Date: 2011-07-12
To: Gear Reviews
Miles today: 0.0

We spent many enjoyable days on the trail hiking with Flame, Pigeon and Skidmark. Currently Flame is the only one of our group that is still marching north. I guess the stats that say only about 20% of those who start a thru-hike each year will complete it holds true for our group of five. Go Flame Go.GEAR REVIEWS: we would like to review some the gear we used and in the future perhaps some of the places we stayed at or ate meals at along the way through the first 720 miles of the AT. Hopefully this will be helpful to future hikers. SHELTER: TARPTENT RAINSHADOW 2 - We camped in our Rainshadow 2 nearly every night. We only used a shelter 4 or 5 nights either due to extremely dangerous storms or required use in the Smokey Mnt NP (even then we mostly were able to tent due to full shelters) Our Tarptent is roomy enough for both of us and our backpacks as well. It dry through rain storms and even a bit of sleet and snow. It only takes a few minutes to set up or pack up. It is quite well ventilated and we have had very minimal condensation issues.It only weighs about 2 and half lbs (using your trekking pole) and packs down to about the size of a loaf of bread. Overall very pleased with it's performance and size. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.SLEEPING: REI HALO +25 DOWN SLEEPING BAGS - We are very pleased with these bags overall. At 2lbs. and reasonably priced ($175 on sale) they performed very well. I never was cold using mine and often left it unzipped and used it like a blanket. Thimbleberry is a colder sleeper than myself and usually zipped hers up and often used the Cocoon silk liner for added comfort during cooler nights. BIG AGNES INSULATED AIRCORE SLEEPING PADS - These pads are very comfortable and provide great nights sleep. They are bit on the heavy side (24 oz) but worth it. My BA was probably 3 years old before we started the AT hike and I had patched one pinhole leak in that time. Unfortunately my pad started leaking within the first few days on the trail. I sent it home and bought a NEO Air at Mountain Crossings and used it the rest of the trail. Thimbleberrie's BA pad developed a leak just before we hit Damascus. We tried to make repairs but failed so she bought a new BA mummy style Insulated Aircore and sent the old one home.*After we returned home in June we sent the 2 leaking BA pads to Big Agnes. They have tested the pads and are replacing them as a warranty issue. We appreciate the company backing up their products with outany problems. We would RECOMMEND the BA sleeping pads with some reservation due to the leaks but are happy the company will back up their product.NEO AIR SLEEPING PAD - I used the NEO air with no problems thus far. i am very happy with it overall. The weight is great (only 13 oz) but it is quite pricey ($150) compared to the BA ($75). I slept comfortably with it even though it was a few inches shorter and an inch or so narrower than my BA.HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.COCOON SILK LINER - We both have one and are very happy with them. Thimbleberry used hers almost every night. On a few of the hot nights it was all we needed for cover. HIGHLY RECOMMENDEDLAFUMA 45 + SLEEPING BAG - We bought these bags for the summer weather and only used them a few nights before leaving the trail. So far they were great. They only weigh 24 oz and stuff down to about the size of a football. Not bad for a synthetic bag. We got them for $59 on sale a would RECOMMEND THEM.I will continue the reviews in future updates.