I would like a combined travel mug and tea infuser that would allow me to put some loose leaf tea in the mug, boil some water, and take off instead of waiting for it to completely infuse and then dump in a travel mug. I cannot find anything that meets my requirements.

Requirements:

-Glass/Ceramic Construction (No Plastic)
-Double wall if glass
-Can stop the tea from continuously brewing (No Bitter Tea)
-Durable
-Can drink from while on the move or driving (No Spills)
-Can remove loose leaf tea without making a mess or having a sink (Built-in Storage)

Any Suggestions?

I recently purchased an Exped Downmat to replace my Thermarest Prolite 3 sleeping pad after seeing one that a friend had been using. I have yet to use the Exped Downmat 7 Pump, but my initial impressions are that it is a great upgrade. I will be putting it through a rigorous test this year and I will be sure to update this review. For reference I also own a Thermarest Z-rest and will likely spend nearly 200 days in 2010 on a sleeping pad at night.

Initial Impressions

The Exped Downmat 7 is heavier and less compact than my Thermarest Prolite 3 as is to be expected. However, given the obvious comfort and warmth improvement it is lighter and more compact than I was expecting. After inflating the pad (more on this later), the warmth and comfort improvement were as expected. I sleep on my side and never had any problem with my hip or shoulder hitting the ground. In a matter of minutes I could feel the wonderful insulation that the down provides keeping me warm. Overall my expectations for warmth and comfort were met and the tradeoff between that and weight/size is well in favor of the Exped Downmat.

Now on to the pump. Unlike other inflatable pads, you can not simply blow this pad up in a few breaths because there is much more air needed and the down can not hold up the moisture. With this pad there is a built in pump that works simply enough. It took me a couple minutes to inflate the pad, but it was not difficult to do and the valves seem to work well. This is certainly something to be aware of when thinking about this pad, but I think a couple minutes are worth it.

Durability wise it seems to be similar to any other inflatable pad.

I would recommend this pad to anyone else that camps and sleeps on the ground as often as I do and needs the increased warmth and comfort without the corresponding increase in weight and size found in other luxury sleeping pads.


Other Reviews

Exped Downmat 7 Short - blog review
Exped Downmat 9 (2006) - backpackgeartest review

A couple days ago I setup a website to better share my photos and possibly even sell a few using Smugmug. My site which will host most of my photos from now on is located at http://photography.justinwp.com. I'm going to focus on putting my best landscape and wildlife photos up, but will probably have some others too.

Wildlife Photos | Landscape Photos | Popular Photos

Day 1 - Pack out

Started at 8 loading up food, gear, and tools. Made a couple maps of Waterfall Trail with ArcGIS. In the truck on the way to the trailhead by 11. Pack feels good about 45 lbs. Only enough food until Friday and legs are feeling fresh. Hiked 7 miles into Welcome Lake. Mosquitoes were terrible and I put on my rain gear for the evening.

Day 2 - Moving

Started the day early, mosquitoes never quit though. Hiking up and over the pass at 9000 ft. It was beautiful from the top with a great view. Some awesome lakes that would be nice to camp near, but were too far from the work. Continued hiking down Waterfall Trail. Went from green at the lakes to no living trees in under a mile. Was tough to find a camp since we were expecting significant thunderstorms with 60 mph wind gusts. Finally decided to stop at a spot with some large rock outcroppings and a few less tress near 6800 ft. Cut down about 10 trees that were leaning over the campsite. Definitely not a site that anyone but a trail worker would pick right now. It did have a great waterfall nearby though.

Day 3 - Work Begins

The group split up for the day. Three went up to clear some trees, fix a blowout and clean waterbars. The rest worked on a turnpike in a muddy section to raise the trail out of the water. Major storm blew in around noon and got pelted by half inch hail for 30 minutes and then just got rained on. Climbed into a scree field to get out of the trees while the wind picked up.

Day 4 - Resupply

Finished up on the turnpike and the trail above camp. Lots of work left but we had several miles below camp to make passable. Bill showed up with the mules and some food and tools we had left him at the trailhead. I ate much better from this point on. In the afternoon everyone worked down from camp clearing some dead lodgepole and doug fir that were on the trail. Trees were scary here with little wood supporting them since the stumps usually burn out. Left a couple little trees that I didn't want to stand anywhere near. Rained all night long.

Day 5 - Middle Fork

Matt and I hiked all the way down to the Middle Fork of the Salmon River. I'm not sure what the actual mileage was for the day, but based on the sign at the river it was 18 miles... My guess would be about 12 with roughly 4000 ft of elevation change from camp to the river. Talked to some rafters that had stopped for a lunch break. They offered us beer. Cleared 10 trees on the way back up. Started raining 30 minutes from camp. The rest of the group hiked up the south fork of Waterfall Creek to clear to an outfitter camp. They cut 55 trees today.

Day 6 - Ponderosa Pine

Matt and I went back down towards the Middle Fork(not all the way) to clear some big Ponderosa Pines that had fallen over the trail. Some were burnt and dead, others just fell over. The first ponderosa took all morning and a little of the afternoon. Mid 20 inch diameter but was suspended off the ground and had too much bind to cut from the top and get a wedge in. It took an hour for each of the three cuts. I was exhausted and felt like I had been lifting weights all morning. Finished the day with a few miles more of hiking and a couple more small trees.

Dat 7 - Ponderosa Pine Cont.

Cut a few big ponderosa pines. Went smoothly and the chunks fell right out. Bigger trees than yesterday, but less bind and better positioning. One tree was probably 300 years old and had just tipped over. Cleared a few more trees and Waterfall trail was clear from the crags to the middle fork.

Day 8 - Hike Out

Bill showed up at camp in the morning and we loaded up the mules. Our goal was Welcome Lake, a seven mile hike with a little over 2000 ft elevation to climb. Legs not so fresh and the weather was hot, dry, and sunny. Sat up on the pass at 9000 ft for almost an hour enjoying the view. The storms created a little more work on the way down to Welcome Lake as we cleaned up some rock slides.

Day 9 - Hike Out

Started the morning early to avoid the heat. Our goal was Bighorn Crags Trailhead, seven miles away. Packs were a little heavier today as Bill dropped some gear and food off last night. The right knee started hurting right away in the morning... probably from kicking rocks and some strenuous hiking. Most like a strain or mild sprain of the mcl. Still made it out to the trailhead in three hours.

Summary: A lot of hiking for not so much work. Got the trail cleared for the hunting season though. Will be good to let the legs rest for a few more days. Next hitch we might be flown in!

Here are the SPOT check-in locations from the SCA Salmon Challis Americorps Forest Training Center. They are a rough approximation of where the members have worked...

There a few reasons why your photos may be blurry or out of focus and with a couple tips you can make sure your pictures turn out amazing and super sharp.

1. The object in the photo was moving.

Example: If a sprinter can run 100 meters in under 10 seconds and you are using a 1/4 second shutter speed, he or she will have traveled over 2 meters in that time. But at 1/1000 of a second, that sprinter traveled only 1 cm.

Solution: When taking photos of fast moving objects, I set my camera to a specific shutter speed, usually 1/200 or faster, and let it adjust the aperature and iso automatically given the lighting conditions. Another solution is to simply move the camera with the object before and after taking the photo. This will create a sense of motion in your photo as the object will appear in focus while the background will be blurry.

2. The camera is moving or shaking.
Solution: Use a tripod if possible. Better yet, use a tripod with a wired remote. Best, use a tripod with a wired remote and mirror lockup enabled if using a SLR. Not all camera's have this feature but it prevents the mechanical movements within the camera from causing vibration. If you do not have remote for your camera, you can always use the 2 or 10 second delay for the same effect. As in problem number one above, your shutter speed will also affect whether you need a tripod or not. A shutter speed anywhere close to one second long will be blurry unless you have a tripod. Check out this link on how to avoid camera shake.

3. Part of the picture is in focus, but everything else is extremely blurry.

Solution: Adjust the aperature accordingly. A wide open aperature (smaller number) is going to create bokeh which may sometimes be desired. However at extremes, there will be such a shallow depth of field that for example one pedal of flower may be in focus, but the other one is not. Setting a specific aperature and allowing the camera to adjust shutter speed and iso will allow you to take control and style your photo as you desire.

4. The camera is not focused on the correct object.

Solution: There are several possible solutions to this problem but they may not be successful in all scenarios. First you can try the focus lock method by pointing the camera directly on the desired object and then recomposing the picture while holding the trigger button half way. This makes it easier for the camera to find the object. Second, you can change the autofocus mode to have the camera adjust its algorithms for tracking objects in motion. Another possibility is to try and use the manual focus. If your camera has a liveview setting and you are using a tripod, you can zoom in digitally and adjust the focus manually far more accurately than you could with the viewfinder. A smaller aperature (bigger number) will create a larger depth of field and allow more of the frame to be in focus and sharp.

These are the root problems that may make your photos blurry or out of focus. Often you can make adjustments to correct for these problems and if you know to expect them, you will take great photos. Higher end equipment is undoubtedly better at creating sharper images, but there are numerous techniques to try before spending more money.