Date: 2011-10-20
To: Gear Selection 1
Miles today: 0.0

I¢ve been sick for two days. No physical training for me, other than a mile sanity walk with the dogs each day. Hippocrates is quoted as saying ¢Walking is man¢s best medicine.¢I¢ve had ample time to sit at this computer over the last month and do gear research. I find it interesting that in hiking jargon, we refer to our stuff as ¢gear¢. Not equipment, accoutrement, tackle, or baggage. In machinery, a gear is a a toothed wheel that engages another toothed mechanism in order to change the speed or direction of transmitted motion. Well, then, ¢gear¢ is the proper word after all. The things that I carry work together with my brain and body to propel me in motion. That motion can be slow, moderate, or fast depending on the gear that I select and use. On our last backpacking trip to Isle Royale National Park my total pack weight (with food and water) was 42 pounds. That trip was only four days and I felt every one of those pounds as I walked the rocky seashore trail. My goal this month has been to get my total pack weight down to 30 pounds or under. I¢ve spent an enormous amount of time dragging every hiking thing out of my garage and closet, weighing them and entering the data into a spreadsheet. I¢ve read gear reviews by the hundreds, emailed successful thru-hikers, read back issues of magazines, and read umpteen trail journals all in the quest of gathering as much information on a particular product as possible in order to make an informed decision. I¢ve studied and compared. I¢ve debated and analyzed. More spread sheets.This process has been both fun and frustrating.One person said that you can have price, weight or durability; pick one. In other words, if you want something durable and low weight, you¢ll pay a high price. Or, if you want something cheap, you¢ll end up having a higher weight. Trying to find balance is the key. Another aspect that I found is that while most hikers search for that ultimate ¢light¢ or ¢ultralight¢ backpacking weight, each one develops their own philosophy as to what is important to them concerning their comfort level on their hike. So, the choices I have had to make with my gear are not only based on weight, price and durability, but also comfort. This, too has a cost.My first hurdle was to select a new sleeping bag. Go down to the sporting goods store and $40 later, I¢m done, right? No! These are some of the considerations I had to answer before making my selection:*Temperature rating: how cold would it be on the AT?*Insulation: Down (600? 800? 900?) or Synthetic (Polarguard? Polarguard 3D? PolarGuard Delta? Quallofil? Thermolite? Primaloft?)*Shell: is it waterproof? breathable? Are the seams taped?*Style: Mummy?, Rectangular?, Semi-rectangular?, Bivy?, Hammock?, Quilt?*How does it attach to the sleeping pad: in a sleeve? by straps? by cords? doesn¢t attach?*Size: What are the chest and hip dimensions? Man¢s or Women¢s bag?*Other: Is there a hood? draft tube? What size zipper: 1/2 length? 3/4 length? full? Can it be unzipped from bottom and top? From the inside and outside? How wide is the foot box? Can I open the foot box? How are the baffles shaped? Is there a stash pocket?*Price*WeightOf course, everything went in a spreadsheet. I really liked my BA Roxy Ann because it was warm. However, I am a side sleeper that likes to bring my knees up. Even though the Roxy Ann is considered semi-rectangular, it was too narrow for me. I also sleep with my arm up out of the bag with my head resting on my arm and the pillow squished between. The hood kept getting in my way. I finally decided on a Nunatuk sleeping quilt. I am ANXIOUSLY awaiting it¢s arrival. You can see the thought process that went into the selection of my sleeping bag. Now you know why I¢ve been researching so much online. I¢m evaluating the gear I already have in light of the AT thruhike and I have a few hundred decisions to go!So far this is what I¢ve chosen and how much weight I¢ve saved: tent (72 oz), sleeping bag (16 oz), sleeping pad (8 oz), pillow (4 oz), trekking poles (5 oz), stove (21 oz), water treatment & bottles (21.3). A weight savings of 9 pounds! Tom would argue that I didn¢t carry the tent, so with that consideration, I have a weight savings of 5 pounds. Onward!