Hello,

Anybody out there have a source for Whole Milk Pwdr (2-3%)? I'm out, and the stuff I bought and used was purchased in the Caribean (St. Lucia and Jamaica), I could never find it in Canada. Sadly, the last of the pwdr was tossed by my wife earlier this winter because it was passed its due date (short shelf life of < 1yr, :>( ). Skim Milk pwdr is yuck. Buttermilk pwdr is readily available, but I only use that with bannock/pancakes and other similar dry-mix recipees, not drinking raw, used in tea/coffee nor on cereal.

Made the nite before (~6:1 water/pwdr) in nalgene and used the following breakfeast (cereal/coffee/tea/oatmeal/pancakes/etc), the whole milk pwdr is excellent and a very tasty substitute for the real thing.

I've asked a few local bulk food places around town: Rainbow foods/Herb and Spice. Rainbow never carried it, the other (H&S) claimed their supplier no longer offers it. H&S also mentioned pwdrd whole milk was a slow seller in their store when they did carry it. I still have a few other sources to check on (online), and if I do find a source I will post it on this thread.

I know there is 10% cream pwdr available as well (I'm not talking 'bout Carnation creamer stuff either), but again dunno where to source it from.

Any help is appreciated.

SM

try the bulk barn, i know that they do have milk powder, but im not sure of the quality


Jim
from Niagara

Check out Milkman non-fat which has been well reviewed by various groups and sites, including Colin Fletcher's The Complete Walker, Backpacker Magazine and available online at REI.com. The stuff actually tastes pretty good and the advertisements brag that it has a touch of cream.

http://www.rei.com/online/store/ProductDisplay?storeId=8000&catalogId=40000008000&productId=1493&parent_category_rn=4500621

-Jester

I know enough to know I don't know enough

Hey tks Jester/Jim,

I called Bulk Barn and they confirmed inventory of Whole Milk Pwdr (@ Carlingwood Mall). They only carry 2 kinds of pwdred milk: skim and whole.

I've added REI's offering to my month-old now and counting 'work-in-progress' shopping cart, lol. Highlite of that order are AA Moxia USB batteries. http://www.rei.com/product/760331

AAA offering coming soon they say. Although I have 2 USB-enabled AA/AAA battery chargers already, it's nice not have to bring the bulky/non-weatherproof recharger on long trips when it's built right into the cell itself.

when i lived in the states over the past year, i fell in love with that store. i get back to Canada and realize, man do Canadian prices ever suck!

so you folks bite the bullet and make a big enough shopping trip to justify the $30 shipping? I've been considering this as well but thought I was going overboard. Revisiting some of the local Canadian outdoor gear shops, I always reconsider this option though . I'm all for supporting the local businesses but the price differences really are outrageous at times.

Disclaimer: I live in Cleveland, OH so my observation don't fit your scenario, but they might help decide part of the equation.

I buy commodity items online from REI, LL Bean and a few others that have been around forever and have good prices. I don't buy shoes without trying them on due to a deformity that makes one shoe always fit a bit different although not so bad that I have to buy two pairs of shoes like some people.

However, items that need to be carefully fit I buy local or sometimes I stop at an REI store like in the Detroit or Philly area when I am in those locations. Also, I try to make a New England trip through Vermont and New Hampshire in the fall so I take a list and zip over to Freeport, ME to LL Bean.

So you might want to see where your price break for taxes versus shipping falls and then add in any cross border charges.

Having just chanted the REI / LL Bean mantra, I have a caveat to toss in. I actually found my Sierra Designs Antares tent a couple years ago online at a place that was an unknown store. They had the same tent, same year's production, same additional toss in items that were available to anyone, for significanly less bucks. The shipping was reasonable and the delivery time was quite good. I decided to buy from them after poking around and finding no one came close. Since I was buying with a credit card I felt I was protected and I could not have been happier.

While I like buying local for much of my current needs, some of my local shops that I supported since the late 1960s have gone out of business and they have disappeared due to their business management and not due to pressure from large box stores or out of town competition. They just flat out stopped following the buying patterns that made them quality operations through the 1980s. There are still two local, high quality gear places and many large box chains that hire staff that might as well be selling paint at a hardware store. Those workers are not invested in paddling, hiking or other outdoor activity. They want to sell you a US Army surplus folding shovel when you ask for an orange plastic trowel.

As stated, I don't have the cross border issue but maybe it might come to finding items in Canada since the exchange rate might start affecting pricing. Who knows?

Oh, right. Bo knows.

-Jester

I know enough to know I don't know enough

Bryce -

I order Outdoor gear via the States for one or a combination of two reasons:

1) Item Not yet (if evr) Available in Canada, and the Cdn equivalent (if exist) is of poor quality or limited color/sizes. (e.g. LL Bean Boots, Authentic Duluth Packs, many models/sizes/colors of Raps and other lures, rods/reels/lines, the list is endless here).

2) Prices

Otherwise if the item can be sourced locally at an equal to or somewhat equivalent price (< 10%) then i buy (or order online from Cdn distributor) from within Canada. Sometimes there is duty charge due at time of pickup/delivery by courier (e.g. Whiskey Jack Paddle) or the cost is pre-added to the order at time of purchase (e.g. Cabelas). Sometimes there is no duty assigned (e.g. Worden's lures, Campmor, etc). No GST, but u pay a bit in shipping. Every online retailer I've purchased from have good/excellent return policies (some even pay for return shipping).

1 - If the item is not available locally, I try my Cdn vendor sites. If after contacting the vendor(s) the item cannot be ordered (e.g. their suppliers don't offer it), then I have no choice but to order it via other means.

2 - Generally prices for outdoor gear (Camping/Fishing/Water Sports/Biking/etc) are very competitive in Canada when compared to their US offerings, but some US sales (most notably Campmor) are too hard to resist.

I just find the selection of clothing brands (Marmot, ExOfficio, etc.) and even the quality of their own personal line (REI) to be superior to a lot of what I find here, and the pricing is excellent. Even when some of the gear is out of your price-range, wait 2 months and REI has it on the clearance rack or on sale in general. Their attendance and quantity of items at scratch 'n dent sales are great, too. a lot of my experience was on the west coast, so there could be a region bias.

Try Europe. Visitors have come over for years saying ' ..you don't know your born..' re: pricing on pretty well everything.

Long gone are the days of buying boots by mail order because Blacks didn't have a pair that fit. I can remember the days of only one retailer in Toronto for quality outdoor gear. When the Gulacks started their buying co-operative my dad jump at it and bought a lifetime membership. He still feels they owe him seeing they were the begging of the MEC.

I've avoided buying gear online, I'm fussy and I like to hold it in my hands to make sure it's actually what I want. Footwear I will not buy online (Crocs excepted), though my dad still has a pair of boots he bought back in '75 by mail. I think with the proliferation of quality gear availability the idea of buying site unseen has become less acceptable.

Sometimes it's easy to forget that before Colin Fletcher camping was something people only did while hunting or fishing.

Re :' I've avoided buying gear online...' etc.

I am also fussy. This season I fancied getting into spey type fishing- long 14' double handed fly rods, special long belly fly lines and extra capacity fly reels for river/ lake-run rainbows, the approach is all the rage I read, on N.American waters. I telephoned Le Baron in Toronto to enquire as to what stock they had, the first person that I spoke to had no idea what I was talking about, he then passed me to another in the 'fly dept.' who said that they did not stock any such rods, lines or reels.

OK, this ain't rocket science. I ended up buying the complete outfit on-line, via ebay. New rod 4 pce. in rod bag and tube, half of the RRP, delivered to my door from Florida, no duty charged although declared. Special mid -length belly Spey line, new (with DVD) made by Cortland sent from Texas $27.00. Last weekend I also found a suitable fly reel ,new in a box, 10/11 wt Okuma, again through ebay. Just over $50 total.

Like I said, I am also very fussy, but I am not stupid. I would have had to spend hours trying to find a similar outfit locally ( I researched every fishing tackle store within 100 miles of Toronto) every tackle shop from Bass Pro to Angling Specs. does not carry what I want and do not seem to care to.

Sorry, but this customer would have gladly shopped locally ( even for goods all made in China) if local shops bothered carrying what I was after. With all of the information on products on-line , local tackle shops need to look carefully to how they do business. If one of the establishments that I had contacted had shown the slightest interest ( ie: we could order that for you sir..) then I would have gone along with that.

As it was they did not seem to care.

I can’t recall any ‘dud’ camping item I’ve ever purchased online (e.g. didn’t fit, wasn’t the right volume, quality was poor, was too heavy, etc), but have purchased a handful of ‘dud’ fishing lures, lol (mid 1990’s - $25’s worth of Cabela’s Rapala-wanna bes come to mind). There’s always a few items u buy that generally don’t meet your original intended purpose, but they’ll fit in somewhere else and fill a void u didn’t know u had, lol. Or u can return it. That happens whether u buy it online or from the store in person.

I generally don’t order clothes online due to the big risk of sizing, color, feel and fit/form issues, but there are exceptions (e.g. Campmor’s Merill wool long undies last month – GREAT BUY, PRICE and perfect fit). I took a risk and bought a pair of Teva sandals wayyy back in the late 1980’s before anyone had ever heard of them up here and before on-line shopping (only catalogue shopping). Same with the headlamps – bought LL Bean (yellow plastic/headband) offering back then before any local retailer had even heard of Headlamps for camping or had any for sale. Got started in Fly Tying via LL Bean (when they offered a huge selection of Fly Tying stuff). LL Bean boots too around that time, and just purchased a new pair last month as I think my wife threw out my old ones (although she claims she didn’t, lol). Bought my down -20C, North Face, x-long mummy bag on sale @ REI for $100 US (from $350 US) back in the early 1990s’, still use it to this day on the Early Spring/Fall and Winter trips. Bought an synt overbag for it from REI as well a few years later, also on sale. No store locally offered such quality products at such a price.

I echo Malcolm statements regarding his frustration @ finding product that meet specific requirements. However I wouldn’t necessarily blame the vendor, much of it depends on what their supplier can get in. The retailer willing to go above and beyond their suppliers and do the one-of buys for some clients is rare these days and will likely cost u more then buying it urself. So turn to online. There are so many products available these days, especially with fishing. I don’t expect Le Baron (or whomever) to carry exactly what I need, so 40% of my fishing purchases is done through the web (70% of my fishing budget goes to online). I know exactly what I’m looking for in terms of lures/lines/rods/reels/etc, whether spinning, baitcasting or fly fishing. Fishing equip is $$, it’s cheaper to purchase it here in Canada but if they don’t carry what you’re looking for, then I spend what is required to get it.

Do you research, find the best prices (Google it: item name price (US/Cdn), look at reviews (item name reviews), ask your camping/fishing buds, post the question in forums, etc. There are no lack of reviews for pretty much any product, be it on a vendor site, manufacturer or from a generic site (Epinions). Many reviews come from regular customers/users like ourselves that have put the item through a few trips already, not a salesman who may not ever have used the product before.

The true test of whether an item is actually what you want is to use it on a few trips and judge its merits. Did it meet your expectations? Something in the store that looks and feels good, is the right size, whatever can fail miserably when in actual use (e.g. Lexan coffee bodem, footwear (Keen sandals), Black Diamond Headlamp, etc). That’s why u keep receipts and post your reviews to help the next person.