Originally Posted By Hikeupmypants


I guess as far as the tent is concerned I have to decide whether or not I want a more traditional tent or an ultralite one (tarptent?) like you listed Chris. They certainly do look interesting. Is keeping the wind or water out a problem with those type tents? Otherwise a 2 person tent like this kelty tent looks appealing to me at 4lb 2 oz.


Tartpents by Henry Shire are single walled tents-- they are perfectly suited for keeping out bugs, rain, snow and wind.

http://tarptent.com/products.html

Traditional tents are doubled walled and compared to the above are much heavier and are generally much more expensive when you get into the 3LB weight range.

The other option is a tarp (think the $70 8x10 Campmor tarp). Keeping the wind and rain out of these is all about pitch choice and quality, combined with site selection. A lot of people use these in conjunction with what is called a bivy-- which is a waterproof/breathable shell protection that you put your bag and pad in to sleep. This is by far the cheapest and lightest option. Tarp $70 (Campmor), Bivy $110 (Ti Goat) is a total of $180. Total weight would be around 20oz for the shelter.

http://www.titaniumgoat.com/Bivy.html

A footprint is what goes on the ground, underneath the floor of your tent. My advice would be to purchase some Tyvek or Polycryo for under $10 and then cut that to the shape and size of your tent or even your bivy. This stuff is much lighter. Tent ground cloths can weigh around 5-11oz depending on the size of the tent. Tyvek will weigh in at around 1.5oz. So it is a cheap way to save weight, to give you piece of mind and you don't have to debate about if it is worth bringing or not.



Originally Posted By Hikeupmypants

For the backpack some of those minimalist ones look a little intimidating. I kinda liked the looks of the Gregory Z55 and $125 seems like a good deal. (I'd assume I'd order the large at 6' 185lbs). They also have the Z65 for $150. Anywho I gotta do a little research. Any more help is appreciated!


Before I started down the lightweight path, my first real pack was an old Gregory Z-pack, now renamed the "Z" series (Z-55/Z-65) and highly recommend the quality. However, pack fit is as individual as one shoe fit, and thus I recommend that you get measured and try out some packs to see what works and what doesn't. Remember you are under no obligation to buy from the people that you try from. Secondly, the size of your pack is not determined by your height or weight, but the length of your torso-- the is lots of information on the net showing how to measure your torso length.