Date: 2004-02-06
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

I spent about a billion dollars today getting ready for this trip. By a billion, I probably mean more like $2000, but still... whoo. So, for you gearheads out there, this is a gear entry.Since Jo had to back out of the hike, I've taken a very very critical eye to every piece of gear I own. I've also spent countless hours researching the gear I didn't own (tent, stove, cook set, etc). Man is there a lot to muck through. It's made tougher by the fact that a lot of the "ultralight" gear is not available for sale in any physical stores, just online, so you can't touch it or use it or try it on before you buy it - just gotta make that leap of faith. Well, the tent I was originally going to purchase was from www.warmlite.com (the 2R with window option). The thing is monstrously expensive, but only 3 pounds, which is darn good for a tent. But then I started looking into tarptent options - I knew a tarp wouldn't cut it for me, and I'm a stomach sleeper so that's a no-go on a hammock, and I refuse to be bound to the overcrowded shelter system. www.tarptent.com offers what looks like one of the nicest sleep systems out there (check it out!). I can't wait to get mine. Backpacker did a field test on this item and all the reviewers raved (what a miracle it is to have six different hikers all like the same piece of gear!), so I caved in and left the world of tents behind forever. Consequently I also left behind an extra pound and a half (the tarptent is only 1.5 pounds!).I almost had a heart attack while buying my sleeping bag :P Currently I own a Sierra Designs Flex bag. I'm a really wiggly, squirmy sleeper. I'm also a POOR sleeper. Even in the comfort of my own bed it takes me an hour or so to fall asleep each night, and I'll wake up to any noise that doesn't belong (and some that do) - we're talking ANYTHING. Like, you could be standing in my doorway watching me sleep, and the sound of your breathing would wake me. Anyway, trying to find a sleeping bag that lets you sleep comfortably on your stomach while tucking one knee up to your chest is pretty much impossible. The flex bag was as close as it came - it was made of a stretch material in the footbox, so that if you wanted to scissor your legs out you could, and the bag would stretch as you moved. When you weren't doing that, it retained the mummy bag shape for warmth. Unfortunately, it had a square bag's weight, since it was essentially made of the same amount of material. That bag was 3lbs 10 oz. So, I've been seeing a lot of talk on the forums and mailing lists about home-made down bags that weigh in at as little as a pound. Now, I'm not a sewer. Not by a long shot. But there's a company that makes them for you. They also make this thing called the Raku, which weighs in at about 2.5 pounds (1.2 pounds lighter than my previous bag), is completely customizable, and has so much wiggle room you can actually hike it up and walk in it. Check out my gear list (horribly incomplete right now) for a link. The downside, of course, is the over $600 it cost. This is the most expensive piece of equipment I've ever purchased, by far. It better last long enough for my great-grandkids to use For all this weight-consciousness, I'm still sticking with my good ol' full length 2 pound thermarest. I'm such a sucker. But a comfortable sucker :PI've also made the leap to replace my pack. My current pack is about 15 years old and weighs in at 6 pounds. Monstrous. I've been very hesitant to even look at ultralight packs, because most of them do not have any sort of suspension system. ULA makes a sort of in-the-middle pack, the ULA P2, which was also reviewed by backpacker and universally raved about. The P2 with all the bells and whistles weighs in at 3 pounds and has a very solid suspension system (stays and all) plus over 4000 cu inches of space. I'm also very enamored with the hip-belt pockets It's not terribly overpriced (about $225), and becomes as comfortable as an overstuffed sofa when you fold your thermarest into quarters and use it as extra padding for the back.The last major place to cut weight is your cooking system. I didn't have a stove, and after much reading made the choice to get a pop-can stove. These burn denatured alcohol, which has the added bonus of requiring no canister. I'll be hauling my fuel around in a nalgene bottle. The pot doesn't simmer and once you light it you can't put it out (so learn how much fuel you need!), but hey, it weighs less than half an ounce. I got a pot cozy, which allows you to carry about half the fuel you normally would. I went with a titanium .9 liter pot with a frying pan lid, and all told my pot, pan, stove, cozy and "fuel container" weigh in at about 14 ounces. This puts my base weight at a little less than 10 pounds, minus a whole slew of misc stuff and the clothes on my body. I'm very excited about that (as you can tell, what with me spending a million page entry on it). The misc stuff I'll enter into my gear list as I weigh it in, and I think my total base weight in the winter will be about 14 pounds when all is said and done, plus what I'm wearing. In the warm months when I can ditch my bag for a liner, it'll be about 12 pounds. This means that, even coming fresh out of my biggest resupply (7 days) with 2 liters of water, I'll still weigh in under 30 pounds. Going into my resupply, I'll weigh in under 18. Hot! Okay, enough about gear. Next time, food. Soon, hiking Not soon enough...Newt