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OSU_Matthew posted:Nice! What did you wind up getting? I did end up going with the Doublenest. REI sale combined with Having It Right Now made the decision for me and I've very satisfied. That being said, if I decide I want to upgrade a few years down the line I'll have a better idea of what my other options are. I rent, so I'd be nervous about doing anything that could put holes that size in the walls. It would also be kind of awkward given the layout of the place I'm in. Honestly I've done about two minutes of research on this so far, but a lot of video thumbnails seem to suggest you can make one for just a few  of materials and a little labor. If I were a homeowner than yeah, permanent installation no question.
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Jul 5, 2018 21:15
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OSU_Matthew posted:I think once you get in the 15-20 pound base weight range, you generally start making quality of life sacrifices to skimp beyond that. Like the toothbrush handle, or going without a 2.5 ounce pillow, or shaving half an ounce by switching the headband with elastic cord and a lower life battery. Yes, less is absolutely more, but only to a point. I'd rather be lightweight than ultralight. After spending another uncomfortable night on a chopped Z-Lite last week I’m coming around to this point of view. Gave up and ordered an inflatable pillow and relatively lightweight inflatable pad through Massdrop. Getting old sucks. At least the inflatables will fit more nicely into my pack.
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Jul 6, 2018 01:38
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I think I just hit the sweet spot as far as weight:comfort goes. I recently did a 40 mile trip over a couple days and of everything I had, all but one item was used (or for emergency use). I didn't need anything I didn't have, but added one item quality of life item (scree gaiters). Took a few tries to get there and I have enough gear to completely kit out another human, but now doing stuff is as easy as just going outside~ Food is kinda gear, so I'll ask it here - has anybody else had firesales of larabars/cliff bars going for firesale prices in their locales? The normally 1.50 to 2.00 bars are going for under a buck each. I've been buying a box on every grocery trip and have like 100 of them stashed, which is probably more than I'll use this year but it's not like they go that bad.
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Jul 6, 2018 02:55
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What do you guys do for keeping food away from critters? Bear bag or something else?
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Jul 6, 2018 03:14
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FCKGW posted:What do you guys do for keeping food away from critters? Bear bag or something else? I use one of the Ursack Minors, which works great here in Appalachia area: https://www.rei.com/product/109161/ursack-minor-critter-bag-105-liters I've also got a bearvault I don't really mess with or carry that anymore because of the bulk and somewhat the weight. I was out west in the grand canyon for a week earlier this year, and I used a ratsack + OP Bags (odorproof ziplocks), and between getting it off the ground by putting it in on rocks and scrub every night and using a sealed food and OP bag for the trash, I shockingly had no issues. Most other people I backpack with do what I started out doing, ripstop nylon bag hung off a tree. If you do this, don't use Paracord, it's garbage and stretches which fucks with the knots and your ability to undo them. Techline is much lighter, stronger, and usable. Also use a PCT Hang to tie off the bag.
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Jul 6, 2018 04:35
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Guest2553 posted:Food is kinda gear, so I'll ask it here - has anybody else had firesales of larabars/cliff bars going for firesale prices in their locales? The normally 1.50 to 2.00 bars are going for under a buck each. I've been buying a box on every grocery trip and have like 100 of them stashed, which is probably more than I'll use this year but it's not like they go that bad. The Winco near me has last-season flavors for $.28, so my summer outings have tasted like gingerbread and pumpkin spice.
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Jul 6, 2018 04:57
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OSU_Matthew posted:Most other people I backpack with do what I started out doing, ripstop nylon bag hung off a tree. If you do this, don't use Paracord, it's garbage and stretches which fucks with the knots and your ability to undo them. Techline is much lighter, stronger, and usable. Also use a PCT Hang to tie off the bag.
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Jul 6, 2018 16:02
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I honestly think it's really easy to get a sub-10lb baseweight with all the comforts. I don't really skimp on anything (pillow, LARGE sleeping pad, 2P tent) and I'm under 10lb. It just costs a bundle.
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Jul 6, 2018 19:08
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khysanth posted:I honestly think it's really easy to get a sub-10lb baseweight with all the comforts. I don't really skimp on anything (pillow, LARGE sleeping pad, 2P tent) and I'm under 10lb. Well two beers are 1.5lbs on their own. My general multi day pack is usually about 30lbs total with food and water.
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Jul 6, 2018 20:13
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khysanth posted:I honestly think it's really easy to get a sub-10lb baseweight with all the comforts. I don't really skimp on anything (pillow, LARGE sleeping pad, 2P tent) and I'm under 10lb. Post up a lighterpack with your pack contents This isn't exactly current and it's more of a spring/fall loadout than a summer, but I'm at 19 pounds base weight with roughly two grand invested in gear: https://lighterpack.com/r/70o0g8 Yes I could probably skip a bunch of things, use a smaller stove or no stove altogether, skip the critter bag and use a ripstop nylon food bag and shave a few more pounds, but I'm quite comfortable and prepared for anything down below freezing with this.
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Jul 6, 2018 20:20
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OSU_Matthew posted:Post up a lighterpack with your pack contents Hammock camping changes things. I don't have a full list, but at least for pack and shelter I'm much lighter than you are for much less even given stupid things like buying a footprint instead of making it:  Otherwise I carry relatively similar stuff except that I don't bother with a stove and just deal without hot food, and I wear trail runners instead of sandals. Also, I tend to bring a paperback and a small bottle of whiskey because I'm a terrible reprobate and weed isn't legal around here. edit: & Monoprice poles because I'll be damned if I'll join a big box bulk store.
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Jul 6, 2018 20:35
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Lighterpack. Yay lists  OSU_Matthew posted:I'm at 19 pounds base weight with roughly two grand invested in gear: I have the same quilt/underquilt and mine are 10 oz lighter each - is that a typo or do you have some sorta big-rear end quilts?
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Jul 6, 2018 22:11
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Guest2553 posted:Lighterpack. Yay lists Hmmm... That's a great question! I got both with an ounce or two of overstuffing, and got the long and wide version since I'm 6'4. A combination of that might be the difference, or could be a taring issue with my scale or something, but that's really interesting... I need to get a summer top quilt. I've got a Hammock Gear econ 30, and it's maybe a quarter of the size and weight of the full length 20° quilt, so I suspect that mine are a bit excessive. Loucks posted:Hammock camping changes things. I don't have a full list, but at least for pack and shelter I'm much lighter than you are for much less even given stupid things like buying a footprint instead of making it: Jerry, Jack, or Forrester will often tag along on my trips, but I don't count them in my weight, lol. Ok, that's what I was curious about. So it looks like the hammock setup is relatively a pound and a half heavier, which granted I don't exactly try to be super light on that. Quilts are just my generic three season ones, and my summer underquilt is a lot lighter, so that's fairly comparable if you sub those out with what you've got. My pack is 10 oz heavier, but it's a lot larger and has hip belts, which worked great when I needed to mule ~25 pounds of water in the desert. Still a crazy light pack, and the extra ounces are worth it to me for the extra carrying capacity and size. But a smaller pack forces you to pack less, which is also great. All the little stuff like a stove, lighter, multi tool, nail clippers/tick key/medkit add up though, and my camp sandals are stupidly heavy, but I love letting my feet dry out. Plus the puffy jacket, hat hiking poles, and spare shorts to change and sleep in all add up. I'd guess the dissimilarities there aren't too big though since I'm assuming you also carry at least some of that stuff. I'd say realistically, once you have apples to apples quilts and weather dependent gear and poles and clothes I added to my weight, I'm maybe about five optional shaveable pounds heavier than you. But I get some extra creature comforts that to me are worth those five pounds. Thanks for posting that up! I'm always genuinely curious as to what qualifies as ultralight and how to look at gear in a different way! I love anything that helps me get out and hike more  E: I've also got a sub 1lb bivy and sleeping pad arrangement I carry when I can't hammock or need to make a lot of miles or something, so I should get that pack weight together and see how that compares...
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Jul 7, 2018 16:17
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Long and wide would probably be the difference...I got 2oz of overstuff in each as well, but I'm only 6' so mine's in regular/regular. For whatever one online idiot's opinion is, my quality of life on the move went way up once my base weight dropped below 15 lbs but that's because I like to go far-ish (10-20 mi/day), fast-ish (2-3 mph). If you wanted to be more charitable to yourself, most base weight conventions exclude consumables and things you wear/hold so things like fuel canisters, hats, and poles could be excluded to more directly compare loadouts. Other than that, weight savings would probably be due to tinkering around with what you bring rather than replacing things (smaller wallet, leaving non-car keys in your vehicle, drop a couple L of water carrying capacity, etc). 19 pounds on someone your size is probably a lot easier than it is on me though, so if you're happy then keep doing you.
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Jul 7, 2018 20:24
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6 days on the spanish river in peak mosquito/blackfly/deerfly season, perfect weather but I was eaten alive Piactive bug repellant is pretty good. They don't land but will still swarm. Muskol is still better but will gently caress with synthetics. Tilley booney hat owns. Easy to chuck back when you gotta slap a helmet on, floats when you dump the boat. Not that I did that. MEC Volt 3 tent can suck my dick. Got a hole in the door on night 3. Not good for a 500 dollar tent. I'm buying a goddamn thermacell, the dudes I was camping with have done the bloodvein, dumoine, duchef, Petawawa and madawaska and this was the worst bugs they've ever seen.
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Jul 9, 2018 14:05
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Braincloud posted:Well two beers are 1.5lbs on their own. Water / food / fuel (consumables) don't count toward base weight. OSU_Matthew posted:Post up a lighterpack with your pack contents https://www.lighterpack.com/r/egbf8v This is my ultra luxury setup, carrying a 2P tent, extra clothes, etc. Lately I've been going out with just a tarp/bivy and usually cowboy camping if the weather and bugs are cooperating. Took one trip recently under 7lb BPW. OSU_Matthew posted:This isn't exactly current and it's more of a spring/fall loadout than a summer, but I'm at 19 pounds base weight with roughly two grand invested in gear: Any clothes that you are wearing all day while hiking can be marked as worn weight, and don't count toward the base weight. Items you pack to sleep in or whatever count toward it, however. Other areas it looks like you could have significant weight savings are your sleep/hammock system, but that's a big investment. I'm not too familiar with ultralight offerings in the hammock world but I know they exist. First aid kit is maybe on the heavier side. I've slimmed mine down throughout the years to things I actually use, and things that are actually treatable in the field. Your fuel can (empty) should count toward base weight... the smaller ones are usually ~3.5oz. The fuel inside doesn't count. Trekking poles are worn weight if you're using them. Just making those minor fixes to the weight calculations should bring you down quite a bit. khysanth fucked around with this message at 20:38 on Jul 9, 2018 |
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Jul 9, 2018 20:28
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khysanth posted:Water / food / fuel (consumables) don't count toward base weight. This is really cool, thanks! I love seeing what other people are carrying. I completely agree, cowboy camping is great, most people really don't even need a tent half the time. I just spent a week doing exactly that in the grand canyon, which worked great until it snowed the last night and I realized I had somehow neglected to pack my bivy, lol. A tyvek ground sheet does not a good sleet cover make, especially in fiftyish mph winds. My current hammock setup is excessive, I could easily shed a bunch of weight with warmer weather quilts, but I'm a cold sleeper and a quality sleep as one of my favorite things in the woods. I could also get a lighter tarp, which may be in my future. My first aid kit is also excessive, but I usually organize and lead groups so I feel responsible to bring stuff like clippers and tape and stuff, so I don't mind. It's all stuff I've used, so I'm pretty happy with it. I'm going to start buying the small fuel canisters from here on out. Even on a weeklong excursion with dehydrated meals, I didn't use more than a third of the medium canister, so that's an easy savings. If I were looking to shave weight, I'd probably just pack meal bars and skip the stove altogether. I include everything I carry half as a packing list, and partially of a general idea of my expenditures and relative weight. Realistically on a summer trip I'm under 15lb base weight. I need to play with the categories and set up mine more like yours with the worn weights and stuff
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Jul 10, 2018 02:36
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Was going to go on my first overnight backpacking trip this weekend but my campsite is currently on fire :/
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Jul 10, 2018 02:46
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FCKGW posted:Was going to go on my first overnight backpacking trip this weekend but my campsite is currently on fire :/ Oh gently caress, glad you're not in it! Weminuche Wilderness is super high up on my list for next year, but with the 416 fire potentially caused by the coal fired train I'd be using to get in and out, I'm pretty freaked out by the idea of getting trapped by a wild fire. Whereabouts were you planning on going?
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Jul 10, 2018 03:34
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San Gorgonio wilderness, just south of Big Bear in SoCal. Easy hike to established campground for my first overnight. Looks like the fire isn't directly in the path of my trail or camground but everything in the area is closed. Permit got cancelled but I think I'll just try another weekend when the roads and trails open back up
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Jul 10, 2018 05:08
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FCKGW posted:San Gorgonio wilderness, just south of Big Bear in SoCal. Easy hike to established campground for my first overnight. drat sorry to hear. Which camp was your permit for? High Creek? I think I'm going to try to get a summit overnight permit when the temps cool down a bit. Don't feel like dayhiking the whole thing. It's the last of the SoCal Six Pack of Peaks I have for the year.
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Jul 10, 2018 18:39
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khysanth posted:drat sorry to hear. Which camp was your permit for? High Creek? Dobbs Cabin, up Momyer trail. If it doesn't open back up soon I'm not sure if I should try for August or just wait until the Fall instead and avoid the heat.
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Jul 10, 2018 20:38
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I tried out some Alpkit stuff, the cut on the trousers didn't seem great but their merino shirts are great quality and much cheaper (I paid £32) than the alternatives. They had merino boxers too but none in my size.
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Jul 14, 2018 11:22
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I have a pot/spoon I thought was stainless, but thinking it was actually aluminum after it went in the dishwasher. The color is no longer uniform and there's a thin layer of oxidation on the inside. On a scale of zero to start-saving-for-chemo-drugs, how worried should I be? Googling was inconclusive.
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Jul 14, 2018 13:36
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0, aluminum oxide is aok. It protects the aluminum and you can't process it anyway so it goes right out.
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Jul 14, 2018 14:17
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Isn't aluminum associated with Alzhiemer's?
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Jul 14, 2018 17:26
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In the same sense that vaccines are associated with autism, yes. Edit: if you're really worried about it the best advice, based on present medical understanding, is to 1.) do not be a rabbit and 2.) do not inject aluminum directly into your brain. Morbus fucked around with this message at 17:45 on Jul 14, 2018 |
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Jul 14, 2018 17:37
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Went on my first overnight backpacking trip and all the gear worked out great. Other than a million ants and it being pretty muggy at night it was lots of fun. Trailhead was right next to the beach so I even took a dip after I got back to the car
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Jul 15, 2018 22:36
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I went with some buddies on a quick overnight. We left work Friday night, drove up to the trailhead and camped so that we could get an early start Saturday morning and be back oh the city that evening. It cooled down to around 50 degrees which felt amazing and I slept really well. We hiked rampart ridge via an alternate route which only ends up being about 6 miles but it's nothing but up. The nice part of the hike is that it's not very popular and there are great payoffs (views of Rainier, several lakes, peaks etc) spread throughout the entirety of the hike. There was some snow still but not much. Enough that we were able to glissade down to rampart lakes. The area is beautiful but seemed like it was going to get crowded as the day went on. We only saw about a dozen people in the trail the whole day. We took a few wrong turns but managed to figure it out before we got to far off. Pretty buggy. A strange long white bug landed in my arm and when I went to swat it away it stung me. No idea what it was but it bothered me the rest of the day more than the mosquito bites. All in all a great hike and I'll return to explore the lakes and ridges some more. I'll post pics when I transfer them to my phone. Oops. Gear thread is not the hiking thread.
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Jul 16, 2018 02:01
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Got to try out a pair of Alite chairs during camping this past weekend, the Mayfly and the Stonefly. Both my brother (who weighs 50 pounds lighter than I, and is long and skinny as a rail) both preferred the Stonefly over the Mayfly. Yeah, he liked it for being low to the ground so he could stretch out his legs comfortably, but I think his butt bottomed out on the ground at least twice. Still not convinced about that $130 price tag on the Stonefly, though.
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Jul 16, 2018 15:01
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heading into the backcountry this week, and will be well out of cell range. Got a Garmin inReach Mini, holy hell what this little thing can do, especially when paired with a cell phone. I'm probably packing way too much but whev.
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Jul 17, 2018 06:34
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Oh, that reminds me. I was camping in Gualala, California, and of the providers that have service out there, I assume they are either AT&T or Verizon. (given that only those two prepaid time cards were being sold at the local markets) Is there any good solution in terms of a portable cell booster yet?
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Jul 17, 2018 06:49
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SwissArmyDruid posted:Oh, that reminds me. Rent a satellite phone? I've never heard of anyone using a signal booster for cell phones, but idk.
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Jul 17, 2018 08:40
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Bilirubin posted:heading into the backcountry this week, and will be well out of cell range. Got a Garmin inReach Mini, holy hell what this little thing can do, especially when paired with a cell phone. Yeah my whitewater crew just went in together on an Inreach SE+, it's a pretty cool piece of tech and being able to send actual texts from the middle of nowhere instead of canned status emails like the SPOT is a very cool feature. Annoying that the SE+ needs to be tethered to a phone via Bluetooth to do mapping but that's not a feature we needed specifically on the device itself...it's more of an emergency "oh poo poo buddy slammed a hatchet into his calf AGAIN"
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Jul 17, 2018 17:49
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Bilirubin posted:heading into the backcountry this week, and will be well out of cell range. Got a Garmin inReach Mini, holy hell what this little thing can do, especially when paired with a cell phone. This is really cool! I love my Garmin Fenix 3 HR watch for tracking hikes and mileage, so I'm sold on the utility having a real gps with mapping and guidance. How much is the subscription service to send messages? I'd love to hear more about this once you've used it for a bit. Do you have to have it paired for mapping proposes, or can you just upload maps to it to use without a cellphone? E: just a side note on the Fenix 3, one of my hiking buddies has a full top of the line Garmin gps unit that's the same as the one he used for survey work with the national Park service, and the mileage/elevation tracking is drat near spot on with the Fenix 3 watch. For once having thought standalone gps units were obsolete tech, I'm really blown away by the utility of these devices. Catatron Prime fucked around with this message at 20:20 on Jul 17, 2018 |
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Jul 17, 2018 20:13
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SwissArmyDruid posted:Oh, that reminds me. Which carrier do you have? If it's not ATT, Verizon, Sprint, or TMobile, it's likely a reseller for one of those and uses the exact same towers. Eg, if you have Boost Mobile, you're just pinging off Verizon towers. The only thing analogous to a portable cell booster would be a mifi aircard, which gets the same signal from the tower like a cellphone, but operates as a portable hotspot for wifi devices. Might be somewhat redundant to carry one to connect a phone to. Another option would be to find a phone that is capable of utilizing dual SIM cards, so you could have multiple carriers on the same device. Hope that clarifies things for you!
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Jul 17, 2018 22:10
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So I'm a flat footed zilch and I've been hiking using Keen Voyageurs for a few years. On regular dayhikes they're fine, but on any 15+ mile trip (or with an overnight pack), the actual soles of my feet (not the heel, the entire bottom of the foot) are screaming by the end. Picked up a pair of blue Superfeet and tested them out over the weekend, but after 22 miles I (very unfortunately) found out they made no difference. At this point I'm just really sick of dealing with them as they slow down my mileage exponentially, even if I had to try out four other kinds of boots before settling on the Voyageurs. Is it possible the shanks on these things just aren't cutting it? If so, does anyone have any recommendations for a different type of boot that might not cause me to want to kill myself at the end of a long trip?
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Jul 17, 2018 22:11
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All this talk of GPS stuff reminded me: What are people's thoughts on stuff like the Gaia GPS app? Is it worth $20/$40 per year? Are any hiking GPS apps worth it? We just do long day hikes and fairly simple backpacking, always on trails. It's nice to be able to check our place on a trail, find junctions, etc. We always have our phones with us anyway, since they are also our cameras.
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Jul 17, 2018 22:49
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incogneato posted:All this talk of GPS stuff reminded me: I use US Topo Maps on my phone, which has been great for some alpine climbing trips in the US. It's a one time purchase for the paid version.
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Jul 18, 2018 01:29
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I use Avenza just because it's the easiest way I know to import maps directly from CalTopo into the phone. With CalTopo it's easy to make exactly the map I want for any trip, at least in the US.
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Jul 18, 2018 04:02
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