Tuesday, May 13, 2008
All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go
I take my last exam today, and then I roll north to meet up with my brother. We're heading to the Superior Hiking Trail (shta.org) Wednesday, crashing overnight somewhere near the northern terminus and then walking southbound starting Thursday. I'll be back about Memorial Day, with pictures to boot.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
How low can I go?
I'm looking at a solo trip this summer. Call it fastpacking, call it fast and light, I'll call it light and efficient.
Here's what I'm thinking - how low can I get my base packweight taking into consideration Minnesota weather? I've set a goal of a five pound (2.27 kg) base weight for a solo trip, with a max weight at any given time would be 20 pounds (2.4 liters of water and 10 lbs of food). This is figuring an average of 135 cal/oz, 3000 calories per day. It gives 7.2 days of food, enough to do a significant amount hiking. (The food total is also dependent on its volume)
Again, this is base weight. Here is what counts:
Sleeping system - I currently have one bag and three pads at my disposal. The Marmot Hydrogen weighs in at 21 oz. I am thinking about replacing this with a two-thirds bag a la MLD. This would cut something like 12 oz off. I can make it for about $80 with materials from Thru-Hiker. It would take about two hours or so. I would include the straps and probably buckles to accomplish closures. I would then sleep
Pack - I currently have three packs: REI Morningstar, GG Vapor Trail and Homemade Sil-Nylon. Their weights are, respectively: 68, 32 and 17 oz. I'm looking at adding another, a ZPack, probably one of the Cuben Fiber packs, either the Blast 18 or 26. I'm leaning more toward the 26 because I carry a pretty thick (but light!) pad in a 3/4 Ridgerest, and it is also taller to accomodate more vertical space. I'm not going to pull the trigger on this one until after I try out my Sil-Nylon. I have a problem with the sil-nylon, however. Due to an error in production, the pack's torso is too long, and the bottom of the pack does not rest on my sacrum like it should (this puts more weight on my shoulders).
Again, this needs to tryouts - I used the SilNylon with too much weight last year and I know I need to crank down on the weight. Hence the push to cut base weight.
Rain Gear - This is a little more difficult and it more costly to replace. I have a precip tops and bottoms. This weighs in (conservatively) at 15 oz for the jacket and 9 for the pants. This will be tough to cut down while retaining waterproofness. I'm thinking mostly I can get a jacket around 10 oz, maybe 11, so I'm not thinking this is worth it. The other idea is to go with a poncho, this would eliminate the need for pants. It would also cut weight down to about 10 oz. I don't really want to do this because of wind and the use of trekking poles. So full gear it is. I'm getting a scale to accurately measure the Precip's weight.
I have also made a minor improvement with shelter - I ordered a polycro ground sheet from Gossamer Gear. It is 40" x 96" and weighs 1.5 oz. It is much lighter and more waterproof than tyvek.
Other improvements have been made with respect to cooking. I now have a better 5 cup pot and a small 1.5 oz 12 oz mug to use with my alcohol or canister stoves.
Right now, Its looking like I can get under 6 lbs with the above gear replacements. Not too shabby. We'll see after some testing.
Here's what I'm thinking - how low can I get my base packweight taking into consideration Minnesota weather? I've set a goal of a five pound (2.27 kg) base weight for a solo trip, with a max weight at any given time would be 20 pounds (2.4 liters of water and 10 lbs of food). This is figuring an average of 135 cal/oz, 3000 calories per day. It gives 7.2 days of food, enough to do a significant amount hiking. (The food total is also dependent on its volume)
Again, this is base weight. Here is what counts:
- Everything carried in the pack
- All clothes except minimum (minimum being: socks, spandex shorts, zip-off nylon shorts, short-sleeve shirt, shoes, gaiters). This creates a sort of fiction, as I will often be wearing more than this. The idea is to have the largest base weight with all gear I would be carrying)
- Food, water and fuel i.e. consumables
- Clothing worn - everything but the minimum
- Gear carried i.e. trekking poles, emergency gear carried (navigation, cash, cards, etc)
- I need full rain gear. This includes parka, pants and gaiters. I will, however, use non-waterproof shoes.
- I like to eat hot food - This means I will carry a stove, pot and a utinsel.
- I will carry a fully functional first aid kit
Sleeping system - I currently have one bag and three pads at my disposal. The Marmot Hydrogen weighs in at 21 oz. I am thinking about replacing this with a two-thirds bag a la MLD. This would cut something like 12 oz off. I can make it for about $80 with materials from Thru-Hiker. It would take about two hours or so. I would include the straps and probably buckles to accomplish closures. I would then sleep
Pack - I currently have three packs: REI Morningstar, GG Vapor Trail and Homemade Sil-Nylon. Their weights are, respectively: 68, 32 and 17 oz. I'm looking at adding another, a ZPack, probably one of the Cuben Fiber packs, either the Blast 18 or 26. I'm leaning more toward the 26 because I carry a pretty thick (but light!) pad in a 3/4 Ridgerest, and it is also taller to accomodate more vertical space. I'm not going to pull the trigger on this one until after I try out my Sil-Nylon. I have a problem with the sil-nylon, however. Due to an error in production, the pack's torso is too long, and the bottom of the pack does not rest on my sacrum like it should (this puts more weight on my shoulders).
Again, this needs to tryouts - I used the SilNylon with too much weight last year and I know I need to crank down on the weight. Hence the push to cut base weight.
Rain Gear - This is a little more difficult and it more costly to replace. I have a precip tops and bottoms. This weighs in (conservatively) at 15 oz for the jacket and 9 for the pants. This will be tough to cut down while retaining waterproofness. I'm thinking mostly I can get a jacket around 10 oz, maybe 11, so I'm not thinking this is worth it. The other idea is to go with a poncho, this would eliminate the need for pants. It would also cut weight down to about 10 oz. I don't really want to do this because of wind and the use of trekking poles. So full gear it is. I'm getting a scale to accurately measure the Precip's weight.
I have also made a minor improvement with shelter - I ordered a polycro ground sheet from Gossamer Gear. It is 40" x 96" and weighs 1.5 oz. It is much lighter and more waterproof than tyvek.
Other improvements have been made with respect to cooking. I now have a better 5 cup pot and a small 1.5 oz 12 oz mug to use with my alcohol or canister stoves.
Right now, Its looking like I can get under 6 lbs with the above gear replacements. Not too shabby. We'll see after some testing.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Gear report from Split Rock State Park and SHT
Just got back from Split Rock State Park and the accompanying SHT sections. Temps were in the 30's and low 40's most of the day, with temps dropping into the high 20's Saturday night. We packed out Saturday night. As for gear, everything did fine, with a few items working exceptionally well.
Mont-Bell U.L. Thermawrap Parka: Best 3+ season insulating layer ever. End of discussion. I think I'd take it over a down parka because the Mont-Bell would resist wind better than a similar down jacket in its weight class. The Parka was warm enough to keep me roasty toasty (yes, its a technical term) when I was sitting down in my tent on my Ridgerest with only a thin poly pro base layer on the bottom and no socks on. I still want to rant about the hood draws cords not being able to be operated with one hand, but hey, I can't have it all.
Integral Designs eVENT Shortie Gaiters: Nothing bad to say here. I really did not get to thoroughly test them this weekend because we lacked significant rain fall. Here is what I can say, however. First, the gaiters bridges the gap between my rain pants and shoes well. Second, there was no condensation in them. Third, the gaiters cinched down onto my shoes well. Fourth, they kept crap out of my shoes. 'Nuff said.
3/4 Ridgerest: I got this from Midwest for approximately $13. It is stamped "Irregular," which means to me that there is a slight cosmetic defect that will not affect performance. Anywho, it worked well on the cold ground, and I can't complain about it's 8 oz of weight. Excellent pad.
Saloman Comp 3: I hiked all day in these and didn't get a blister. One problem, however. Because the mesh lets water in, it also lets in the dirt that is dissolved in the water. When this gets on my socks, the water is wicked away, leaving only a brown spot on my sock. On a longer trip, I could see this creating durability problems for socks.
Mountain Laurel Designs eVENT Rain Mitts: Same caveat as the gaiters. Also, in cold weather, one needs to wear an insulating layer underneath the shell mitts. The eVENT fabric was very cold to the tough. Also, the seam sealant I used is starting to peel up at the edges of the sealant. I don't think this has affected performance, but this is something to watch out for in later. I'm curious is eventually the whole seal-job will peal away.
Sleeping bag: I made a two-person sleeping bag using Momentum ripstop, Momentum Taffeta and one layer of 5 oz/yd^2 of Climashield XP. The CLO value multiple by its weight per square yard gives it a rating of 20 deg. I would say that that rating is accurate for a person of my body type, or if the quilt was slightly better designs. MLD has a good (conservative) rating system for their quilts that use XP. Anywho, I think a better rating for the gf and I was about 35 degrees. This is based on our Friday night experience and on Saturday experience. The bag compresses nicely, also. I used a large Air Compressor stuff sack by Granite Gear, and could pull the compression straps all the way down.
Other notes -
Spandex shorts and long base layer worked well, as did wearing short sleeve and long sleeve wicking shirts at the same time. The Vapor Trail carried the weight well, even though the pack was not packed well (and its contents did not allow for quality packing).
Mont-Bell U.L. Thermawrap Parka: Best 3+ season insulating layer ever. End of discussion. I think I'd take it over a down parka because the Mont-Bell would resist wind better than a similar down jacket in its weight class. The Parka was warm enough to keep me roasty toasty (yes, its a technical term) when I was sitting down in my tent on my Ridgerest with only a thin poly pro base layer on the bottom and no socks on. I still want to rant about the hood draws cords not being able to be operated with one hand, but hey, I can't have it all.
Integral Designs eVENT Shortie Gaiters: Nothing bad to say here. I really did not get to thoroughly test them this weekend because we lacked significant rain fall. Here is what I can say, however. First, the gaiters bridges the gap between my rain pants and shoes well. Second, there was no condensation in them. Third, the gaiters cinched down onto my shoes well. Fourth, they kept crap out of my shoes. 'Nuff said.
3/4 Ridgerest: I got this from Midwest for approximately $13. It is stamped "Irregular," which means to me that there is a slight cosmetic defect that will not affect performance. Anywho, it worked well on the cold ground, and I can't complain about it's 8 oz of weight. Excellent pad.
Saloman Comp 3: I hiked all day in these and didn't get a blister. One problem, however. Because the mesh lets water in, it also lets in the dirt that is dissolved in the water. When this gets on my socks, the water is wicked away, leaving only a brown spot on my sock. On a longer trip, I could see this creating durability problems for socks.
Mountain Laurel Designs eVENT Rain Mitts: Same caveat as the gaiters. Also, in cold weather, one needs to wear an insulating layer underneath the shell mitts. The eVENT fabric was very cold to the tough. Also, the seam sealant I used is starting to peel up at the edges of the sealant. I don't think this has affected performance, but this is something to watch out for in later. I'm curious is eventually the whole seal-job will peal away.
Sleeping bag: I made a two-person sleeping bag using Momentum ripstop, Momentum Taffeta and one layer of 5 oz/yd^2 of Climashield XP. The CLO value multiple by its weight per square yard gives it a rating of 20 deg. I would say that that rating is accurate for a person of my body type, or if the quilt was slightly better designs. MLD has a good (conservative) rating system for their quilts that use XP. Anywho, I think a better rating for the gf and I was about 35 degrees. This is based on our Friday night experience and on Saturday experience. The bag compresses nicely, also. I used a large Air Compressor stuff sack by Granite Gear, and could pull the compression straps all the way down.
Other notes -
Spandex shorts and long base layer worked well, as did wearing short sleeve and long sleeve wicking shirts at the same time. The Vapor Trail carried the weight well, even though the pack was not packed well (and its contents did not allow for quality packing).
Monday, April 21, 2008
End2EndTrailSupply hanging it up and a note about GoLite
As reported seen on the forums today, End2EndTrailSupply, an online light-weight gear store with excellent customer service, is closing shop. Although I had never visited the sight prior to perusing it as a result of the thread, it is nonetheless sad that a reputable gear shop is going out of business.
I placed an order help clear out some inventory: a grease pot, two mugs, Aquamira, spork, and a 4 oz fuel bottle.
Also, the guy at Midwest today said that GoLite was in trouble. He said that Timerberland, who manufactured GoLite's footwear, dropped GoLite from their production line. He also said that it maybe a downward spiral, and that GoLite itself may close up shop unless they get people to make their products.
I find the complete closing up of shop to be a hard pill to swallow, but I'll watch things and see what's going down.
I placed an order help clear out some inventory: a grease pot, two mugs, Aquamira, spork, and a 4 oz fuel bottle.
Also, the guy at Midwest today said that GoLite was in trouble. He said that Timerberland, who manufactured GoLite's footwear, dropped GoLite from their production line. He also said that it maybe a downward spiral, and that GoLite itself may close up shop unless they get people to make their products.
I find the complete closing up of shop to be a hard pill to swallow, but I'll watch things and see what's going down.
The GF bought a backpack
She bought her first hiking backpack. Woot!
We went to Midwest Mountaineering today and looked at packs. After looking at a large number of packs, she went with the Granite Gear Vapor Ki. It's the women's version of my pack, the Vapor Trail.
In coming to her conclusion, she tried on, and rejected, the following packs:
And she hates purple. But she got it because it fit and was comfortable. So be it. We're heading up to Split Rock State Park this weekend for an easy weekend trip. It will be her first backpacking trip.
We went to Midwest Mountaineering today and looked at packs. After looking at a large number of packs, she went with the Granite Gear Vapor Ki. It's the women's version of my pack, the Vapor Trail.
In coming to her conclusion, she tried on, and rejected, the following packs:- GoLite Jam^2
- GoLite Pinnacle
- GoLite Quest
- Osprey Talon 44 (my bro's pack)
- Granite Gear Vapor Trail /w women's hipbelt
And she hates purple. But she got it because it fit and was comfortable. So be it. We're heading up to Split Rock State Park this weekend for an easy weekend trip. It will be her first backpacking trip.
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