A desperate search for snow, but a lovely camp out

Ron picked me up on Friday arvo, and we head into the Upper Murray, approaching the Main Range from the West. We camped at Tom Groggin first night.

Caught the lift up from Thredbo the next morning, and trekked up Mt Kosciusko, then across toward Mt Townsend, in search of skiable snow. We found a few runs, but it was pretty sparse. 

We missed the lift back down, the walk hurt. Drove round to Island Bend where we met Thor, Robbie and Karen and a few others. They'd set up Thor's hot tub next to the Snowy River, and at about midnight I overcame my phobia of sharing a bath, and enjoyed a sensational experience under the Milky Way drinking a beer.

Great snow, skiing Hotham, testing Peak Oil Jackets

At last, we had the opportunity to test the 2 prototype jackets in snow and blizzard conditions out back of Mount Hotham Victoria. Here's a video we made on phones, from the 2 days skiing testing:

Outback Hotham

So what did we learn?

We first pulled one of the jackets out of the bag when we stopped to put chains on the car. Yep, being canvas we could confidently chuck the jacket down in the mud and rocks, and not worry about pressing a hole in it.

Our first day was spent resort skiing. We're happy to confirm both prototypes kept us warm, dry and protected, including on the slow lift rides over the ridge and into the howling southerly that blew all day.

The unworn surface of the oiled canvas seemed to catch and hold the needle and stella snow flakes a bit, compared to the plastic jackets around us, but we suspect that's because the jacket was new, with the surface being kinda furry. By the end of the second day, we noticed the surface was starting to get that signature shine of a worn oilskin, and snow fell away.

The Riri Aqua zips worked beautifully! They set, glide and unset effortlessly. Easily the best waterproof zip out there. We'll change the placement of the zip though. We thought to end the front zip at the neckline, leaving the studs and plackets to close the neck, and keep it free and flexible. We wanted to avoid that slight stiffness that a zip can bring to the neck, but we concede this is not a big enough problem to warrant loosing the ease of the zip. In future makes, for the jackets that have the Riri Aqua zips, we'll place them up over the neck, and leave off the plackets and studs.

The difference between the Peak Oil Jacket prototype 2 and 3 is in the sleeve. On the 2 we set the sleeve in, meaning a seam runs over the shoulder and under the arm. On the 3 we used a raglan sleeve, where the seams run up to the neckline. We think the raglan fits better and offers more freedom of movement, but we'd like to work a bit more on the set-in sleeve, and experiment with a removable sleeve design.

The pockets. We reckon 4 pockets on the front is overkill. We didn't use the 2 lower pockets at all, and the vertical zip was difficult to manage. Either we'll leave off the lower pockets, or rethink their placement to reflect the rarity of their use. The two breast pockets where very useful though, and the vertical Aqua zips made them easy to access with a pack on.

The hoods covered well, and in these conditions they're a must have - both fully on, or half up the back of the head with the collar all done up. We're looking for a better way to do hoods though, that fits them to all different head and neck sizes, that blocks all wind, and keeps fitted on a moving head. We're also conscious that some people like to remove the hood, we've got a few ideas...

We're not sure the Ventile lining needs to be sewn in. We're thinking to try a removable lining so to make it washable and replaceable, plus the added versatility of using the liner alone, or swapping it for insulation.

Finally, the weight question. These jackets are heavier than their plastic counterparts, but we honestly didn't notice a difference. We spent a day resort skiing, followed by a pretty big day back country, which had us wearing them in a full range of situations and body temperatures. They packed down into our bags no trouble, and seemed to feel nicer than the plastics when we wore them climbing out of a valley.

All up, we're stoked the prototypes worked in the conditions we're designing for. They're confidently tough, perform well in snow conditions, feel good when active, and the weight didn't bother us on these extended day trips. This first test has shown us we're on the right track, and with a few minor tweaks we'll have a jacket we're proud to put out to market.

Move to Melbourne

We were sad to leave Darwin, it really is a lovely place. Yes its hot, but the public pools are free, the shopping centres have aircon, the sunsets are magic, and the people are open hearted.

We moved to Melbourne where Leigh took a job at La Trobe University and Sunshine settled in to the idea of having another baby. We live in a nice house in Ivanhoe, Leigh rides to work each day.

Fishing

Gary from work, took Jon (also from work) and I out to see his cousin Greg - a NT Ranger out at the Mary River National Park, and his mate Chippy. Fires were burning all around this day. We went fishing on the Wildman River, along paper bark river banks. We could see big barramundi swimming past plenty, but could only hook 3 on the lures, and none on the live bait. A spear is definitely the better way to catch barra in the dry season, a time when they hibernate.

Here's the video

Ubud

Sunshine, Eve and I just returned from a week in Ubud, Bali. Despite the seemingly unchecked growth in tourism in Bali - the people and their art, their land and its beauty have retained so much.

Here's an 8 minute video we made on my phone at nights.

Here's Sunshine's photos