Help with gear selection for AT sb thru

I'll respond with a few comments, but there are people here way more qualified to recommend gear for an AT thru-hike so take my recommendations with a grain of salt. YMMV.

Tarptent Squall: great tent, more than sufficient for one person. I have the Squall 2 and it works great. It will keep you and your stuff dry. You could cut quite a bit of weight by replacing it with a tarp, but whether that's worthwhile or not is up to you. Considering you have a week, you might want to cut out a 7'x9' tarp from plastic (or cut up two contractor-grade garbage bags and tape them together) and spend a few nights out under it. That should help you decide if you want to buy a 7'x9' tent (or just keep the plastic one, although it's heavier than silnylon). A Gossamer Gear Polycryo Ground Sheet is a very lightweight ground cloth that will help extend the life of your shelter's floor (or be your floor if you're using a tarp).

Sleeping pad: if you can sleep on a blue foam mat, then you could save weight by cutting it down to just to torso size. Then, to provide thermal insulation without much padding in places you don't need it, pick up a Gossamer Gear ThinLight 1/8" Evazote pad (2.5 oz). The total weight will be less than your current blue pad, and you'll have an extra 1/8" under your torso where it counts. Or just switch to a 1/4" (4-5 oz) or 3/8" (6.3 oz) ThinLight pad. Depends on how much a few ounces matters to you. There are several lightweight torso pad options, including the Gossamer Gear NightLight Torso (3.4 oz), which works well with the 1/8" ThinLight. I don't find that to be enough padding, but it's much thicker than a blue foam pad for less weight.

Sleeping bag: I recommend a quilt. No sense carrying the extra weight of bottom insulation (you've got that in the pad) and you can easily wear your insulated clothing under it. However, make sure that the quilt either covers you completely down the sides and tucks under, or has wings or a bottom layer. I hate cold drafts in the night. There's a sale on right now at Jacks R Better (jacksrbetter.com) and they have quilt wings or a "pad converter" option. I made my own Ray-Way Deluxe Quilt Kit and I like it a lot. I'm not sure you can get the quilt kit in time, but if you can it's worth considering. The Sea-To-Summit Thermolite Reactor weighs 10.2 oz–half the weight of a down quilt, with nowhere near the insulating value (they claim +15F but I consider +10F to be generous). You'd be warmer if you added a few ounces of fill in the quilt or your insulated clothing layer.

Pack: buy it last, after you know how much stuff you need to put in it and how much your gear (base weight) + food + water will weight in total.

Good luck!

Mike,
We probably need to know a little more about where you plan to be and when. Did you mean you will hike through Sept 30 – or Sept 1. The reason I ask is, Maine and New Hampshire (not to mention 5,000 to 6,000 foot elevations on the southern end of the AT) tend to get a mite chilly by the end of September whereas the mid Atlantic states will still be summery. And altitude matters. That is important for your choice of sleeping bag and clothing.

I am currently off the AT after 500 miles with a medical problem, but hope to return by June 1. My personal choices are:
An overquilt good into the 20's (the AT can be COLD)
Hammock with net
Cape/poncho/rainfly (5×8.5)
Foam pad
Tyvek ground sheet (for shelters and ground and wind protection in hammock
Seasonal clothing
Mini cook set
Pack to match.

Remember, if you approach ultralight, your main weight and volume will be your food and consumables. Take that into account when chosing a pack. As Doug Frick says, the pack is the last thing to buy.

Hi Doug and Vick,

Thanks for dropping in. I made a large response yesterday and my comp crashed 3/4 done…doh.

Doug, I appreciate the reply, although for now I don't think I will be going without the Squall. I do see the added versatility of a tarp/bivy combination though.

Vick,

Sorry to hear about that. What kind of medical problems did you encounter? How were you enjoying your journey and feel free to share a story or two, words of advice, etc.

Well, it started raining last night around 10pm so I decided to go on an impromptu solo lightweight overnighter.

Items worn at onset:

Black Diamond Ion?: Worked good on the trip especially for only costing $15. I use the bright setting for rugged terrain, the dim section for everything else and shut off on easy terrain light permitting.

Innov8 315's: I'm just breaking them in and there seems to be a small issue with the left foot yet not the right one plus I have to tighten the laces a bit more than wanted for good dexterity. More hiking in will let me give a proper review/assessment of the situation. Other than that they performed very nicely.

Ingenious Wigwam crew socks: Lightweight and made with gore-tex plus a olefin (sp?) liner. Great socks keep you warm in the wet if you keep moving. Hold up great. I've had these over a year or two now and I punish them on mtn. bike rides fording streams, riding in heavy rains, etc.

Polyester t-shirt: Bought it from Kohl's for $6. Lightweight and used primarily for kayaking, hiking and backpacking. Dries quick.

Patagonia 3/4 zip Micro Puff vest: 7.8 oz and handled the conditions very well. Too big in the arm holes. Maybe I should downsize to small. For reference: I'm 5'7", 145lbs.

O.R. Ion Winshirt: Worked very well. 3.5 oz, adjustable hood, hem, water-resistant and elastic cuffs. If you're borderline on a size, I would size up, as this medium is sized a hair smaller than I would like and I'm not big person. *I'm worried it might not make it for a whole thru-hike and I'm considering replacing with the Pat. Specter (on sale) or something w/pitzips. Recommendations welcome*

Nike Thermal hat: 1.3 oz, very comfortable, lightweight, warm and breathable. Spandex side panels and fits under a helmet perfectly.

Nike dri-fit tights: 4ish oz worn under =>

Addidas wind pants: 5.6 oz with ankle zips, dry quick, very light.

Fleece gloves: 1/2 fingers, lightweight, yet warm.

Trekking poles: 20 oz for the pair. I'm wondering if I could get buy with one pole and keep switching my pack from one shoulder to the other unless terrain is too rugged. Poles were very handy in the wet, rocky terrain I encountered. At times though, it woulld be nice to not have poles, extra weight, etc.

Gear carried:

Sierra Club backpack: Not ultralight, ha, but not heavy either. Normal sized backpack. I brought dental floss and a mini sowing kit in a little ziplock b/c this pack likes to rip at the worst possible moment.

Tarptent Squall: 28 oz or so. Use trekking pole for setup.

Blue foam pad: 4 oz cut to torso length

Patagonia wool2 1/4 zip: 6.5 oz, great seamwork, nice piece of clothing. Wish mine was the crew though and a size S not M. (paid $35 so returning wasn't an option)

Ingenious Wigwam wool calf socks: Brought these for sleeping.

Patagonia capilene thermal underwear: 6ish oz, warm and fuzzy, for sleeping

3 oz of denatured alcohol to start a fire

1 12 oz bottle of poland springs plus one 16 oz coffemate creamer w/fliptop filled with water.

Cellphone w/ziplock, wallet, bugspray, toiletpaper, alcohol sanitizer, 2 bandaids, money + id in miniziplock, toothbrush + toothpaste + small book.

Food: 1 banana raisin muffin, 1 cliff bar + string cheese eaten prior to leaving.

1 bar-b-q lighter :0P

1 white trashbag for packliner + packtowel

Notes: Rain died down to light drizzle as I left my house.

2 miles in I removed trash/pack liner, put my Woolzip on as a baselayer with t-shirt and then micro puff over them. Packed the OR Ion up. The Ion was comfortable even when only wearing a t-shirt and micro puff but took on considerable moisture as I had the ion zipped up pretty good the whole time w/intermittent hood use. Once left to breathe more it dried up a bit albeit mysty conditions. 4 miles in, I ate my muffin for energy taking breathers for a quick sip of water now and then.

7-8 miles in I finally reach the campsight hiking through some rugged terrain the last 1/4 mile for a nighthike. I start a fire then set up camp on a soft bed of dirt 10 yards from a small river in the Trumball valley region of CT.

*I forgot my Sea to Summit bagliner* LOL. I preceded back to the fire for a few minutes to warm up. Temperature unknown, my breath was visible throughout the night. Let fire die down and came back to the tent, changed into warmer socks, wore everything I could above the Torso, wore crew socks as mittens and wore all three pants! Rested feet on bagliner + fleece gloves. Made pillow out of backpack + packtowel. Preceded to immediately fall asleep.

Woke up at 6am sharp and OMG it was colder than before. I was definately cold. It must be 41-42 deg. F at most. Brrrrrr..I hurry and start a fire w/denatured alcohol in the fire pit asap. Got a very nice fire going that made the morning cold nicely bearable for having not a sleeping bag(liner) like planned.

Wildlife heard: Possibly a barred owl, a few I couldn't identify.

7:15 Called my mother and invited her to breakfast for Mother's Day if she would pick me up near the trail. (She lives close by).

Hope you enjoyed the trip report. My next post will be back to focusing on gear choices for the AT. I definately need to do more shakedown hikes as I can see it benefitting the start of my thru-hike very much.

Michael~

Looked at a sale priced Beeline, but passed because the down didn't fill the panels completely (I could see past/thru it). Bought a Marmot Hydrogen instead. I sleep on my sides some and roll around alot, so the bag made more sense than trying to keep a quilt draft free. Also, the Marmot Hydrogens and Heliums have continuous baffles, so you can move some of the extra down you would otherwise crush to the top of the bag. Quilts may require additional head/neck protection for your colder months? I like having that built into a bag with the hood.

Pack should be picked up last, but given time constraints you may have to make a leap of faith. Research on the ULA, MLD, and GG packs all seems to show a good balance of weight to durability. Can't personally speak for the others. Comfort will highly depend on your total carry weight, but you know that.