HikeArizona.COM

Hello Everyone!

My Name is Isaac Strong, I am an avid hiker and I love this site and the app! This post is not about my appreciation though,

I am an ASU engineering student! For a project I am asking my fellow hikers what some inconveniences they have while hiking! I am making what is called a 'bug list' which essentially is a list of annoyances from real world users. Once problems and annoyances are identified, we as engineers have a starting point to create products in order to solve these problems and annoyances. This list is one that my class will use this semester to design products to help making outdoor life more comfortable and efficient! Please post anything and everything that you can think of! The more the merrier! (And yes we love silly ideas as well so post anything you can think of, really ANYTHING!)

Thank you all so much!

Your Fellow Outdoorsman,
Isaac Strong

Hotschmoe wrote:Once problems and annoyances are identified, we as engineers have a starting point to create products in order to solve these problems and annoyances.

Actually Isaac, it's these very problems and annoyances that make up the context of a hike. If climbing over boulders was an annoyance, no one would be hiking Siphon Draw. If we wanted to eliminate them, it would only amount to taking a hike down a flat dirt road. Shoes, clothing and hiking gear are a personal preference anyway.

My background, before retirement, was Engineering and while hiking, I often asked myself "why am I beating myself up like this" and the answer is always that I enjoy the outdoor experience. If I could remove any annoyance today, it would be the arthritic pains in my knees that limit my hiking endurance.

My biggest annoyance is the dearth of water sources in some interesting places. Second biggest is the need for high clearance or 4WD to access the trailhead. Third is that daylight hours are too short in the cooler months to get the time/distance I want with a naturally illuminated landscape.

@big_load
Definitely the lack of clean water on trail and some water sources are so dirty that the thought of drinking it, all be it filtered and purified, makes you think dehydration may not be such a bad experience. Drinking from a scummy pond where cows have crapped and slobbered in and often dead animals are floating is the worst part of the trail. Reliable clean water is definitely a priority.

+1 water sources. Even something like rejuvenation of wilderness sources and up-to-date information on current conditions. For example, I'd like to pretend that Whiskey Springs is dependable, but the trough is so filled with grass and dirt that it's hard to tell.

@Hotschmoe
While it seems unlikely I'll throw it out. I envision something in the size of a co2 cartridge. Used with a nozzle similar to a bike tire inflator instead of the gas-powered gun fashion. CO2 exchanged for something that would instantly dry out shoes and socks.

@Hotschmoe
Some sort of light weight, collapsible, safe tubing, maybe like what a dryer utilizes that could be brought to an edge of a fire, draw heat and then subsequently bring heat into a tent Less than one pound....

It would be nice to have hiking shoes with self-regenerating soles.

Not related to hiking, but, could you invent a salad dressing bottle that will dispense 4 different kinds, to save space in the frig?

ALMAL wrote:Not related to hiking, but, could you invent a salad dressing bottle that will dispense 4 different kinds, to save space in the frig?

Now there is a $1,000,000.00 dollar idea.