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Sticker Shock!

Joined
Jan 31, 2013
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Location
Warren, Manitoba
2 years ago my sleeping pad got punctured and it refused to take a repair. Last year I almost bought a Synmat 9 LW over the Summer but they were a back order item and may not have arrived before the next trip, which at the time was 3 months away, so I used the other one which also is dead now. Today I went out to Wilderness Supply which is just around the corner from work to see about the Synmat again and a new, smaller Pelican. Those are the only two items on this years gear list of needed stuff.

Well, the price jumped a whole bunch since last year due to our very low dollar, trading at 79 cents against the US dollar, so, anything imported is 25% more expensive than last year, roughly. I had also been looking at the Neo Air Dream, which was supposedly $225 but I really don't want an air mattress since they get cold in the shoulder seasons. The Dream also packs larger since it is two parts, the Neo Air pad and the Dream part, and together they weigh over 4 pounds, which is just less than our old pads. The SynMat measures 6"x11" packed, our old pads were 6" x 25". Anyway, I did order the SynMat and it will be here next week, which gives me a few months to work OT to pay for it. The Pelican I will be getting in a couple of weeks and will sell the old bigger one to help offset those costs.

The point of this post is... if you are a Canadian paddler looking for new gear, beware of sticker shock. If you have a passport (I don't) and a handy gear store in the US, go buy it there if you can. Or order it to a place in the US that you can go pick it up at. Our US friends may want to consider this year for a trip north considering the exchange rate and low gas prices. Mind you, our gas is still more expensive than yours, but the exchange rate may help compensate for that difference. Presently here we are at 95 cents a litre, which translates to $3.59 a US gallon. This time last year we were paying $5.10 a US gallon.

I have more pricey vehicle repairs to do a.s.a.p. and need new tires, so I'm selling off gear where I can to raise funds but I still needed the new gear for this season.

Karin
 
Kijiji can be a wonderful thing, the downside is everyone in Manitoba is cheap since wages are low here. Sold an old pack I used one season and haven't in years, $80. The Tarn 2 tent in pristine condition, someone coming to see it tomorrow, listed for $160, they offer $125 but I need the money. Someone interested in the yoke pads, waiting to hear back from them. Still have the Canadian for sale and by June will have the 15 foot Tremblay ready too, but that is Christine's funds. I need to poke through what else we have. I have some really nice one piece graphite fishing rods from my Bass Tournament days, but they are pretty species specific and there are no bass out here, which means I have no use for them and likely could never replace them either. Rods I have paid as much as $350 for. I do have a 9 foot spinning rod I could part with, Fenwick, bought for Steelhead. I'll have to see.
 
Hey Mem, I have a vintage Pioneer home audio 8 Track deck and a dozen tapes you can have for a brown bill.
 
Hmmmmmm....will it fit the mount in the deck of my canoe? Just kidding, I think I still have an 8 track somewhere, and quite a few tapes. Keep trying....I'm going to be laying out a lot of money next week, might be broke for a while after that. You got any fly rods or is it all just spinning stuff?
 
No fly rods, but I do have a 9 1/2 foot Fenwick rod. It would be great for lobbing live bait a distance and capable of horsing larger fish, it was designed for Steelhead, which is likely a fish neither you nor I have around. Most of what I have are Quantum Tour Edition one piece graphite rods for bait casting and bait casting reels. Not much call for that stuff out here but I may put em up on Kijiji anyway. Back when I bought them in the 90's there were uber expensive but nowadays with technology how it is, a rod I paid over $300 for is selling for half that.

I had a Craig 8 track auto deck complete with the slide out mount. When I tried it no longer worked but was a classic piece of Canadiana. Craig was a Canadian Tire deal wasn't it? I remember having it in my Mom's Chevy Citation for awhile.

We also have a late 70's Crestliner 16 foot Aluminum boat for sale, $500. It has a side console, doesn't leak but needs paint.

Are you buying that canvas tent you want or is the money for your surgeon?
 
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If the doc gives the go ahead to start walking again on Wed, I'm going to get the new tent. Thinking it will come in handy for May long weekend fishing. That boat is almost interesting, I've been thinking of a boat for a while, but it's hard to justify with a dozen canoes laying around.
 
You would be better off with a Y-stern and small motor, but we sold the 18 footer to Doug Ingram last year.
 
GASP! Gear Acquisition Syndrome Pain. I'm feeling it too. I've nixed any number of gear items over the past year because of the cost. We'll see how this spring-summer-fall goes. We may or may not add to our gear.
 
Turns out the Synmat I paid for and ordered on Friday is a discontinued item and not available? So then why is it still on the Exped website? There are very few 9cm thickness versions still available, but that thickness is why I chose it, considering I am a side sleeper and after a few days on the ground my hips get quite sore. So, back to the store to find something that is available, that doesn't cost more but still suits what I need.

Exped has a new TT (Trail Tuff) version, but not available in Canada.

Oh well, still a long while until soft water anyway.
 
Are you looking for the 9 or the 9 UL? Its available here. I could get you one and mail it to you..REI has it for me for $136 . Plus shipping and whatever Manitoba tax there is.

also Campmor has the Downmat 9 for $169 and does ship to Canada. Its $16 minimum shipping.. ( MEC charges more for US shipping, so its not out of line)
 
Nobody in Manitoba carries the Synmat's, only downmats and I am not into paying over $300 for that. Synmats would be shipped from Exped Canada in Toronto. I could get a UL 9 but that would be far too light for what we do, I don't abuse my equipment but I don't coddle it either. It needs to take use so UL is out. The biggest issue with cross border shipping is it usually comes UPS and they charge a brokerage fee that makes it unbearable. If I had that option without using UPS I could save some loonies for sure.
 
Campmor uses USPS and Canada Post.

Backcountry.com has Synmat but uses UPS which of course is to be avoided. It looks like the 9 reg has been discontinued in favor of the 9 UL. Sometimes the UL is not fragile.
 
Mihun, I have a US mail box and travel there once a month to pick up food items purchased over there that we can't get here. We have lots of food allergies.
If there is something you are looking for, I'd be happy to order it for you and get it across the border. Then all I would need to do is to ship it out to you.
Let me know if you'd like to pursue this. It may take the sting out of US shopping for you

Momentum
 
So, during the typical April snowstorm today I went in to discuss options at Wilderness Supply. Exped is pretty much dropping the utilitarian line of sleeping pads (the inexpensive/durable ones) favouring the Syn-Mat Ultra Light series and the new hybrid Winter ones that are 50% more expensive. The Winter light series apparently have a synthetic/down blend and could potentially eliminate the Down-mats as well in the long run. Another interesting note would the be that internal pump in the regular Syn Mat which from most reports worked well, is being discontinued as well and the Winter Light series will require buying a separate manual pump. So basically it looks like they are moving towards just the top end of things for only those who can afford pads well above the $250 range.

I ordered the Neo Air Dream. 4" thick of air and additional padding. The Neo Air pad slips into a pocket on the Dream pad part and can be used separately if desired. I think Christine was pushing me to get a Dream since she is interested in one also. I'll let you know how it is once I get it. I will need the little pump they sell that runs off 2 AAA batteries since I would die trying to blow the Neo Air up.

Thanks Momentum and YC for the kind offers, but I will have the opportunity to actually see and touch the pad without fully committing to it. I'm one of those odd people that needs to see and touch something before I buy it.
 
Despite the hammock being shipped via USPS, I still have $70 to pay for customs. Not sure what it's for yet, but I suspect the fabric used is not of domestic origin. When I bought the Amsteel last week there was no customs fees.
 
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