Thru-hiking is perhaps the perfect test for backpacking gear. Our stuff had to go through months of constant use, a wide range of temperatures, and crazy weather. Here is what we thought about our kit.
Convertible pants: sucked. It's just too hot and restricting to hike fast or uphill for very long in pants.
Shorty running shorts + windpants. Rocked! Shorts better for hiking, windpants give more flexability than convert pants for less weight.
2 person bivy + shared sleeping bag. Rocked! 2.5 lbs for our sleeping system is sooo light. We were really only cold 1 night out of 100 slept out and we got to snuggle. One tweak that is needed is that on cold humid nights we would get condensation inside the bivy.
Poncho tarps. Rocked, but needs tweaking. We used the ponchos maybe 15 times in 4 months making the low weight of the ponchos incredibly useful. The ponchos were great for wearing in in the warm rain, but needed a rain jacket for really cold or windy rain conditions. Our shelter needs some tweaking to prevent rain and wind from dominating it. However, I will likely play around with fixing these shortcomings although a cuben fiber tarp + driducks may be a good choice as well.
Foam pads. Sucked. Pads are fail proof but had troubles sleeping some nights because my hip would dig into the hard ground. Plus, our foam pads were not warm enough when temps were around freezing.
Nylon long sleeve button down shirts. Rocked. Bugs could not bite through, great sun protection, dried quickly, durable, and easy to vent by unbuttoning. We will never wear another type of shirt again! However, I think I will get plaid or some other pattern that hides the dirt more effectively.
Fleece. Rocked! We had abandoned fleece for other garments such as down and synthetic puffies long ago but ended up trading in our "premium" garments for for fleeces for several reasons. 1) They were warm enough, even for days around freezing. 2) They dried very quickly and insulated well when damp. 3) Cheap, we got ours for $3 at a thrift store. 4) Durable. 5) Light, ~7 oz.
Windshirts. Rocked. Super light, blocks wind from going through fleece, dries almost instantly, hood traps heat.
Dri-ducks rain jacket. Rocked. Cheap ($25), light, patchable with duct tape, and very waterproof.
Baseball style cap + homemade neck cape. Rocked. We will never wear floppy, wide-brim hats again. The neck cape could be worn at night and during the day for warmth. System protects face and next from the sun better than wide brim hat. Hat could be worn with head lamp and in town without looking as dorky. Hat also less likely to fly off during strong winds. Hat could be worn with hooded garments while hiking.
Aquafina bottle. Rocked. Incredibly durable. Used the same bottle for 4 months. Who needs a heavy Nalgene!
Platapus 2 L. Rocked. Great as a pillow, light, Dangit's only bottle.
Aquamira. Rocked. Tastes like water, quick, easy, can't really break or freeze, prevents mold in water bottles even after making sugar laden drinks.
Shorty running gaiters. Rocked. Never had to empty rocks out of shoes. Nuff said.
Trekking poles. Rocked. Even I think they are not needed for in-shape folks (as Dangit proves), they are incredibly useful for taking strain off of injuries as fitness is gained. Also convenient for setting up the shelter. I still love fixed length poles, though sometimes it felt silly walking around with them in town. Uber expensive poles not needed; cheap nordic ski poles worked awesome!
No watches. Rocked. We woke with the sun and went to bed at dark. Hiked all day using the sun to approximate the time. The freedom from time is amazing!
No comments:
Post a Comment