Your Best Gear of 2010

PHD Ultra pullover, gooses feets trousers, mitts, balaclava and booties :-)

My favorite gear in no particular order:

ULA Catalyst Pack: I love it. This isn't new for me but it is a comfortable pack with plenty of support for the loads I carry. I'm going to buy an Ohm sometime this year for my shorter trips.

Marmot Arroyo: This is new and I only have two trips with it but it is a nice roomy bag that is comfortable to it's temp rating at a reasonable 27oz, packs small and was $200.

WalMart Trekking Poles: No… these are not the lightest or best trekking poles I've ever owned but they are the cheapest! At $18.88/pr they give the cheapskate in me the biggest thrill.

I second the down booties!!!!

Inov-8 310 Flyroc shoes + Injinji socks for blister free miles
Nunatak Ghost Blanket + NeoAir for sleeping comfort
ZebraLight H51 for perfectly adressing my lighting needs.

Other gear I really like on my perfect gear? page.

–mark

In no particular order…

Valandre Shocking Blue
Maratac black anodized, CREE Q5, single AAA flashlight
ULA Catalyst
Hilleberg Allak, Red
MLD 475 cup
Pivetta P-8's (actually from 1975, but I just got 'em this year)

-Montbell Exlite Jacket – so light and so warm
-Esee Izula – bomber knife that weighs just a hair over 3 ounces with the factory sheeth
-Fenix LD10 – I haven't weighed it yet but IPX-8 or whatever it's called water proof standard, multiple brightness levels, a pocket clip (I can clip it onto a trekking pole strap too) and up to 132 lumens off of a single AA? What's not to like other than the lack of headband?
-La Sportiva trail runners – they're like wearing cleats!

My Spot 2.

SMD Swift, 17 oz. and carries 30# with ease.

Holux M241 Data logger, a gps logger that records distance, gives your location plus other details for 1.9 oz. with battery.

Vincent,

Wow, I had a pair of Pivetta 8's that I bought in the mid 70's and wore for about 10 years. God I hated those boots! They were unbelievably stout, and never really did "break in". When I saw the Pivetta name I had a flashback to the ankle and lower shin pains those boots always gave me. YMMV (and I hope it does).

2010 highlights were a New Balance Fugu jacket, a monocular, and an iPhone4 that also does duty as a GPS and e-book reader.

My best gear of 2010 are:
#3 Ibex Indie Hoody
#2 is MLD speedmid with the netting option.
#1 is the awesome Jolly Green Giant pillow from kooka bay(bender).

#2 Inov8 Roclite 288 Boots
#1 SMD Swift '10 Pack

neo air- I've never slept so comfortable in the back country, it's light and very low volume- w/ a r value of 2.5 I'm good to about freezing w/ it

MB exlite- 6 oz for size large, the small weight belies it's warmth- I cut my down jacket weight in half (Patagonia down sweater) w/ very little to no penalty

Fallkniven WM1- just shy of a 3" blade, stainless- stout 1/8" blade, but still comes in at 2.5 oz, that's a lot of knife for under 3 oz!

1. Gossamer Gear Gorilla pack
2. La Sportive Crosslite
3. Mountain Laurel Design Superlight bivy

1. Custom Montbell UL SS
2. Jam Jr. pack
3. Snowpeak Gigapower stove
4. SL-6 tarp w/SL-4 nest (family car camping trips)
5. merino base layers

Z-Packs zero medium pack w/ padded and pocket hip belt and chest strap

Merril Ottawa pro water shoes – I wear them for hiking, masonry work and concrete work. I just got done shoveling snow in them. Great sneakers.

grog

1. EB FA Downlight Sweater…it was a steal for $50.
2. A brand spaking new Golite Ion, size large…currently being modified by Javan Dempsey, can't wait to see what he does to it.
3. A lightly used WM Summerlite from Bradford Rogers.
4. Cocoon Down Pillow, small but better than my balled up jacket.
5. Golite SL-1, used but in mint condition.

All of the above were purchased from Gear Swap.

1. KookaBay sleeping pad – way better than the Neoair I tried last year.
2. Liberty Ridge wind shirt – kit from Thru-Hiker.com. I tried 3 store-bought ones before I made this one. 2.5 oz, and I use it constantly.
3. Not really gear, but this has made the gear more usable:

#2 Golite Ultra 20
#1 SMD Swift '10

Both HIGHLY recommended

ULA OHM

Atlas 1230 snowshoes

Salomon XA Pro GTX trail runners

MH Elkommando kilt

Dynaglide Whoopie sling hammock suspension

1. Big Sky Mirage 2P tent
2. Gossamer Gear LT4 poles

1: Alpacka Yukon Yak w/ spraydeck
-most versatile and inspiring tool for wilderness travel since the rucksack

2: My MYOG packs
-perfect for my needs

http://vimeo.com/15764558

3: Tenkara Amago
-made fly fishing fun again

[as usual, please restrict to items with 5+ night in the BC]

PT Byte Headlamp

Evernew Pasta Pots, both sizes

FF Down Booties

New Home sewing machine from the thrift store. Like new!

Yikes, Ben. You've gone over to the dark side! ;^P

Hi Ben,

What options did you get for your mirage 2p? What is the weight? any comments on the performance of this tent?

willy