3-season NorCal backpacking list — feedback appreciated!

[Jake M]

Hi all, longtime lurker, first time poster.

Right now I mostly backpack 1 or 2 night 3-season trips in Northern California with my girlfriend. I carry all of the shared gear (tent, stove, etc). It would be great to get feedback on my current gear list for these types of trips. She likes comfortable camping so we have a tent, thick pads, etc. Are there any easy ways to save much weight? Is there any stuff I should or shouldn't bring? 15lbs base weight looks really heavy when I see other people's gear lists!

Next year I want to start going on 5- to 7-day trips in the Sierras. I'd like to drop a bunch of weight before these trips. I am willing to spend money and replace my pack, shelter, bag, etc. Zpacks pack and shelter look awesome. I have done less research about bags. Also thinking about trying a lighter cook system than my jetboil and a lighter water filter or maybe even aqua mira. I want to figure this stuff out now so I can keep an eye on the used gear forum.

One thing to note is that I sleep and rest pretty cold so generally like a bag rated 10-20 degrees colder than nighttime temps even wearing my down jacket.

Here is my gear list: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AkeKr1OwA3g2dG5zLXZseXR5V1YwWE0td2dFSVIzZ0E#gid=0

What do you think?

[Adam White]

Well, nobody has responded, so I'll bite.

It looks pretty good. You've already identified the big items at the bottom, and done a pretty good job of picking alternatives, I think.

Regarding bags–think about giving quilts a try. I love them. Even if you sleep cold. I sleep cold, and I've been using a 30 degree (with 1 oz overstuff) Enlightened Equipment quilt on a Neoair for summer and fall trips to the Sierra. It's great. They vent easily, there's no hood that never seems to be lined up right. You'll never again pull a muscle just trying to flip over. You can even get a two person quilt and uh, snuggle, with your girlfriend.

If you're cooking for two, and out for 5-7 days, you might find the Jetboil to be the best option. Especially if you have an impatient girlfriend waiting for her hot dinner. It's quick and simple and sips fuel. For short solo trips, I agree–not worth the weight. But for two people on a 7 day trip? It probably is. There are some Stove Gods around here that can give better advice–post on the gear forum if you want to dive into that particular rabbit hole.

Think about a Wild Ideas canister. Cheap, no–but lighter, and functionally identical to the others. A Scout will save you 5 oz for the rest of your life, and give you more volume. Worth it? You decide.

The PLB is a personal call. Some places in the Sierra I might like to have it, many places I'd opt to leave it at home.

This is minor, but get a Big Dig for a trowel. http://www.qiwiz.net/trowels.html . Save only 2.5 oz, and spend $36. But it's titanium. The stuff the SR-71 is made out of. Make jet noises while digging your cathole.

I use Aqua Mira as a backup, and a Steripen for a primary means of water treatment. A few Gatorade bottles for storage, which are nice and bulletproof. Your filter is heavy; I'd lose that. A lot of people like the Sawyer offerings, so look into those. As I said, I like the Steripen.

Have fun out there–great thing to be able to do with your girlfriend. I used to sherpa for my girlfriend (now wife) too. I never minded carrying all the gear–I was always just excited to be out exploring with her.

[Jake M]

Thank you so much for the advice! I will get a titanium trowel and try out the Sawyer mini. Easy half a pound savings between those two!

I've been wanting to try a quilt and this seems as good a time as any. The Katabatic Palisade seems to have rave reviews so I think I will try that.

Appreciate the thoughts about the Jetboil. For short trips or trips with multiple people it seems to have a lot of advantages. I think I might try esbit if I go on solo trips, saves some weight and is fun to try new stuff.

The wild ideas canister is interesting. Definitely a lot of money though. I think I am going to try renting one for our next trip and try it out. Sounds like a pretty decent deal just requires advanced planning. Unless there is a catch?

Do you use the Aqua Mira drops or the tablets as backup?

It's great to be out exploring with my girlfriend. Her comfort and happiness comes first, but if I can save some weight and keep her happy then even better!

For solo hiking it seems like the lightest shelters with bug protection are either tarp+bivvy or tarp+mesh (like Hexmid Solplex, etc).

Bivvy sounds really interesting because when it isn't raining you get to sleep under the stars, and when the bugs aren't bag you can not use the mesh. In those cases do you even need a bivvy or is it really only for bug or rain protection. Any other pros/cons? Bivvy seems great but it seems like few people use them so maybe there is something I am missing.

Bivvy+tarp Pros:
— lighter? but not much compared to zpacks solo shelters
— sleep under the stars
— better rain protection? assuming same tarp.

Cons:
— less breathable: easier to sweat and get your bag wet?
— less protected space / more claustrophobic

My girlfriend and I are doing the lost coast in a couple months. I think we are going to bring a groundsheet and try sleeping on it but setup the tent in case bugs or rain drive us inside.

[Adam White]

> I've been wanting to try a quilt and this seems as good a time as any. The Katabatic Palisade
> seems to have rave reviews so I think I will try that.

I've heard great things about the Katabatics. They're not cheap though. Take a look at both Zpacks and Enlightened Equipment's offerings. Enlightened offers the RevX, which uses factory seconds for the shell. If you're not sure if you like quilts or not, something like this would get you in for much less $$$.

> The wild ideas canister is interesting. Definitely a lot of money though. I think I am going to
> try renting one for our next trip and try it out. Sounds like a pretty decent deal just requires
> advanced planning. Unless there is a catch?

No real catch, just the inconvenience of renting them all the time. For longer trips (i.e., through hikes), it's definitely worth renting. If you're doing frequent one-, two- or three-nighters, it's probably not worth the inconvenience. For a 5-7 night trip for the two of you, one bear can might not be enough–maybe that's justification to buy a Bearikade to supplement the one you have.

> Do you use the Aqua Mira drops or the tablets as backup?

I use the drops, repackaged into smaller bottles. I think Litetrail sells the bottles–so does MLD, I recall. Shop around a bit. I think the tablets would be fine, too. I actually use the drops, sometimes–if I'm solo for a short trip, I might leave the Steripen at home.

> Bivvy sounds really interesting because when it isn't raining you get to sleep under the stars,
> and when the bugs aren't bag you can not use the mesh. In those cases do you even need a bivvy
> or is it really only for bug or rain protection. Any other pros/cons? Bivvy seems great but it
> seems like few people use them so maybe there is something I am missing.

I'm a bivy and tarp user. I use a light bivy that's breathable on the top, and waterproof on the bottom. It weighs about 7 oz. When the bugs aren't bad, no–you don't need the bivy. I like this approach a lot, because setup in good weather is so simple–throw pad on ground, attach quilt, sleep. I like sleeping under the stars. If bugs or weather warrants, use the bivy or pitch the tarp, or both, but quite frequently in the late-fall Sierra, I do neither. In late August, September and October, the bivy is optional.

If there are two of you, a tent is probably simpler, and if you can't talk your girlfriend into sleeping without any netting, that might push you away from tarp/bivy combinations.

I guess it's more claustrophobic in a bivy, but I don't really get that sense when I'm in it. It's not too different than a mummy bag. I haven't used the tarp and bivy much during peak mosquito season. One might find it too cramped then, especially if spending many hours in the bivy during inclement weather.

[Author]

Posts