Mount Fuji - Personal Purchases

So, before I get on to blogging about the actual Japan trip, I thought I'd share some photos of the stuff I bought specifically for the trip up the mountain.

Aviator hat, by Ultrafino Panama Hat. You can't see it here, but my cookie jar is being the head model. Oh cookie jar, you're so cool.

The first of these I got was too small, as I apparently have a hat size of XL. That's pretty surprising considering I'm not super-tall, but maybe that's XL Boy's size. Dunno. Strange thing, the first I got from a vendor on eBay looked exactly the same, except it was made by Dorfman Pacific. Maybe the design was sold?

My choice of boots are a pair Belleville 770's. Here they are, looking a lot better than they were upon my decent.

I've always wanted a pair of military-issue boots, and these particular boots were approved for flight by the U.S. Air Force. Maybe I should give them a nice shine now that they're all scuffed and dirty from the climb.

Next up is a pair of Dakine Rovers.

Designed for snowboarding, the Rovers come with a wrist strap so that you can slip them off momentarily and use your hands. This makes it so they can just hang off your hands (they're light, so they don't get in the way) while you use them, meaning you don't have to put them away someplace secure every time. The palm straps to fasten the glove to your hand are also easy to tighten and loosen even when your other hand is still gloved. As as a final touch, there's a plastic bit on the left hand which is used for wiping your nose - and when it's cold like on the top of Mount Fuji, you'll be doing that a few times.

Finally, some Storm liners, by Dakine.

I got them because they allowed full use of the hands unlike most gloves that end up being bulky, and seemed tractionous enough that my hands wouldn't slip if I needed to grab something. They kept my hands warm long enough to snap a few photos. I mean, I suppose I could have dealt with the shock of cold that would have resulted from me taking off my Rovers and using my bare hands in the cold, but these let me avoid that.

Lastly, there are some miscellaneous items I got like a headlamp, or cloth tape, that I won't bother to snap a photo of and put up. All in all, I spent a good chunk of money on equipment to make the climb, but it was all worth it.