DD Bergen Rucksack Unboxing + Tent Pegs and Fire Piston

This is an unboxing video of some items I just received from DD Hammocks. I got some new superlight tent pegs to replace a couple that I have lost. I got a Fire Piston to try out a method of fire starting I've never tried before. And, I bought the DD Bergen Rucksack. I am very excited about all three items, but particularly the DD Bergen Rucksack. It is the newest version and seems to have some big improvements. I've been planning to change my 2 day bag and it looks like this will be exactly what I was hoping for.
DD Bergen Rucksack www.ddhammocks....
DD Superlight tent pegs www.ddhammocks....
The Pyro Piston www.ddhammocks....

[@dougdixonhull]

Great video. I'm from the UK and use a lot of the DD gear including the bag, hammocks and jura2 sleeping bag. They do really good value gear. Just submitted

[@johncampbell335]

Nice! Happy trails.

[@betweenfiveandseven]

I wish the same for you! I hope they all feel like they are down hill no matter where they take you.

[@betweenfiveandseven]

My opinion varies quite a bit depending on your use of fire in your camps and how close you need your fire to be to your tarp. Silnylon is probably the best all-around performer as far as weight vs waterproof vs noise etc, but it is also the most flammable. Dyneema (formerly known as cuben fiber) is the lightest material you mentioned but gee whiz is it expensive. I have a few cuben fiber items and I paid through the nose for them. A few pinholes from embers flying around from popping pine logs in the fire can be a real heart breaker when you consider your wallet. PU Coated nylon or polyester tend to melt if they encounter embers but they don't catch flame very easily. My tendency is to stick to PU coated nylon (DD Superlight tarp is one... and much, much heavier to carry is the Aqua Quest Defender series) or PU coated polyester like your DD 4X4 because I'm very likely to have a close by fire. My DD 3X3 has been a constant companion this winter. ... If your climate is such that you don't need a fire within 6 feet of your tarp, silnylon and combo-silnylon/pu tarps like the Aqua Quest guide series tarps are what I'd recommend. I hope that helps.

[@MrDanAng1]

The tent pegs look nice, although on DD's home page they are yellow, which I would prefer, much easier to spot if they are dropped on the ground or a guy line slip away from the peg.

[@betweenfiveandseven]

The new ones are anodized aluminum in a gold color for sure. I'm still not entirely sure what material the ones I have are made from (they are titanium colored and the color doesn't change when scratched), but a magnet doesn't stick to them so they are either aluminum or titanium.

[@MrDanAng1]

Essential Gear & Useful Skills Ok, the ones in your video isn't the same as they sell now. At least not the colour. If you did pay the same price that is listed now on DD's home page they are aluminium for sure. Good to know they come in a stand out colour now instead of more or less camouflage! 😀

[@betweenfiveandseven]

I had to search my email for the receipt. I purchased some at the same time I bought a DD Superlight Tarp (they were about 25% more money then) and these in the video (I paid about 17% more than the current price). .. I agree with you about the color. The entire reason I got the set in this video was because I lost one or two of the previous bunch. I need to have 10 for my preferred set up of the DD Superlight.

[@MrDanAng1]

Thank you! With the price they cost, it's pretty sure they are not titanium.

[@msilverhammer]

Thanks for showcasing some new products. I would first say that I have seen fire pistons used before, and usually with varying degrees of difficulty and success. While interesting, I am still not sure why anyone would ever use one, unless that was the only method available to start a needed fire. Matches, (water proof, storm proof, and everything proof) abound, and are very simple to use, and very reliable, as are lighters and torches of all types, which are available at super economical prices at places like Dollar Stores! For those who want a very reliable, but a bit less easy to use method of starting fires, there is the ferrocerium rod. When used in conjunction with tinder like cotton balls and Vaseline, or dryer lint and Vaseline, or fatwood, and magnesium shavings on a tack cloth, this is pretty much a fool proof way of starting fires. Moving down the list there are many more fire starting alternatives like the magnifying glass and sunlight, shorting out a battery by touching the terminals to steel wool, mixing potassium permanganate and glycerin, and the hand drill or bow drill. At the bottom of my list you would probably find the fire piston, as it is probably the least easiest to use, and the least reliable fire starting system. The M.O.L.L.E. backpack from DD Tarps looks very nice, and improved as you pointed out. Just a little comment about the product description...I hear the M.O.L.L.E. acronym thrown around quite a bit, but actually, and anyone please feel free correct me if I am wrong, but based upon my military and bushcraft experience, I am pretty sure that the webbing on the backpack is called P.A.L.S., (Pouch Attachment Ladder System), and the webbing is commonly misidentified as M.O.L.L.E., (Modular Lightweight Load Carry Equipment), which instead is the actual backpack or other carrying equipment that has P.A.L.S. webbing sewn on to it. So to clarify...PALS is the actual webbing found on, or actually sewn on MOLLE backpacks, vests, belts, or any other load carrying equipment. MOLLE is the device, or the carrier if you will, that the PALS webbing is sewn on or attached to by some method. P.A.L.S. is an acronym for Pouch Attachment Ladder System. M.O.L.L.E. is an acronym for Modular Lightweight Load Carrying Equipment. So the backpack that you reviewed is a MOLLE backpack with PALS webbing so that pouches, and other gear can be attached. I am not sure if this matters much, except to the manufacturers, the military, and possibly someone who is mildly OCD about certain things. Anyway, thanks again for the showcasing of the products, and I look forward to the reviews.

[@betweenfiveandseven]

I'm not sure about the fire piston yet either. I think it might just be a fun science experiment, but it's going to take a little time and practice to form a solid opinion one way or another. What I will say is that friction fires, ferro rods, and etc do end up teaching important skills. I've seen people fail to make fire with matches and lighters because they didn't understand tinder... You are, of course, correct about the webbing mounting systems. ALICE clips are one more part of that equation.

[@TheAkashicTraveller]

Winter sale finishes. New version comes out. I see what you did there.

[@betweenfiveandseven]

Good to see they made a new version. I was planning to review this bag and it does have a couple of shortcomings. It looks like they addressed a couple of the big ones... but not the most annoying. I don't think I'll be buying the new version, and I'm not entirely sure I'd buy the version I have again even at a lower price. ... After using this bag a couple of dozen times, I'm not super thrilled with it. It has good an bad points, but there are a couple of things that just make it difficult to use like the lack of 2-way zippers on the pouches and the lumbar bag belt padding is rubbish. ... But, in any case, with a new version out, I won't be reviewing the version I have. There's not much point reviewing things people can't buy.

[@KaylynnStrain]

that is one neat pack, hope it works well for you

[@betweenfiveandseven]

I hope so too. It has some cool features I didn't notice in the unboxing.

[@redlock4004]

Check out the fir piston build by Native Robin it's very good.

[@betweenfiveandseven]

I'll do that. So far, I have completely failed with the one in this video. I have had exactly zero success with it.

[@redlock4004]

Essential Gear & Useful Skills Is the charcloth any good? Hit it with the spark from a fero rod or something. It should catch and make an ember VERY easily. You may have to make some of your own. It's not hard to do and that stuff is good to have with you even without fire piston tool. good vid on how to make it was done by Far North Survival and Bushcraft. I make mine in an old pellet can on the gas bbq.

[@turtlewolfpack6061]

Looks like it is a 3V Gear Paratus.

[@betweenfiveandseven]

It's a similar set up for sure except for the lid. I actually considered the Paratus. It's about the right capacity I wanted and a nice price.

[@DrewBe59635]

To hell with instructions, real outdoors men hit their hand a couple of times and preach with vigor and passion. Then find a paper with words on it to calm them down. It magically works after reading said paper.

[@betweenfiveandseven]

I've read the paper and still haven't had success. I might have been closer before reading the destructions ;)

[@adventureswithfrodo2721]

unfortunately it is all English gear.

[@betweenfiveandseven]

A lot of top notch kit comes from UK designers. Snugpak, Kelty, Bushware, Tiso, Mountain Equipment, Keela, Buffalo, Alpkit, Karrimore, Saunders, Terra Nova, Bison Bushcraft, DD Hammocks, Bulldog, Viper, Odin... And, lucky for folks in the US and the UK, it sounds like we are about to embark on a whole new era of trade with the UK due to brexit and our new president, It will likely be the very first actual "free trade" agreement that is really free and fair for both countries.

[@Rickblack00]

Tim Barton scottish gear mate not english 😛