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Aapo Kiiso
  1. New sleep system for bikepacking

    The Cumulus Quilt 150 and the Therma-a-Rest UberLite on a table, with a banana for scale

    I've been aiming to slim my bike pack size to get rid of the rear rack and panniers. In this vein, I just got myself a sleeping mat the size of a soda can, the Therm-a-Rest UberLite, and a light summer quilt, the Cumulus Quilt 150. These fit snugly in my front fork bag (the Ortlieb Fork-Pack 5.8L), which is insane!

    It's going to be really interesting to test these out once the weather warms up. The Uberlite has a shoddy track record with leaks and punctures, so I'm hoping this one holds up. The Cumulus Quilt is high quality down, but I'm a bit unsure if it ends up being too cold after all. On paper, it is as warm as my old sleeping bag (comfort +9C), but due to its much smaller pack size, it is considerably thinner.

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  2. Sky phenomena in Kiruna

    IRF Aurora Alert app showing aurora in the Kiruna sky

    One of the few perks of living in Kiruna are the various natural phenomena in the sky above.

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  3. My favorite board games in early 2024

    State of a Terraforming Mars game towards the end

    I thought it would be interesting to write up a "favorite board games" post once per year to see how my preferences evolve.

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  4. Praise the Sun!

    Snowy Kirunavaara in cold but sunny weather

    After a few months of darkness, the Sun is decidedly above the horizon again here in Kiruna. We've had some beautiful winter days these last couple of weeks.

    This is taken from Gruvstadsparken, a once urban area now reshaped into a park due to it no longer being safe for permanent housing.

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  5. Finnish Winter Satellite Workshop 2024

    As a member of the student satellite project APTAS, I got to present our yearly update at the Finnish Winter Satellite Workshop 2024.

    Me on stage at the conference

    Exciting to meet other people working and studying in the space sector, including former SpaceMaster students!

    Follow @project_aptas on Instagram for updates.

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