RonD

Hi Terry, Thanks for solving the mystery. Their fuzzy explanation is still a bit confusing, eh? The Fisherman's Vests while not approved, will provide the required buoyancy, when inflated, to keep the user afloat. The Inflatable Fisherman's Vests offer 16 lbs of buoyancy when inflated compared to 15.5 lbs of buoyancy in traditional, inherently buoyant, personal floatation devices. The standard in Canada for approved vests or suspenders type inflatable PFD's is 150 Newtons or nearly 34 lbs. They say "traditional, inherently buoyant PFD's" have a buoyancy rating of 15.5 pounds and then say "approved vests" in Canada must have a rating of 34 pounds ... so I'm guessing that their reference to "approved vests" actually means "approved inflatable vests" like their high-end SAR and industrial gear. Hey, we don't live too far apart ... I'm about five kliks south of The Gap. Ron

Hi, Here's the relevant Mustang website ... http://www.mustangsurvival.com/products/product.php?id=228 You'll see that the collars are approved and the vests are not, like the earlier post says ... which means that the vest probably has some kind of shortcoming ... a so-so safety device and a so-so fishing vest. Solutions? - Wear the Mustang vest but carry a second "normal" PFD if there's room. - Wear a Mustang collar PFD over your favourite FF vest. - Buy one of the new Source (house-brand) PFD's from Mountain Equipment Co-op with the two optional front pockets (and maybe the hydration unit), and pack accordingly. http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_detail....D=1184022043832 I wonder what "shortcoming" the Mustang fishing vest has that precluded it from being certified. Anybody have any idea? Ron

Hi, I've had good luck with Cabelas ... once got two pairs of Carharrt overalls for US$70 ... they're C$100 each at Mark's Work Wearhouse. The Bargain Cave can be awesome ... sizes can be limited, though. No duty on U.S. made items. Good source for hard-to-find items like SA L2L leaders. Always confirm shipping by USPostalService ... not a courier ... the latter involves unnecessary brokerage fees. Ron

Hi, I hope that I'm not surpring anyone with bad news, but I noticed a July 7 posting on the FAOL website that a FF'er from Alberta apparently drowned on the Clark Fork River down in Idaho in a tubing incident. Anybody know the details? The poster quoted a news-station report, and the link is at http://www.kxly.com/index.php?story_id=12577 Ron

Agreed! In the olden days I would patiently try to sort-out some kind of abominable FU for about five minutes before going nutso and stupidly/violently ending the situation. My old dot-matrix printer almost went 7 metres before settling into a splintering crash ... after vexing me so much for so many times. But now I get a gawdawful knot and I just sit down and plug-away for (usually) as long as it takes ... not always, but much more than before. Very Zen-like "Raise up your eyes to the hills." Ron

Get it!! Just bite the bullet and write a cheque for a full year's subscription ($14.95 x 12) and then forget about it. No kidding ... I live about five minutes south of the Bob Creek Wildland and radio reception is nada on AM and FM ... but now I get my good old CBC plus anything else I enjoy. I have the Sirius receiver in my car and the Sirius Boombox (great sound for a small package ... it should make the Bose folks take notes) in my home. Never miss any of Randy's Vinyl Tap again. Two caveats ... here in the valley the signal disappears from my window-situated antenna quite often ... those damn satellites keep moving ... and then I have to play "move the little antenna" for a few minutes each day. Sirius should supply an extra antenna or two (cheap for them) for the Boombox. Plus the Boombox drains batteries like "Ol' Sparky" down Parchville ways. $10 worth of D-Cells were good for only a few hours. A rechargeable power source would be the catsass. I saw The Source flyer today ... apparently there's a sale now for a $40 saving I couldn't get in April. BTW, if Sirius hadn't screwed-up and guaranteed Harold Stern about a gazillion dollars (American) we'd all be getting a better deal. However, redneck humour (at another channel) is a guilty pleasure. Kinda balances out the CBC. A person must have balance. Ron

Yes ... at least it was last year. Ron

Hey guys ... I live on a ranch just off the Maycroft Road a few km south of the southern entrance to the Bob Creek Wildland, and everywhere I go these days (bear season) I carry a big fresh can of Counter Assault AND a nickel-plated Remington Marine Magnum loaded with 00 and a couple of 600 grain Brenneke slugs ... and I sing a lot ... I like that guy's "Karaoke in the Woods" comment Hitting the Oldman below the dam this afternoon ... hooked-up and lost something very nice (on a zonker) there on Sunday. Ron