Coastal Specific Gear

[Jordo]

Starting my first coastal season this year and although I've done a bunch of reading and watching on what to expect, I know I'll find myself out there wishing I had different stuff.

I know I need caulks, helmet, and high-vis. I'm looking for suggestions for the little things stupid rookies don't think of. Tips and tricks that are coast specific that will make the day to day grind a little less gruelling/ miserable. Feel free to offer any info you think will be of value.

Thanks!

[Scooter]

Whiskey and Aleve.

Are you cooking for yourself? That's common. And do you have a vehicle of your own to be able to carry some optional gear around, or are you bussing/ridesharing? If you're cooking for yourself and have a vehicle, I could make a serious list of some extra suggestions (not that whiskey & aleve aren't serious).

[Jordo]

Cooking for myself but no vehicle.

[Scooter]

Hm. Most motel rooms will have rudimentary cooking gear. But it's always nice to have some extra stuff to make things easier.

I think if I had to start somewhere and gave myself a limit of a box the size of a case of beer, I'd get these things, even though some of them might be in some motel rooms:
- Salt and pepper shakers
- Collapsible pasta strainer
- Good can opener
- Good corkscrew for wine
- Set of good sharp steak knives.

Stuff a handful of plastic grocery bags and a couple rolls of TP into that box too. If you're going to back-bag a roll of TP on the coast in the spring, you'd better wrap it in three layers of grocery bag.

I have a pretty large rubbermaid for carrying my extra kitchen stuff around. For someone who has a vehicle and can make a "permanent" coastal kitchen-augmentation kit, here are some things that I have:
- Flat cookie sheet
- Muffin sheet
- Blender for smoothies and milkshakes
- Rolls of tin foil and saran wrap
- Canola oil
- Cheese grater (flat)
- A couple of sharp larger knives
- A couple spatulas and big scoops
- Decent cutting board
- A decent frying pan
- Some extra spices, siracha sauce, etc.

[retrovertigo]

This one's a bit of a luxury item but it'll make your life so much easier : a slow cooker with a timer. Put your meal together on the day off, stash it in the fridge, turn it on before you leave for work on day one, and you've got your dinners for the rest of the shift waiting for you when you get home.

For the block, if you don't have one already, a big backpack style dry bag is almost a necessity for coastal planting. Keep extra clothing and rain gear in there. And multiple lighters -> even if you're not a smoker, box fires can be make or break on a heavy rain day (particularly those days where you wind up standing around waiting to be picked up at the end of the day).

[bhappy]

I agree with Scooter on the knives - and if you can get yourself at least one decent chopping knife...
Also agree on the slow cooker..If you don't have the room for a slow cooker - hit up a local thrift shop and get one, then donate it at the end of the season.

I strongly believe in the value of rain pants on the coast though some would object... I think they are worth having.

Nitrile gloves to put under your gloves on rainy days (never used in the interior, but regret it when I don't have them on the coast). Multiple pairs of Nitridex gloves too - then just rinse and dry for the next day.

I always bring extra dry clothes in a plastic bag or two, so I have a definite dry pair to change into and a bag to put all my wet shit in at the end of the day.

A caulk wrench, to change your caulks

[backcountrysister]

Everything these guys said. Plus a really good wool sweater. No joke. I always have a dry bag, with my basic gear. 1 shovel and rain gear. You will always be wet. Stay warm. Also. When you get where you are going. Go to Walmart buy basics and than at the end of the month return it. They have a 30 day return policy. I've done that for years. Buy a blender return it. Same with most supplies. I go to Costco for my gloves. Cause they are cheap. A 6 pack is under 20 bucks. I like to rotate a new dry pair for each bag up. I'm weird that way. Also, a small rubber maid to keep lunch and small stuff you can stash into you bags when you head to work for easy packing. Otherwise those damn ravens will feast on everything.

[Sunwatersoil]

How many replacement caulks do you replace per shift? Anyone have a preferred pattern?

[right_arm]

You replace them approximately 1-2 shifts after you slip on a log while telling yourself that you really need to replace your caulks.

[Scooter]

You replace them approximately 1-2 shifts after you slip on 87 different logs while telling yourself that you really need to replace your caulks.

FTFY.

[jdtesluk]

I think Sunwater's point was about replacing only SOME caulks each shift, rather than all at once. Some people find this maintains a more consistent state of grip. I used to aim for about 20-25 at a time, or about one quarter. This was particularly helpful working heavy slash coastal jobs where every second step is onto wood.

[Sunwatersoil]

jdtesluk, thats right. I'm interested in hearing what kinds personal preference planters have. Do some people prefer changing some caulks once a shift or all the caulks every other shift?
100 caulks often run about $25 bucks (steel not ceramic). Are coastal planters spending $100 a month to change out caulks? Or what would be a reasonable cost?

I've been using my caulks interior and let them get quite dull before I swap them out but I expect to be replacing them frequently on the coast.

[jdtesluk]

jdtesluk, thats right. I'm interested in hearing what kinds personal preference planters have. Do some people prefer changing some caulks once a shift or all the caulks every other shift?
100 caulks often run about $25 bucks (steel not ceramic). Are coastal planters spending $100 a month to change out caulks? Or what would be a reasonable cost?

I've been using my caulks interior and let them get quite dull before I swap them out but I expect to be replacing them frequently on the coast.

Reasonable cost is having them provided by your employer
Many if not most on the coast do this.

[Scooter]

I change half of mine each time I swap them out. After six planting days if in rocky land, sometimes only after 9 in softer ground (north coast). Specific checkerboard pattern (sort of) so each caulk gets changed every second time, although I've omitted the few in the center (in front of heel, not in the center of the front part) from my changes and just let that handful get dull. Those few are fairly useless anyway.

Employer pays for them, and reminds us frequently to keep changing them to keep them sharp.

[mwainwright]

Those few useless ones in the arch of your foot are good to rotate out to the inside of your big toe, as I find having sharp ones there just shreds the bottom of your rain pants.

[Scooter]

We may not have a lot of posts here compared to KKRF, but we have quality.

[LiconC]

Alright I'm reviving this thread with a couple rookie questions:

1. What is a good coastal rain jacket?---I feel dumb asking this question because its already been asked so many times on the forum, but a lot of the posts have been made several years ago and specify models of jackets that are no longer manufactured. The Helly Hansen jackets look good, but I don't like how the cuffs don't cinch--I feel like they'd get in away.

2. If I'm working 3 and 1s, how many wool sweaters do I realistically need? 2 per day, therefore 6 in total?

3. What is your strategy for good density while working with inclines?

Thank you for your time and energy.

[Scooter]

1. I don't pay much attention to brands so someone else will be able to answer better, but I do recommend that you get a hi-vis jacket. That way you don't have to wear a vest over top.

2. Two, maybe three. When possible, I wear just the sweater (with a wool scarf and a layer of merino wool base layer under the sweater) instead of raincoat. Plus an extra large hi-vis t-shirt over top of the sweater. That inevitably still gets soaked, since it's almost always raining to some extent, so at night I'll lay that out to air-dry overnight and the following day, and I'll use a second sweater the following day. I can therefore just keep alternating back and forth between the two, one day at a time. You might want a third sweater though (or just a fleece) so at the end of the day, you can put something dry on when you're about to get into the truck.

3. Throw a few plots on yourself. I found that was always worth the sixty seconds that it would take to do a quick plot. Also, if the foremen see you throwing plots on yourself, you'll probably tend to get checked less (as long as your density is usually decent).

[TripleS]

For spacing on steep slopes try to go diagonally (cross slope a bit) between trees when going uphill or downhill, because it is a lot further than you think if you are going straight up or down. If you use a shorter d-handle, which is nice in steep ground, plots will be a challenge due to the massive slash and the angle of the plot cord, remember it is the horizontal distance that matters. A long staff is ideal for checking on the Coast but who wants to use one of those beasts? Ultimately you want to be area planting as much as possible without sacrificing too much elevation while still be able to work your way back close to the cache. You will get an eye for it but it takes some time.

[_I3^RELATIVISM]

I always wonder if there are that much slash like people claim there is. what average portions of the pieces are head tall slash like 1/3?

[Scooter]

I have a book of coastal planting photos: www.replant.ca/fromourfootsteps

The drawback is that the physical copies of the book are pretty expensive, since it's so expensive to print them. But the digital versions are only $3.99.

There should also be some coastal photo galleries (maybe four to six different galleries?) on the main site: www.replant.ca/photos

[Pandion]

I always wonder if there are that much slash like people claim there is. what average portions of the pieces are head tall slash like 1/3?

Best way to find out, is to give it a try. If you like shitty weather and worse wages, the Coast is for you!

[jason k]

I have equipment for sale contact: Jasonkailey9@gmail.com