Originally Posted By MarkNM


well idk about a lantern...what does everyone do for light where fires are a no no, and i want to read? chilling in the tent with my headlamp?



Yup. I have a headlamp (Petzl Zipka) with three light levels -- the lowest level is great for reading in my bag at night. The latest model has both red and white LEDs, so you can choose to keep your night vision if you prefer.

I can see why you have the 85-liter pack -- the TNF Snowshoe is a monster sleeping bag. Of course, that's true of any 0-F rated synthetic bag. If you are looking at a September 200-mile section hike in Georgia, a good 30-F rated bag will suffice, and a down bag at that rating will take up about 1/5 the space inside your pack as the Snowshoe (and weigh half as much.)

As a general guideline, for three season hiking in the Southern Appalachians, I would try to keep my big items under 2 pounds each, and certainly under 3 pounds. So a 2-pound sleeping bag, a 2-3 pound pack, and a 2-3 pound shelter (tent, tarp, or whatever.) If you can do that, then your weight for the "big 3" is 6-8 pounds, which goes a long way toward keeping your total base weight at 15 pounds or so (that's everything except food and water.) For me, a 15-pound base weight means I am comfortable both in camp and while hiking.

There is no "perfect" gear -- backpackers carry all kinds of things. However, looking at long distance hikers (on the AT anyway), you see the range of gear they carry narrows a bit. Not to say all long distance hikers carry the same gear -- but when you start to see the same brands and models over and over again, there's a reason for that. (For example, take a look at photos outside AT shelters during thru-hiker season and they look like catalog photos for Tarptent products. Seriously.)

If you can get to an outfitter that specializes in long distance hiking, that might help a lot. You'd be able to try out different and more specialized stuff, and get help from experience LD hikers. Mountain Crossings in GA, Bluff Mountain Outfitters in Hot Springs, and Mt Rogers Outfitters and Sundog in Damascus, VA, immediately come to mind.
_________________________
--Ken B