TENT, SLEEPING BAG AND STOVE SUGGESTIONS.

"I will encounter mostly tropical weather the rest of the time."

I'd focus on this and look at your cold weather stuff for when you get to Patagonia or wherever it is you're going in southern South America.

For the tropics…

Again, a lightweight $30 40* synthetic sleeping bag from Walmart/Big5 will serve you well. I'd recommend not overthinking this one. If this is an extended trip, you'll have a better idea of what you need for the colder climates once you make your way to southern Chile/Argentina.

You really need to look at a tarp. I sat out some monsoon rain under a USGI poncho which is roughly 5×7 or something like that. An 8×11 tarp will be a palace. You don't need a PhD to figure out site selection and not to pitch the tarp over a bowl where the water will collect under you. Invest a minimal amount of time learning how to pitch it with cordage. For my entire time in Panama, I never not once ever ever ever never ever used trekking poles or stakes. Cordage or bungee cords 100% of the time tied off to trees and deadfall in every case and we’re talking well over 100 nights in the jungle. I'd bring stakes for convenience now though but certainly not necessary. Pair this up with a Serenity Shelter from MLD and you'll be set with a shelter that's a lb (or not much more). Bring some trekking poles or UL tent poles and you can pitch your tarp in a clearing when trip/traveling companions dictate.

It really doesn't take much beyond that first leap of faith to get out of tents and into tarps. While I have a really nice tent from Zpacks, my next shelter is going to be an 8×11 tarp as I really miss the simplicity of it and feeling so connected with the wild.

http://www.mountainlaureldesigns.com/shop/product_info.php?cPath=21&products_id=120

If you're primarily going to be in the tropics, ditch the white gas. I'd suggest it MAYBE if you'd be melting a ton of snow but not for tropical camping. I'd buy a stove from Jon at Flat Cat gear which burns rubbing alcohol called the iso clean stove

http://flatcatgear.com/page13.php

While I'd normally prefer a stove which burns denatured alcohol stove (actually prefer Esbit over alky stoves at all), the beauty of using rubbing alcohol is its availability as you travel. Stop by the first drug store as you enter the country and you're done. One caveat is that once dry season hits, go to a no-cook diet and bury whatever stove you have at the bottom of your pack. Watching Kuna (elephant) grass burn out of control is not a fun experience. Wouldn't want to be personally responsible for burning down a village.

Edit: So I'm a liar and just bought a 9x7x5 Grace Solo off of gear swap.

I see you are starting in Mexico, going through Central America, and then to South America. I would definitely start with 3 season or warmer gear. Even the highest mountains of central America are plenty warm. Unless you are doing one of the big peaks in Mexico, you won't need anything 4 season-like until you get to South America.

I think a lot of novice backpackers think they need 4 season equipment. There are plenty of AT hikers strating off with 4 season equipment. This is a mistake. And I think its even a bigger mistake for most of Mexico and all of central America. It's mostly hot and humid weather. You'll probably get some desert in Mexico depending on your route. You don't want to be lugging that heavy 4 season gear across that part of the world. You'll quit before you get out of Mexico if you have that load.

If you make it to South America and decide you want to do some high mountains, have someone send you some 4 season gear then. It will likely be small part of your trip. Send that heavy stuff back by mail when you are done. You might decide you can buy or rent it there too.

As to tent, I would recommend something that can be set up with the bug inner only so that you can keep the bugs away and catch any breeze. You'll probably see a lot of hot buggy nights.

I would start out with a 30-40 degree quilt. You can vent it for a broader temperature range.

For a stove, I would NOT take a canister stove. I have never seen canisters for sale in central America. You can find alcohol with a little work and you can find gasoline. I would take a stove that burns one of these. Despite its weight, a Whisperlite International is probably a good choice.

I feel the Tarptent Moment DW WITH the "solid" (ripstop) inner tent and crossing pole option is the best 4 season tent out there for solo backpackers.

The Moment DW has 2 doors and 2 vestibules and the main one is one large enough to cook in if necessary. For your height the Moment DW is still tall enough inside to sit up.
The ripstop inner tent has a mesh top for better venting.

The X-ing pole will keep the Moment from collapsing in a heavy snow load but is unnecessary in 3 season weather unless you expect frequent high winds.

P.S.
My Western Mountaineering Megalite (a Long for you) is overfilled at WM with a few extra ounces of down and is now good to 20 F. with light long johns. Below that temperature it is roomy enough (thus the "Mega in the name) that I can wear my down jacket and synthetic quilted pants inside to go to 0 F.
On warmer summer nights (80s F.) I unzip the bag all the way, hook the foot over the end of my Prolite mattress and I have a quilt that is very comfortable.
A pretty versatile bag.

WOULDN'T IT BE BETTER TO GO WITH A WARMER BAG THOUGH AND USE ONLY A SLEEPING BAG LINER + WARM CLOTHES IN SUMMER/SPRING?

I would suggest, like Eric, to do it the other way around.
Get a bag that is good to around freesing and use that fully opened up when warm, then layer up with your puffy clothing, when colder than the bag itself can handle.
For example I use the 30F WM Summerlite down to 20 F doing just that.
The advantage for you would be that you have a smaller lighter bag to carry around and you double use the puffy layer you will need anyway if going to the snow.

I would agree the Moment DW is probably best if you had to only have ONE tent. Although having both an all-mesh inner and then having someone ship you the crossing pole and semi solid inner if you want to do some light "mountaineering" would still be needed.

The Moment is also great for someone just getting into UL tents since it is easier to pitch with the crossing pole than traditional tarp-like tents.

EDIT: After reading the thread in more detail, it sounds like you need experience more than specialized equipment at this point. I mean like getting out every single weekend from now on experience. I have backpacked in some pretty harsh hot weather climates (Florida Everglades can be rough in the summer) which I would never recommend for someone new to the sport. ESPECIALLY for weeks on end.

Not saying you can't do it, just that the more knowledgable/prepared you are the more fun you will have in my opinion.

It took me one try to get how to work a liquid stove….. It's not hard

It sounds like price is important. All of these choices are dependent upon where you are going to use it to some extent but I'd use any of these on a Thru-hike of the AT or PCT so they should be a safe bet for 90% of 3-season use:

Tent: Two choices…. really cheap and a more traditional tent. Under pounds and I carried a tent heavier than this with less space for over 2000 miles of hiking.

http://www.campsaver.com/spitfire-1-tent-1-person-3-season?gclid=CMvx9O244b0CFZWSfgodzQcAyg

$119

If you have more money I'd second the Tarp Tent Moment. It lightens your load and your wallet. The fabric is thinner and stretchier. With either replace the stakes with good ones (MSR Groundhogs).

Sleeping Bag: Spend the money and get a down bag. You should be able to find one in the $200 range that is less than 2 pounds. You may want to consider the UCQ quilts which are very close to this range and very light. Near freezing a good system is to have a down puffy with a hood that can extend your comfort in camp AND your sleeping range. Double duty!

Stove: Depends on what you want to cook and how. If you hike a lot you tend not to cook exotic meals. I boil water mainly but when I hiked the AT I cooked bagels in butter and layered them with peanut butter to try and get enough calories. There is a lot to be said for the ease of not cooking but just boiling water and doing the freezer bag thing. It makes it much easier to keep a clean camp, you carry less fuel and life is simple in camp. I'd check out Flat Cat Gear and buy an entire package system with stove/windscreen/pot because a system is what you want. I own the Snow Leopard system with a GSI cup and that is a semi-affordable package with a 8 ounce carry weight for everything other than fuel.

"I cooked bagels in butter and layered them with peanut butter"

How is that done?

–B.G.–

Throw some butter in a pan and melt it. Cut bagel in half and toss it in the pan to brown in the butter. Do so with both halves and then spoon some chunky peanut butter in the middle… 1/2" thick. Mmmmmm…. good.

Out of curiosity, has anyone here slept in the jungle or just the tropics in general for that matter in a down sleeping bag? I get that Hawaii isn't all that humid in comparison and there are some large spans of arid terrain in Mexico, Peru, etc but in places like Panama, the gravy thick humidity can be unrelenting and I don't see how a down bag is going to work day in and day out.

Down sounds like a bad idea to me until the OP travels further south but HYOH and all that stuff.

If a down bag is too warm, just crawl out and sleep underneath it.

–B.G.–

"If a down bag is too warm, just crawl out and sleep underneath it."

I get the thermal regulation part. I just get an image that after being subjected to unrelenting humidity day after day, a feather stew off gassing a @$$ flavored corn chip aroma and not much in the way of loft. My experience down there was either in a poncho liner or synthetic patrol bag so I really don't know. Just speculating.

Good point Ian,
If you are in 70% plus humidity and warm air as well , down will be a pain over or under…
As some have already tried to explain, you can't get a sleeping bag or a tent that works well from one extreme type weather (hot/rainy/humid) to another (high altitude climate)
The more an item is tuned in for one extreme , the worse it will be at the other end.
A stove is about the only item that can cope, if you get a multi fuel or at least a canister one with a pre-heat tube , but that still will be heavy and bulky where a simple Pocket Rocket type (I would use a small Kovea..) will do

A young girl with a 50L pack full of winter gear in a hot, humid, buggy, foreign land, with no rain gear or ground pad, very little water and minimal room left with which to pack enough food into, with no experience cooking any of it anyway…

What could possibly go wrong?

I can't decide if I'm feeling cynical or comical about this whole thing. You obviously have enough ambition and excitement to succeed at this endeavor, but… And I don't think I'm the only one to feel this way… Your lack of experience relative to your undertaking is staggeringly dismal, and potentially downright dangerous.

I don't want to dampen your spirits, but you have GOT to get out and familiarize yourself with some gear. Any gear. There are so many "accidents" that can happen just because you're not used to the environment and your surroundings. Maybe you're more experienced than you're letting on, but the impression I think many of us are left with is a bit scary.

The time to trip over a tent stake when you can't find your flashlight, and fall into your tentpole, snapping it in two, while it rips through the fragile fabric of your down bag, and the corner of the collapsed tent catches fire on your stove that was set up too close, turning everything you own into a glob of melted plastic… Is NOT when you're 2,000 miles from home in a foreign land.

I have an adult daughter. I wish she'd undertake something this cool, like you're about to do. It's from this perspective that I come across as perhaps a bit harsh. The best gear in the world is worthless without experience. Likewise, a person with much experience can take a simple sheet of plastic and a roll of tape and have a worthy shelter for an entire season. Personally, I think you should refocus your attention from reading about it, to doing it, and please, practice more before you go.

You might try dividing the trip into segments, then asking about sets of gear appropriate to the season and climate.
Some of the gear and clothing will overlap, and using the same pack and shelter may be feasible. A "single solution" sleep system is not.

Thanks Glenn, that's EXACTLY what I was thinking. Hostel to hostel tripping will be fabulous for you, Alexandra. Then in some places where trekking is more accepted go and rent some camping gear and go out for a day or two. But with the questions you are asking I have very little confidence in your ability to survive while actually camping out and providing your own food day after day.

Either you have actual wilderness backpacking experience or you don't, and again, not to sound harsh and mean but you should be staying in hostels NOT camping and cooking your food until you are far more experienced doing so. So either take some trips very close to home and close to your car to learn how to do this stuff, or just stick to traveling from hostel to hostel. It's a great way to travel and there is NOTHING wrong with that.

Take Jen's advice on the half dome/quarter dome, it cheapish and about middle of the road. If you have no extensive experience it should nevertheless be comfortable for you without needing extra skills. It will shed moderate snow/wind. If it is snowing or blowing enough to warrant an actual 4-season style mountaineering tent I don't believe you personally should be there, but sounds like you will not experience that sort of thing. You shouldn't unless you are courting it.

To add one last point, and some of the other posts have pointed out, this site is way biased towards lightweight backpacking. Trekking, as in wearing a backpack while mostly traveling from city to city, and making use of local hostels and facilities, having your gear unceremonious dumped in a bus cargo hold, or strapped to the roof with the chicken crates, etc. THAT is a different type of thing, and there are much better sites out there devoted to that. You may feel like what you will be doing is closer to backpacking, but I think it is actually closer to traveling around with a pack.

Backpacking is an activity in the wilderness that usually ends after a week or two, where as extended travel for month at a time requires different strategies. I assume you are investigating these other sources of information and experience on the web. One place to start is onebag.com to learn about how to have a kit that will keep you going essentially forever, but at minimal weight. I assume there are lots of people on other specific sites that have done close to what you are planning to to. Even a few on here, but my merely posting on here the average reply you get will tell you the dogma in terms of UL backpacking, and I think this may not be the correct specific context in your case.

Still you can learn a lot on here if you take thing in context.

Hi Alexandra,

You'll likely get some competing advice, and have to make some decisions. Here's my take after reading what it appears you intend to do. You're on a forum here for ultralight backpacking, which is a specialized activity, but your trip has some special needs which will not always be ultralight. I spent 9 months hitchhiking, freight train hopping, and stealth camping around the US a few years ago. I think that is somewhat more similar to what you'll experience. Varied climate, season, and both rural and urban camping.

First, it seems you won't really be in extreme winter conditions. Save a few bucks and don't sleep at the top of the Andes in a blizzard, it's not safe with minimal experience and it will make gear choices much easier. Also, judging by your previous comments, it seems that you need gear with these criteria: 1. Durable…you'll be using it daily for a long time. 2. Easy and simple…you're new at this and will be in a range of as yet unanticipated adventures. 3. Flexible…jungle, mountains, urban, different seasons, etc. 4. Price…save some bucks for your adventures.

OK, that said, here are some general recommendations:

1. Tent. Go with something durable, easy (freestanding) and packable, that doesn't cost too much. The REI tent ideas are excellent…durable, relatively cheap, and a forever guarantee. I might suggest the 1/4 dome or the flash, but the Passage 1 would also be a good option, it's a bit heavier but more durable, cheaper, and is green, the better for the stealth camping I suspect you'll end up doing at some point. A 1 person tent will be plenty for you unless you are traveling with a friend.

2. Sleeping bag. Here's where I'm going different than others. Get a water resistant down bag (marmot plasma, rei flash, marmot helium, Kelty Cosmic down) but get one that is lighter weight and rated for warmer weather (30-40 degrees). That will cover you in most of your situations. Add to that a good sleeping bag liner (such as: http://www.rei.com/product/797112/sea-to-summit-insect-shield-coolmax-adaptor-liner-mummy#descriptionTab). That will give you another 5-8 degrees of warmth when needed, and will work instead of the big bag in hot weather. So now you have options, based on weather…no bag, just liner, just bag, bag+ liner, bag+liner+ warmest clothes. You should be good down to a little below freezing. The liner gives you the extra advantage of keeping your bag cleaner, the liner being much more easily washable. Let me add one more thing here. I know you already have a sleep pad, but you might consider adding a closed cell pad like a thermarest zlight or solite. They are cheap and indestructible. I'm skeptical that any inflatable pad will survive a year in the conditions you'll be in.

3. Stove. Keep it simple. Snowpeak gigapower is the easiest to use, as long as you'll have access to canisters. Again, I don't see you in much below freezing weather, so cold weather stoves are a non-issue. Light, cheap, durable.

4. You haven't mentioned a backpack, but it's a key piece for you to consider. For this trip, DO NOT get an ultralight bag. You heard me right. Get a tough, durable, comfortable, supportive, preferably water resistant bag. It WILL fall off a bus in Guatamala, get crammed under 1000 pounds of luggage in Panama, get rained on in Peru for 5 days straight, and you'll sit on it every 10 minutes. Don't scrimp on the bag. Maybe Gregory, Dueter, or Arc'teryx would be a good choice. In any case, go to REI or wherever, try on a bunch, get one that is large enough, fits you perfectly, and has a very durable, water repellant construction and a substantial hip belt. These will weigh a bit more (3-5 pounds) but for the kind of trip you're doing, it seems essential.

5. Shoes/boots. Another really important consideration. For a trip like yours, I'd suggest a pair of comfortable, tough but light boots. Something that breathes and dries quickly. Then bring along a light pair of shoes/sandals for when you aren't carrying the bag. Forget waterproof boots. Quick drying will serve you better. Even classic leather might be ideal for your trip.

OK, let the flaming begin. I know folks here love ultralight gear, and it has a place and purpose. But I think the specifics of your trip demand thinking differently. Get the lightest gear you can…but that is reasonably priced, meets your needs, flexible, and most importantly will survive 18 months of torture.

You could also consider a synthetic bag…much cheaper and fewer worries if wet. It would have 2 big drawbacks. It will be bulkier and heavier. It also will get less warm as the trip progresses. I'd expect a synthetic bag to lose about 10 degrees of warmth when slept in every night over 18 months in jungle/dirty/hard conditions. But they're cheap. You could get one and then replace it half way through your trip if needed.

Actually David, I couldn't agree with you more.

I can't tell if she wants an actual WILDERNESS backpacking trip, or just the flexibility to sleep wherever during a trek of the Americas.
That makes a very real difference here.

One of the reasons I recommended the REI tents is because they are easy to set up, pretty bomber, returnable, and not too heavy.

+1 on your sleeping bag advice, too. But I'd just go with the synthetic. I think under world traveler situations it would be too difficult to care for an uber expensive UL down bag – just go straight for the cheapo synthetic and supplement with your clothes and a liner.

Alexandra's first post asked if the REI gear list was a good one. It looks to me like super overkill. I'd list a bunch of that stuff as "optional" and a bunch of it as "you don't need it".

Under optional, I'd list daypack, multifunction watch, ice axe (if you are traveling on glaciers), dishes (cup, bowl, spoon is all you need), bear canister (if you are traveling where its required), backup water treatment (one system that works is all you need), bandana, trowel, bear spray, shower bag.

you don't need it: pillow, collapsible sink, lantern, gaiters, binoculars, guidebook (take a map), eye shade, measuring cup (put marking on your drinking cup)

I don't know anything about hiking in the tropics or jungle, but a base group of gear for use in U.S. desert and mountain wilderness is described here, with pictures.

http://backpackingtechnology.com/backpacking/gear-shopping-advice-for-folks-adults-new-to-backpacking/

From that basic list, make modifications for tropics travel. If your goal is adventure, there is plenty of adventurous hiking in the U.S., Europe, New Zealand, Scandinavia, without the crazy (to my ignorant mind) risks involved in hiking through drug cartel country, or Shining Path country, or countries with an active kidnapping industry. Maybe I'm just a chicken.

I have spent a fair amount of time in Mexico and Central America. I don't think I have ever seen a gas canister. I know I have not seen them for sale. I think if you purchase a gas burning stove, it will be a one time use product. Once the gas canister runs out, you won't be able to use it again.

I would get a stove that burns unleaded gasoline or alcohol. Gasoline is widely available. I'm not positive, but I think alcohol will fairly available through most of your route too. And an alcohol set up will be a lot lighter and simpler.

I'm gonna try and clarify things a little better (having done more researches myself!), so to get slightly more specific advice (although I highly appreciate all of the above and I'm sorry my trip might be a bit unrelated to ultralight backpacking…)

I'll be backpacking (NOT hiking professionally!) throughout the whole of central and south America for the next year and a half or so (extremes of climates and temperatures – all 4 seasons!) and I have a 50L backpack. The gear I still need to purchase has, therefore, got to be as lightweight and as compact as possible, as well as, as sturdy and durable as possible (first 4/6 months will be spent in CA, next 9/12 months in SA in this order – along with LOWEST YEARLY NIGHT temperatures in the capitals of each country: Guatemala 54F, El Salvador 59F, Honduras 57F, Nicaragua 70F, Costa Rica 57F, Panama 72F, Colombia 45F, Ecuador 43F, Peru 55F, Bolivia 25F, Chile 37F, Argentina 45F, Uruguay 45F, Paraguay 54F, Brazil 61F, French Guiana 72F, Suriname 72F, Guyana 75F, Venezuela 57F). Plans can and will probably change though.
I also do see myself camping at higher altitudes and in different places at times.

I have no experience on the road whatsoever, I'll be mostly camping and/or doing couchsurfing or adventuring myself in the wilderness on my own (where I feel it will not to be dangerous), but I won't do HOSTELS (I hate them!). I suffer the cold a lot more than the average person, I'm a 6.1ft tall, skinny, 28 years old woman of 70kg with big bones and big feet (but I guess this doesn't matter!). :-)

I am still missing:

.Tent
.Stove
.Pan/pot
.Water filter
.Sleeping Bag

For a water filter, I'd like something that filters and purifies water, both at the same time (removing/destroying protozoa, bacteria and viruses), that can easily pour water into a pan/pot for boiling/cooking and it's compact, lightweight and not bulky.
I also would like that it didn't take forever to purify/filter water and that it filtered enough water for boiling/cooking and/or to fill up my 64oz hydratation system. Preferably I'd like a one in all thing, but may be I'll need two items to do the job?

Also, how should I measure my map (opened/closed/opened and folded into 2/4/6/8 etc.) to work out which map's case's size I need, please? I have an ITMB map of the whole of Central America and one of the whole of South America. Here the two links:

http://www.amazon.com/Central-America-Travel-International-Maps/dp/1553410645;

http://www.amazon.com/South-America-Travel-International-Maps/dp/1553410084/ref=dp_ob_title_bk

Fanks!!

I do own a serious map case, but I haven't used it in years since it is too heavy and too hard to carry conveniently. Still, I need some way to protect my home-printed maps from rain.

I purchase a lot of nice printer paper of a 13×19 inch size. Those sheets come packaged inside a plastic liner inside a cardboard box. I found that the plastic liner works perfectly for me as a map case. Plus, it has no cost to me, so I can afford to shred one once in a while.

–B.G.–

Look at these women's gear lists traversing South America. What they did was pair a lightweight sleeping bag (REI type stuff – not the custom variable length quilts) with down pants, light fleece R1 pants, and similar upper insulation in colder temps (though they ended mailing stuff back when it got too warm). They've done it so look through their posts and see what applies …

http://eathikesleephike.blogspot.com/p/gear-list.html

Gotta know how to use it though, so I'd suggest a shakeout hike maybe from Canada down the US west coast for different temps. Especially combining sleep layers – may need a slightly larger size.

In terms of the tropics, I didn't need a sleeping bag at the lower 60F/upper 50F, though a silk travel sheet helped. Conversely, any mountaineering will require more equipment and more gear (insulation) … with lots of training.

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