Date: 2011-04-01
To: Prep #3 - Gear Talk
Miles today: 0.0

This past week has been an exciting romp in the gear department. I went down to Boston to visit my best friend from high school. While there I had the opportunity to visit a REI and Hilton¢s Tent City. For months now I¢ve been hunting down gear options and trying to figure out what I might like to fill out the old bits from the family attic. Up until now I¢ve been haunting the forums on Whiteblaze.net but nothing beats the opportunity to actually see the items and try them out.The most exciting news is that I¢ve finally found my pack! I started in REI first because I really wanted to try out the Deuter and Osprey packs that came so highly recommended. But they really didn¢t fit well and I was leery of the adjustable velcro that was used to hold the pack together. I did try on a Gregory Deva which fit well but at 5 lbs 9 ozs was way too heavy. I must have tried on close to nine different packs both large and small and nothing really clicked. So thanks to my very tolerant friend (thanks Shawna) I wandered into the city to Hilton¢s where I got to try out some granite gear packs. It¢s hard to find retailers that carry these so I really appreciate this place and can¢t recommend it highly enough (good service, very friendly). Okay just a little side rant here: I don¢t really get what it is about women specific gear that makes outfitters lunge for the purples and pinks cause it¢s honestly the only turn off I find for this gear. That being said I switched back and forth between an Ozone Nimbus and Escape AC 60 Ki and walked up and down some stairs. What a difference these packs make! Rather than using aluminum stays they use a molded plastic back that curves perfectly with my back and doesn¢t poke me in uncomfortable places. (Welcome to the world of the curvy girl) Despite it¢s coloring; I really loved the feel of the Escape AC Ki and am super excited about it. I tried out some sleeping bags too, which gave me a little bit of a panic attack. The lighter ones are so small and claustrophobic. I¢m a fan of the Big Agnes bags which are cut a bit bigger but I was not sold on the lack of insulation on the bottom. These bags rely on a padding to keep you warm and I¢m just not willing to risk it if my pad springs a leak. But what¢s great about them is that they have a sleeve for the pad so you don¢t role off. Then it came to me in a dream. I¢m going to find some lightweight, hopefully water resistant yet breathable fabric and make a little sleeve that I can slide my pad and climb into with my bag. Essentially double bagging it which should give me a little extra warmth but more importantly keep this sleep roller on her pad. Right now I¢m looking forward to heading to VA in May so that I can try out some of the MontBell bags. These guys are cut on a diagonal and are suppose to allow for a lot of movement and stretch. We¢ll see about thatAs far as clothing goes, I¢m holding out to pick up some sale items further into the year. That and my weight tends to yoyo around a bit so there¢s no point spending quite a pretty penny on pants that aren¢t going to fit when I finally do head out. Plus I¢m going to raid my drawers for items from my crew days and test them out on the trails this summer to see if they¢ll work for me. All that spandex probably won¢t have the breathability I¢m looking for no matter how comfortable it is though.I spent a good 5 hours trying on hiking and backpacking boots with hopes of finding something that will work with my large wide 10 12 feet. Most of them didn¢t work and the male shoes felt off. And then came Merrells. These shoes feel like heaven on my feet. They don¢t have the same highly durable sole as the backpacking specific boots so I¢ll probably go through a few pairs, but I reasoned it was better to go with the boots that felt best. They also provide some ankle support for my busted ankle. Curse you old injuries.Wow this post is way long so I¢ll just briefly mention that I¢ve created an excel spreadsheet to track all my gear, clothing, accessory items and their weights. I¢ve got a little bit of a hoarding personality with the motto ¢but you know what if and hey we could use that for something someday¢. So I¢m definitely going to have to actively restrain myself to get my pack weight down to where I want it to be in the 25-35 range. Again this hike is all about the challenge!Jess out.