getting back into it, need help with gear selectio

Hey ya'll.

First let me tell you a little about myself. As a teenager I was very active with the boy scouts. I enjoyed backing trips usually about twice a month. As an adult, however, i do not get such a luxury. I'm 30 now, 74" tall, and about 200 pounds. I Live in alabama where it is pretty damned humid. Any trips I would take would be no more than 3 consecutive days.

I have the tent I want picked out. I'm looking at the Marmot EOS 1p with matching footprint.

I figure that is going to be the largest piece of kit that goes into my loadout, so i'm going to base my pack around it. and that's what i need help with. I need suggestions on a pack and a sleeping bag. The pack must be hydration bladder compatible. keep in mind that during the summer it gets well over 95 degrees, and is usually pretty humid.

for food, i'm planning on getting some mre main courses, and maybe the breads from them. They would provide plenty of calories for the days. maybe some trail bars for a snack. Point being that i'm not entirely sure that i'm going to need any type of cook stove.

Also need a line on a relatively cheap, but good water filter.

cheap but good water "filter" is iodine drops for me, but I know they bug the heck out of some people. For me if it's wet, I'll drink it.

as for your other thoughts, the more experienced peeps on here will be more helpful. I haven't heard good things about MRE's though.

I went to high school in Alabama. You're a brave man for going out in the summer! Going out to Oak Mountain at all?

Have a look at the replies in the other "getting back into it"
thread in this area - My reply there applies to you too. There
are lighter options for a solo tent from tarptent or six moon designs that you may wish to consider.

MRE's are heavy as heck, you carry a lot of water with it. carrying a small stove or esbit tablets and backpacking food
without all the water in it can actully save you weight.

Iodine is seriously old school and (imo) nasty tasting, if you're going to go filterless (I do) consider the more modern chlorine dioxide treatements like aquamira or pristine. Alternatively I'm sure you'll get some suggestions for filters here (I'm a confirmed filter hater..)

I really liked that tarptent.com reference. The contrail looks like exactly what i'm looking for. will it support my wieght though, cause it looks like it is suspended off the ground.

i'm now looking at the osprey aether 60, argon 70, and a fleece blanket for a cover instead of a sleeping bag.

If I lived any further south than North Carolina, my hiking season would be November through March. It's already plenty hot up here in the summer -- so I feel your pain.

I would take a light down 40-F rated sleeping bag. Make SURE it has a full zipper, so it can be opened and used as a quilt on the warmest nights. If you want to do any spring or fall trips, I would get a 30-F rated bag, which still works okay in the summer. If you want to do real winter trips, you need two bags, one for winter and one for the other three seasons.

Other than that, my advice is also in the other, similar thread. Good luck.

how strong is ripstop nylon? if i throw some military grade webbing on the sides, and drop a shotgun scabbard on the side, will it hold? or rip apart?

another question. as i this will be my first internal frame pack, do i pack my tent in the pack itself? or strap it to the outside?

Shotgun scabbard -> depends - if the pack has side compresson straps you may attach the scabbard to those and it should hold just fine.

As for tent - Depends what you wanna do and what sort of tent
you have. I stuff my hammock or solo tent in my pack, but its small. with a big thang you might strap to outside, but there
really aren't any hard and fast rules. I generally avoid outside the pack for the danger of losing gear, but not always. Just do what makes sense and is comfortable.

I boil to purify water, but carry Micropur tablets as an alternative. If fires are safe and allowed, boiling is simple, effective, and free.

For a sleeping bag, I would go with something with Climashield insulation. I wouldn't use down for a warm weather bag in moist climates. I use a Climashield quilt I made from a kit, but am still undecided on whether to go back to a bag.

For food, I just buy packable stuff at the supermarket: peanut butter, Power Bars, granola, rice, instant oatmeal.

for grunts and giggles let's say i wanted to put the tent in the pack. right now i think i'm leaning towards one of the tarptents, the contrail which is 14x4 compressed or the rainbow which is 20x4 compressed. For the summer i'm thinking a thin fleece blanket should suffice for a cover (would go in the sleeping bag compartment), and probably a thermorest lining the inside of the pack. would i need larger than a 4000ci pack?

I don't know. I wouldn't, I can do fine with the kind of gear you are talking about in an *1800* CI pack, but I am not you.

You've mentioned your possible big three, but not what else you are taking. While you're making a light and compact choice for shelter, a moderate choice for sleeping, You're also talking about taking lots of extra and heavy stuff (I.E. a shotgun, which is also pretty useless without a box of shells)

So the answer is simple "depends on how much other stuff you take :)"

i'm thinking probably not much else.

cloths (haven't decided on that load out yet),
some eating utencils,
Surefire G2L and maybe some spare batteries
Water Filter (100oz bladder in the pack)
Field Stripped MREs (get down to the entree and bread only, no heater)
GPS
Trek Pole
20ft of paracord
maybe a camp tool (fiskers is my personal brand)
Spare box of shells (maybe. gun holds 6+1+10)

I could fit all of that into my 2200 ci pack. I carry a 40 degree synthetic quilt which takes up 25% of the main compartment.

Out of curiosity, what's the shotgun for? Hogs? Bears? Or are you outfitting for a hunting trip?

paranoia. seen one to many horror flicks not to go prepared when traveling alone. ever seen deliverance? cabin fever? it's like carrying a hand gun to me. it's better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.

i was browsing backcountry's website last night and got an "im" from a sales person. they were pitching a 4k ci pack or better for out to a three day with the tent sizing i was looking at. she was very helpful in finding the thermorest i think i'm going to get.

The Contrail for a tent
argon 70 pack
Thermo-rest Trail Lite pad
Katadyn Hiker filter

she recommended the Therm-a-rest tech blanket but i can't find any tech specs on how small it compresses. I'm leaning more towards the marmot trestles bag or the Kelty Fleece

ETA: just did the math. i'm now over $600 just to get up and running. no one tell the wife. this is for my get away gear as it is.

Well, I guess that depends on where you hike.

A tarptent contrail in a 6 and a half pound pack! eek!

if there is something else i should be looking at, please point me in the right direction. that's the reason i was asking for help in the first place.

Based on your other, fairly light, gear choices, the sales person should have pointed you toward the Osprey Exos 46 or 58 pack, or a Gregory Z-series pack, or a Granite Gear Vapor or Nimbus series pack. You really don't need a 6+ pound pack. Assuming that your total load of food, water, and gear is under 30 pounds, you probably want to look at packs in the 3-pound-and-under category. By the way, Backcountry Gear, also accessible through the Portal above, has the two Exos packs on sale right now. (Disclaimer: I recently switched from the Granite Gear Vapor Trail to the Osprey Exos 58. Both are excellent, but I like the Exos better.)

What Glen said.. if you are making relatively light gear choices there's no need to add 3+ pounds to your load with a huge giant pack. (unless you are also planning on taking up rock collecting on the trail or bringing 30 pounds of clothing and crud with you).

Not to discount salespeople who can be very helpful, but often I find that outdoor retail people tend to "upsell" newbies a lot, and since the expensive stuff is either the large "expedition" things or the hyper lightweight uber technical ultralight stuff, the nice stuff in the middle that is well suited to most hikers often gets ignored in favour of buying
something "bigger and more durable" (I've never worn out a pack yet..)

I would suspect you should be able to get a pack that will fit you well and be comfortable with a lighter load that weighs around 3 pounds. The choices Glen has mentioned would be the same places I'd point you at to start. (I have a Granite Gear bag myself, and I've had lots of freinds very happy with the
Gregory Z packs) If you were shopping with me I'd drag you into the local store and make you walk around for half an hour with a Gregory Z55 on your back with 25-30 pounds of weight in it.

okay, so between the gregory z55 and the exos 58 (about a $20 difference atm) which would you go with and why?

Therm-a-Rest Trail Lite Green Halo Long $69.95

Gregory z55 Flint Gray Large 159.20

Katadyn Hiker Pro Grey/Blue N/A $64.00

Tarptent Contrail Grey N/A 199.00

Tarptent Contrail Groundsheet White N/A $12.00

Mountainsmith Pyrite 7075 Red One Size $49.00

Total: $553.15

The Exos 58 - but I'm biased.

If you can, go to the store, load your gear in, and try them both on. I looked at the Z55, but it was awkward (for me) to pack, and I couldn't get a good fit; it was very close, but no cigar. The Exos 58 worked very well on both counts. Aside from the great fit on the suspension, what really sold me was the two vertical outside pockets: I could store my fly in one, tent inner in the other, and have a wet fly separated from a relatively dry inner; the poles store in whichever pocket balances the load from side to side. Storing the tent in the outside pocket has two other advantages: it lets me pitch the tent without opening the main pack in the rain, and it lets me pack inside the tent, then take down the tent and pack it without having to open the main pack and expose it to the rain.

If you can't get to a store, and have room on the credit card, order one of each pack from a dealer that allows returns of unused gear for a full refund. Leave all the tags on, and load in your gear, then walk it around the block. Send the one you don't like back.

in a rush and not paying attention to what i was doing, i accidently deleted the osprey pack from my shopping cart and kept the gregory. i got the pack, the tent, and a drop cloth. the hiking pole i wanted sold out while i was deciding on everything else. i got everything from the backcountrygear.com. they say they will exchange whatever as long as it's new and unused, so if i don't like the z55 i can always swap it out for the exos 58. but i got both for just over what i was looking at for just the other osprey pack.

i ditched the pad and the filter, as i'll pay cash for those at a local outlet. but i charged the other two.

Sounds like you got a good deal. I've dealt with Backcountry Gear (a lot), and they're super. I've sent a couple of things back, with the hang tags intact, and they never batted an eye - full refund, promptly executed.

If you really want both packs to try, call them tonight or first thing tomorrow - they might still be able to add it to the order. I've done that, too. However, with their free shipping option, your plan will also work - and maybe save you paying for shipping on the return.

Most people I know who get a good fit with the Z really like it, so I think as long as it fits you you'll be pretty happy with it.

However, if it does not fit RETURN IT!

I agree. I've seen a number of people carrying them on the trail, and they've been very pleased. I came very close to buying it, and would recommend it as a pack to consider to anyone. My own choice of the Exos was mostly preference, with a slight edge to fit.

By the way, the Exos is actually an external frame pack masquerading as an internal frame (and doing a really good job of it!)

so i stopped by southern trails in alabama today, and low and behold they had a z in stock. i tried it on. the new waste belts are alot different than my 16 year old jansport external frame. All in all, I think i'm going to like it.

now i need to start planning out my clothing line up. don't want anything that is going to over heat me, but aren't shorts. i remember many scouts falling out from heat exhaustion and dehydration when i was younger. it's one of the pitfalls i want to avoid with more breathable/lighter clothing

on second thought, the gregory is not going to be what i'm looking for. not enough pockets.

Pockets are evil and heavy buy stuff sacks or use ziplocs.

i switched from the z55 to the exos 58. found a dealer that had it in stock and they honored backcountrygear's price. it's another one of our sponsors. also ordered the marmot bag i wanted, and a katadyn hiker pro filter. so now i have pretty much all the big stuff on the way. alls i gotta concentrate on is the wet weather gear (looking at some prezip stuff), lighter weight clothing, and a good source for mre main meal dinners.

also i gotta get away from wearing uber loose clothing, and maybe find something a <little more> snug.

LOL. Yep--I certainly base the way I live on what I see in the movies! That's why I don't fly in airplanes--too many snakes! And why I won't swim in Maine--those huge crocodile monster things.

Best of all, I never go anywhere without a martial arts master or Arnold Schwarzenegger. You never know...

HAHAHAHAHHAHAHA