Tag Archives: GearReview

2021 Faves!

I will never not say ”fave” when talking about my favorites. I do not care about how lazy or untrendy it sounds, I will always talk about my faves as “faves!” And while this post is months late and I have a great backlog of adventures to talk about, I will start my 2022 posting on Sustaining Sara with these faves:

Nemo Hornet Elite 2 Tent

I hope everyone followed my tent escapades when planning for last summer’s Pictured Rocks Backpacking adventure. After much thought and help from my sister Rachel, in Gear Shakedown #3, Charlie and I decided to borrow a real backpacking tent.

This tent was so easy to set up and carry! Charlie and I liked it so much that when we found one in the REI Garage Sale, we coped it for ourselves!

AreoPress

A very exciting thing I did in 2021 was become a barista! When I first started I wanted to learn everything I could about coffee and TRY ALL THE COFFEE DRINKS!

Since Charlie got me my AeroPress for my birthday, I have been making my at-home espresso with it. It is super-simple to use and there are so many instructional videos online to get you started!

My Toiletry Bag

Due to some life stuff, I was moving around a lot in 2021 and having the OMYSTYLE Cosmetics, Makeup and Toiletries Organizer came in so clutch. I always had what I want with me (as long as I had this bag packed lol).

Trello, these are my fave things from 2021. I hope you can see that these things are all useful based on the lifestyle I live. While I may not be using the tent everyday, the other two items are very important parts of my everyday life! Anyway, what has been your fav useful gadget? I would love to know what things make your life easier!

Love,

Sara

2020 Faves…and 2019!?

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I think we would all be surprised how much weight our recommendations have to those closest to us. Sometimes our interests overlap with the people we know more than we realize and that is what I found out in 2019 when I decided I needed to tell people about items that I truly loved and made my life easier. With those posts buried in the Facebook archives, here is a list of things that I loved in 2020 AND 2019!

2020

Marmot Trestles Elite 20 Sleeping Bag

With 2020 not meeting anyone’s expectations, I started to finally feed my desire to start backpacking. That being said, one of the first things I bought was my sleeping bag. For this I researched bags used for backpacking and a handful of qualities that were important to me; warmth and comfort, compact-ability, and affordability. The Women’s Marmot Trestles Elite 20 Sleeping bag caught my eye for its price compared to other backpacking sleeping bags and the partner compatibility – meaning I convinced my fiancé to also get this bag so we could zip the bags together!

This bag is so warm that it is chihuahua approved!

IPad Pro

I have not had a personal laptop since college and on top of that I tend to over-flood my IPhone 7, so I remedied this by buying and IPad Pro. I have been able to separate work and fun (a big struggle for me) by moving game and social apps to my IPad, leaving my phone to its bare necessities. With the addition of the Magic Keyboard and Apple Pencil my IPad has become my laptop and has even enabled me to start this blog! While it is definitely a luxury item, it has really made my life easier.

Hammock Accessories

Once you decide to start backpacking you realize there are many choices in gear, but I dare say picking a shelter provokes the most research. There are so many varieties of tents or even just a simple tarp for the brave, but I chose to evolve my hammock kit as my backpacking shelter. I have had an Eno Eagle DoubleNest Hammock for 2 years and coveted my sister’s Eno Hammock for years before that. Since I already had the hammock and the straps it was easy to start building this shelter. All I needed was the bug net and rain tarp. This is by far the most comfortable sleeping setup outdoors, has room for cutting costs to fit a tighter budget, and all the components can even be purchased at once with the Eno OneLink system.

Later on I even bought and under quilt for Midwest fall camping!

2019

Yeti Can Koozie

My fiancé had gotten me one of these can koozies and I can hardly drink a beer without using it. This koozie keeps your drink cold for hours (if it lasts that long). It is a little heavy, but you get used to it. They even have a slim can koozies that I think I may need to invest in!

Carhart Leggings

First clothing item! When I got these leggings I was working in warehouse management and my high-visibility vest would burst from holding so many pens, radios, and notebooks. But when I wore these leggings I felt like I had myself put together. There are no shortage of pockets, fit true-to-size, and are reinforced in the knees. A lot of my girlfriends that work outdoors, on farms, and other labor positions swear by these leggings!

National Geographic Road Atlas

In 2019 I had the pleasure of being on two road trips. One was from Michigan to California and the other was California to Michigan. On the first road trip my sister had me help navigate some of the no-service areas with the National Geographic Road Atlas. Then when my fiancé and I drove back to Michigan I just had to have my own Road Atlas! We even used this on a Northern Michigan trip. The maps are easy to follow and the states are even in alphabetical order. I just cannot recommend this enough for your car or recreation vehicle.

Bonus points that my uncle said he was so proud of me for acquiring map reading as a skill!

These were the things that were most useful for me, but what were your favorite items in 2020? Comment below or in the Sustaining Sara Facebook Group!

Love,

Sara