Date: 2018-06-11
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Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Since the TJ website was updated, my written gear reviews did not make it back. You can see my list of gear at the gear link. Here are the thoughts I shared about the gear I used on my AT thru hike in 2016. I hope this is useful. Northstar.Jet Boil Mini Mo StoveI carried this stove for the duration of my recent Appalachian Trail thru hike. It performed flawlessly. When I started using the mini mo I wondered whether the igniter would wear out during my hike. It did not.  I used the plastic bottom cover as a bowl for eating breakfast daily. The stove worked especially quickly with a fresh fuel cartridge, boiling two cups of water in about 90 seconds. As the fuel level got lower, it seemed to take longer to boil. The cartridges lasted a long time. I actually used a medium sized one all the way from Front Royal, VA into Connecticut. You could extend the life of the cartridge by steeping meals in the pot for part of the meal¢s required simmer time. I cooked a lot of Knorr rice sides which called for 7 minutes of simmer time. I usually simmered for like two or three minutes, then let the meal finish itself with no flame. This saved gas for sure. While this stove kit is a little bulky in the backpack, its performance far outweighed any packing concerns. I would keep the burner, a small bottle of Dr. Bronners, and a small sponge and scrubby in the pot while packed and still had room to pack a bottle of Mio in there as well. I packed the fuel cartridge separately. I never had any trouble with the stove in cold weather although the coldest I dealt with was temps in the high teens. I would highly recommend this stove to anyone considering a long distance hike. Salomon XA Pro 3D Trail runnersThese shoes are lightweight and rugged. They are torsionally rigid and have a decent tread pattern although the tread is not very deep. The toe cap is very rugged which was very helpful on rocky terrain. I opted for the non gore tex model which lets water in quickly but also dries quickly. The asymmetrical Kevlar laces do not allow for easy changes of the lacing pattern which isn¢t ideal. However, they will never wear through. The shoe fabric wore out far faster than the laces although I did not wear them long enough to develop the gaping holes that I have seen in some pictures of heavily worn pairs. The heel linings may rip with prolonged use.I have a love hate relationship with these shoes. While there were times I hated them, I used four pairs from Hot Springs, NC to Mt. Katahdin. Last year¢s model had a tongue construction that wrapped across the top of your foot and was sewn in along the bottom in two places on each side. I had read that some people had trouble with these causing pain in the sides of the feet. My first pair, which I bought at Bluff Mtn. Outfitters had this style tongue. The tongue itself actually folded over itself on top of my foot and created some significant pressure and pain. I actually had to change the lacing pattern to alleviate this situation which I did on the side of the road one day. There is a great You Tube video on how to do this which I had watched the night before. When I got to Daleville, VA, I went to the outfitter and asked about a replacement pair. They had a pair in my size and what I first noticed was that Salomon had changed the tongue construction of this year¢s model to a more traditional design. While the clerk at the store was less than helpful, he did give me the number for Salomon customer service who authorized him to replace the old pair for free. Thank you Salomon! I tend to wear shoes right on the ball of my foot based on how I walk. By the time I had hiked 550 miles in this pair, I could feel every stone through the sole so rather than hiking the last 100 miles of Pennsylvania in those, the really rocky part, I had REI send me a new pair which I started wearing in Port Clinton. The toe box of this pair started coming apart from the sole in southern Vermont. A call to REI about that resulted in another replacement pair being sent to me. I used that pair for the rest of the trip, about 500 miles and am still using them now. They have held up very well. Thanks REI! These shoes may rip in the heel lining like many other shoes. I solved this problem by lining the heel of the shoe with a piece of gorilla (duct) tape. After doing this, I had no trouble with the lining, or any blistering on my heels.I did use carbon superfeet in my first pair which netted me a shin splint and an unwanted five day vacation from hiking. I would not recommend superfeet in any form. I had trouble with two different pair of them, the other causing blisters on the sides of my heel where the plastic of the heel cup cut into my foot.  I would, however recommend a trip to Walmart and the Dr. Scholl¢s orthotic machine. Those inserts combine arch support with a gel heel cup that provides padding and reduces problems from heel striking. The cost is the same as a pair of superfeet and they are sized based on an analysis of your foot. I bought a pair in Waynesboro, PA and used them all the way to Katahdin, over 1100 miles. They were very helpful. While I thought of trying different shoes, I wound up sticking with the XA Pro. Despite some trouble with the earlier model, I highly recommend these trail runners for any long distance hiking adventure. SuperfeetDon¢t bother with superfeet. They did nothing but cause problems for me at 50 bucks a pair. As mentioned above, visit a Walmart and use the Dr. Scholl¢s machine to evaluate your foot and go with the recommended size. These inserts provide arch support and gel to pad your heel. They are comparable in cost to superfeet and far more comfortable.  Darn Tough Wool SocksMerino wool sock with nice cushioning. These are the first socks Ive ever used without a liner sock.  I used two pairs of the full height socks with my mid height gore tex boots for the first 275 miles of the trip when it was cold and I hiked in snow three times. Those socks still look like new. I switched to quarter height Darn Tough socks when I switched to low cut trail runners. I used two pair from Hot Springs to Delaware Water Gap, almost 1000 miles. No holes in those but they did wear thin. I bought two new pair in DWG which I used all the way to Katahdin. Again, some wear but no holes at all. Darn Tough has a lifetime guarantee so buy them once, wear them forever. Made in Vermont. What¢s not to like! Osprey Exos 58 packI was very pleased with the performance of this pack for the duration of my AT thru hike. I used it for a total of eleven days in the 2015 hiking season and my entire thru hike in 2016. This pack held up very well. The only thing that wore through were the loops that connect the hip belt to the lower shoulder strap. The purpose of those loops is to keep the hip belt open when you are putting on the pack. I noticed them fraying through after 1700 miles and contacted Osprey. The technician informed me that there would be no effect on the carry of the pack so I did not worry about it. They did wear through and Osprey said they would repair the pack free of charge if I sent it back to them. Outside of this I had absolutely no problems with this pack. All the stitching held up well and overall the pack showed very little wear after almost 2300 miles of total use. The only thing missing is a pocket to hold a more modern phone. I had to buy a detachable pocket for my Samsung S5 phone in order to carry it conveniently on a strap. The 58 liter capacity was enough to carry all of my winter gear and up to seven days of food which I only had to do once in the Smokies. It had more than enough room once I traded out my winter stuff and was only carrying three or so days of food. I like to pack everything inside of my pack with nothing hanging on the outside. The 58 allowed me to do this easily. My only complaint would be that the side pockets are tight if you carry a wide water bottle like a Nalgene. It is also tedious work to insert and remove a camelback bag and its hose from the internal pocket which I did nightly in camp. The outside pocket material also can rip easily if you rub up against sharp sticks. I saw a lot of Exos packs on the AT and would highly recommend this model for anyone undertaking a long distance hike. Sea to Summit Ultra Sil Pack CoverI used two of these covers over the course of my AT thru hike. The first one I bought using the size guideline provided by Sea to Summit. This cover fit very tightly and actually tore when I rubbed up against some thin branches one day. Sea to Summit graciously replaced this cover for me with the larger size in Damascus, VA. The larger one lasted all the way to Katahdin however, its performance trailed off the longer I used it. It is very lightweight but you may want to get a heavier cover that may have a better coating for longer lasting performance. Therma Rest Neo Air Sleeping PadThis pad performed very well for me for the duration of my AT through hike. I did not have any trouble until after I finished when I did find a small tear which I should be able to easily fix with a Tear-Aid patch (provided with the pad when you buy it). It is heavy and if I had wanted to trim my base weight, I could have traded this out. However, it is wicked comfortable! It is also very warm in colder temperatures. It does make a lot of noise when you roll over on it. Another hiker called it my ¢thunder pad¢ because it was so loud when I moved on it. I found that it was louder when you set it up on another nylon surface such as a tent floor, or a ground cloth which I did use to protect the pad on shelter floors. It made less noise if you laid it directly on the shelter floor. The advertisement says it inflates in less than 20 breaths. I guess my lungs aren¢t that good because it usually took me more than 30.  Feathered Friends Swift UL20 Sleeping BagThis is a great bag that has excellent loft and packs down to a very small size. I had hoped to be toasty warm right down to 20 degrees but unfortunately this was not the case. While I was never truly cold in this bag, I was cool, especially my feet, when temperatures dropped into the lower 20s. When temps were around 30 or higher, I was very comfortable all night long in this bag. For the price I paid for the bag, I was somewhat disappointed in its performance however I never did anything about it. I used this bag from Springer Mtn. up to Front Royal, VA where I switched to a lighter bag. You probably don¢t need to spend this much on a sleeping bag but the 900 weight down did allow for a 20 degree rated bag to weigh only 2.0 pounds.  The only other bags on the market like this are Western Mountaineering bags which are comparable in price. The choice is yours. Big Agnes Fly Creek UL2 tentI carried the Fly Creek UL2 for the duration of my AT thru hike in 2016. This was a very popular model and I saw many of them on the trail. I did opt to buy the matching footprint for the tent. Overall I was very pleased with its performance although it became less water repellent the more I used it. I do wish that the fly was cut so the bottom was closer to the ground. In the rain, water could, and did, splash up onto the tent itself which caused some wetness to enter the tent. It is a semi free standing tent which makes for some challenges, especially when setting up on a tent platform. I never felt like I could get this tent as taut as I would have liked it. Also, while it is called a 2 person tent, I would never want to share it with another person. It fit me and my stuff comfortably. A second person would be incredibly tight. It you want to camp with a friend, buy the three person model. The best thing was the personal space my Fly Creek afforded me. As I liked to say, my tent was the only 18 square feet of personal space I had on the trail. I definitely recommend Big Agnes and the Fly Creek UL line. If I get a 3 person tent, I will likely look at the Copper Spur as well. Montbell DownHugger 800 #5 Sleeping BagA very lightweight 40 degree rated bag. The 800 fill power down really did keep me warm to roughly 40 degrees although once or twice, I felt a little cool. This was usually when sleeping in shelters on foggy, wet nights. I cannot remember feeling cold at all when I used this bag in my tent. On warmer nights, I used it as a blanket with great results. This bag weighs 22 ounces and packs down very small. It has some kind of unique stitching that is supposed to make it stretchy but I didn¢t notice any huge advantage to that. I really like this bag and highly recommend Montbell to anyone. It is the first piece of their equipment I have ever had. A+! Leki Corklite Trekking PolesI used these poles every step of the way on my AT thru hike in 2016. While I was a recent convert to the idea of using poles for hiking at all, my Corklites led me to conclude that I will never backpack without them again. They saved me from rolled ankles on at least half a dozen occasions. They also prevented numerous potential falls and took much pressure off of my knees on extended descents. At one point, I had one of them bent over with a full arc in it while avoiding a fall. That pole snapped back to straight immediately with no sign of damage at all. The compression locks only came loose once and that was the result of being flipped open by a branch of some sort. They never ever slipped outside of that. After almost 2200 miles, outside of cosmetic scratches, and worn baskets and tips, they are in fine shape. If anyone asked me what the most valuable piece of equipment in my kit was, my Leki Corklite poles would take first prize hands down. I recommend them unconditionally and enthusiastically!