PDA

View Full Version : How does this main gear and clothes sound for an early march start?



LazyLightning
01-05-2018, 19:14
Z Packs Arc Haul Zip 64L w/ shoulder/belt and top side pockets
Big Agnes Copper Spur HV UL 2 - with good quality tyvek material for tent pad
Feathered Friends Swallow Nano 20 - switch to WM Caribou MF for summer
Therm-A-Rest NeoAir Xtherm - w/ inflation bag/patch kit
travel size 'my pillow' in stuff sack - I'm sure I'll get laughed at but see details below (I'm also about to field test the Therm-A-Rest compressable pillow for comfort/size in pack and see if I want that instead)
3 cup titanium pot set up for denatued alcohol - pot, burner, stand, windscreen, spork, ect.
small titanium trowel - TP - Wipes - hand sanitizer
3 - 1 PT smart water bottles with sawyer and MSR Trailshot microfilter - that's a little over the 2L recommended amount to carry at once and it all fits on the outside of the pack easy to get, along with my bear mase (yea, I'm carrying bear mase).
bear hang kit with some extra rope, odor proof opsak and should I get a rodent proof bag also like a Grubpack or something?


all the clothes I plan on starting with including what I'll have on at any given time:

2 sets - Smartwool 150 base layer top and bottom - 1 for camp/sleep clothes
1 - Smartwool 250 base layer bottoms
1 - Smartwool 250 base layer hoody
3 - pairs boxer briefs - 1 for camp/sleep clothes
2 - pairs Darn Tough hiking socks
1 - pair Farm to Feet - camp/sleep clothes
1 - long sleeve polyester t-shirt
2 - short sleeve polyester t-shirts (3 in summer) - 1 for camp/sleep clothes
1 - pair hiking pants, Columbia zip-offs with pockets
1 - lightweight pair polyester shorts (?) - could probably go without but very light, more comfortable as shorts then the zip-offs and a good/fast drying bathing suit to

Feathered Friends Eos down jacket
Carhartt polyester winter hat with ear flaps and face mask
buff type headwear for summer
ultralite Frogg Toggs suit with custom tyvek piece going up my back under jacket and over pants for extra protection where pack sits (works great)
New Balance 910v3 trail gortex shoes
RedHead Ragin' water shoes - camp shoes
some gloves (still undecided which ones)

more misc. stuff, I'm working on a complete check list and actual pack weight in the next week or 2 but I'm thinking 30-35LBs with water/food but I always seem to pack heavy on the food and come home from my trips with a lot. I heard under 30LBs but I'll get there for sure after sending home winter gear, I hiked with 35+ most of the year on weekend trips and it wasn't bad - I know those are 'weekend trips' but I think I'll be good at 30-35 (tops full on water/food). Pack weight coming soon.

I tested this gear on a very cold 2 night trip, much colder then I'll see on the AT and I was fine. Tuesday late morning was about 20 degrees for a high when we went out, it got down in the low single digits at night and then only up in the lower teens for a high wend. Wend night got down near 0 and thursday was only predicted to be 11 for a high. We ended thursday early afternoon. The sleeping bag would be good well below zero with my base layers but that was about my limit for hiking in that gear, especially with a -20 or more wind chill thursday. I had the down jacket on thursday as we left but other then that I hiked in my 150 and 250 base layers along with 2 polyester layers in the teens and even single digits with no wind, comfortably. Jacket required if I stopped moving much.

My main concern is the down bag keeping dry, I have a Sea to Summit deep river dry sac (overboard probably, I know) for the bag and jacket so getting wet in rain isn't a concern. More so what was discussed in a recent thread about breathing in the bag and even more of a concern is the bag seems to pick up a tiny bit of moisture just from the air at night, or maybe morning. At least sometimes. It's not much and I didn't even notice a couple times till I took it back out of the stuff sac after packing away on a trip. Seemed dry when I packed it away but a tiny bit moist when I took it out the next night. All I did was fluff it up and it seemed to dry quick. I like to get up early and start hiking in the dark a little so I wont have sun to dry it in the morning if I do that... if I have to switch to something synthetic I will if keeping the goose down dry becomes a huge issue.

The travel size 'My Pillow' is certainly laughable but it also works great! Field tested at least 30 times/nights so far and still fluffs up like new, I can stuff it down to 4"x4"x4" or smaller. Good sleep is one thing I wont compromise with clothes in a stuff sack or a cheap inflatable, this thing has proven to give me a great sleep this year. Honestly, having held up this good so far for $20 I'd gladly dispose of it for another whenever needed and wouldn't feel bad about it. That said, I'm looking forward to testing out the Therm-A-Rest compressible to see if I like that better.

As far as water if that doesn't sound like enough I could swap 1 or 2 or the 1 PT bottles for 1 QT and then just not top them off if I don't need the full capacity. I plan on changing the bottles every so often but they hold up pretty good.

mtntopper
01-05-2018, 22:38
What gear will you actually be starting with? I dont think you need all that to start. What is your base weight?

bigcranky
01-05-2018, 23:29
It's a fine list overall. For me that would be too many base layers and too much clothing in general, but you'll be fine and you can make adjustments as you go. You're young, an extra couple of pounds won't matter.

Your list says 3 one pint bottles, do you have anything else to collect water in for filtering? Much nicer to go to the spring just once and bring back 5 or 6 liters for cooking, cleanup, and the next morning. I'd also want to carry more once in a while.

Don't worry about carrying too much food, you'll eat it :)

DownEaster
01-06-2018, 00:12
You can find a tree branch to hang your sleeping bag on when you stop for lunch. Try to avoid mold growing on your down gear, because that'll require cleaning with oxygen-based bleach: a tedious process that'll take you off the trail for a day just for laundry.

Dogwood
01-06-2018, 01:03
What gear will you actually be starting with? I dont think you need all that to start....


It's a fine list overall(except for)...too much clothing in general...make adjustments as you go...


I'll mimic these last two posters.

Where I respectfully disagree with BC is no matter your age carrying too much, whether it be gear or consumables(food, H2O, fuel), can overburden one's body and psychology.

IMHO, with an early Mar start, access to on trail water sources usually in abundance at that time, and creating that access by noticing regular water sources listed in various AT Thru-hiker publications, maps, and apps you will not need to carry 5-6 L of H2O on a regular basis very far.

LazyLightning
01-06-2018, 07:16
I was wondering if the clothes/base layers might be over kill... if I'm going to be hiking in any teens I would want that stuff but if its high 20s I could probably get away without the 250 layers, especially the bottoms. I might bring it all to start and could always send stuff home worst case. I heard cold snaps in the teens arn't that uncommon in the Smokies...

I was also thinking about bringing a collapsable water container but wasn't sure, my misc. stuff keeps adding up. I probably wont be cooking much in the morning, I could make it 2 QT and 1 PT bottle for a little extra to carry at once.

my bags packed now with stuff I will/wont be bringing, it's like 0 out I'm about to go do a little loop breaking in some trail through the snow - I'll get a base weight when I get back later. Is that everything (soap, sunscreen ect.) besides food/water or just the pack, sleep system, tent and clothes?

Maineiac64
01-06-2018, 07:38
Get a lighterpack account, you'll find it helpful.

Cheyou
01-06-2018, 08:02
Yes what he said above

Thom

Vanhalo
01-06-2018, 08:35
Get a lighterpack account, you'll find it helpful.

+1

Example of a WIP Lighter Pack Gear List Wheel

41469

Also get a cheap digital Kitchen Scale

& a cheap 24lb. mechanical pack scale such as these sold on Ebay

ANTIQUE BRASS C. FORSCHNER’s BALANCE SCALE (https://www.ebay.com/itm/ANTIQUE-BRASS-C-FORSCHNER-s-BALANCE-No-2/322951169155?hash=item4b3163c483:g:uHQAAOSwYvFZLbS N)
41468

I paid $5 shipped for this 24lb scale.

Works great and its over 100 years old.

Or if you have bathroom scales you can just do the math with your pack on and off.

Shrewd
01-06-2018, 11:25
You’re carrying too much clothing, but that’s to be expect d in the beginning. Depending on the weather you get in March you might even love it (I had a blizzard and one night of -10)

As I’m sure others have said your food thing is iffy. A twenty pound swing of maybe 30 to 50..?

I’m 6’3 230 and I didn’t even carry that much food after the hunger really set in. But again this is pretty normal; you’ll figure it out and adjust on the fly. I’d actually suggest packing light, food wise, initially. It’s pretty common for people to not eat as much as they expected in the first few days or weeks. **** I carried a backpacker pantry of Thai meal for like 2 weeks before I finally ate the thing, which seems incredible to me now.

You’re being 2 water filters?? I’m actually curious about the trail shot myself, but, pick one. If you want a backup get 10 or so tablets of purifier; they weigh nothing and may be peace of mind for you. I carried a few the whole way and never used them.
Liter bottles over pints.
I had a dirty bottle and a clean bottle though I often just left the filter on the dirty bottle and drank from it. I still liked having a clean bottle around camp. I also had a 2L bladder that I used at camp and on long dry hauls. Sometimes the water source is a lonnnnnng way down hill and I’d be damned if I was going there twice.

Otherwise your list looks good bud.

I’m curious to see how you like that fly creek after some time in it


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Shrewd
01-06-2018, 11:40
I won’t get into the bear stuff buttttt I’d bet money you’ll ditch the spray eventually. I saw way more poorly (useless) hung bear bags than properly hung ones. By the end everyone abandons hanging their food.
I don’t condone this, but I’m guilty of it as well. I hung my bag from the foot end of my hammock to keep it away from the mice and never had a problem. A buddy once told me he woke up and saw a bear walking 20 feet or so away from us on a road that stopped, looked at me, made a goofy noise and kept walking. That’s the only bear story I got for yeah.

Oh wait no! One once walked near my buddy while he was pooping and just kinda stayed there and watched him while he screamed “get!!” My stomach hurt from laughing when it was all over, but at the time it was eyebrow raising.

Ahhh the old sleeping bag compression sack. Depending on how this fills your pack.....maybe. I started with one for my top/underquilts but found it to be so bulky. When I got to Fontana I found a hole in my food bag so I ditched it and used the dry bag for the quilts, which I began just stuffing to the bottom of my pack. It worked great. I don’t know why I felt the need to ditch my foodbag due to a single pinhole leak...a few months later the new bag had duct tape patches on it anyway.

More important than a dry bag for your quilts is a pack liner; even if your pack is cuben fiber. I used a trash computer bag and a rain cover if it was hard rain. Having a cuben pack means you can probably ignore the pack cover and be fine.

Condensation from breathing isn’t going to be a huge deal but yeah there will probably be times where your stuff gets a little funky. Like others have said you’ll have ample chances to air it out. As a hammocker I feel like I worried about this less than my buddies, who were always spreading stuff out on hotel lawns and such. No one actually washed a sleeping bag on trail, though.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

lonehiker
01-06-2018, 19:40
Z Packs Arc Haul Zip 64L w/ shoulder/belt and top side pockets
Big Agnes Copper Spur HV UL 2 - with good quality tyvek material for tent pad
Feathered Friends Swallow Nano 20 - switch to WM Caribou MF for summer
Therm-A-Rest NeoAir Xtherm - w/ inflation bag/patch kit
travel size 'my pillow' in stuff sack - I'm sure I'll get laughed at but see details below (I'm also about to field test the Therm-A-Rest compressable pillow for comfort/size in pack and see if I want that instead)
3 cup titanium pot set up for denatued alcohol - pot, burner, stand, windscreen, spork, ect.
small titanium trowel - TP - Wipes - hand sanitizer
3 - 1 PT smart water bottles with sawyer and MSR Trailshot microfilter - that's a little over the 2L recommended amount to carry at once and it all fits on the outside of the pack easy to get, along with my bear mase (yea, I'm carrying bear mase).
bear hang kit with some extra rope, odor proof opsak and should I get a rodent proof bag also like a Grubpack or something?


all the clothes I plan on starting with including what I'll have on at any given time:

2 sets - Smartwool 150 base layer top and bottom - 1 for camp/sleep clothes
1 - Smartwool 250 base layer bottoms
1 - Smartwool 250 base layer hoody
3 - pairs boxer briefs - 1 for camp/sleep clothes
2 - pairs Darn Tough hiking socks
1 - pair Farm to Feet - camp/sleep clothes
1 - long sleeve polyester t-shirt
2 - short sleeve polyester t-shirts (3 in summer) - 1 for camp/sleep clothes
1 - pair hiking pants, Columbia zip-offs with pockets
1 - lightweight pair polyester shorts (?) - could probably go without but very light, more comfortable as shorts then the zip-offs and a good/fast drying bathing suit to

Feathered Friends Eos down jacket
Carhartt polyester winter hat with ear flaps and face mask
buff type headwear for summer
ultralite Frogg Toggs suit with custom tyvek piece going up my back under jacket and over pants for extra protection where pack sits (works great)
New Balance 910v3 trail gortex shoes
RedHead Ragin' water shoes - camp shoes
some gloves (still undecided which ones)

more misc. stuff, I'm working on a complete check list and actual pack weight in the next week or 2 but I'm thinking 30-35LBs with water/food but I always seem to pack heavy on the food and come home from my trips with a lot. I heard under 30LBs but I'll get there for sure after sending home winter gear, I hiked with 35+ most of the year on weekend trips and it wasn't bad - I know those are 'weekend trips' but I think I'll be good at 30-35 (tops full on water/food). Pack weight coming soon.

I tested this gear on a very cold 2 night trip, much colder then I'll see on the AT and I was fine. Tuesday late morning was about 20 degrees for a high when we went out, it got down in the low single digits at night and then only up in the lower teens for a high wend. Wend night got down near 0 and thursday was only predicted to be 11 for a high. We ended thursday early afternoon. The sleeping bag would be good well below zero with my base layers but that was about my limit for hiking in that gear, especially with a -20 or more wind chill thursday. I had the down jacket on thursday as we left but other then that I hiked in my 150 and 250 base layers along with 2 polyester layers in the teens and even single digits with no wind, comfortably. Jacket required if I stopped moving much.

My main concern is the down bag keeping dry, I have a Sea to Summit deep river dry sac (overboard probably, I know) for the bag and jacket so getting wet in rain isn't a concern. More so what was discussed in a recent thread about breathing in the bag and even more of a concern is the bag seems to pick up a tiny bit of moisture just from the air at night, or maybe morning. At least sometimes. It's not much and I didn't even notice a couple times till I took it back out of the stuff sac after packing away on a trip. Seemed dry when I packed it away but a tiny bit moist when I took it out the next night. All I did was fluff it up and it seemed to dry quick. I like to get up early and start hiking in the dark a little so I wont have sun to dry it in the morning if I do that... if I have to switch to something synthetic I will if keeping the goose down dry becomes a huge issue.

The travel size 'My Pillow' is certainly laughable but it also works great! Field tested at least 30 times/nights so far and still fluffs up like new, I can stuff it down to 4"x4"x4" or smaller. Good sleep is one thing I wont compromise with clothes in a stuff sack or a cheap inflatable, this thing has proven to give me a great sleep this year. Honestly, having held up this good so far for $20 I'd gladly dispose of it for another whenever needed and wouldn't feel bad about it. That said, I'm looking forward to testing out the Therm-A-Rest compressible to see if I like that better.

As far as water if that doesn't sound like enough I could swap 1 or 2 or the 1 PT bottles for 1 QT and then just not top them off if I don't need the full capacity. I plan on changing the bottles every so often but they hold up pretty good.

I don't like to get into details when looking at others' gear lists, but yours stands out as very excessive on the clothing. I see sleep clothes mentioned several times. Do you need sleep shorts as well as sleep bottoms for example? Also you have listed 3 sets of bottoms plus pants plus the Frogg Togg rain pants. Seems like you could get away with at least leaving one set of the base layers home if not two. Legs usually don't need that type of insulation especially when moving. You have listed 6 tops plus your puffy plus the Frogg Togg top? At least 2 (3?) of these can be left home. Done with the critique, just think that perhaps you should rethink your clothes based upon a Mar. start and the expected weather. Don't forget that your protective layers (i.e. raingear) can be used to insulate as well.

LazyLightning
01-07-2018, 19:29
the reason the clothes is so much is cause I was planning for possible cold snaps in the teens on 6,000' peaks with snow likely. I could see how it's a bit much as I was out yesterday in single digits and I was burning up, and I only had stuff on my list except I had some smartwool moutaineering socks on. I was also planning on keeping my sleep clothes seperate so there always dry, I'll get rid of one 150 layer cause one was just to keep dry if I need it at night but ill make sure another layer stays dry. I do want at least one 150 and 250 layer top and bottom if teens are possible. I'll ditch the shorts. The polyester shirts are just cheap CoolDri ones that don't weigh much at all, I have them in blaze orange to for when I should start wearing that?

the Trailshot is nice cause you can easily get water from anywhere no matter how shallow or small the source, you can pump a puddle dry. I was just going to bring the 1 piece Sawyer that can screw on the bottles as a back up, not anything else that comes with it. it's 48 grams. I do have scales I just didn't get to weighing my actual AT stuff until today.

my base weight was about 23LBs but that was everything I could think of except water, fuel and food. It also included all of my clothes so I'll at least be wearing a little bit of that weight.

with 3 pints of water and about 12oz of fuel I was a little over 28LBs, only missing food. I'll get rid of at least a couple pounds when I send the cold gear home.

my clothes alone including rain gear and camp shoes was 7.1 and that was after I ditched the shorts and a base layer. That includes what I'll have on at any time to. Probably all seems a little heavy but I'm not trying to be super ultralite or finish in a certain time frame either. I'm used to at least 35LBs from weekend trips over the last year. I did stop using a trash bag as a liner after I unpacked and found my pillow like a sponge one night, pin holes built up quick. I looked inside the bag looking up at the light and it was like looking at the stars. besides having the 2 deep river dry bags for my sleeping bag and jacket (each with extra space), I have a lightweight dry sac for my dry clothes, air pad, pillow and plenty of room for anything needing to stay dry. I have the clothes/pillow in another light water resistent bag but mainly cause it acts as a stuff sac to. I find it easier to pack without a liner and I have tested everything out to, I'm not just thinking it up to try when I get out there.

thanks for all the advice, I'm still going to try to work on the weight a bit before I go but I'm not to concerned.

egilbe
01-07-2018, 20:23
Use a trash compactor liner rather than a trash bag. Your main insulation should be your sleep system. You hike until you set up camp, eat, climb into bed. So, you have hiking clothes and sleep clothes. You can get to pretty low temps in shorts, baselayers and rain gear, well into the teens, if you’re hiking. Carry a fleece jacket or vest, and a puffy until you send your Winter gear home. Then keep the puffy and rain jacket, and a pair of shorts for laundry day.

Shrewd
01-09-2018, 11:33
I’d suggest getting a trash compactor liner even with your dry sacks. It’s cheap and weighs nothing.
Egilbe knows what he’s talking about.

If I was hiking it would have to drop into the low 30s before I even though about putting on my leggings. Even then I ended up tossing on my rain pants and pressing on.

I carried leggings and a thermal hoodie that, after the 2nd week, saw maybe 5 days of wear, three of those being cold storms in the Smokies.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

sadlowskiadam
01-09-2018, 11:53
I had no hiking or backpacking experience before starting my thru hike in 2013. I used this website to determine all the gear I really needed. Less is more. I had a base weight of about 16 lbs, and a full pack weight of about 26 lbs when I started at Springer.

http://www.athiker.org/things-you-need/

LazyLightning
01-09-2018, 18:14
thanks again for all the advice... I used a heavy duty contractor trash bag, the thick ones and that's what ended up with a ton of pin holes... it was after using it for a little while but I still lost my trust in it. Is a "trash compactor liner" the same thing pretty much?

I really found it to be a pain packing with a liner for the entire bag and then it ended up leaking anyway... I was thinking about making a pack cover with some tyvek that would double as an extra tarp and keep any driving rain out of the bag... even though it's supposed to be "highly water resistent" I found that to not exactly be the case.

Do you think going with a pack cover and eliminating the liner is a bad idea? ... considering I do have the dry sacs for everything to

Jayne
01-09-2018, 19:19
My thoughts on cold weather clothing. Plan on enough clothing to keep yourself warm while you are hiking. While you're hiking it's not that hard to keep warm - merino wool sweater, hat, gloves, some pants. At night it gets cold, and that's what your sleeping bag is for. If you're worried about cold, bring a sleeping bag that's rated for a lower temperature. That's always going to be a lighter option than hauling more clothes. For example, the difference between an Enlightened Equipment 20 and 40 quilt is only 5 ounces. Are you a cold sleeper? No worries, you can have a 10 degree quilt for only another 3 ounces.

Shrewd
01-09-2018, 20:17
thanks again for all the advice... I used a heavy duty contractor trash bag, the thick ones and that's what ended up with a ton of pin holes... it was after using it for a little while but I still lost my trust in it. Is a "trash compactor liner" the same thing pretty much?

I really found it to be a pain packing with a liner for the entire bag and then it ended up leaking anyway... I was thinking about making a pack cover with some tyvek that would double as an extra tarp and keep any driving rain out of the bag... even though it's supposed to be "highly water resistent" I found that to not exactly be the case.

Do you think going with a pack cover and eliminating the liner is a bad idea? ... considering I do have the dry sacs for everything to

I dunno man I didn’t have your lroblems with a compactor bag. I had to duct tape it twice. It is a thicker plastic so maybe that’s why, but it was never a pain to pack.

I think using a bunch of stuff sacks kinda sucks, but if it works for you then go for it. I’d consider a light cover anyway.

Don’t sweat the details too much though because after a few weeks you’ll laugh at how much you worried about this stuff then changed half your stuff anyway.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Dogwood
01-10-2018, 00:15
You would save some bulk if you went with a 20 0z or so bottle like a Gatorade or thinner more upright Smartwater bottle that slips into a side backpack pocket. It's my guess you'll find a 1 pt size water bottle doesn't hold enough for immediate on the fly H2O needs especially as it gets warmer. Combine that with a 2L or so BPA free Platypus or Evernew H2O bladder that rolls up to the size of two match books when empty. The 2 L Platypus actually holds more than 2 L, more like 2.8 L. . Here's a pic. See the 2 L mark? https://www.moosejaw.com/moosejaw/shop/product_Platypus-Platy-Bottle_10094560_10208_10000001_-1_?ad_id=GooglePlusBox&utm_source=GooglePlusBox&utm_medium=PLA&utm_campaign=Platypus&scid=scplp5197&sc_intid=5197&adpos=1o4&cm_mmc=PLA-_-Google-_-SC_Shopping_Desktop|SC_Shopping_Desktop-_-google|652804451|30576947942|113834596963|pla-371536957386|c|9010777|5197&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIgu3L38HM2AIVmLjACh1uDgreEAQYBCAB EgLbHfD_BwE

Cheyou
01-10-2018, 07:01
thanks again for all the advice... I used a heavy duty contractor trash bag, the thick ones and that's what ended up with a ton of pin holes... it was after using it for a little while but I still lost my trust in it. Is a "trash compactor liner" the same thing pretty much?

I really found it to be a pain packing with a liner for the entire bag and then it ended up leaking anyway... I was thinking about making a pack cover with some tyvek that would double as an extra tarp and keep any driving rain out of the bag... even though it's supposed to be "highly water resistent" I found that to not exactly be the case.

Do you think going with a pack cover and eliminating the liner is a bad idea? ... considering I do have the dry sacs for everything to

A contractor bag is not the same as a trash compactor bag . Not a big expense to try one . Oven cooking bag work well to.

Thom

jj dont play
01-10-2018, 11:55
That's going to be well over 30-35 with food water. ALOT of things you won't need. Too much clothes, etc. but you'll have to learn most of this your self.
I would list everything I would ditch but most people are adamant about needing things before they hit the trail.

Start with that, hit Neels Gap and get a shakedown.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

BuckeyeBill
01-10-2018, 12:02
Are there any [places you can Hike at right now? I know you got pounded recently, but if you can get out for 2-3 days with the weight you can find out for yourself what you need and don't need. Also try to get out when the temperature rises for a different test. They say that people will pack for their fears. Getting out will test those fears.