Start from scratch hypothetical gear shopping

[Cesar Valdez]

Just a fun little mental gear shopping game I thought of. Say your house burns down to the ground, and literally all of your gear is gone. Damn! But let's say you have great insurance, and after you find a new home and replace your stuff, you of course have to sit down and order brand new backpacking gear. Hooray! Your insurance company is willing to pay for any brand new gear of your choice, but only for one set of the important "big 5" (which I just came up with), which is:

1. Shelter system
2. Sleep system
3. Shoes
4. Rain gear
5. Backpack

Let's say your insurance agent is a nice person, feels bad for you, is willing to be flexible (e.g. trekking poles can count as part of shelter system, if you so desire) and money is no object for these five choices (the point is a pleasant game, after all).

I'll go first!

1. Zpacks Hex twin tarp, Borah Cuben bivy with custom net vent, big roll of Tyvek for MYOG groundsheets, GG LT3C Trekking poles fixed length

2. Zpacks 30 sleeping bag, STS silk bag liner (for winter), Neoair Xlite regular, set of Smartwool merino base layers and socks, Zpacks pillow stuff sack, GG Thinlight Pad 3/8 (for winter)

3. Merrell Trail Gloves, Dirty Girl gaiters

4. Zpacks WPB jacket and pants, Zpacks Cuben backpack cover, Montbell Tachyon Wind Jacket (for light rain)

5. Zpacks Arc Blast plus pair of hip pockets

For the record I am not sponsored or given free gear by any company.

What about the rest of you?

[josh jordan]

i do this on a daily basis…lol.

1. zpack hexamid tent w/ cuban ground sheet.

2. 20* quilt from enlightend equipment. exped ul7.

3. la sportiva wildcat 2.0

4. montane rain gear.

5. zpack arc blast with w/ hip pockets.

thanks, now i want to do some shopping…

[Hiking Malto]

1) Shelter – I would have someone custom make my current cuben shelter system ( both tarp and screen inner ). I would also include a TiGoat bivy for winter and tyvek groundsheet for summer. Also have to have my GG LT4s.
2) I would likely look at a 20deg quilt by Enlightened or Katabatic. (Interesting that I have used my Golite UL-20 quilt for years now and have given my quilt the least amount of thought, I guess I have no unmet needs.)
3) Brooks Cascadias and throw in replacement dirty girls.
4) Zpacks rain suit to replace my MYOG cuben.
5) MLD Burn (Thanks Doug!) with four bottle pockets and two zippered pouches. ( exactly the same as today. Guess I have that dialed in.

This was an interesting excercise because it made me realize how satisfied I am with my current system. The lone holdout was my shelter which hopefully will be addressed with my new shelter.

[Max Dilthey]

Ok, here's mine. This is fun for me because I can't remotely afford this stuff:

1. Shelter: Mountain Laurel Designs Trailstar with an MLD e-Vent Bivy with full headnet.
2. Western Mountaineering Hyperlite 30°
3. Altra Lone Peak, Size 11.5
4. Arcteryx Alpha SL rain pants/jacket, Mountain Laurel Designs Rain Mitts, wool socks.
5. Honestly, right now probably the Boreas Buttermilk 40, which is what I have! Love that pack.

It would cost me about… $1500 total. Thanks Cesar, this was fun!

[Kevin Schneringer]

1. BPWD Bear Den, Borah Cuben bivy with custom net vent, BD Carbon Cork T poles

2. Zpacks 10 sleeping bag, Exped Synmat UL 7 Med., set of Smartwool merino base layers and Possum Down socks, MYOG pillow stuff sack, GG Thinlight Pad 1/8 (for winter)

3. Montrail Rock Ridge, Dirty Girl gaiters

4. Zpacks WPB jacket and pants and mitts, Zpacks Cuben pack liner, Montbell Tachyon Wind Jacket (for light rain)

5. Zpacks Blast plus pair of hip pockets and front pack

I was actually thinking of this last night(fire works and dry grass-em ya). And this is what I have now with the exception of the Zpacks Blast and Tachyon. Right now I am making due with the pack I have.

[David Ure]

1. Tarptent Notch. I wish it were lighter but I can't give up the vast features. Superb over the past year and a half.

2. EE Revelation 20. For the price, this is probably the defacto 20 degree quilt.

3. Salomon XA Pro. They fit. Which is most of the battle.

4. Still searching.

5. HMG Porter. It has been the perfect pack for me at loads under 35 lbs and has performed better than my Mchale at those weights.

[Pete Staehling]

I am kind of a cheapskate, but do splurge just a bit on a few items. I'd probably buy most of the same stuff I am currently using.

1. Shelter system – A simple flat tarp, probably another integral designs siltarp 1 at about $70. I'd also have a bivy probably a borah side zip at $80 for the M90.
2. Sleep system – I might try the Klymit Inertia X-Light Sleeping Pad at about $90 and would probably get another Mountain Hardware Phantom 45 at about $250.
3. Shoes – Brooks Cascadia about $100
4. Rain gear – A cheap poncho (DriDucks UL Emergency at under $10) and a wind shirt ($60?)
5. Backpack – REI Flash 45 $130

Total a little over $500

[Mark Verber]

I would pretty much replace everything in my three season backpacking gear list.

If it was available, I would swap bivy/hexamid to six moon design skyscape-x. I would swap my Stoic UL Down Pullover for either the MB Ultralight Down or even better a yet, a similar jacket made with water resistant down. The Ghost quilt has been chance in the 10 years since I purchased mine so I would need to figure out who makes something like the old ghost, ideally with water resistant down. Since the BPL Thorofare Pants are no longer made, likely with go with some ultralight wind pants.

–Mark

[Nick Gatel]

"This was an interesting excercise because it made me realize how satisfied I am with my current system."

+1

I don't have a gear wish list.

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