Buy a Fluke toner once and cry once, it's worth every penny for the reliability.

Wait so you're saying 40 pounds off is basically a broken tool? I've seen some chatter on other forums about Craftsman quality going downhill after the 2000s, could that explain it? Or do you think the older ones just hold up better because they were made different back then? Just trying to figure out if there's a cutoff year where they started getting less reliable.

Haha "hit me different" yeah because staring at your feet for three days straight will do that. I did the same thing on the JMT a few years back, hit 200 miles at some random switchback and realized I'd been hiking like a robot on a treadmill. GPS numbers are a weird thing, they make you forget you're actually out in the woods, not just checking off a to-do list. Honestly, I bet half the people on trail would never notice that stuff if their phone didn't buzz with a new milestone. Kinda pathetic when you think about it, but also kinda the point.

Fancy drawing glove" is a good way to put it because mine was a total waste too. My friend bought the same $80 one and after two weeks the stitching came loose and she got ink all over her hand. She just uses a regular thin sock with a hole cut for her thumb now and says it works better than anything she paid for.

That part about the convenience store clerk knowing a place really got my attention. I remember reading a travel blog that said asking local shop workers is the best way to find cheap stays, way better than any app. $20 a night with free breakfast sounds like a dream, honestly, even with the shared bathroom. I bet that homemade breakfast was way better than the sad toast you get at most hostels.