What About Volcano Bears?
Bunky and I have started the packing process for our Wedd-moon-cation to Hawaii. We had to buy some new suitcases for all our stuff, although Bunky’s clothes and junk have already filled about 80% of the space. I also tricked her into going with me to R.E.I.
I really love stores like R.E.I. even though I don’t usually shop there. It’s one of my favorite stores to browse, because they have such cool gadgets that could be really handy in odd situations. I also like how the one we go to has a rock-climbing wall with pulleys so you can pretend you are climbing up the wall, when really the R.E.I. employee is pulling on a rope to make sure you don’t fall.
I picked up a goofy floppy hat for sun protection, and Bunky grabbed a small backpack for the trip. I was unable to convince her that I needed a man-purse, but I always did like the bags at these camping/hiking places because they seem so sturdy and have so many pockets. The best bag of all has to be the dog pack. I tried to convince Bunky that we should buy one for Sydney so we could make him lug our gear along, but she didn’t agree. She also wouldn’t shell out for any of the cool gear that we might need in case we encounter killer flying squids or vicious ninja monkeys.
By Chris, 8/18/2008 @ 12:48 pm
The dog pack reminds me of Dino Riders. Can it mount any rocket launchers or laser weapons? *pewpew*
By Ender, 8/18/2008 @ 1:31 pm
The whole pulleys thing is standard for indoor rock climbing isn’t it? Every one I’ve been to has that system for safety purposes. The person on the bottom can’t really pull you up very easily (it’s still really heavy even with a pulley) but it takes minimal effort to keep you from falling down.
By Velius, 8/18/2008 @ 2:02 pm
Can you be all RB6: V2 and reverse rappel? I hear you get extra Marksmanship points while on a rope.
By Kabitzin, 8/18/2008 @ 3:06 pm
Chris: Not sure about rocket launchers, but in my cats can already shoot lasers with their eyes.
Ender: I understand the safety concerns, but I saw a woman totally just taking a break on the rock (and not really holding on to the grips) while the store employee was hoisting her.
Velius: I guess you could, but you can’t really shoot through the rock. Plus, if the pulley system fails, that would suck.
By Jesus159159159, 8/18/2008 @ 7:00 pm
From the first pic (of the Doggy Pack that is), I thought the dog would be carrying too much for it to handle, but the latter pictures show that its actually a pretty small bag. For 40 dollars? Man, I would just duct tape a garbage can on its back! Gotta lay sum Ds on dat
bi…female dog, k’naw wham’ sayin’?I notice that theres also some sort of handle to carry the dog/cat, but I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t be using that feature!
I can imagine having a Rocky scene with you training your cats with this!
Edit: Opps, nevermind, I think there are more sizes for the bag, but I’m pretty sure its nothing too big =3
By Ender, 8/19/2008 @ 12:31 am
The store member wasn’t actively pulling her continuously up though right? Holding her in place is easy; elevating her is hard.
By Kabitzin, 8/19/2008 @ 11:59 am
That’s correct, but she would take a step, rest for 2 minutes, take a step, rest, etc.
By Chris, 8/19/2008 @ 5:18 pm
In March this year, a 9 year-old girl died after falling from such a climb wall in Munich. So it’s not absolutely safe.
By Chris, 8/19/2008 @ 5:21 pm
By the way, I just read, the climb hall in which this happened is called “Heavens Gate”…
By Chris, 8/19/2008 @ 5:27 pm
And more one thing: Apparently, these systems are not self-securing. I’d expect that the brake kicks in if you drop the rope or if it moves too fast, as a safety-belt would, but this doesn’t seem to be the case.