What do i need to pick up for a overnight or 2 night trip?

[SkeeterPee]

I've been walking 3-5 miles a day for years, but increased that to 5-7 miles a day. I have also done a couple car camping trips with camping and hiking 3 days in a row to be sure I could handle it at age 56. It's been a while since I camped.

Did 3 days of day hiking with car camping in MD section of AT which went well, but MD is easier than most I understand.

I have started to accumulate some gear, but don't have a lot yet. I plan to have more by next spring, but I was thinking it would be nice to get another weekend trip this fall. maybe an out and back from the area around Hershey PA

I bought a 65l Osprey Atmos. I know I should probably have bought everything else first. But I wanted to get used to carrying it before major investments. I also picked up a light 28l day pack from Ozark Trail. I have recently started loading it up with 20-30 lbs for all my daily walks. I figure I do not want to wear out good pack and probably looks less funny day hiking/walking around parks in a smaller pack.

I have a sawyer mini with squeeze pouch, and another bladder and water bottles I can use for hydration.

I picked up a ursac, misc rope, caribiners etc and a oderproof bag for a bear hang

My old small camping tent leaks like a sieve so I have no suitable tent. I am leaning toward a tent as I have a bad back and I am sure a hammock would be bad for it. I was thinking some sort of 2 person tent like a SMD DUO as I have hiking poles. 2 person in case my wife wants to join me or more likely my adult son who has expressed some interest in backpacking. But perhaps I should go cheap at first until I get more experience. is staking hard on AT? Would a free standing tent be better? Any recommendations? Does it make sense to start less expensive and then go to lighter/cheaper later. I also want to hike the Mason Dixon Trail once I get some experience and more gear. That seems like it may be some rough camping in areas from the parts I have walked.

I also have one of those 25 year old coleman sleeping bags which I know will need replacing, but I want to look for a good deal and don't know what will be comfortable yet, so making a decision will take time.. this old bag is so big it won't fit in my pack. maybe it would strap to outside for now.

I did pick up a thermarest trail light pad, but need a pillow yet.

I have no backpacking stove, but probably can pick one up to start out with. It seems like a lot of people try several of these anyway.

Anything else I should think about for a short 1-2 night trip?

[Gambit McCrae]

Didn't see any mention of a sleeping bag.
Down jacket - not needed but a great item due to its compactability
I am Pm'ing you in regards to tents, I have a few for sale that are BNIB at a great deal

[Ashepabst]

a lot of folks --namely myself-- spent a lot of money buying cheaper gear, and then even more money replacing it with better gear. it's tempting to be cautious in case you find yourself not-that-in-to backpacking. but, keep in mind that good gear will resell fairly easy perhaps fairly close to retail (check out HammockForums)... cheap gear will not. if it were me, starting all over again, I'd buy that SMD tent (actually, I'd go with tarptent's Stratospire).

[Odd Man Out]

Sometimes old cheap gear is OK but new expensive gear is better. A pot is a pot, a spoon is a spoon, a flashlight is a flashlight. But sometimes old cheap gear is not OK. This is where you don't want to skimp. If you are talking summer trips then your sleeping bag is not all that critical (as long as you keep it dry). But a cheap tent (I mean like 99$ Wally World special) is likely to leak and then you are in trouble.

For the kitchen, you can get very cheap canister stoves on-line that work perfectly fine. That with a cheap pot and spoon would be all you need.

For clothes, go to the resale shops and get some nylon pants, shirts, and shorts. Unless it is very cold, you probably don't need more than a fleece for cold weather. A good rain jacket would be called for, but no need to break the bank there either.

While it would be nice to be able to outfit yourself with the best gear the first time, the reality is that you probably don't know what all that would be until you have some experience. I spent years agonizing over what gear I should get, hoping I could buy one and be done. But it never worked. Almost everything needed to be tweaked or adjusted or replaced after a few trials. I eventually got to the point where if I got gear that worked for many people I knew that it would be good enough (you'll see lots of Atmos packs out there, so this is a perfectly acceptable pack). I stopped stressing about finding the perfect gear, knowing that I could adjust my gear list gradually as I got more experience. Until then it was only necessary for it to work. Especially for short trips - your margin of error is pretty high. Also note that good gear keeps its value. I spent years researching for "the perfect tent" and then immediately sold it for something I liked better. But since it was a SMD tent with little use, I could sell and trade up for not much net additional cost.

[rocketsocks]

The Atmos 65 is a good pack, and plenty big enough for weekend hiking, thru-hiking, and even winter hiking, but if you could get a different sleeping bag(one that takes up less volume than the older style Coleman bags.) it'd be a big help to you, most likely lighter too.

[rocketsocks]

Check this out if you haven't already, it's from the home page under gear.

http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/content.php/190-Cheap-Gear-%E2%80%93-How-to-Dirt-Bag-and-Deal-Shop-Like-a-Professional

[bigcranky]

The pack is fine. The water filter is fine.

Start with a tent -- hammocks are great for people with back problems, but a tent is much easier to start with. The Lunar Duo is a fine tent, it's huge inside, great for two people, though you might start with the SMD Scout solo tent, which is inexpensive and fairly light. Staking a tent is easy, though finding a suitable spot can be challenging in a few places (but don't worry, there are plenty of good tent sites on the AT).

A down sleeping bag rated to about 30F and weighing under three pounds is a good choice (under two, ideally, though that gets expensive). Something like this Kelty bag (http://www.rei.com/product/880602/kelty-cosmic-down-21-sleeping-bag#tab-specs) can often be found on sale.

Any basic canister stove that uses butane/propane canisters is fine. Jetboil is popular and can often be found on sale. (Don't get anything that takes those giant 1-lb propane tanks.) Or make an alcohol stove.

In general, if you stick with hiking you'll end up going through a long period of buying different gear until you find what works for you. Like any hobby or sport, it's tough to know exactly what you want before you start, and everyone ends up with slightly different choices. So it's okay to buy things now with the understanding that you will end up replacing some of them -- which to me means don't spend a huge amount on any one piece of gear.

[Heliotrope]

I agree with everyone here. Take your time thinking it out and researching. Almost anything will work on overnights in summer temps. However cheap tents will leak. It is also easy to get sucked into buying name brand overpriced heavy gear that will not be much fun to carry. Especially if you get into it and start doing longer trips with more food weight, I remember buying an REI dome tent cause other people I knew had it. I hated carrying the 8+ lbs into the backcountry. It became the family car camping tent, and it still sucks IMO. Condensation is terrible, It might look great set up in the showroom floor but....


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[nsherry61]

Sounds to me like #1 on your list should be a sleeping bag/quilt. By comparison everything else is easy, lived without, or much more easily done on the cheap.

[egilbe]

Big three is your pack, sleeping bag and tent. You have a decent pack. You are already looking at a decent tent, you just need a decent sleeping bag, or quilt. Every thing else is filler.

[Kenai]

Check this out if you haven't already, it's from the home page under gear.

http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/content.php/190-Cheap-Gear-%E2%80%93-How-to-Dirt-Bag-and-Deal-Shop-Like-a-Professional


Nice link Rsocks ty.

[AtWokman]

Steak and potatoes

[Another Kevin]

a lot of folks --namely myself-- spent a lot of money buying cheaper gear, and then even more money replacing it with better gear. it's tempting to be cautious in case you find yourself not-that-in-to backpacking. but, keep in mind that good gear will resell fairly easy perhaps fairly close to retail (check out HammockForums)... cheap gear will not. if it were me, starting all over again, I'd buy that SMD tent (actually, I'd go with tarptent's Stratospire).

As long as the cheaper gear is actually serviceable, that's not necessarily a mistake. A lot of times, high-end gear has to be tailored to your personal hiking style - and you often don't know your own style when you're first starting out. If you're going to wind up replacing things as you learn how you, personally, operate in the woods, maybe it's better to have the stuff that you're going to replace anyway be the less expensive stuff.

Lots of us say, "If I knew then what I know now, I'd never have wasted my money on the cheap gear." But we all do that, because the alternative appears to be buying expensive gear and replacing it anyway.

[lemon b]

Have you been out in the rain yet ? I prefer a freestanding tent because a wet sleeping bag is awful. So first I would develop a dry tenting system. Than worry about the bag. Keeping in mind that down is useless when wet. I have zero experience in purchasing the correct equipment first. All I can suggest is to take your time. The way your sticking to 1-3 bag nights seems spot on.

[cneill13]

I don't have back problems but i know others who do and they love sleeping in a hammock. Try warbonnet ridgerunner or Hennessey hammocks. I own a Hennessey explorer with hex tarp (free upgrade if you order through Hennessey) and will never go back to a tent. Also check out youtube videos such as " what I took on my AT thru hike". Very helpful. Good luck and have a great time camping. It'll brighten your life.

[scrabbler]

Are there any local hiking clubs? They are likely full of people with closets full of gear that has been upgraded, and would be glad to lend you some while you learn.