Northwest Overlanding

Edgestar FP430 fridge/freezer

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 08:51:00 GMT

Product ReviewMon, 15 Mar 2010 08:51:00 GMT

So it's been a year now since I purchased this fridge and I figured I'd post up a reveiw of it. I'll start from day one

The fridge was ordered from www.compactappliance.com with free shipping. The price seems to be very fluid on these fridges and had gone down to 389.00 at one time. The fridge came quickly from the factory very well packed. You'll want to save the boxes because if you have to ship the fridge back under warranty, Edgestar wants it in the original box.

The fridge is very stout, It weighs around 40 pounds empty. It is all metal construction with the only plastic being the handles.

It comes with 2 removable plastic coated wire baskets that remove easy. My only compaint here is that the bottom of the baskets are uneven making it very difficult to put bottles staning up on. This is only really a problem when you're running low on supplies. I usually just leave the bottles in the 6 pak container. There is enough room in the fridge to stand 2 liter bottles up. While I haven't tried it yet, they claim you can hold 60 cans of soda in the fridge.

The controls on the fridge could not be any easier to use. Push and hold the set button till the display flashes, Adjust the temp to the desired setting and thats it. It cools very quickly and it went from room temp down to 35 in about 20 minutes. It also has a "flash freeze" function that when pressed it will drop the temp to 8 degrees. It has a memory in it so when you unplug it to move the fridge it will still be at the setting when you plug it back in. The fridge runs very quiet although I do have to say that in the year that I've had it, it has gotten slightly louder that when it was new.

Anyway after a year of ownership the fridge is still working as expected. I use it as a garage beer fridge, it is plugged into 110 and has been plugged in for about 10 months straight. It really saved us when the power went out for 3 days this winter as I plugged it into a 12 power pack and it kept our food frozen for that time. The longest I've left the fridge on the vehicle's battery is 3 days without starting it. The fridge will shut itself off when voltage drops below 10 or 11 volts. I was able to start the truck with no problem and the fridge turned itself back on and started cooling again.

Pros:

Well built, very sturdy
Cools quickly and hold temp. very well
Runs quietly
Works as expected
Drain plug in the floor
Good price form a company with excellent costomer service.

Cons:

Zero aftermarket
No tie down points
12 volt power cord is too short and the plug is fragile.
Plastic handle are barely adequate. You can see them bending when carrying the empty fridge.

The only problem I've had with this fridge is the 12 volt power cord. The plug end that goes into the fridge is pretty fragile. I was able to trail fix it and make it home to fix permanatly. The other end is also wierd. it is a regular 12V ciggarette plug but has a removable red cap that comes off way to easy. I did manage to lose the cap and while it still worked it made the plug move around in the socket easy and it would loose the connection. Edgestar replaced the cord no questions asked though.

I did make a set of brackets to use as tie downs. I just used some metal I had laying around and they work fine. However if i do it again I'd use a little thicker metal as the one I have will bend slightly if the tie down points are out away from the fridge.

My wife complained when I originally bough the fridge. She said "you spent 400 bucks on a cooler?" But after a year and numerous camping trips she has come to enjoy having fresh food and no soggy mess to clean up after an outing. Plus it keeps all my beer out of the house fridge...

If anybody is on the fence about getting a 12volt fridge freezer, this is a great option. It is a cheaper altrenative to all the name brand fridges out there at about half the cost. www.sierraexpeditons.com has started selling these fridges under a different brand name. Also here is a great thread on Expedition Portal that has some great reveiws of this fridge. www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php

Update 2-6-12. The fridge has stopped working. It does not cool anymore. Set the thermostat at 50 and it will still run and run. I have contacted several service place and have hit a dead end. I guess now we are in the market for a new fridge before campong season.

Exped DownMat 9 DLX - Product Review

Wed, 02 May 2007 12:38:00 GMT

Product Description and Photos

Exped DownMats^TM are one of the most compfortable mats I've ever slept on. Having hiked, biked, mountain climbed my way through different mats over the years, I thought I'd check out one of the more expensive alternatives and see if it was up to my standards.

DownMat 9 DLX
Retail Price - $170
Weight - 44.4oz (1260g)
Thickness - 3.5" (9cm)
Length - 76" (193cm)
Width - 26" (65cm)
700 fill down
R-Value - 8
Unique pump sack included

    Also included in this review is the Exped Pump Pillow. This one of a kind pillow acts as a simple pump to help inflate the mat and then is useful for a night's rest.

The pillow is on the left and the Exped 9DLX is safely stored in its water proof drybag on the right.

A fully inflated Exped 9DLX

One of two valves used to inflate and deflate the unit.

One way valve in the bottom of the drybag used for inflating the pad.

The foam filled pillow.

An identical one way valve in the 'stem' of the pillow

When packed, the pillow is about 8" long and 3" high

A real life measurement shows the fully inflated mat to be about 4.5" thick

Review

    There are a few things to consider when deciding to switch to a down filled sleeping pad. First, you REALLY shouldn't blow into them. I realize most foam mats state this as well, but you can usually get away with it and not cause a lot of bacterial growth. But with a DownMat, you have a far greater chance of moisture being trapped in the fluff of the down and starting unwanted growth.
    And that leads to the second consideration; it's going to be more work to set up this mat than just opening a foam mat and giving it a few puffs of air.

    Exped has overcome the first concern by crafting a rather smart drybag. Not only does the bag keep the DownMat completely dry and dust free in transport, it has a one way valve in the bottom to aid in inflation. This is how it works:

Lay out the DownMat as you would any other sleeping pad and open both valves. While Exped states it will regain most of its loft after being packed, I've never found this to be true. It will be about 1" thick or so after you've opened the valves and let some air in.
Push the one way valve of the drybag onto one of the valves on the DownMat. You should feel a 'click' when you have a positive lock.
Close the other valve.
Fluff up the drybag from the inside. Exped has again done their homework and field testing when it comes to the drybag. Inside the side lining of the drybag there is a foam pad. This pad extends up about 9 inches on the sides and helps the drybag regain and hold its shape after each pump. This is a real nice design feature and very useful
Roll closed the drybag and push all the air into the DownMat. You can see from the picture below that I end up using my knees to help assist.
Once all the air is out of the drybag the one way valve will hold things in place as you go back to step 4 and repeat until the DownMat is full.
When the DownMat is full, keep the drybag on the valve and give the valve a twist until it's closed.
You can now remove the drybag and you're done!

    The Pump Pillow works in much the same way bot on a smaller scale. Instead of fluffing it up, the foam inside will bring the unit back to full size between each inflation. With the pillow connected in the same manner as the drybag, place one hand over the open hole on top (this is the hole the air returns through) and the other next to it. Press down much like a CPR compression. Lift your hand off the inflation hole and presto! the pillow reinflates.

    Filling the DownMat 9 DLX does take a bit of time. On average, it takes me 15-18 full drybags of air before the mat is ready for use. I have never timed myself, but it almost seems the pillow is a bit faster as you can get many compressions in, but you have less rest between inflations.

    If you notice in the last picture there are two tabs at the top of the DownMat. There are also two closed loops on the pillow picture further up (they are orange and hard to see). Somehow the pillow is supposed to be able to attach to the DownMat so the pillow will not walk off in the middle of the night. But I have never been able to figure out how that happens and will be contacting Outdoor Research (the new owners of Exped) at some point in the future. Both the DownMat and pillow are made of a polyester material and while claiming to be 'slip-proof' in reality them both move on each other quite easily.

    Lastly, the DownMat has internal baffles and a couple of thick pieces of foam at each end. These are in places to make sure the down stays evenly distributed and does not eject out the valves when air is being released.

Field Tests

    In the field, the DownMat works as well as advertised. I have now used the mat in frozen grown, rocks, sand, dirt and snow. Without a doubt this sleeping pad did make my nights of sleep out in the field more comfortable. The picture above was taken on the Whipsaw Trail in British Columbia. The ground was near freezing and I didn't have my down sleeping bag with me. Instead, I had to rely on two thin summer bags, a bivy sack and an 'iffy' 30F bag. While I woke in the night because of heat loss from above me, I had the odd sensation of my side closest to the ground being noticably warmer. With any closed cell foam pad I've used before I always had a concern about the ground sucking away my warth. On this trip the DownMat performed as advertised and did a better job of keeping me warmer than the 4 layers of sleeping bags did.

    A second test on the snow produced similar results. Although this time I had my warmest sleeping bag, I never felt the snow below me and had a very restful night's sleep. The one thing I learned from this trip is how big the DownMat 9DLX really is. In a normal 4 season 3 person mountaineering tent, the pad takes up a LOT of space. This may be a concern for some as two 9DLX's next to each other might fight for space in a 3 person tent.

    Sleeping on sand and rocks was handled equally as well. The valves at the top of the unit allowed me to fine tune the air just like I could with a foam pad. And with the extra thickness of the pad, I had more room to let the pad shape over rocks while still keeping them from hitting my body in the night.

    For me, the DownMat 9DLX is a keeper. Backed by quality construction and a lifetime warranty, I look forward to many more nights of comformt while on the trail or getting lost in the mountains.

Disadvantage

As with any product, there are some downsides. These are what I've found after about a hlaf dozen uses

Packability for hikes is odd. It doesn't just strap on like a ThermaRest does
If the bag is lost/destroyed, how do you inflate the unit
Not sure how to patch the pad if it gets a hole

PETT Portable Toilet - Product Review

Mon, 30 Apr 2007 12:14:00 GMT

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION AND PHOTOS

The PETT(r) Portable Toilet is a easy to use and transport comfort from home. The until is made to hold 400lbs of weight and be deployed in under a minute.

Retail Price - $116
Weight - 7lbs
Dimensions - 14.25" x 5" x 19.5"
Easy carry handle
Folding legs
Uses Wag Bag biodegradable disposal system

The above picture shows the unit all closed up. Note the handle at the top and please ignore the scuff marks as this unit was picked up in route to its first field test and bounced around in the back of the truck before its pictures.

The underside of the unit hides the legs.

Each leg is held in place with these clamp pieces. The legs are deployed by simply pulling up on the leg until it locks in its upright position.

With all three legs in place, you can see the underside of the mesh "basket" with a Wag Bag inside. At least three Wag Bags can fit in this area with the legs collapsed as well as a roll of toilet paper.

The unit just about ready for use.

A top view with the seat flipped up. The mesh basket helps hold things in place so all the weight isn't held by the Wag Bag.

The mesh basket can also be fully removed if you wished to simply use the unit over a hole in the ground.

The Wag Bag contains (left to right):

Thick disosal zip-close disposal bag
Clean wipe
Toilet paper
Folded Wag Bag with Poo-Powder inside

A photo of the Poo-Powder inside the bag.

A unit ready for action. The lid routinely falls off when in the up position.

Breaking down the unit requires pressing in on the holding tabs of the legs and then folding them in place.

REVIEW

The PETT Portable Toilet is made of a high grade plastic and feels sturdy when lifted at the comfortable handle. The unit is well balanced and easy to walk with short distances.

Using the unit is a straightforward task

Flip the unit over and fold out the legs
Open the seat and remove the Wag Bag
Unfold the Wag Bag with Poo-Powder
Place the Wag Bag in the mesh basket and close lif
Do your business
Lift seat and collect up Wag Bag
Either bury the biodegradable Wag Bag or place it in its disposal bag for later landfill deposition

With the legs deployed the unit is able to hold up to 600lbs, which makes it useful, with the lid closed, as an everyday stool or step to help reach high placed objects. Amazingly comfortable to sit on, the PETT does suffer from a lack of adequate material to help hold the lid in the up position. Instead, the lid usually falls off the back of the unit leaving the user a bit more exposed than need be. It took this happening about two times before I got a clue and removed the lid altogether when using.

Not to get too gross, but the downside of operation is closing up the Wag Bag. It’s best to remove as much air as possible to help the bag fit in its disposal bag. As you can imagine, this may be odd to some users.

The Poo-Powder does a good job of both congealing liquid ‘deposits’ and keeping smell to a minimum. On the test run with this unit, 4 uses of ‘#1’ in the same bag still resulted in a congealed result, which helps greatly to reduce spills or leaks. So unless required, one Wag Bag can be used multiple times in camp if desired.

The disposal bag is made of a strong plastic as well and gives you assuredness of protection against simple punctures or explosions. One such bag was carried 60 miles on the White Rim Trail in Canyonlands National Park and another bag carried about 15 miles of rough off-road driving in Arches National Park in the confines of a normal camping garbage bag. No leakage to contamination was noted. The bags can then be thrown out with the rest of your trash.

Beyond the need for an improved lid design, I rate this device 5 out 5…ummmm….somethings. It fulfilled my needs and can make Nature’s Call easier on any camper.

There is also a privacy tent available for the unit that has not been tested.

PowerFilm Solar 20W foldable Solar Charger - Product Review

Tue, 30 Jan 2007 21:41:00 GMT

Product Description and Photos

The Powerfilm F15-1200 20W Solar Charger is a compact unit constructed of 12 panels adheared to a nylon fabric. When folded the unit measures 10.5"x6.5"x.6" (267mmx167mmx15mm) and weighs .9 pounds (.43kg).

Retail Price - $500
Weight - .9lbs (.4kg)

When folded, the Powerfilm makes a fairly compact unit. The model seen here has already been field tested and will show some signs of wear. Attached to the outside is a clear label indicating which model you have and a power connector. More on that in a minute.

Lift the velcro strap and you start to see how this unit is not as hard as a map to put back together.

Fully unfolded the unit consists of 12 panel in 3 columns and 4 rows.

The connector for the unit has a gasket to help keep out water. Why the custom connector and not just a simple cigarette lighter conneciton? My guess: it helps keep the unit compact and extendable. Powerfilm also sells a daisy chain cable to connect multiple units and this is more easily accomplished with a small connector. The unit comes with a standard cigarette lighter female end that connects to this adapter.

Here I have connected a Merkury Universal Canon Battery Charger via the cigarette lighter. With a reverse blocking diode in the Powerfilm unit, you don't have to worry about batteries draining into the panel when the sun goes away.

Grommets in each corner make tethering the unit to the side of a vehicle or some other object easy.

The Powerfilm F15-1200 has many uses and can charge any device with a 12V cigarette adapter. It is shown here charging a Xantrex Powerpack.

Review

You'll get two opinions on use of the Powerfilm in this review section. The first is by Peter, who's used the unit around the house to test and the second is by Kim, who used the unit on a 3 week trek through the Khumbu Himal region of Nepal.

Peter:

I have found the unit very easy to transport and set up. Weighing less than a pound makes it an option for longer hiking trips when battery life might be an issue. It's easy packability also makes it easy to include in an Emergency Preparedness kit in between trips. One drawback of the light weight is the tendency of the unit to act like a kite. The grommets work well in this regard and make it easy to get the most out of the unit by facing it towards the sun more directly.

To give an idea of power output, on a bright, full sun day in January in the Puget Sound region of Washington State, the unit is able to put out 19V laid flat as you see in the pictures above. This equates to aproximately 1 amp of DC power. This is with a soalr index of 425W/m² at the time. Higher W/m² values accomplished in summer have yielded around 1.6 amps of output but I do not have hard numbers at this time.

So, what can you do with it? Well, first, charge just about any small device. It will charge a laptop, camera battery or just AAs for your headlamp. As mentioned before, it can charge A Xantrex Powerpack as well as a normal car battery while you are camping for the day. Also, the unit can power an Engel 45 freezer/fridge when kept out in direct sunlight, even in winter. You need to keep adjusting the angle of the panel to track with the sun for optimal power, but I was able to keep the fridge below 40F with some effort. I could, however, hear the motor or the Engel strain to keep an even tempo if the panel caught too much shade.

Some considerations are in order. First, after my wife's trip I noticed some of the panels had started to become unstuck. This is due to the high heat generated from all the black surfaces. Some air bubbles started to form under the panels but these were easily squished out. Simply pressing down on the panels got them stuck back in place. At no time were any in danger of actually coming completely off the nylon fabric, just corners and air bubbles here and there. Second, at least 4 bungee cords are highly suggested. To keep the panel at an optimal angle to the sun requires usually mounting closer to vertical in the winter, while a horizontal orientation is needed in summer. As mentioned previously, the lightweight means the unit can be picked up by a 8PMH wind.

Kim:

Coming soon!

Yamaha Inverter EF1000IS Portable Generator - Product Review

Wed, 17 Jan 2007 18:26:00 GMT

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION AND PHOTOS

The Yamaha EF1000IS is a handy little generator for loads up to 900Watts. It's touted as a super quite unit with very little fuel demand. This review will be an ongoing test of the claims and includes some video near the end to hear how loud the unit is. But first, some photos and description.

Retail Price - $700
Weight (dry) - 27.9 lbs (12.65kg)
AC Rated output - 900Watts
AC Max output - 1000Watts
DC Rated output - 12V 8amps
Decible rating - 47-57dBA
Fuel capacity - .66 gallons (2.5L)
Run time at 25% load - 12 hours
Displacement/HP - 50cc/2.2HP

We'll call this the front of the unit since it has the control panel. Everything you need to know about the health and happiness of the generator/inverter is right here.

The right side is where the exhaust comes out. Nothing special, just a warning sticker and the muffler over the end of the pipe.

The back has an access panel for adding oil and a secondary shut off valve for the fuel tank. Also noted near the bottom are two blow by tubes for making sure excess oil or fuel is expelled from the unit.

The left side is pretty boring.

The top is where the fuel goes as well as an access panel for the spark plug. Instructions on starting the unit are printed on a heavy duty mylar sticker for hopeful long lasting use. Also on the top are the emissions ratings with this unit scoring a 3 out of 10 (1 being the best emissions).

A close up of the sparkplug access. Notice the rubber seal on the door to help keep out water and dust.

The control panel consists of(generally left to right, top to bottom):

Overload light
AC Ready light
Low Oil light
Choke pull
Fuel cock dial
2 120V 60Hz 1Phase AC outlets
Main on/off switch
Ground connection
12V 8amp DC power outlet
DC reset switch
Economy Switch

The hand pull, when new, is very easy to grasp and use with rubber located at the top of the cavity to reduce it getting broken on retraction.

The unit is shipped without oil which is filled in this location in the rear (more on that in a moment).

Along with the generator/inverter you get some useful items. On the left are the DC charging cables. The special plug fits in the DC outlet on the front of the unit and aligator clips grab on to your battery terminals. The double ended socket fits the spark plug and I'm not sure what else. The wrench works with teh socket so no additional tools are required to remove teh spark plug. The oil pan fill bucket is a well thought out addition that makes a world of difference.

REVIEW

    My initial review is a traditional "out of the box" look at the unit when it arrived brand new.

    Packaging: This unit thankfully comes with a minimal amount of wasted packaging. Only two pieces of interior cardboard help keep the unit in place and damage free when shipped.

    Appearance: As you can see from the pictures, the unit is a cobalt blue color with a tint of purple in the right type of light. The pieces are all fit well and nothing rattled or seemed out of place. Wrapped in plastic for shipping, the unit was clean and free of any signs of handling. Not a drop of oil was seen.

    Directions: The owner's manual is written well enough and easy to understand without being too simple. Some warnings are repeated more than they need to be, but all in all, it's a very useful, thin manual and should be read before using the unit. Here is a link to the manual, see for yourself.

    First use: Now's the fun part. I've read the manual (it takes maybe 15 minutes) and understand hwo to start it. First task is to fill it with oil. The manual suggests 10W-30 SAE be used.

1. Remove the oil filler cap. they made the cap rubberized and easy to grasp.

2. Now slide in that little oil tray I mentioned before. It fits well but can be bumped out if you aren't careful.

3. Pour in the oil. This part takes some patience as you can quickly exceed the capacity of the oil tray if you pour too fast. The manual states .34 US quarts as a capacity and this should be just up to the bottom of the hole. There are two problems with this: 1. It's dark in there. 2. New oil is pretty clear. I had to use a flashlight to help tell the level and even then, I spilled some from over filling.

4. Yamaha thought ahead in case of slobs like me. You'll notice the extra oil ran into this little tub in the bottom. That tub actually comes off the bottom (second picture), is made of rubberized material and is used to help DRAIN oil when changing. I don't have a picture of this set up, but basically that unit fits around the fill hole and acts as a funnel. You then tip the unit and that rubber piece will help funnel the oil into a proper drain pan, making oil changes hopefully very clean.

    Put the fill cap back on and you're done with the oil!! For me, even with the slight overfill, it was a very clean process. A rag was needed to wipe out the fill funnel but other than that, I can't complain. As the oil becomes dirtier, I suspect it'll be easier to check the level before operating.

    Next up is the gas fill.

    That red collar on the inside is the fill line. Below that is a screen to help keep out large particles and that whole unit is easily removed in case something drops in while filling. The fuel capacity is .66 US gallons so a smaller canister works better. The generator is advertised to run for 4 hours at 100% output an 12 hours at 25% output, or about 225 watts of output. With the fuel hole being straight up and down, I needed to be more careful about the fill rate so extra splashing didn't occur. Some patience is needed here to not make a mess.

    Gas and oil in: CHECK! We're now ready to start the generator! Yamaha kept all the controls you need close together on the control panel

To start the unit (these are the instructions on the top of the unit):
1. Check that no loads are connected

2. Make sure the Economy Switch is turned off (and clip your fingernails if you are going to be taking pictures of them )

3. Turn the air vent on the top of the fuel fill cap one full turn counterclockwise

4. Turn the fuel cock dial to ON (this dial restricts fuel from the tank to the engine)

5. Switch the main power ON

6. Pull the chock out all the way

7. And then give 'er some yanks with the handle!!

    It took me quite a few pulls before I realized I wasn't pulling the cord ALL the way out. That last 6 inches or so of pull is what gets the unit to kick over. Once I realized that, the unit sputtered to life!! Within 10 seconds I was able to slowly put the choke back in and the unit settled down to a revving kind of rhythm. The generator will warm itself up if cold and keep the RPMs high while it does this, so don't be surprised if it seems loud at first.

    After the unit calmed down I started playing with Economy mode and hooking things to it. WOW does the unit go quite when you turn that mode on!   Not silent, and it still makes a revving noise, but compared to anything else on the market, it has a GREAT idle speed and sound. The most logical things I believe I'd use this for on a trail are fridge and laptop, among others. I'd also use it for things like portable blenders, LED string lights and other general goofy, non essential items I might take.

The unit handled the additional load of the laptop and Engel on Economy mode without making any noticable increase in speed or noise output. I was really impressed by the seemingly total lack of draw from these two items that had previous run my Powerpack to the ground in 2 hours.

    The most important need we have for a generator is the frequent power outages at our home. While it'd be nice to power the whole house, the cost, noise, fuel consumption and fuel storage to fill those needs didn't fit in with most of our plans. This little unit will be enough to run our house refrigerator, computer and internet connection. All the things a house needs. When hooked up it did make more noise and ran higher than with just the laptop and Engel, but it had no problem with starting the 7.5amp AC fridge and keeping it going which was one of the main goals we had when purchasing it.

    Now then, on to the demonstration videos!!

    The first video is an attempt to show the noise output when the unit is idling, then with the Economy Switch turned on. Some loads from an Engel 45 fridge/freezer and Dell 620 laptop are attached. You will note there is very little, if any, noticeable increase in engine speed and noise output. Lastly I backed up 8 feet from the unit to give you an idea of how noise drops off when you walk away from the unit.
    That video is located here. (3.7MB)

    Next, I plugged the unit into our house fridge. The noise is increased but when inside the house with the fridge running, the noise is barely noticeable over the fridge's compressor.
    Video of the unit running under this load can be found here. (.8MB)

    Lastly, this video is shot around the corner from generator running the fridge. This is approximately 12 feet from the unit with the muffler facing the horse barn you see. I am standing right around the corner to give an idea of how it sounds.
    That video can be seen here. (.8MB)

    From now, that's all I have. I'm happy with the unit so far but have yet to take it on a trail or give it a test by fire. When those times come, I'll append this review.

Ruffwear Palisades Pack II - Product Review

Mon, 15 Jan 2007 13:18:00 GMT

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION AND PHOTOS

The Ruffwear Palisades Pack II is large volume, multipurpose dog pack for most any size K9. Available in two colors and three sizes, these packs are constructed of tough nylon to handle the beating most dogs will dish out on the trail. The undersides are padded for comfort and use of mesh throughout helps keep dogs cool on the go.

Retail Price - $80-$95
Sizes - Small, Medium, Large
Colors - Red and Blue

The view of the rear of the pack shows the compression straps on the side as well as the wisely placed zippers. Having the zippers on the rear of the pack prevents accidental opening when brushed against trees or brush on the trail.

The top of the pack gives a good view of the uppermost storage pockets and ample cutouts to help encourage air movement and cooling.

I believe in this picture I have the pack on too far to the rear. Not a lot, but the fitting is to be closer to the front shoulders to help take advantage of the dog's natural weight distribution.

Both colors offered by Ruffwear are attractive and feature a reflective strip along the length of the side to help make dogs more visible at night.

The pack is held to the harness with three quick release bucklet. These buckles (two fore and one aft) seem stout and easy to use even with gloves on.

Here you can see an empty harness with the pack removed. The harness is fit on the dog by unclipping the two buckles seen on the left, slipping the harness front over their head, stepping the front right leg through the front harness and then reclipping the side buckles. The carry harness can also been seen in this picture. Useful for picking a dog over obsticals or into vehicle, the strap is well sewn into the rest of the harness.

Ample padding on the body straps make sure no edges can rub into your dog's belly.

Here is a good picture showing how the front straps help hold the pack forward while ensuring the pack stays on.

The harness features two clip in points. The rear clip pictured above is for towing slids or skiiers. The front clip picured below is the standard spot to help control your pet while on the trail.

The mesh webbing covering the pack areas seems to let a fair amount of heat out to keep dogs cool.

The top pouches are smaller and perfect for treats or a leash.

The ample main packet is both deep and long. There is plenty of room to Fido carry his own meals or toys on a longer trip or a some towles on a shorter, wet walk.

The zipper pulls on the main compartment are easy to find and use even with gloved hands.

The outer pocket has a small amount of room and features the well thought out compression system (below). Cinching the straps helps ensure loads are held close in to your dog which prevents wobble while walking, increase comfort while wearing the pack. The straps are easily released by pulling on the center cord to make unpacking quick.

To the rear of the pack is a small zipper hiding the water bladder on each side. The side compression can also be seen here.

The baldders vary in size depending on the pack size. All come complete with large fill hole and innovative pour spout. With the notch seen in the picture pointing down, simply lift up on the center peg to dispense water. Beyond hydrating your pet, the bladders do a good job helping cool dogs on warm days. Possibly the best use of the bladders is as adjustable ballast tanks. When you notice the pack listing to one side or the other on your dog, just drain a little water from that side until things are even again. Even a little amount helps a lot.

REVIEW

My wife and I harnessed the dogs and took the packs out for a test spin to see if they were usable and comfortable for the dogs. Initial fitting is important and being able to disconnect the pack from the harness aided this task greatly as compared to past products we've used. Having your dog be able to stand on command also helps as attempting to fit the rear most body strap with a sitting dog leads to a sloppy fit. Ruffwear suggests tightening the body straps so you can still fit two fingers under each strap. This is accomplished by tightening the body straps, at times sometimes hard as the strap would get lost inside the padded strap sheath. But once set, this is not an ongoing problem.

    With both dogs' harnesses on we filled the water bladders for weight, noting the suggestion to start light with dogs not used to carrying a pack (just like humans, I guess :) ). Attempting to get the bladders equally filled proved difficult as they are opaque. The bladders are easily filled by removing the rubberized cap, blowing in a few breathes of air and then filling to your desired level. Setting the packs on the harnesses is aided with matching logos on the packs and harness. Line those up and a velco patch on the rear of the harness will help keep the pack in place while you snap the three quick clips. With the packs in place and one dog, the one who runs away, on leash, we headed out for a 2.5 mile hike.

    At first Kenai, the dog in red, was having troubles with a lopsided pack. I incorrectly thought this was because of improper fitting of the harness. After unsuccessful attempts to pull the pack back to middle I decided to dump some ballast (water) from the left bladder. This helped a little and further down the trail I dumped more to finally gain a well balanced dog. After this Kenai was quicker on the trail and more sure of herself to the point of even running into underbrush after a bird, giving the pack a thorough thrashing which it handled well.

    Yukon, the husky in blue, wasn't so sure of this new pack idea at first. He had trouble getting his feet under him and moving around. Part of the problem is we attached the packs inside the house and he was bumping into things with the wider load. Once outside and moving forward he had a better time. We got lucky with his weight balancing and he was steady the whole walk. Being a husky, clipping into the forward attachment point on the harness was a mistake, as it only encouraged his natural tendency to want to pull....hard. So while this point may work well on most dogs, pulling dogs should not be clipped in this way. He kept up his normal fast pace for most all of the hike and was able to handle varying terrain.

    The extra weight did stop the dogs from jumping over obstacles they normally would have, but with the advantage of being able to easily lift them over roadblocks via the handle on the harness, this wasn't much of a problem. Both dogs did well with the packs which ended up weighing close to 10lbs each, about 20% of their body weight. Ruffwear notes most dogs will handle 30% of their body weight well when you work up to it, but this amount should be good for most any trip. This helped them carry over a gallon of water each which will be enough for an overnight trip and then some.

    I'm very happy with the packs and quality of construction and would recommend them for anyone wanting their dogs to start carrying their weight on the trail.

Xantrex Powerpack 600HD - Product Review

Thu, 04 Jan 2007 14:51:00 GMT

Part 1 - Description with Photos

The Xantrex Powerpack 600 HD is a combination 600W inverter and 28 amp-hour battery. It has a host of uses for an overland trip, most notably, being able to supply power to small devices away from the truck.

Some key features include:

Retail Price - $180
600 watt inverter with max surge to 960 watts
3 AC outlets run at 120v/60Hz
5W light
AM/FM radio
Clock with alarm
Battery meter
Watt meter
Jumper cables
Easy carry handle
$129 at Amazon

The front of the unit hosts the outlets, meters and emergency light.

The right side is used for venting of heat while the inverter is in heavy use.

The rear includes the clock/radio/alarm as well as a handy reference chart for use and charging.

On the left side there are three conenctors. Topmost is the standard 12V DC connection for either charging or drawing power. Below that is the AC socket. With the supplied AC adapter you don't have to worry about overcharging the unit. In fact, the manual suggests leaving the unit plugged in continuously to keep the battery at optimal levels

Lastly you have the plug for the jumper cables. Rated at 50amps for 3 seconds, and with the portability to be carried anywhere needed, this unit will help get most nearly dead car batteries the boost they need to get started. The jumper cables can also be attached to any standard car battery and supplement the 28amp hour internal battery.

A close up of the front panel reveals the AC plugs, AC on/off switch and Emergency light.

On the left side of the front is the status display. While the unit is on AC mode, the display will show the current draw in watts (seen above as zero). After the unit has been turned off and sat idle for 15 minutes, holding down the Display Function button will show the current charge percentage remaining on the internal battery. The Charge Status light blinks while the unit is receiving charge from an AC source and solid when the battery is fully charged.

The clock radio is straight forward and a handy feature to have available. AM radio doesn't work well, as expected, when the AC mode is being used because of electrical inerference.

The instructions printed on the back help someone not familiar with the unit to operate it in a safe manner.

The supplied jumper cables have a somewhat short cord forcing the unit to be set inside the engine bay to achive connection to a dead battery. This is less than optimal as the unit should not be close to moving parts (fans, belts, etc...) and should be on something stable. I will see if I can find the type of adapter plug that is used and post information here on splicing in a longer cable so the unit may be set on the ground, which I feel is safer.

Operation of the unit is as simple as it seems. Turn on the AC switch and it is ready to start supplying power. As more devices are plugged in the meter will indicate the power draw from the battery. If too much current is being drawn across the inverter, an alarm will sound. If the situation is not improved, the unit will shut itself off to prevent damage to the inverter. This is a nice feature to help increase the longevity of the unit. The alarm will also sound when the unit is low on juice. It gives a two minute warning or so the first time, then a longer "really, I'm about to shut off" warning before it will power down to prevent damage to the internal battery. You may use a power strip with the unit.

The DC port on the side can be used to either charge the unit (with the supplied double male ended 12V cord that plugs right into a power port in a vehicle) or to draw power directly from the internal battery. One warning on 12V use; the battery protection warning will NOT automatically shut down the unit if the battery gets too low. Damage to the internal battery may occur, it is therefor suggest to leave the AC switch on and heed the lower power warning to prevent damage. This warning is printed on the rear of the unit. The unit should not be left plugged into a always hot power port on a vehicle.

Powerpack getting a free solar charge from a PowerFilm 20W foldable panel.

Part 2 - Usability Test #1 Parameters

The usability test is currently being conducted as follows:
- Start with 100% charge on Powerpack
- Plug in Engel 45 Fridge. Set thermostat to 4. Insert a 40oz stainless steel water bottle with room temperature water.
- Plug in a Dell Latitude 620 laptop with a 50% charge on its battery. Turn on wifi and do normal work stuff.
- Use KillaWatt meter on laptop connection to monitor laptop charge and use
- Monitor fridge temps and check on water throughout day. room temp around 69F

These conditions are meant to somewhat simulate an average conceivable use of the Powerpack while on an overland trip. I personally envision using the unit to charge camera batteries, use the laptop to journal/map the days events and keep the fridge going if the car battery is questionable or if we will be stopped for a long period. I will also use the unit during power outages at home for the same use, possibly running our main refrigerator as well.

Test #1 Results

The following chart shows the progress of the test along with comments.

Time	Meter (W)	Killawatt Reading for laptop	Laptop battery charge %	Room temp (F)	Fridge temp (F)	Comments
9:40	25-27	none yet	none yet	N/A	N/A	Only fridge plugged in at this time
9:42	110	86-89	50%	N/A	N/A	Both running
9:49	80-90	60	62%	N/A	N/A
10:14	60-80	43	88%	N/A	N/A
10:35						Installed fridge thermometer
10:41	50-60	31	98%	64.4	21.1	temp slowly adjusting to actual
10:50	50-60	27	99%	67.1	17.9
11:04	50-60	24-25	100%	68.0	15.0	Laptop done charging
11:12	50-60	25 jumps to 40 at times	100%	68.2	13.4
11:35	60	26	100%	68.4	10.0
12:01	30	25	100%	68.9	7.5	turned fridge to level 1, it stopped
12:48						Unit beeped shortly
12:50						Louder beep, shut unit off
1:06						Unit shows 0% battery charge

As can be seen, I made some changes to the test along the way. First, I didn't get out the thermometer until late in the experiment so it took a while to show the real temps. Second, I realized I never run the fridge at 4 (freeze) and usually around 1 or, more accurately, pointing right at the letter F in Ref on the dial. So I turned it back at 12:01 after it had been running 2 hours and 20 minutes non-stop. I also took off the transit bag which tends to keep the unit cooler. The room temp of 70 was probably pretty close to most ambient temps found on trips in these parts.

I also made the mistake of leaving the internal network card on the laptop on, which gets turned off automaticly when the laptop is on battery.

While the unit seemed to only last 3 hours in this test I realized this wasn't close to what I want, but I also realized this wasn't true real world. While the laptop is just resting it pulls the listed 25-27W. When there is wifi activity the meter hangs out around 45W, an increase of 80% or so. With wifi off, the laptop battery charged and with the fridge adjusted and insulated, I feel the Xantrex would have lasted at least 3-4 more hours, consistent with what the manual states for such a load. This will have to wait for another test.

Test #2 Parameters

This test was on a home Fridge. Our unit is a Maytag French door unit less than 1 year old. It is listed at 7.5amps. The fridge was simply plugged into the Xantrex to see if it would work.

Test #2 Results

The unit didn't like this test at first. Even though the unit lists 960W as the peak surge, and the 7.5amp is around 900W within that range, the unit kept turning off as the fridge attempted to start. The meter would scroll up towards 900 and then the alarm would sound and the unit shut down. I turned off the fridge, by raising its freezer temp above the current listed.

This allowed the fridge to turn on while only pulling about 750W for a moment. I could then turn on the freezer section and all was well. The temps got up to 47 for the fridge and 11 for the freezer. I set them for 36 and 0 and let the unit run. Under normal use the meter showed 160W and the cooling fan would turn on low. When the doors to the fridge were opened this would draw another 80W and the fan would speed up a little.

The unit lasted about 2 hours in this situation. The fridge was running most of the time and cooled down to 41 and 3 respectively. The unit then screamed its displeasure and shut off after the second warning. Connecting the unit to another 100+ amp hour battery would greatly increase the time the fridge would run. this test was mainly carried out to see if we could use the unit during our seemingly frequent power outages. With use of a second battery and charges by of a car inbetween, the unit should fill our need ot keeping food from spoiling for most of the power outages we have. While not ideal, it is a LOT cheaper and quieter than running a generator for just the simplest things.

Tests #3 & #4 Parameters

Test #3 was performed as a matter of neccesity. With a power outage the other night we moved all dairy type products into the Engel 45 fridge. We then plugged the fridge into the Powerpack using the DC connecter to reduce inverter power loss. We did, however, turn on the AC switch as instructed by Xantrex. This is to ensure the low battery alarm goes off and you don't damage the battery. The unit was plugged in around 1am and ran over night in this configuration. Later on Saturday the AM radio was turned on to allow us to listen to the Seahawks' game. The test ended around 10pm.

Test #4 was nearly identical except the AM radio wasn't used and the AC switch was left off. This test started at 5pm and lasted until 9am.

Test #3 Results

While the Engel stayed on and well refrigerated the entire time (37F) the battery indicator showed 0 at the end of the test. However, no alarm was heard. So either the unit was not really that low, or it just wasn't to the point of tripping the alarm. At any rate, it held up and kept things nice and cold for the time needed.
Also, as noted, when the AC switch was on, interference (no pun intended) was heard on the AM radio. With the switch off, reception and volume was great.

Test #4 Results

Test #4 saw better performance in the battery life indicator. While running for the first two hours the meter showed 100%. At the end of the run, after 16 hours of use with a temperature delta of 32F between the inside of the fridge and the house temp, the battery showed 10% and could have kept going. If we had chosen to put the fridge outside, we could get a LOT of life out of the Powerpack in the winter.

Conclusions

While the Powerpack didn't fulfilll my dream of being able to run the main house fridge for an extended period of time, I am happy with its performance with the Engel fridge. I feel it will be nice to have a portable power source while camping and traveling and while the length of time may be a concern, it can easily be augmented with another battery attached.