[Time travel back to when we were stuck in Pokhara waiting for good weather.  This was written then (day 32) but has apparently been lost in computer limbo till now.]

Time for a bit of reflection brings me to the subject of gear.

Last year I lined up all my important gear at the last minute and it didn’t
turn out very well. The glider went like caca and the harness was
super uncomfortable. This year I lined up all my most important gear
at the last minute and — wait at second, isn’t that the refrigerator
magnet definition of insanity — repeating the same thing and
expecting different results? — Regardless, this year I lined up all
my most important gear at the last minute and . . . it’s all worked
brilliantly. Only one rational conclusion: the gods are on my side
this year.

A few highlights:

• The harness. I’m using the Sup’Air “Hybrid” harness, a slightly
  heavier and newer version of the Sup’Air AltiRando which is what Brad,
  Antoine and Mike have.
• Some pleasant surprises –
  - Both in backpack mode and in harness mode the Hybrid fits camping
  gear, food, everything.
  - The material looks pretty thin but has proved to be durable. No holes
  despite less than perfect treatment. It’s also has some stretch to
  it, which is what allows it to fit as much as it does.
  - With my sleeping bag in the bottom airbag, and my Neoair pad mostly
  inflated against my back in the top airbag, both airbags are fully
  inflated before I clip in. This means no dependence on, or worries
  about the air intakes, and probably as much protection as anything.
  - The velcro-on leg covering turns it into a pod – maybe not that
  essential for aerodynamics – but way worth it’s weight in warmth and
  comfort at 5000m.
  - But the really unexpected pleasure is that the harness was comfortable
  from the get-go. Maybe 15 minutes of adjusting before I left
  California, and the flying posture and dangle angle has been just
  right, even on bar. I can’t say that about any pod I’ve ever flown.
  - We’re leaning towards taking a more southerly route from here to the
  Sikkim border so are probably all going to trade our leg coverings for
  stirrups and save a little weight.

• The gliders. Sweet! And comforting in the Himalayan gnar-gnar. All
  of us have been really happy with our gliders. Mike, Brad, and
  Antoine have the UP X-Light and I’m on the new Trango-XC. Hard to
  notice any significant difference in glide, except Mike’s which was 10
  or 15 kg over the top of the weight range and did seem to go a little
  worse. On the contrary, I’m a good bit lighter on mine than ideal –
  It’s an M and I’ve probably been flying it between ~ 91 and 97 Kg, so
  on the heavy end, still 10 Kg. below the top. Flying it so light in
  the sometimes turbulent conditions we’ve seen, means it collapses more
  easily when I’m not on it (especially so when my hands are fully off
  the brakes) but it’s still solid in the nastiest stuff when my hands
  and attention all on it. The handling’s intuitive, and it seems to
  glide as well and as fast as the X-Light, or very close, despite its
  lower aspect ratio and underloading. I think what I appreciate most
  though, after spending too much time in Western Nepal landing or
  flying close to terrain in strong wind and turbulence, is that it’s
  been totally benign in asymetrics, frontals, and recoveries.
• 0.8 Liter Ti-Ware Teapot from REI – this is the shit for easy boiling
  in the fire!
• Thermarest NeoAir – great & next time I’d go for the 3/4 length pad
  for the weight savings.
• Mountain Hardware Phantom down jacket Phantom down sleeping bag –
  super warm and light. The comfort range of the jacket extends
  surprising far into the heat, considering it’s warmth. I’ve worn it
  over just a thin long sleeve layer every flying day so far, and even
  though we’re planning on hotter days ahead I’m ditching my fleece
  layer and keeping the feathers, rather than the other way around.
• Emirates Airlines plastic bag – the one they gave me at the check in
  counter to protect my naked Hybrid from conveyor-belt evils. It’s
  been a pretty great all-around protector bag, tarp, etc, and keept my
  self and stuff protected from dew, rain, punctures, embers, etc. But
  it’s finally time to retire it.
• Ciprofloxin – well worth its weight. Also some pro-biotic tabs for after.
• AA rechargeable batteries – They power my radio, my vario, my GPS and
  my headlamp. This has been a great system since everything backs up
  everything else, and it makes it less complicated to figure out what
  to charge when those precious solar charger amps are available. My
  Flytec 6030 is a pretty good battery charger itself and has one of the
  lighter 220v AC adapters out there, part of why I brought it even
  though I could have gotten by on just a GPS and beeper only vario.
  I’m also carrying a Lenmar “BCUNI” Charger; It’s light, charges
  everything else (Everyone’s LiIon phone batteries, still and video
  camera batteries, and AAs as well), and has the same dc input plug and
  specs as the flytec, so no separate cords or warts to carry.