Okay, okay. I'll get the backpacking equipment first but I'm still going to be looking at all 3 of those cameras once the Sony comes out. I definitely want a 20x zoom as I am a zoomer big time and don't want to carry extra lenses.
And Te-Wa, I've been looking at this site and printing out the various lists that say what I should buy for the backpacking thing. Page Rob also gave me some advice last year too. You just don't realize how much you really need.
For me, sometimes it's just as much about the journey as the destination. Oh, and once in awhile, don't forget to look back at the trail you've traveled.
All it took was one COLD night in a 'dead' bag and I went out and replaced it and my bags are definitely the most expensive gear I own. Ive been drooling over the neoair pad and will very likely possess one in the very near future, hard to beat the weight of a ridgerest in an air mattress. Other than that, nothing new to say.. other than I really only gear-geek when it's time to replace something
i have found quite a few super nice deals on brand new, free standing 1 and 2 person tents. Steep and Cheap has some that pop up now and then, and are usually quality brands like Sierra Designs, Black Diamond, and others. . Search engine for Sierra Trading Post and then once there browse their tent selection. You may want your Visa ready, because the "sierra designs velox" is a great choice for a first tent. stable, roomy for one, under 3 1/2 lbs and if you have great weather, no need to bring the fly and then youre using a 2.5 lb tent. $168
there is the Cabela's XPG line that is even less $ - and many have found it to be a great shelter - i recall backpacker magazine mentioning this one as the best bargain shelter (maybe of '07 or '08). Look online for the Cabelas XPG ultralight. $130
my #1 choice for you is the TarpTent Rainbow. Its not a tarp, its a tent. And it does the job very well. There are a couple of new tents that come to mind by guys like Big Agnes, that are breaking the 2lb barrier. The newest BA offering is called the Fly Creek SL (superlight) and its basically sold out everywhere. It was an improved, lighter (yet slightly less headroom) version of the Seedhouse tent that was highly popular. But these are close to $300 and in that price point, there are many options like the Six Moon Desings "Lunar Solo" and the Big Sky intl. "Evolution 1"
also, just in case you become a victim of REI's salespeople, dont spend $8 on heavy and goofy Nalgene bottles, get Aquafina bottles in the 1L size for free. They will last a dozen trips or more, and its a way to recycle.
the only shop i can think of locally that sells Western bags is Summit Hut in Tookson. find the Ultralite online, you wont be dissapointed. this bag is conservatively rated to 20 degrees. it weighs and astonishing 1lb 10oz.
Okay, I am making a spreadsheet with all of your suggestions. My first trip may be in early June so I gotta get spending. Fortunately, I have money left over from my tax return. I thank you all for your thoughtfulness with all of your suggestions as this all seems somewhat intimidating to me.
Te-Wa: I appreciate your time in trying to get me steered in the right direction.
I'll let you know how my "packin" preparation goes. And Joe, you were right, it does take a whole new thread to get me started.
I guess I am making some progress from casual wanna-be a real hiker, to an almost real hiker and now a backpacker... or so we'll see. Thanks Kat, ha!
For me, sometimes it's just as much about the journey as the destination. Oh, and once in awhile, don't forget to look back at the trail you've traveled.
fwiw, only 5% of dayhikers make the conversion to overnight backpacking. many of them quit because a heavy pack requires too much effort. I can get you started safely, warmly, and well rested for under 20 pounds. I had to learn the hard way, replacing all of my gear 2x or even 3x to get what I wanted. I spent more time and money on crap that didnt work that it was even worth.. wish I had discovered the info i have now about 10 years ago! Now, its easy with the info on the 'net to get well under 20 - even 15- pounds on your first go... lets do this
Te-Wa, I've got that Cabelas XPG tent. It's cheaper than anything else I could find similar in weight. It ventilates really well, it's lightweight, and it's roomy. I've slept in it with two people several times and it was fine.
"Arizona is the land of contrast... You can go from Minnesota to California in a matter of minutes, then have Mexican food that night." -Jack Dykinga
If I do any packing this year, Gila NF or California Sierra climbing, I'll be using my old 1973 REI 40 degree bag which is probably a 50 degree pack after all those years. My 6 year old tent is heavy and bulky (REI half dome plus) and my stove and filter are the most advanced pieces of gear I have. I think that unless someone is doing a long distance trip, generally >60 miles or more than 4 days, you need to worry more about being in shape to pack around and worry less about the gear weight and all that. My reasoning is that food and water will add enough weight that trivial differences between pack weights, sleeping bags, and other stuff won't matter all that much after 5 days if you are carrying a lot of food and water weight. I carried 56 pounds up 4000 feet a few weeks back. I had a bulky unbalanced pack because I was borrowing a friends old Bass Pro-Shop zero degree bag ( not a recommended brand by me) which was attached externally and other bulky gear that unbalanced the load. I was second in the line of my group going up, behind the guy who went ultra light and in front of the active duty marine and just out of service navy guy. My pack was heavier then everyone else's by 3 pound. I love to brag! Oh, wait there was a point to this: It was a hard slog with the weight and the elevation gain in soft late winter early spring snow, but it was doable because I did Humphrey a number of times to keep in shape for the climb.
So, in a short conclusion to a long winded statement, I think I am saying that gear prominence is less important than overall fitness and it is greatly overrated when it comes to the importance of having the conditioning to undertake a packing trip. The difference between 45 pounds and 55 pounds is probably slight after many miles.
Now, talk to me in August if I'm getting ready to head out to backpack after 5 months of relatively lazy hiking. Lets see what I think then.
This is getting off topic, but I'm in the Jim_H camp on this one. The ultralight craze magazines like Backpacker are all over now is anything but, I knew guys back twenty years ago that were huge into this kind of stuff and many of them were real snobs and elitists about it. For those reasons and a few others I've, personally, just never jumped on board. I think it's cool that the active backpacking community on HAZ all seem to be down with it and have found kindred spirits here with whom to consort, just know it isn't the only way to go. ;)
I have to say, that over the years my packs dropped from about 40# to about 20 and my enjoyments increased with it. While I'm far from "Ultralight" in that respect, there are some advantages to the modern, and thus much lighter, equipment that's readily available.
I also am not opposed to ultralight and expensive gear, I just think that for a casual backpacker or someone who is just getting in to it, spending that money on gear is probably a poor investment if they don't bother to condition their body to do the trip in the first place.
There are $1000 mountaineering boots that are really great, but everyone I did Whitney with had boots that were much cheaper. If I start doing more mountains in winter I'll get some better and more expensive boots, but right now I plan to stick with what I have: the el cheapos.
huh. i dont recall ever telling Tibber to go ultralight. i said things like 20lbs and 15lbs, both of which are not ultralight. you can carry a 45lb pack if you wish, go ahead.
no matter what the heavy gear haulers will tell you *(or what is seems to be hikers who rarely if ever go backpacking) there is one simple common sense approach to using light gear: carrying a lighter pack is more enjoyable. period.
fwiw, there is no "movement" by hundreds and possibly thousands of backpackers, gear manufacturers and outlet stores to go heavier. you may consider that idea, if you wish. if not, hike your own hike. its your back ;)
my point about gear is this: you will purchase cheap gear. then you will replace it with better gear. this is about modern materials and the idea that you will save money in the long run if you buy quality gear, now.
te-wa wrote:huh. i dont recall ever telling Tibber to go ultralight. i said things like 20lbs and 15lbs, both of which are not ultralight. you can carry a 45lb pack if you wish, go ahead.
no matter what the heavy gear haulers will tell you *(or what is seems to be hikers who rarely if ever go backpacking) there is one simple common sense approach to using light gear: carrying a lighter pack is more enjoyable. period.
fwiw, there is no "movement" by hundreds and possibly thousands of backpackers, gear manufacturers and outlet stores to go heavier. you may consider that idea, if you wish. if not, hike your own hike. its your back ;)
my point about gear is this: you will purchase cheap gear. then you will replace it with better gear. this is about modern materials and the idea that you will save money in the long run if you buy quality gear, now.
I wasn't respond to you, I'm making general statements. The boot example is just to make the point that you don't need top of the line gear to enjoy the experience, regardless of the activity. If someone needs to replace gear, then its because they got into the sport and needed to do so. To me, that is better than spending a lot of money on something you might not use again.
I'm talking about the merits of gear now. Does that make me more of a backpacker? See first post.
Last edited by Jim on Apr 08 2009 12:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.
te-wa wrote:dont spend $8 on heavy and goofy Nalgene bottles, get Aquafina bottles in the 1L size for free. They will last a dozen trips or more, and its a way to recycle.
Gotta disagree on this one. Here's why: if it gets cold, you can't reliably put hot water in an Aquafina bottle to stick in your sleeping bag. The bottle will melt. Can't do it with a Sigg bottle either, for the opposite reason; it'll scald you! I think everyone should have at least one Nalgene for this reason alone. I've never tried hot water in a Camelbak or Platypus, so I'm not sure how they'd hold up.
Another related point, in terms of bottles. While Sigg bottles are more expensive than even Nalgenes, I recommend them over Nalgenes because they are easy to hang; the loop is integral to the screw-in top, as opposed to the strap on a Nalgene that slips over the screw-on cap. This may seem a minor difference, but after years of scrambling over tough conditions, I have had several different Nalgene tops break in various ways. I have not had a Sigg top fail on me (I did have a bottle fail, but that was an unsurvivable fall anyway).
I agree with Te-Wa for the most part (though those that have backpacked with me know I'm not a superduperultralighter) though. Getting sub 20 or sub 15 pounds should be easy for a first time backpacker. Without food, water, and clothes (and luxury chair) my base weight is 16 pounds, and I know I don't have the sleekest or lightest gear out there. And it didn't cost all that much.
Once you get your rig together, let's hit some trails!
Last edited by PaleoRob on Apr 08 2009 1:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"The only thing we did was wrong was staying in the wilderness to long...the only thing we did was right was the day we started to fight..."
-Old Spiritual
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PageRob wrote:I've never tried hot water in a Camelbak or Platypus, so I'm not sure how they'd hold up.
That works OK. I've put boiling water in both many times, although none that I intended to drink later. I only backpack with Platypus now and use Camelbak for dayhikes.
I have a Tarptent Cloudburst (2 person, original version) that I'd sell cheap. I use a Double Rainbow for two-person trips now, so it's taking up closet space.
rob, that may be a reliable use for a nalgene, and of course ive heard that method employed before. nalgene was simply a "scenario" statement, if you can dig it. There are lots of stuff aimed at backpackers that can easily be disgarded and you can find something similar, or better even, cheaper, lighter, more effective.
ya wanna know what ONE item I see being replaced by more backpackers than anything else? Nalgene bottles.
for some reason, people think they have to have them cause thats what's in the store...
have you considered alternatives to putting a hot water bottle in your bag? getting a warmer rated bag, for instance? just curious. I know we all have constantly evolving habits that change due to field requirements and if you want to use nalgenes, thats ok with me.. if someone wants to build a shrine for their beloved JetBoil stove, im just curious to see when in the wilderness, away from the "hustle and bustle" of daily life, how fast do you really need boiled water?! something tells me it has more to do with a consumer's defence on their spending habits than realistic approaches to reasonable gear choices. Now, here come the jetboil lovers.. i gotta run!
and my bags are definitely the most expensive gear I own. Ive been drooling over the neoair pad and will very likely possess one in the very near future, hard to beat the weight of a ridgerest in an air mattress. Other than that, nothing new to say.. other than I really only gear-geek when it's time to replace something 
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