound.

Katie

They have a southbound one too. I Think in Legell.

Charlie

You know what? I have heard of that. Does anyone go to that?

Katie

Like, I think. Yeah.

Charlie

Is that a CDTC sanctioned thing?

Katie

I have no idea.

Charlie

Okay.

Katie

I don't associate with the Sobos. Yeah. Well, I think the tough thing also with Sobos and Coach in the interview was saying this too. By the time you get that far into the trail, there's not really a bubble. It was just so spread out.

Charlie

Yeah. Maybe you're just trying to force a thing that really can't exist quite yet.

Katie

I think based on Instagram, which is never wrong. People seemed excited about it.

Charlie

Okay.

Katie

People seem. And Leadville's a fun place to be.

Charlie

Yeah, Leadville's awesome.

Katie

And Silver City, which is what the northbound trail days is also great city.

Charlie

Yep. I've heard good things.

Katie

Top ten trail town on the cdt in my objectively right opinion.

Charlie

Yeah. Top ten.

Katie

Yeah. Maybe even higher.

Charlie

I was gonna say that ten feels like a lot.

Katie

I guess ten's not. There's not that many trail towns. Maybe top five.

Charlie

Okay.

Katie

I'm. I am struggling to think of many towns better than it.

Charlie

Yeah. All right, so let's do the question of the day, which we have pivoted very last minute. Thank you for the recap of that article. When was the last time you were in a tornado warning?

Katie

Okay, let's see. This one's tough. I think this morning at 6:30am yeah,

Charlie

we're looking at like five hours ago.

Katie

Yeah.

Charlie

Yeah. I'm operating on very little sleep right now because even before we got the. Everyone's familiar with the Amber Alert sound. We got one of those for weather to our phones. Uh, at. Yeah. What was that? 6 or 5:30 in the morning?

Katie

Like that?

Charlie

Yeah.

Katie

I think between the hours of 5 and 7, I got four alerts to my phone.

Charlie

And prior to that, the storm was so violent that it actually kept me awake. Like, I'm usually pretty good at sleeping through storms there. The lightning was happening in my hotel room. Like it was outrageous. And it was persistent. It was going on for an hour. And then lo and behold, yeah, we get the. The loud buzzing notification from our iPhones that they're is a tornado warning. And then we got one like 15 minutes after that about tornado has touched down. Yep. And then we got a flash flood warning. Yeah. Things got wild here in New Orleans. I didn't even know you could get tornadoes in New Orleans. I didn't know this was a place for it.

Katie

I assumed if any strong wind happened somewhere this coastal, it was just considered

Charlie

a hurricane for sure. Yeah. And I think it is what's happening is related to a tropical storm. So we're getting tornadoes from hurricanes. We're basically in a Michael Bay movie right now.

Katie

This is wild.

Charlie

Yeah. So yeah, I'm a little bit sleepy right now. I'm leaning on caffeine to get me to where we're going. But that was not something I had in my bingo card for a trip to New Orleans.

Katie

Neither of us checked the forecast either. Neither of us brought rain jackets.

Charlie

Yeah.

Katie

Couldn't have been raining the whole time.

Charlie

Worse prepared. Yeah. Although in hindsight I'm not even sure a rain jacket would have been good cuz it's so hot and muggy, so humid.

Katie

Yeah.

Charlie

Actually getting a little bit wet feels good until you get back inside anywhere cuz air conditioning is blasting every. Every single building and vehicle is AC to the max the entire time out here, thankfully. Yeah. What's been your take on New Orleans at large? I know we haven't had a chance to see much of it. You and I both enjoy good food, which is probably like the easiest thing. Yeah, I enjoy good music.

Katie

This is controversial. I really like when food tastes good.

Charlie

Yeah. Maybe foodies is a way to describe it, but I think neither of us eat out that often. So I don't know if we could really accurately describe ourselves that way. But we're both excited at the prospect of going out and enjoying a couple meals in New Orleans. What has been your experience out here?

Katie

I would say it met expectations, but those expectations were pretty high. Yeah, the food's been pretty unbelievable. We were saying we. We knew the food was going to be delicious when the kind of shitty conference meal that was served to us buffet style was pretty. Was better than most restaurants in Denver. It was pretty good.

Charlie

Yeah.

Katie

Yeah.

Charlie

The beignets out of the. Like those trays.

Katie

Yeah.

Charlie

Better than donuts than you can get.

Katie

Denver room temperature beignets that were an hour old were easily top three donut of the past year.

Charlie

Yeah. But where the hotel is happens to be like two blocks away from one of the restaurants that was recommended by several people. Of course, I always put out a call through Instagram about where can I get fat the fastest? And people had awesome restaurant recommendations. Cochon was one of the ones that had popped up multiple times for people and that's the first place we went to just due to the proximity. I got the muffulata sandwich, which I had never had before. I'd heard of it. I didn't know what it was. And what did you have?

Katie

I Got a pork. This is the only one I was disappointed by. Not because the food was bad, but I think I ordered wrong. I got the pork and cheese, which I didn't put any thought into it. And it came in. It was just a cheeseburger made out of pork.

Charlie

Yeah.

Katie

And a delicious cheeseburger made out of pork. But I feel like I was somewhere. Somewhere new. I.

Charlie

Fancier.

Katie

Yeah. Or just different. I wanted. Not a cheeseburger.

Charlie

Yeah. My sandwich was.

Katie

Your sandwich was incredible.

Charlie

Yeah. I. You had a quarter of it. And I'm gonna say top five sandwich of my life. And I can only think of, like, one other sandwich that actually stands out in my mind. Right.

Katie

What was that sandwich?

Charlie

That was the cat's delicatessen in New York.

Katie

I've been there, which is, I think,

Charlie

like, one of the touristy areas. But, yeah, I got the pastrami sandwich and that was like. I was eating it while driving and I had the thought, like, I have to pull over so I can put all of my focus into eating this, because this is so good right now. I. Yeah, that was. That was definitely a moment. And the muffuletta sandwich at Coach on

Katie

was fucking incredible last night, I thought was the winner for me. I had the crayfish and fried drum, which is a fish. We learned.

Charlie

Yep.

Katie

The coconut grits and then that curry and whatever was in that curry. The curry with the peppers.

Charlie

Yeah. Yeah. Your meal was fantastic. We started with the fried saltines and what was the name of this? Yeah. Yep.

Katie

Something.

Charlie

Yeah. That was so good. Shout out to Grizzly, who's been on the podcast a handful of times. He is a foodie. He's a certified foodie and he recommended that.

Katie

So I did as predicted. Kind of go to bed when we got back to the hotel, wake up at 11:30, go to the fridge, eat the rest of it, go back to bed.

Charlie

I didn't even get near sleep before finishing mine. It was. And I was in bed just, like, moaning to myself. Yeah, it was so fucking good. Yeah. I got some, like, pork dish, which the pork, like, melted. Like, it was.

Katie

I touched it with my fork and it just disintegrated.

Charlie

Yeah. So the food part has definitely lived up to the hype. Is there anything else to touch on related to switchback? I feel like we touched on it a bit with Coach.

Katie

I feel like I'd have to check my notes and make sure I'm not saying anything.

Charlie

Yeah. That's off the record.

Katie

I shouldn't say.

Charlie

Yeah. In terms of products that we saw, Coach actually Hit on the one that stood out most to me is I thought the new line of sleeping pads from sea to summit looked really interesting. And the explanation behind how they were able to drop all the weights was really interesting, is that they're able to make the TPU coating on the inside thinner by mapping the TPU to exactly where it needs to be. And therefore it's thinner in the spots where you don't need it, which is apparently a very difficult process. But their lightest sleeping pad, like Coach mentioned, is like a R value of 4 plus and it weighs 11.5 ounces for like a full size sleeping pad. For an inflatable sleeping pad, which is really good.

Katie

Rectangular or mummy.

Charlie

That one is mummy.

Katie

Okay, that makes sense.

Charlie

But the heaviest pad that they had in that lineup, the iron lineup, was a full rectangle, and that was still less than a pound. And the R value on that one was like eight. Like that would be like a winter sleeping pad. Yeah. Don't quote me on the numbers, but it's high.

Katie

Yeah.

Charlie

I guess what stood out most for

Katie

you for I think also sleeping pad. But on the thermarest side, they. Last year. I don't know if it dropped last year. I just heard about it last year. But had the Neo Loft, that one that's 10ft thick and feels like a bed. Um, and then obviously the X Light, which is much more paired down, much more ultralight, and they're kind of coming out with this middle ground one. So it's a rectangular pad about half an inch thicker than the Neo Light or the X Light. Um, it has that brushed fabric on the top part of it. So if you're wearing shorts, it's. You're not going to stick to it as much. Very quiet and pretty reasonably priced. For. For the lineup, it's $150.

Charlie

Do you remember the weight on that one?

Katie

No. I would say something, but it. I'd kind of be making it up. I remember thinking it was what we

Charlie

do here at backpacker.

Katie

It was something that I would call lightweight. It's definitely the Neoloft, I think, is a little out of my weight range that I'd be willing to do. But. But I wouldn't necessarily call it ultra light. Yeah, I'm going to guess I'm going to say 16 ounces.

Charlie

Cool. You heard it here first. Official fact.

Katie

Good.

Charlie

Anything else you want to touch on?

Katie

I think that was the big one for me.

Charlie

Yeah, we got a lot of free stuff.

Katie

Yeah, Actually that was the other thing. Yeah, that was my. My takeaway was all the things I'm taking away.

Charlie

Yeah. I'm very excited to test out a new pair of Shokz headphones, which Katie secured because she's the queen of free. Uh, but this is. If you're not familiar with it, I wasn't until this year. Jolly was the one that told me about it. Fittingly. Um, it uses at least many of their models use bone conduct conduction to give you the audio from what you're listening to, which I didn't know was the thing.

Katie

I was asking them what that was, and it kind of sounds like. So it just sits right on the bone. What's that bone call? I don't remember. Right here by your ear, and the speakers just face directly into your skin. So I think that's how I was trying them out. And it was very cool because I could hear very clearly the music. I could hear the guy talking to me very clearly. And then when he put them on and played music, I could not hear anything he was listening to because it seems like it would be something that. It's almost a speaker by your ear, but it's just facing inward, so it's only. You get the noise.

Charlie

Yeah. And as Katie mentioned, the obvious benefit to this for backpacking is you have your ear exposed. Like, if there's a mountain lion charging at you, you get to hear right before you die, as opposed to when you've got AirPods. You have to die out of surprise, like an idiot. So, yeah, having full. Because, like, I use AirPods for basically everything. I usually just hike with one end. That way I can hear with the other. Being able to actually listen to music or podcasts or whatever in both ears while still being able to hear the environment around me. I'm excited for this.

Katie

And the Battery life is 12 hours. I always hike with wired earbuds because I'm just tired of charging things. Maybe I just have old AirPods that they last three hours.

Charlie

Yeah. Yeah. When we picked up Coach in the lobby downstairs, he was wearing them. He's like, I don't even realize that I have them on all day, every day.

Katie

Like.

Charlie

Yeah. So apparently people are familiar with shocks. This was new to me, though.

Katie

We're late adopters, for sure.

Charlie

Cool. You want to do the triple crown?

Katie

Yeah, absolutely. So it's triple crown of. Let me check this. I think it's noises that make you happy.

Charlie

Yeah. Sounds that trigger. I like the word trigger because it almost sounds like Pavlov's dog.

Katie

Yes.

Charlie

Like, this is the sound that elicits happiness the way that a dog would salivate at the bell. Do you want to start? You start.

Katie

Okay, I will take. It's very backpacking specific rain on tent, but specifically rain that has begun within five minutes of me setting up and getting into my tent. Because then I get the self satisfaction of I just missed it and I get to sit there and listen to it, but I don't get wet.

Charlie

Yeah, that's a great one. That's a really good one. I probably should have done something backpacking.

Katie

You hear like the first drop and you're like, yes.

Charlie

Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's a bummer with having the like two layer freestanding tents is like, your shit's gonna get wet as you set it up. That is the nice thing about the trekking pole tents is you're actually able to keep stuff dry. But yeah, I've been there many times. My first one, this was the one that triggered this category is the HBO sound. The. The static to the horn. I just feel like HBO punches so far above its weight, it doesn't put out that much original content. And it's home to all of the best, like Game of Thrones, Sopranos, the Wire. I could name a bunch of the lesser known ones that I actually really love. They did a Tenacious D series back in the day. God, what else does HBO have?

Katie

I did have honorable mention the very first few noises of the Game of Thrones soundtrack, which always would get me hyped for sure.

Charlie

Yep. So, yeah, the HBO static is definitely like, oh, I'm about to watch something good. It's gonna happen. Similarly, another thing that elicits happiness for a totally different reason is the United jingle.

Katie

I don't even know what it is.

Charlie

I think it's Rhapsody in Blue is the song I'm singing. Goldeneye. I think this is gonna bother me that I can't play it out. But I just associate with that with like, I'm on vacation for most of my life. I've flown United and yeah, that. This. That Rhapsody in Blue for me is associated with, like, cool, I'm going some. Whether it's work or for just pure vacation, like, it's just nice to get out of the fucking house.

Katie

Funny enough, another honorable mention I had was the Denver Airport.

Charlie

Oh, yeah.

Katie

Tram noise.

Charlie

Yep. I feel like I want to pull that one out and I can't. I know you get the doors are closing.

Katie

Yeah, I can't sing.

Charlie

But there is a jingle when you arrive to the baggage claim. Stop. You also get the mayor being like, welcome to Colorado I think John Elway might have been the voice for a little bit, but. Yeah, that's a good one.

Katie

I had. I guess this is an absence of noise, but after a long day, when you drive home, you get into your garage or into the driveway and you turn your car off, and then it's just complete silence, and you just sit and you rot in your car for 10 minutes before you go inside.

Charlie

I don't think I've ever done that.

Katie

Really? Yeah. Oh, that's my favorite. Just decompression.

Charlie

Are you looking at your phone? Are you meditating?

Katie

I'm just. I guess maybe it's. I'm just sitting there.

Charlie

Yeah, it sounds like meditating.

Katie

Just sitting there, kind of. With terrible posture. Yeah. My face is totally relaxed.

Charlie

Yeah.

Katie

And I'm just.

Charlie

When's the last time you worked in an office?

Katie

When's the last time I was in Golden?

Charlie

There you go. There you go. You got to de stress after the hellhole of going and hanging out with Zach and Jess.

Katie

Exactly. I feel like it's more doctor's appointments or just your social battery has run out and you're heading home from an event and you're just sitting. And you don't have to go inside yet. You don't have to do anything. You're just sitting there. Huh.

Charlie

I wonder if that's the thing. I wonder if other people do that. I've never had the thoughts to just hang out. It makes sense.

Katie

I had every single person does this, but I guess it's an alone thing, so I'd never know if I did.

Charlie

That's what I used poops for. This is a space where I'm just gonna scroll my phone needlessly. I've been done pooping for 10 minutes now, and now my legs are going numb.

Katie

I've had my boyfriend text me before and be like, your find. IPhone has said, you're home for five minutes. Where are you? I'm just. I'm in the garage.

Charlie

Okay. That's your sacred space. I love that. And you got one more.

Katie

My last one. My cat, um, he has a very specific noise he makes just to kind of let you know that he's acknowledging you. If you go pet him, even if he's awake, even if he sees you coming, he kind of lets out a brown. I love it. Sometimes I'll. I'll go pet him just to hear the. The brown.

Charlie

Yeah. Yeah. That's adorable. I love that. My last one, I think inspired by this hotel, because the elevator system sucks the elevator ding. Like the elevator Is here it.

Katie

It's slow.

Charlie

Yeah. There's a lot of elevator traffic at this hotel. I'm usually waiting for like six minutes before I'm actually getting in. So, yeah, like, the actual audible satisfaction of knowing that it's arrived is like, fucking, thank God. It's a relief.

Katie

Yeah, I. I think yesterday morning it was. This doesn't sound that long. I sound impatient now, but probably a good four minutes between when I press the button and I'm on the second floor.

Charlie

So I think we're trained. Be like 30 seconds. Feels like a long time with an elevator.

Katie

Yeah.

Charlie

Yeah.

Katie

But I was just standing there. I couldn't immediately find this because, I mean, I also felt dumb. I was on the second floor. I could have just taken the stairs,

Charlie

but they buried the stairs. I don't even know what the stairs are.

Katie

I have no idea where they are.

Charlie

I would gladly take the stairs if I could because everywhere is so well air conditioned out here that it's not even that big of a deal. But, yeah, I feel like I'm stuck to the elevator, which I guess we should have known where the stairs are considering a tornado was ripping through.

Katie

Couldn't take the elevator this morning.

Charlie

Yeah, yeah. Yeah. You have any honorable mentions?

Katie

No. It was the Game of Thrones. That's my big one.

Charlie

Yep.

Katie

And the Denver Airport.

Charlie

I have two honorable mentions. The microwave beep when it's done. Yeah.

Katie

Okay.

Charlie

Yep.

Katie

I hate that noise.

Charlie

I don't like the sound, but I like what it means.

Katie

That's fair.

Charlie

I get to eat now.

Katie

I always stand by it. And I stop the microwave at 1

Charlie

second left to stop the.

Katie

I don't want to hear it.

Charlie

Yeah, that makes sense. It's not. I mean, it's not a pleasing sound by its own nature. What it represents is what I like. And the last one is. I don't do this very often, but I think they've got a nice sound attached to it. Is when you complete something in duolingo.

Katie

Yes.

Charlie

Like the Bl.

Katie

Sorry, what is it?

Charlie

Yeah. Paulie's gonna clip that for sure. They do a good job of making you feel like fuck. Yeah. I am smart. I know how to say hola.

Katie

One thing.

Charlie

I just means bird in French.

Katie

One thing I'm thinking of now, I like the sound at the gas pump when the tank is full and it automatically turns off. It's like the.

Charlie

Yeah. I still give it one last little juicer after that.

Katie

Really?

Charlie

I top it off.

Katie

Oh, I'm worried I'm going to blow up the car if I do that

Charlie

because it'll, it'll stop you. Once you get past that, there's actually like a real, real stop.

Katie

Oh, interesting.

Charlie

You can get an extra. I'm going to call it 1.3 seconds after your tank is full.

Katie

At some point in college, I watched some. They did the math YouTube video about how much gas people will waste in a lifetime with the drop that falls when they put it back in the gas stand. So now my weird neurotic thing is I stand there for 10 full seconds and just shake the thing until I. I do not spill a drop of gas. Yeah, I'm saving cents a year. It's. It's a great habit.

Charlie

That's how guys go to the bathroom. Yeah. I thought you were going to pull out a stat and I'd be curious to see. This is like the break even with people driving much further to go to the gas station. I've never understood that.

Katie

Yeah, it's never as much. It's never that much of a difference. I mean, I guess I do have the gas stations near my house that I know are the cheapest, but it's just. I'll go south instead of north, but it's 0.2 miles either direction.

Charlie

I feel like it's one of those things where the cheap gas station is never that much. Like you don't if it's 5 cents cheaper and you're getting 15 gallons, whatever, that ends up being 60 cents. Like, I know gas is outrageously expensive right now. Like, I cringe every time I go to the gas station.

Katie

What is it in Denver now or in Colorado?

Charlie

I think the cheapest near us as of this recording is like 420.

Katie

Okay. Similar to Pennsylvania.

Charlie

Yeah. And we've got a sequoia, which is a, I think a 20 gallon tank. So like, yeah, it's, it's. There's not many vehicles that's suitable for three kids, a dog. And like, if we're gonna go somewhere, we have a ton of luggage as well.

Katie

A month ago, gas was like 480 in Pennsylvania.

Charlie

That was tough. Damn. I can only imagine what it's like in like California and Washington because every time I go to those places it's like, how do you guys live like this?

Katie

I don't know.

Charlie

It's crazy cool. Those are the good sounds of life. So n Hoodie review. Yes. You'll have to listen to Thursday's episode. I do the Jolly gear. Did you have another segment that you wanted to do?

Katie

We talked about maybe one minute gear review.

Charlie

If you've Got something we can do it. If not, don't worry about it.

Katie

We can skip it.

Charlie

Okay. It'll be on more episodes than you've tested.

Katie

I'm geared out after this weekend or this week.

Charlie

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Katie

Cool.

Charlie

Mailbag.

Katie

Good high level advice on the Sawyer vs Brita filter and episode blank.

Charlie

I'll give you the background on this. This was a question of mine is why does a Sawyer filter last for a lifetime but a Brita filter is like six months? Yeah, that was a question I had no idea how to answer.

Katie

So what does a Brita filter actually filter out? Maybe this, Maybe you might get the answer here, but wanted to give some more context on water treatment from someone working in the water treatment and utility industry. Okay, perfect. I think this is gonna be what I want it to be. Sawyer filters use hollow fiber membranes to filter out bacteria, protozoa, et cetera. The membranes require back flushing to clean out the membranes as they fill up with the bacteria that it is filtering out. If back flushed regularly and not damaged by freezing or other issues, Sawyer filter will really last for a very, very long time. Brita filters are carbon slash activated carbon filters. These types of filters are basically compressed charcoal that serve a similar purpose as filtering out bacteria protozoa. The difference is that the carbon filter holds onto the bacteria that it is filtering out and carbon filters do not allow back flushing to get rid of the bacteria that the filter builds up over time. Basically a carbon filter is a one time use filter that has to be trashed once it is full of bacteria. A Sawyer membrane filter is a multi use filter that can be cleaned out and used for a longer period of time if maintained properly.

Charlie

Daddy long legs. Shout out Daddy long legs.

Katie

Yeah, that makes sense.

Charlie

It's nice always asking like our random dumb questions because we have a big enough audience and a cool enough audience that like we'll always get emails answering the questions in more depth. Much like this. So shout out to daddy.

Katie

How often do you back flush your filter?

Charlie

Because I've been screwed by that many times where I'll go out on a backpacking trip and then I'm stopping to filter my water for the first time and like I'm squeezing as hard as I can. It's like a drop and I'm like fuck, this is going to ruin the next few days. I try to be religious about it, but yeah, I mean ideally every town.

Katie

Every town?

Charlie

Yeah.

Katie

Oh I, I'm in the habit of back flushing every time I filter my water.

Charlie

Oh wow.

Katie

I will filter it. Pop the filter Off. I use the smart water bottle or I at least use the sport cap still. Yeah, just pop that on the top of the filter and give a two

Charlie

second squeeze and then I mean that's the way to keep it in like new condition forever.

Katie

So yeah, I feel like I'm usually not good at those discipline just small daily drip habits but that one I'm pretty good at just every filter I back flushed a little bit.

Charlie

Yeah, we should ask Travis what the like the minimum dose.

Katie

He's going to come back and be like, you ruin your filter if you back flushes every time you've been drinking straight giardia.

Charlie

Yeah, but no, that's a way to never have a clogged filter when you head out to the trail and have that be a fun surprise for you because that's happened many times. Apparently activated charcoal is like a very popular supplement in other countries, I guess places where like food poisoning is more common and that you take it either when you first start getting GI distress or maybe like preventatively.

Katie

Preventatively. And does it just soak everything up?

Charlie

I guess it. Yeah, it interacts with the bad guys much the way that a Brita filter would and it makes you feel better. This is Zach's science Corner. This is fake Science Corner. I've also heard that activated charcoal can be beneficial for hangovers. Hello. We'll be done in 20 minutes. That was a guest appearance from the hotel staff. Okay, that is our cue to wrap this up. I'll get to the five star review. This is from Rome Burns. Missing Chaunce. This is an excellent and entertaining podcast with genuine through hikers, not just people who go out for the weekend. This podcast has the best guests.

Katie

2.

Charlie

I agree. Two things worth mentioning. First, co host Chaunce is leaving Denver and will no longer be a regular on the podcast. I miss her already. I especially enjoyed Chaunce's Women's Only podcast. How else could I learn to try to be less creepy or threatening on trail? Second, I like that this podcast has real hikers and not just weekenders. Weekend hikers are real hikers. But I get what you're saying. I'm not casting shade at Weekenders. I love some of their podcasts too. It's just that some of the advice that comes from the different backgrounds winds up being sufficiently different to make a real difference generally in money. Thank you for clarifying that. I also liked chatting with Jessica at at Trail Days last month. She's great.

Katie

She is great.

Charlie

She is great. Jessica is great. And Jessica will be. Jess will be on the podcast a lot moving forward as well. But, yeah, thank you, Rome Burns, for that review. If you guys want to hear your view right on this podcast, head on over to Apple Podcasts and leave us any number of stars.

Katie

Just not 1, 2, 3, or 4.

Charlie

Nice. You knew that. I didn't even prime you for that. And that is it for today's show. Thank you so much for listening and happy hiking.

Katie

Bye.

Charlie

Nice.

Katie

We weren't quite sure what a worm hat was, right? So we made a few of them. This is the first one. It's a hat made of worms.

Charlie

Okay.

Katie

And then option number two is a hat that you put on. And when you do that, you look maybe. Like maybe you're a worm. Right. And then the third one, and this is the best one, Charlie, is. Is a hat for your worm. Oh, your teeny, tiny little worm. It's a teeny, tiny little worm. You want him to be fancy? I've been out walking slow many miles

Charlie

I've yet to go Never been one

Katie

that's had to choose but every time

Charlie

I do I find I lose I guess I'm a loser stomping ground A

Katie

welcome man for the loving crowd I wish that you knew.