PDA

View Full Version : Section hiker gear changes?



1azarus
06-29-2012, 09:24
I don't carry a single piece of gear or wear a single item of clothing I carried six years ago, when I started section hiking seriously. I was just chuckling about my walk up the Springer access trail back then. For you section hikers, do you still carry something that you started with? What would that be?

hikerboy57
06-29-2012, 09:28
my stupid swiss army knife, even though i use a single edge blade for cutting, im naked withoutthe stupid knife. still waiting to find a phillips head screw soomewhere along the trail.

Sarcasm the elf
06-29-2012, 10:43
I still carry my steel cup with handles that weighs over half a pound. I believe it'd the only piece of gear that I've had since my scouting days and still use. I finally broke down and replaced my old Frieds brand down/goose feather sleeping bag a few months ago, It was bought for me when I was eleven. I suppose 19 years is a pretty good life for a cheap backpacking bag that was bought at a sporting goods store in the mall.

Nutbrown
06-29-2012, 10:55
When I section with my husband, we bring my old tent and I use the same sleeping bag. The tent was a lucky choice when I bought it. It's just a peak 1, but only 1 pole and weighs 4 lbs. Not exactly ul, but when 2 people use it, and one carries the tent, the other the fly, it quickly becomes ul. The bag was a lucky buy too, weighs a smidge over 2lb. Both of these were 'lucky' because I had no earthly clue what I was doing. My pack on the 1st section weighed 60lbs. I carried canned food and 2 pairs of jeans.

How are the stoves working for you, Lazarus?

10-K
06-29-2012, 11:03
Not a thing.... not a single thing!

1azarus
06-29-2012, 11:11
When I section with my husband, we bring my old tent and I use the same sleeping bag. The tent was a lucky choice when I bought it. It's just a peak 1, but only 1 pole and weighs 4 lbs. Not exactly ul, but when 2 people use it, and one carries the tent, the other the fly, it quickly becomes ul. The bag was a lucky buy too, weighs a smidge over 2lb. Both of these were 'lucky' because I had no earthly clue what I was doing. My pack on the 1st section weighed 60lbs. I carried canned food and 2 pairs of jeans.

How are the stoves working for you, Lazarus?

Yes, Nutbrown is partly responsible for my not carrying old gear. She made me a box full of stuff in trade for my old but pretty SVEA123. So far, your Fosters Beer pot has made it into my pack, and your whoopie slings have made it onto my hammock. Burning alcohol is on hold for me for the time being, so no stove news yet. Thanks!

Berserker
06-29-2012, 12:42
I carry the majority of the stuff that I carried when I started section hiking in '07, but I had been hiking for about 5 years prior to that and had settled on my current system before I started sectioning. A few things I did change were my shelter (went to an MLD DuoMid), replaced some layers with a down coat for colder temperatures, my headlamp (went a Zebralight) and my stove (went to a Caldera Cone).

fredmugs
06-29-2012, 12:56
One nalgene bottle.

rocketsocks
06-29-2012, 13:00
1azarus,I see above your avatar it says your almost done with the AT,congratulations on your accomplishment,are you finishing today? I guess a compass that I've had forever would be the one thing that will always be packed.

1azarus
06-29-2012, 13:08
1azarus,I see above your avatar it says your almost done with the AT,congratulations on your accomplishment,are you finishing today? I guess a compass that I've had forever would be the one thing that will always be packed.
thanks for noticing... got my katahdin reservations for the september 7th weekend and plan to hike up knife edge and down the hunt trail with my daughter. champagne will be involved. Don't lose that compass!

rocketsocks
06-29-2012, 13:11
thanks for noticing... got my katahdin reservations for the september 7th weekend and plan to hike up knife edge and down the hunt trail with my daughter. champagne will be involved. Don't lose that compass!Very cool,yep I wont't loose the compass,it is a prised pocession for me,as it was my fathers,are you bringing the Ukulele?

1azarus
06-29-2012, 13:14
Very cool,yep I wont't loose the compass,it is a prised pocession for me,as it was my fathers,are you bringing the Ukulele?

my daughter just asked me to play it at her wedding, so it can't be that bad. i was definitely going to bring it to the camp ground. not sure about the summit. i know 10K would not approve!!! i've always been too much of a gram weenie to bring it hiking.

FarmerChef
06-29-2012, 13:34
I did a bunch of research before we started sectioning last year so it doesn't mean a lot when I say that we've changed very little. Still, we were trying to UL and dirtbag all at the same time so we have upgraded as the budget allows. The tarp and groundcover got upgraded/lighter. Photon lights got replaced by "real" headlamps (batteries kept dying on us in the photons). Had to go from a 2qt pot to a 4qt pot :eek: since the kids decided to get bigger. Otherwise, packs, sleep system (except for our beloved z-rests), cook system, etc. all the same. My favorite is our Gladware UL plastic bowls and taco bell sporks. Though most of the sporks have had to be replaced, at least two and all the bowls have survived 750 miles of trail. Ahhhh dirtbagging.

rocketsocks
06-29-2012, 13:41
my daughter just asked me to play it at her wedding, so it can't be that bad. i was definitely going to bring it to the camp ground. not sure about the summit. i know 10K would not approve!!! i've always been too much of a gram weenie to bring it hiking.sorry for the drift,PM sent.

English Stu
06-29-2012, 14:16
MSR Titan kettle.

trippclark
06-29-2012, 14:30
I don't carry a single piece of gear or wear a single item of clothing I carried six years ago, when I started section hiking seriously. I was just chuckling about my walk up the Springer access trail back then. For you section hikers, do you still carry something that you started with? What would that be?

Great topic. Funny, on my section hike earlier this month, I spent some time thinking about just this very thing. I started section hiking in 2000 and have completed just under 1400 miles of the A.T. to date. In that time, I have used 5 different shelters (2 tents & 3 hammocks), 9 different backpacks, 4 different stoves, and lots of other changes as gear choices have evolved. The only piece of gear that I used on my first hike and my most recent would be my shorts/pants. I have tried a couple different pairs in the interim, but keep coming back to these as my best choice. I have stitched them and mended them several times, but am unable to find anything new on the market that I like as well. It is a shame, too, because these are getting pretty well worn and faded.

peakbagger
06-29-2012, 14:42
Over 10 years of serious sectioning, not much got carried along for the duration. My pocket rocket was along for most of the trips. I had two pairs of zip off nylon pants that lasted most of the trips, although I had to resew the seams. My lightweight balaclava has gone the distance, it goes with me on all my trips. And finally my plastic drinking cub etched with my boy scout troop number when I was scout, I am sort of amazed that that cup has lasted over 40 years. I also carried the same bivy for most of my trips although it rarely got used as I would normally hike off season and use shelters.

bigcranky
06-29-2012, 14:45
I don't think I carry anything I started section hiking with. But that was a while back, so I might be mis-remembering things. I think I was carrying 60+ pounds when I started backpacking in the early 90s, and on our first long section in 2003 I had almost 50 pounds at Springer. Not fun.

10-K
06-29-2012, 16:29
my daughter just asked me to play it at her wedding, so it can't be that bad. i was definitely going to bring it to the camp ground. not sure about the summit. i know 10K would not approve!!! i've always been too much of a gram weenie to bring it hiking.

I'll get over it. :)

Llama Legs
06-29-2012, 16:46
Great question and I'm actually shocked. I've retained over 20 items from hikes in 2004. Of course that's when I retooled and bought the Breeze pack, WM bag, etc. Now if we step into the way back machine and dial in 1976, you'll only find a boyscout mapping compass in my 2012 pack. re: Boy Scouts, I carry my father-in-laws 1930's linen neckerchief - great multi use item. As a towel it will dry in 5 minutes if you hold it up like a flag in the wind.