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This was a heavier load than I usually tote. My lightest for a three day ride with food minus water is typically around 12-16 pounds. Not counting the camer kit I tend to bring along.

I managed one of the largest guiding companies in Alaska. We took more than 9,000-10,000 clients through thick brown bear country every year. We never, ever, ever, carried a firearm. We did go through cases of bear spray every year. We also took council from a panel of bear experts an...

As Pirate said, it's important to frame your personal experiences within the science. Your one spray experience clearly has much to say about your confidence in that defense. I on the other hand have sprayed at least a dozen bears. Only once in a wild and unprotected setting where we were on a...

I'm of the opinion there is not a nanometer of compliance in the Salsa Firestarter carbon fork. But, I also don't think that is a bad thing. There is however, more than enough plushness in the wheel package and most importantly, the fork has the ability to control it. People want carbon forks to...

I truly try to evaluate any product as objectively as possible, and when my few funky personal biases enter the equation, I try to disclose those influencers as well.

Dalko, read the Bear Aware article I wrote for the home page. It specifically explains why bear spray is relatively ineffective on humans, but utterly debilitating to a bear. It's the science, my man. Science.

I'm afraid I have to defer that answer to someone else. I'm a sucker for drop bars and think the DW and the Woodchipper 2 bars are an ideal match. I also loath the Jones Loop bar. This is one area where I can't contain my bias. Every time I try to ride anything like a loop bar, I feel compelled...

By the way, I have a favor to ask of you fine gents. In order to justify more bikey goodness on the home page, we need to bump up our bike editorial traffic. Please share the bike pieces as they pop up on the home page with your pals. The more views they get, the more we can feature. And...

Û The trip report will be live on the front page on Monday the 31st. More teasers: For those of you looking for more specific information on the Deadwood, I'll download some of that here. At the root of it, the Deadwood is a freak of nature. It really is. Ironically, it is exactly what...

Dalko, I still think you don't fully understand what many of the experts are saying about injured bears and how they react when injured. I think you also don't fully grasp how spray effects their most sensitive sensory system. It doesn't just cause pain, it causes extreme disorientation. It is...

You made a couple comments that are regarded as inaccurate by almost all of the authorities on the subject, but let me preface this by saying, this has nothing to do with the decision to carry or not carry. So, some of the misconceptions I noted in your previous posts: - Brown bear encounters...

What makes the Exped Mega Mat so comfy is in my opinion, two fold. Firstly, it has those lovely lateral corrugations that give the mat a little texture like a home mattress. But, it is the vertical sidewalls that I think elevate the pad to something more familiar to most sleepers. Most pads have...

I've tested a number of Klymit pads and while I don't think they're bad, they'r just not quite there for me.

Dalko43, I say this with all due respect. I sense that your understanding of black bear behavior is accurate, but your understanding of brown bears, their habitat, the number of human encounters, and how they are defended against could not be more wrong. I don't have the inclination to do your...

Again...huge difference between skittish black bears like I saw last week in Colorado, and the gigantic browns that were in my yard weekly in Alaska. And yes, I have seen a bear shot right within sight of our house. It was a cranky 3 year old who just left his mamma and liked our rural...

And according to naturalist and researcher Tom Smith, shooting a bear often plays to its natural defense mechanisms and not in favor of the shooter. When you poke a hole in a bear, it instantly discharges mass amounts of adrenaline. A response the bear has developed to allow it to fight despite...

I hate to say it, but some of your information is inconsistent with what many people consider common knowledge. Firstly, as said above, there is a considerable difference in behaviors between wild bears, habituated bears, black bears and brown bears. Different scenarios often require different...

As more people try the Sea to Summit Comfort Plus Insulated mats, the number of MegaMat users will decline in equal measure. It is THAT good. And one-sixth the compressed size.

I would just pop for the Insulated pad. Being in a truck bed, that extra R value will be key. As I've said before, for the small size and weight, I haven't found anything else to be as comfortable.

I spent the day boxing it up to send back to Salsa HQ. Sad to see it go. It's a super fun bike.