But still, I think we would be happy with what we have: Golite50 packs, a homemade single wall tent for two that weighs three pounds, and some REI sub-Kilo bags.
That's after a half-century of exploring the Sierra...and picking up good gear when it was cheap.
Backpacking gear is pretty cheap when compared to cars, houses, boats, etc. So from a practical standpoint money is currently no (or a very little) object.
No change. Most my stuff is home made and that which is not works the way I want it. Worrying about gear is what I DON'T want to be doing while out in the boonies. I improve things when they need it, which isn't often these days.
My nifty quilt costs well under a comparable sleeping bag when you compare temerature ratings and weight. Plus it's super comfortable, if you have not tried one you should. Never again will I be confined to a narrow bag like a sausage!
My nifty quilt costs well under a comparable sleeping bag when you compare temerature ratings and weight. Plus it's super comfortable, if you have not tried one you should. Never again will I be confined to a narrow bag like a sausage!
Oh I'm getting one! It's just hard to justify when I have 2 good backpacking bags. Just have to put a bit aside then chose one.
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The wind wont howl if the wind don't break.
Registered: 02/26/07
Posts: 1149
Loc: Washington State, King County
Setup for what conditions/situation/etc? I.e. ...
What season? What area(s)? What kind of hike (base camping or distance hiking, or ...) What length of hike (days, weeks, months?) Going solo or with my wife or with a group? If with others, what pace and style constraints do they impose? For shorter trips (days, not weeks or months) what's the extended weather forecast?
I guess my point is that there isn't a single "setup", for me at least. And I'm disinclined to iterate through all the possibilities ...
I do tend to use one of two different ULA packs depending on the trip (Circuit or an older P2), and I pretty much always use a WM down sleeping bag (which one varies by expected conditions). And I consider those to be pretty optimal choices for pretty much any trip --- wouldn't replace either if I won the lottery.
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It is one of the blessings of wilderness life that it shows us how few things we need in order to be perfectly happy.-- Horace Kephart
I agree with Brian - the list changes constantly based on what's needed for a given trip.
However, in the spirit of the OP's question (and because it beats working), here's the big stuff that lives in my pack most of the time (Conditions: 3-season in the Ohio River valley):
Gregory Savant 48 or 58 pack, depending on length of trip and cold weather clothing taken.
MSR Carbon Reflex 1 tent; I also take either the footprint or the "mud flap" (vestibule-only footprint) that get used more often as a ground cloth to sit on at lunch, breaks, or around camp. The full footprint also allows me to make a fly-first pitch when it's raining, then attach the inner tent where it's dry. The tent lives in two small stuff sacks (one for the inner, one for the fly), which is more flexible for packing and keeps a dry inner separated from a wet fly.
MSR Hyperflow filter, Nalgene 1-liter bottle (because it has measuring marks and because I like it), and an MSR Dromlite 2L or 4L bag, depending on how much water I might have to carry - inflated with air, it makes a great pillow.
MSR Micro Rocket, Titan kettle, and Titan spoon - entirely adequate for boiling water once a day (twice, if I also want morning tea.) Nice, compact kitchen that stores in the same bag as the food.
Thermarest NeoAir XTherm (48 or 66 inch length, depending on season) - very warm, very comfortable, incredibly light and compact. With the 48 inch, I store my pack under my lower legs; in cold weather, I store it crosswise at the foot of my tent, just beyond my feet which are on the 66 inch pad. I used to carry the chair kit religiously, but find that I'm leaving it behind more often, taking a NeoAir or Z-lite sit pad instead, because it's easier, lighter, and works well with the ground cloth.
Western Mountaineering sleeping bag - Alpinlite, Megalite or Mitylite, depending on forecast temperatures. ("You can have my WM bag when you pry if from my cold, de...wait a minute, I'm never cold in it.") Also WM Flash jacket, pants, vest and/or booties, depending on temperatures. (The bags are roomy enough that I can wear the clothes inside it, which gives me a safety margin when it goes colder than the forecast.)
An Outdoor Research Foray rain jacket and pants, which double as long pants or windbreaker as needed.
A spare pair of wool hiking socks - last, but a long way from least. There's no greater pleasure than changing into clean, dry socks just before slipping into the sleeping bag. (Well, almost no greater pleasure.)
That's about it - nuts, now I gotta go back to work. (It's called work because all the other 4-letter words were taken.)
Registered: 02/05/03
Posts: 3293
Loc: Portland, OR
My first reaction was excitement at all the new gear I could buy! My second thought was that if I listed a whole bunch of different new items I would only be doing so based on hearsay, not on personal experience out on the trail.
I'd love to have the time and money to be able to experiment with a lot of expensive new gear, but they would all be experiments and there would be many mistakes and failures and lots of things discarded in favor of further experiments, so whatever I mentioned today would probably not be on my list two years from now.
Once I realized that, the zest went out of it. Sorry. It was a fun question.
Since Ohio winter is really just fall or spring with a couple of inches of snow, I don't really have a "winter" setup. I do own a pair of snow shoes, but that's just wishful thinking.
You may have noticed a bit of obsessive-compulsive tendency to my choices (MSR, WM) - as an accountant, such behavior is an occupational hazard; I try to control it in the rest of my life, by letting it run amok in my backpacking gear. I'm not trying to imply that those are the only good brands out there; they're not (far from it - you almost have to make an effort to get crappy gear nowadays.)
I wonder what the good folks at REI would sell for? Because if money is truly not an option I'm buying the outfitter! HeY what better tester than the owner;)
And besides its more of an investment/business endeavour. Atleast that's what id tell the wife.
Edited by Samoset (10/22/1205:17 PM)
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Some peopole live life day by day. Try step by step.
I think that if someone dropped a load of money on me (and my wife didn't find out ;-) I think I'd buy more gear without thinking as hard about it because I wouldn't have to wait for budget to reach the level of the expense.
Also, I think I'd get more 'experimental' gear because being disappointed in gear hurts more if it costs a lot.
If I had a load of cash, I'd grab a Patagucci Houdini jacket, a Jacks R Better quilt and some kind of elephant's foot sleeping bag and a hooded down jacket and... and... and... all just to try out different configurations.
Registered: 02/03/06
Posts: 6800
Loc: Gateway to Columbia Gorge
I'm not too sure what I'd do. I'm pretty satisfied with my gear as it is now. I try to keep up on new items coming out just for the fun of it, but mostly haven't been tempted.
I might buy a horse or llama and a place I could keep said beast of burden.
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May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view--E. Abbey
Registered: 02/07/07
Posts: 3917
Loc: Ozark Mountains in SW Missouri
Wow, for me unlimited funds would change all kinds of things. I'm sure I'd go buy new everything, even a new can of cat food for my new stove
The best thing about it would be the free time I could buy to use all my new stuff. I could go hike into the most remote places and have my pilot fly my helicopter in to resupply me and let me visit with my wife for a few hours.
OM, I already have my burros, but having the time to work with them as I'd really like to is hard to find. A new truck and trailer to haul them in would sure be nice too.
Yeah, unlimited money would change a lot of things for me, but it's not something I think about much. I'm pretty happy with my gear right now, and with where I am and the opportunities I have to use it.
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