@RobertH  Thank you for sending us an email! We're going to post it here in the community so other folks can read it and potentially weigh in: Hi @REI-JohnJ  Thanks for responding to my post. Much appreciated.  Yes, we’re talking about calories as a measure of energy burned during a workout.  The underlying objective is to assess the approximate daily calorie intake I need pulling a sled for 20-25km a day.  Excluding rest stops, this works out at around 5 hours/day pulling (5km/hr or 3mph/hr).  I should stress that there are so many variables - body weight, pack and ski weight, sled weight and friction resistance, distance, ascent, descent, speed, terrain difficulty, temperature and altitude to name a few – that a rule of thumb of 10,000kj per day (500g of food averaging 2,000kj/100gm) plus extra energy bars is probably the wisest approach!  It’s not as though there’ll be a convenience store on route to top up supplies! So, to come back to the objective and a method to make a pre-assessment of the energy requirement based on the closest activity to mimic pulling a sled, namely tyre pulling. If I was attempting the expedition on a fat bike I could calculate energy expenditure quite accurately using a pedal power meter.  At the other end of the scale, if there’s no exertion-related data available from my body, my gps device is left to calculate energy expenditure based on the raw metrics including time, distance, age, weight, and activity level.  Since this method doesn’t take into consideration my effort level ascending or descending, headwind or tailwind, etc, the number of calories burned is only generic. That brings me to your suggestion – heart rate.  According to the sports coaches and nutritionists, most of the HR-based calculations are within 10-20% accuracy. Some of the algorithms used in HR devices are very sophisticated.  The more advanced methods evaluate beat to beat to estimate MET (Metabolic Equivalent) which is used to determine actual work expenditure.  Some devices apparently have a learn function that with continued use tracks changes in fitness and adjusts the energy algorithm. Wearing a strap around my chest while pulling a sled up and down paths in my local park seems to be a reliable method to measure calories expended even with the HR calculation algorithm being ± 10-20% accurate based on comparisons performed by cyclists using HR data and power meters.  Even so I may still rely on a rule of thumb! All the best, Robert ... View more

@Cdawley4  Thanks for reaching out! This is a really good question, thanks for bringing it to the community. @Dad_Aint_Hip definitely gave you some great advice, I'm going to add a little bit from my own experience. Having lived in Alaska, I can speak with experience to the ever-present danger of (very large) bears. I have traveled in the backcountry with and without firearms (I do not own one either, however, many of my adventure partners did) and had the good fortune of never having a bear encounter where I feared for my safety. I attribute this mainly to a very healthy fear of bears that drives me to take all steps necessary to prevent a negative encounter (for my own life but also for that of the bears). When traveling in bear country I always make sure to bring three things: 1) Knowledge. This is usually gleaned from the friendly rangers in whatever jurisdiction I'm in. I'll ask if there have been any bear sightings or encounters, what are the requirements/suggestions for food storage (it could be that a bear barrel is required), and if there are any restrictions for carrying a weapon or bear spray. 2) Bear spray and a holster. From the years I spent in Alaska I had this on me at all times when I stepped onto a trail in the backcountry. The holster allowed me to place the bear spray on my shoulder straps when using a backpack, or my waist belt when cycling (I always wore a fanny pack). Additionally, I ordered some inert bear spray canisters from Counter Assault to practice with. While not a complicated system, I found it reassuring to know what it felt like to fire off a canister and exactly how far the spray shoots. It also is important to remember that the idea is to create a cloud of bear spray that the bear charges through and inhales deeply. That helps create the kind of reaction that has the bear heading in a different direction. It is really important to know your surroundings and, most importantly, how the wind is behaving before deploying bear spray. 3) Bear bells. These are fiercely debated as to whether they are effective or not in alerting bears to your presence. What I believe is that if I'm afraid of bears enough to use a bear bell, I'm going to be afraid enough of bears to take all the appropriate precautions to keep both of us safe in the backcountry. The bear bell also serves as a nice reminder that I need to holler 'hey bear' one more time or come up with another song to sing on the trail. For me, bear spray is a much easier and less expensive way to prepare for a bear encounter than a firearm. Not to mention that the threshold for a very bad outcome is much lower if something goes wrong or a mistake is made. I will mention that there are restrictions on bear spray in some places (some states consider it a firearm) so you'll want to make sure you are checking regulations for every place you go. Lastly, I encourage you to check out these Expert Advice articles on safety in the wilderness, they contain a lot of good information on many related topics as well. Hopefully this helps, thanks! ... View more

@RobertH  Thanks for reaching out! That sounds like quite the trip you have planned! When I was living in Fairbanks, Alaska I had the great honor of helping support (with the logistics of storing gear for the expedition) Andrew Lock's two attempts to ski across the Brook's Range with Neil Ward. I remember talking with him about his training regime and it sounded very familiar to what you are doing. Good on you! In terms of calculating 'kilojoules' I am assuming you mean calories burned (likely what we refer to it as here in the states). Is that what you're looking for? How much energy you are burning during your workouts? We have some fitness watches (and there are even some rough calculations you can find on the internet, depending on how accurate you want them to be) that calculate calories burned by using your heart rate and personal information such as height and weight. Please let us know if that is the kind of information you are looking for or if it is something else. Thanks! ... View more

@GEARMAN  Thanks for reaching out! It looks like we are hoping to get the Cannondale Topstone Carbon 5 in stock towards the end of March. It appears as though we will be carrying it in the 'Graphite' color only. Hopefully this helps, thanks! ... View more

@madefromstraw  What a great opportunity for you to introduce your daughter to the outdoors! Spending time with my kids (now 5 and 😎 outdoors is one of the most rewarding parts of being a parent. While we stayed pretty close to the trailhead when they were really little, one of the best pieces of advice I could give is similar to @Dad_Aint_Hip: we go as far as they can go and when they're done we're done. Also, bring all the snacks. For one, that makes the goal flexible and simple, and the snacks make sure they don't lose energy/interest too early. You may not even make it a mile before having to turn back but if they remember how fun that mile was they'll be more willing to go again next time. One of my proudest moments as a parent was a 14 mile bikepacking trip I took with my daughter when she was 6. It took us a long time and there was a lot of walking, but she was such a good sport and we had a blast. She talks about that trip two years later every time we ride bikes. I credit being patient with her endurance at an early age to her ability to get after it now that she's a bit older.  I'm going to tag @ayhunt, who I bet can share some other tips and advice from trips they've done with their kids. Hopefully this helps, best of luck, and come back and tell us about how the trip goes! ... View more

@ChelsWilk  Thanks for reaching out and welcome to the community! @OldGuyot is spot on in their response, the only thing we wanted to add is that we had a similar conversation a few weeks ago that might also help shed some light on the topic. Feel free to check out the post 'Backpack Sizing - Is There a "Close enough" zone?', by @Dad_Aint_Hip. There is good insight there as well. Hopefully this helps, thanks! ... View more

@KALongo  Thanks for reaching out! We are expecting to see more tandem kayaks coming in throughout the spring. Is there a particular style you are looking for? Here are a couple of options that we are hoping to see sometime in the beginning of February: Eddyline Whisper CL Tandem Kayak. Old Town Dirigo 155 Tandem Kayak. Delta Kayaks Delta Traverse 17.5 Tandem Kayak. There are a lot of variable impacting manufacturing, shipping and processing at this time. As such, it doesn't look like we are expecting to get very many of these in the shipment in February. Another option, the Pelican Premium Argo 136PX Tandem Kayak, should be shipping in early April. Additionally, we are expecting to see several different models of kayak trailers back in stock in the next few weeks. Hopefully this helps, thanks! ... View more

@BlacqueJacque  Welcome to the community! We're excited you're here and looking forward to tapping your expertise in backpacking. Where in Canada are you from? Do you have a favorite part of the country for your adventures? We will be sure to tag you on posts relating to your experience! We're glad you're here! ... View more

@adventuredad530  Welcome! We're glad you've joined our community! Based on the photo you uploaded and your mention of photography, we thought you might be interested in a couple of threads: What's your go-to camera on the trail?  Any advice for a beginner camera for taking photos when backpacking?  Feel free to jump in to the conversation (and we always encourage you share some of your photos)! Thanks! ... View more

@AGPark  Thanks for reaching out! The visible light transmission (VLT) allowed by a lens is a pretty important factor in choosing a pair of goggles. Basically, VLT is how much light a lens allows to reach your eyes. This can be pretty critical depending on the conditions on a given day. If it is cloudy or a low-light time of day (i.e. dusk), a lighter tinted lens will allow more light in and provide good contrast in the terrain. On a bluebird day, a darker tinted lens will allow less light in and cut down on the glare of the sun on the snow. You can read much more about lenses in our Expert Advice article, How to Choose Goggle for Skiing and Snowboarding. Feel free to connect here in the community if you have any other questions. Hopefully this helps, thanks! ... View more

@Nickb Thanks for reaching out! There are a lot of factors that go into making the right choice for transporting your bike on your vehicle. We have a few questions that can help us narrow down the best option for you: What kind of bike are you transporting? As an example, a heavier bike like a full-suspension mountain bike, fat tire bike, or an ebike will work better on a hitch mounted rack. A lightweight road bike could be just fine on a trunk rack. If you have a carbon fiber bike you will want to think about whether or not you want the rack to be touching the frame or if you want the rack to secure the bike by the wheel. Additionally, if your bike's top tube drops down significantly you may need to purchase an aftermarket adapter to make the bike fit on a trunk mounted bike rack. How far are you planning on driving? The further and longer you drive the more secure you want your bike to be. A trunk mount could still work, you'll just want to make sure you check the straps often to make sure they are still taught. How often will you be transporting your bike? If you are using your rack for a once-weekly ride and value the ability to put it on and remove it quickly then a trunk mounted rack may work better. If you are going to use it multiple times a week/day, as in driving your bike to a park and ride and then commuting from there, then a hitch mounted rack may be a better option. What size hitch do you have? Most hitch racks come in 1.25" and 2" options, but some are only available in one size. In terms of Thule and Yakima, both will give you similar options, features, performance, and quality. It really comes down to which style and specific feature set you like with each rack. If you're planning on adding any other car racks to your car, it is also worth considering whether you want them all to match in terms of brand and style. If you have questions about specific bike rack models we'd be happy to answer them. Or if you want to fill in some details of what you're looking for we can assist there too! Hopefully this helps, thanks! ... View more