Date: 2003-09-02
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Miles today: 0.0

This is Part One of a Gear Review. Turns out I have a lot of gear to review, so I'll break it up into two parts. I'll post the 2nd one within a day. My equipment changed a lot throughout the 5 months I was out there, so be warned.Gear Review I (mainly of interest to hikers, and because of this I¢m going to give you some boring details)Backpack:It started out as an Osprey Aether 60. This was the perfect size for what I was carrying, which added up to ~30 lbs (give or take) and it held up well¢¦ sorta. By the time I got to Damascus VA (~450 miles) my hips were rubbed raw and after talking to King Jeff in the local outfitters, he said that Osprey has recently made a pack when the hip belt is designed for females and he worked his magic and got them to replace my original with the Osprey Ariel 60. I think this says a LOT about Osprey and their customer service. Combined with the fact that the new one held up for the rest of the trip with no problems, I would recommend an Osprey to anyone if it feels right. Goooooooooo Osprey!Shelter:So I tried using a tarp at the beginning but never felt comfortable with it after it became clear that it would rain for most of the season. While in Hot Springs I bought a Slumberjack Bivy Tent. Big Mistake. The owner (you¢d think the owner would know his stuff, right?) of the store specifically told me that the seams were already sealed, which was a big selling point for me because it was raining that day I didn¢t want to seam seal anything . Either he didn¢t know what he was talking about or he just wanted me to buy it and leave, but he was dead wrong¢which is a crime for an outfitter. I found this out on a night when it down-poured and soaked through to leave my down sleeping bag 3 times as heavy as it should have been. This was one of the longest nights I had on the trail. I was really mad (ed.) and called him when I got to Kincora Hostel but he was totally rude and didn¢t help at all. I got the same results from Slumberjack when I called them. Bottom line: I would not buy anything from Slumberjack or the outfitter in Hot Springs based on what the salespeople there tell me. So, in Damascus, I met up with The Gambler who just bought a tarp and lent me his 1-person tent to use for the rest of the trip. If the Gambler ever opens an outfitter, I would tell people to buy from him. The tent was a Kelty Cloud and I love it. After talking to the Gambler since we both finished, he gave it to me (what a guy!) and I will continue to use the thing for ever and ever. It was a little over 3 lbs but I slept so much better in it than the shelters that it was worth the weight.Sleeping Bags:I am so happy with what I used for bags. Granted, it¢s not the cheap way to go but the bags are still in great shape and will last for years after this one. Both are down bags and both are Western Mountaineering. In the spring, I used a Western Mountaineering Apache 15* bag which I kept until Trail Days in Mid-May. Then I bought a Highlite 40* bag at Trail Days for a discounted rate and used that for the rest of the trip. Since I summitted Katadin in August, I didn¢t need to switch back to the 15* which saved me a pound of weight. Western Mountaineering aren¢t cheap¢but I took care of them, kept them clean, and will make them last for years. They¢re a great company. People really warned me about using a down bag because if they get wet they¢re useless. But considering how much rain we got this season, I only had a problem once and that was because I was using that blasted bivy shelter that was NOT seam sealed (I¢m still a little bitter, can you tell?). But the sleeping bag dried out after 2 hours in the sun and was fine after that. If you¢re careful about keeping your bag dry, down is the way to go.For the whole trail, I used a sleeping bag liner inside the bags to help keep them cleaner and keep me warmer if I needed it. This worked out great on the few really hot nights when all I needed was a sheet. I could clean the liner when I did laundry and never had to clean my down bag. Sleeping Pad: I started out with a 34 Z-rest which worked great for the first 3 months but lost it¢s cushion after that. I switched to a full length Ridge Rest which I liked a lot better. It didn¢t loose any cushion and the full length was nice when it rained so hard that the floor of my tent got wet¢the long pad kept me dry.Stove and Pot:I used 2 different designs of alcohol stoves. I started out with the cat-can design and in Damascus I switched to the soda-can. Both worked great. The soda can design can hold more fuel though. I never had a problem with using them in the cold (but never really had to use them while it was snowing). People were shocked at how quickly the little thing could boil water. They¢re light, super-cheap, and you can¢t really break them; but they only boil, no simmer. I never had a problem finding fuel in town¢I either used denatured alcohol or the HEET in the yellow bottle.I used the 1.3 Evernew Titanium pot for the first 3 months and switched to a double-boil pot for the last months. With hindsight, I should have switched the order of this because the double-boil is great if I¢m making hot drinks while cooking dinner (which I mainly did at the beginning). Both worked great. Before I left in March, I made a pot cozy which I kept for the entire trip and it held up wonderfully and made up for the lack of a simmer on my stove.Stay tuned for the conclusion of...GEAR REVIEW!!!