How's the Gear Hunting/Planning Going?

[Old Spice]

Tomorrow my sleepin bag will arive via UPS. After this I will pretty much have completed my major gear shopping for the upcoming thru. Next phase: Get fit and plan a tentative itinerary. Anyone else transitioning into this phase of planning? Doesn't it feel great to bust out the box of ATC maps and feel overwhelmed by the reality that in a few months we will be out there?

[Trooper347]

I recieve my hammock tommorow from UPS, YAY!!!, and am now going thru the '05 Data book, and planner recieved from ATC online store...will be ordering the '06 Data book when it becomes available...as well as the Thru-hikers Handbook that was reccomended to me...Best of luck on your planning Old Spice, hope to meet you on the trail.

[justusryans]

Tomorrow my sleepin bag will arive via UPS. After this I will pretty much have completed my major gear shopping for the upcoming thru. Next phase: Get fit and plan a tentative itinerary. Anyone else transitioning into this phase of planning? Doesn't it feel great to bust out the box of ATC maps and feel overwhelmed by the reality that in a few months we will be out there?

Well, I'm into the get fit stage but I'm more a fly by the seat of my pants kind a guy!

[mnof1000v]

I'm pretty psyched to actually be planning this whole thing out, after months of considering the possibility. Still working to get all my gear ready, but everyone on this site has been really helpful. Soon enough, I'll be working with my maps too. I don't expect to really definitively plan, but some review will certainly help.

Good luck to all! Hope to see you all this spring!

[frieden]

I've got much of our planning done, but seriously lacking on gear. I won't be 100% ready, but we're gonna go anyway. Right now, our plan has us hitting Katahdin at day 173, but I might want to slow that down a bit. How many days is your schedule? Are you doing anything to get ready physically? It's just right around the corner! Aaaahhhhh!

[Husko]

Not very good. I decided I have to ditch my 6lb pack for something lighter and can't really afford it. Going to buy a kit from antigravitygear.com to get rid of my heavy cookset and bruton stove. still have to buy a lightwieght sleeping pad becuase mine got torn up. have to plan on replacing my 3 year old boots somewhere along the trail. The car is having problems and not sure it will last through the winter.

Not trying sound like a whiner. Just what I'm having to deal with. I'm looking at the door I will be walking out of in early june, wether I plan to starve on the trail or not. I'm doing this. I've heard that dirt works well in potato soup if you keep stirring it.

[justusryans]

you can get a closed cell sleeping pad at wally world, you can pick up a pack cheep on ebay, can't help with your car though...

[Seeker]

you might find a blue foam pad at a garage sale or on the side of the road... i picked up three in the first two years i was here... blew out of the back of some local's pickup truck, i guess... but worked fine for cutting up into pot cozies, two butt pads, side wings for my hammock pad, and a porch swing seat...

[Old Spice]

Not very good. I decided I have to ditch my 6lb pack for something lighter and can't really afford it. Going to buy a kit from antigravitygear.com to get rid of my heavy cookset and bruton stove. still have to buy a lightwieght sleeping pad becuase mine got torn up. have to plan on replacing my 3 year old boots somewhere along the trail. The car is having problems and not sure it will last through the winter.

Not trying sound like a whiner. Just what I'm having to deal with. I'm looking at the door I will be walking out of in early june, wether I plan to starve on the trail or not. I'm doing this. I've heard that dirt works well in potato soup if you keep stirring it.

I ditched my 6lb Dana Design Terraplane (5800 cubic inches) and bought a Granite Gear Vapor Trail. The Dana was just weight too heavy, large, and expensive. The Granite Gear weighs only 2lbs, is 3500 cubic inches (which I am finding is the perfect size for my gear), and only costs $150. You should check this pack out. I cannot wait to get it out there!

[Lanceglas]

I am set on gear. My preparations are shifting toward experimental food dehydrating, and "field" testing varous DYI alchol stoves. Anyone else experimenting with dehydrating meals--we should collaborate.

[Kerosene]

I ditched my 6lb Dana Design Terraplane (5800 cubic inches) and bought a Granite Gear Vapor Trail.

I downsized from a 2000 version of the Dana Design Terraplane X to the Granite Gear Nimbus Ozone, saving 4.8 pounds (7 lbs, 13 oz. down to 3 lbs) and I've never looked back. The Vapor Trail is widely used by thru-hikers. I do suggest that you add The Lid, which covers the top and provides a much-needed utility pocket for 2 ounces.

[mogilews]

I tested out my Nimbus Ozone on the Bartram before settling on it as THE pack for this year's AT trek. It's dreamy.

Only complaints: I am thinking of adding a mesh external sleeve for my water bag;, and if I cinch the compression straps from a wrong angle, the buckles snap pretty easily.

[Footslogger]

[quote=Old Spice]I ditched my 6lb Dana Design Terraplane (5800 cubic inches) and bought a Granite Gear Vapor Trail. \================================================= =

Well ...if your experience is anything like mine you'll really enjoy the pack. When I got home from my thru in 2003 my wife tried it on and liked it so much that she bought one for herself.

'Slogger

[JoeHiker]

The Vapor Trail is widely used by thru-hikers. I do suggest that you add The Lid, which covers the top and provides a much-needed utility pocket for 2 ounces.

Can you use the lid when the vapor trail is fully packed, including extension collar? Will it fit OK? The photos I see only show it with the collar not really in use

[casanoah]

So i'll be hitting the trail this March and im still a bit uncertain about which house I wanna carry on my back. What do ya'll think of the Granite Gear Virga? It's ultralight 3600 cubic inches, and weighs 1lbs 14 oz. Any thoughts?

Thanks in advance.

Peace, Love, and Cookies, Noah

[casanoah]

How many of you are taking tarps? Tents? Or nothing at all? I've got an MSR Micro-Zoid, its really small and light I think it weighs a little over 2 lbs. but im still toying with the idea of a tarp. My only concern would be Mosquitos and such, are my concerns justified? Is it worth it to take the extra weight and volume of a tent over a tarp or not? Thanks for the input.

Good medicine, Noah

[frieden]

I still don't have a pack, and there isn't a gear store within hundreds of miles where I could try them on, either. Selection here stinks. I'm probably going to have to buy most of my gear just a few weeks before we leave. I'll have to take one more trip to TN to try on packs, etc.

Casanoah, I'm taking a tent and tarp. I want a "porch" in the rain, and my tent doesn't have one. It is just a dome tent. It's pretty light, though. Tarps are like bandanas; you can use them for anything. We're using the tent the entire way, though, so it is more important to me, than someone planning to use shelters. If I was planning on using shelters, I would only pack a tarp. You could always bring mosquito netting to hang over your tarp, and weigh down the sides with stones.

[stag3]

Frieden...

No need to wait for the pack selection. All of the major online stores (REI, EMS....) have reasonable return policies. So, pick some and see what you like. For my last pack, I loaded the pack and walked the neighborhood until I was sure it was okay. I returned three packs.

Downside is you have to spend a few $$ for return shipping. You could probably order several from one outfitter and return them all at one time--save some $$.

Ditto for tents.

[lilmountaingirl]

I've got all of the gear I could possibly need...my problem is staying out of gear stores. I've roughed out a tentative itinerary which I'm sure will be out the window as soon as I hit Neel's Gap.

My planning is pretty much done as far as the hike goes. What I'm left with is figuring out what I want to sell/keep of my home stuff (furniture, kitchen stuff, etc). Great time to simplify my life...time for a garage sale, I suppose. That and where to house my car...unregistering it so I can uninsure it...blah blah blah...

I'm starting 5 months from today. I can't wait.

[dje97001]

Well, we are finished getting gear. Last week we got some early Christmas presents--our winter hats and our rain hats. I think at this point we just have to worry about getting in decent shape and finding healthcare insurance, deciding what to do with our cars, emptying our apartment and setting up a schedule for all of the family who wants to meet up with us on the way. Fun fun. Gear selection and research was tough, but at least it was fun!