2015

Flying skateboard

Smoke grenades

MLD Solomid XL with inner

Haglofs LIM II rain jacket

Marmot Precip pants

Fenix E12 flashlight

Steripen Freedom

Marmot Driclime windshirt

Apparently Santa took note on my exceptional behavior during the past year.

Neoshell fabrics. Word is they are quite a step up in air permeability, comfort, and weight.

Really, I'm looking forward to using my 'old' current gear, something I did precious little of in 2014. I did get that Berghaus reversible jacket, looking forward to testing that out.

+1 Doug!

Especially my dog's pack – since he didn't get to go on hardly any adventures with me at all last year :(

Underground Quilts 20 Degree TOP QUILT. DOWNY HEAVEN.

I'm looking forward to using my nearly complete UL hammock system.

trying out my MYOG bivy that is 2/3 done at the moment.

Zpacks Hex Long – finally, a REALLY light shelter that is long enough for me. (New to ME, anyway)

Montbell Ex Light Anorak.

I'm excited to get out and do some winter camping finally. Over the past 2-3 months I've been collecting gear, and bought quite a few duplicates of gear to create versus battles…like ->

MSR revo explores vs Northern Lite Elites

Montbell Mirage vs Alpine Light Jacket and GooseFeetGear Down hood combo

NEOS Trekker overboots vs GTX boots vs trailrunner and rocky goretex sock combo and crescent moon neoprene overbootie

10* EE quilt vs 30* and 40* EE quilt combo

Lots to experience and test!

I'm REALLY looking forward to getting complete set of new hiking cloths… everything, base layers, mid layer, puffy, and head to toe waterproof/breathable shell.

I am especially interested in the new clothing offered by the company called "Emporer's Cloths". Have you heard of it? I've heard it comes in every color you can imagine… including the new 'flesh' tones. It is said to be 100% rainproof AND 100% breathable! I don't know how they do that, but… wow… the only down side is it will totally eliminate the WP/B debates here on BPL…. and the weight!… it is said to weigh so little that it does not even register a single gram on most scales… and that's for the whole outfit. As you can imagine high tech clothing like this is VERY expensive. I expect to be saving for quite some time to pull this off.

Billy

I'm looking forward to using ALL of my gear this year.

My next purchase will be a SMD Skyscape X

I injured my knee on a nasty spill trail running, so I'm hoping to get this vital piece of gear in working order soon, so I can finally get out for some winter trips. I swapped out my summer bag for a wide enigma that layers well with my 15 degree quilt. And I bought some zippered down pants from Borah gear that weigh 6.5 oz & easily slide over ski or climbing boots. Like other Borah gear pieces, the price/weight/warmth of these pants is hard to beat, and I doubt there's a lighter option for full zip puffy pants.
Along those lines, my msr twin sisters shelter must surely be feeling pretty neglected so I'm excited to get it out in true winter where it belongs.

another hammock one.

not exactly new, cause I bought it last spring. But I ended up taking a ground set-up for all my 2014 trips.

Planning most of my trips to be hammock friendly in 2015.

Shoot, I haven't bought in any new gear since the 2014 season. This may change this weekend at the REI Garage Sale.

However, my daughter has a new down bag and NeoAir. She just asked about doing a 14'r, so, that will be the new thing for 2015.

2 new EE enigmas ASAP. Holiday gifts from the wife and I to each other. Looks like they are going to soon be a favorite piece of gear. Well done EE.

Also any new MYOG projects that are as of yet still on the drawing board due to a few home improvement projects.

jimmyb

I hope my wife's knees will let her backpack with me. I am going to do a BPL on gear. Nothing new until something wears out.

what new gear are you most looking forward to using?

My ZPacks Arc ZIP Backpack — sorry, shameless plug :-D

A ZPacks Duplex Tent I got recently. Been getting really tired of narrow solo shelters, decided it was time for some comfortable amount of room inside my shelter.

A PatCap4Hoody. Don’t own one yet… hoping something special will be introduced in the 2015 version. Regardless, want one of these as a next-to-skin base layer.

Also on my wishlist is a ZPacks challenger rain jacket that has two layers of fabric and climashield apex in between the two layers. Ok, ok… probably never going to happen…

Oh, oh… iPhone 6-Plus :-D

But, on a serious note… +1 what Doug I. said… just getting out more is always the real thing I look forward too!

Zpacks 6×9 tarp in 1.0 Cuben. Used to have a Hexamid, and liked it a lot, but I love the flexibility, easier set up (for me at least, could be an experience thing), and more space of a good flat tarp. After many years of using cheapo plastic tarps, from heavy duty hardware store tarps as a traditional BPer, to lighter plastic sheeting as an UL BPer, it was finally time to spoil myself and go for something nice. And with the jump to 1.0 Cuben, I plan on and hope to use it for many years to come. 245g / 8.6oz for tarp, guy lines, stuff sack.

Montbell Alpine Light down parka. It was not cold enough in the past few months to use it yet, but can't wait for temps to drop so I can finally get good use out of it. 405g / 14.3oz.

Zpacks 20F/-7C degree, wide/x-long sleeping bag. Only got to use it a few times last year due to it being the warmest year on record here in Sweden–seriously, you can Google it, I just read it in the news here. Sucks because I love winter backpacking. For me perfect winter temps are -4C in the day and -8C at night. But plan on getting good use out of this bag plus the above parka once it finally gets cold. 610g / 21.5oz.

Golite Poncho/Tarp. Love this thing, a shame about the company going out of biz. I plan on using it year around and running this into the ground, but good thing there are other good options out there for a poncho/tarp (MLD and STS look pretty good, for instance). 205g / 7.2oz in stuff sack.

Both my Zpacks Arc Blast 52l and Zero size small (roughly 40l) packs. Overall they are the best backpacking backpacks I have ever used, and love them both. I think that once you become more or less a dedicated, year round backpacker, it's nice to have a few packs to pick from to get the job done best given the conditions. These two packs do everything I need, and the little extras on them are really practical and make trail life easier–especially how water resistant (proof?) they are and how tough the Hybrid Cuben is. Arc Blast is 475g / 16.6oz, and Zero is 335g / 11.8oz.

Both my Neoair Xlite and Xtherm, both size regular. I've had the Xlite for a few years now and love it, so last year got the Xtherm…but as I already said, too damn warm to be able to have the chance to use it. Everyone already knows their weights.

I also really like my Nemo Zor short pad for summer, it gets the job done well, but of course I find the Neoairs more comfortable. 272g / 9.6oz plus a velcro strap to keep it rolled up.

Made the switch to Esbit last year, looking forward to continue using my Ti-wing as my go-to stove. 14g of pure excellence!

I could go on, but this post is already too long.

But one more thing. I'm really not that interested in getting any new gear in 2015 aside from having to replace something that gets damaged/worn out (which I hope does not happen!). There is one exception I can think of, which is to see what all the hype is with a good bug tent as opposed to a bivy. I have been using a Borah Cuben bivy with a condensation vent mod for a few years now and love it for my warmer weather long distance hikes. But there are times I take quick and easy weekend fishing/swimming trips in the summer with much less hiking, so I thought a bug shelter to pair with a tarp might be nice, as I would want a bug free place to hang out in more. Thinking about MLD, but interested to see what Yama brings to the table once they start selling gear again, and of course maybe another new shelter will come out in 2015. I wonder of Sea to Summit will make a solo version of their Escapist bug tent? Or maybe I'll just go the DIY route if I get the time/energy. It would be nice to see a non-Cuben bottom (newer, lighter version of silnylon?) bug solo bug tent break the 250g / 9oz barrier.

Like others, being able to get out more!

As for gear…

I would like to get a hammock set-up… that said… I am still unsure about the whole thing…

I have long wanted a MLD DuoMId (in cuben preferably) and a solo innnernet…

I wouldn't mind trying out a Windboiler… but do I really need another stove?

Looking forward to getting my Enlightened Equipment Insulated Mitts (4 oz CA) and using on a hike within the next week!

Excited to be trying the Jetboil MiniMo and an Exped SynMat UL7 in the coming week on a hike too…

Nothing "new" here in the sense of cutting edge gear, but it's new to me: A Brooks Range Alpini 850 fill down sleeping bag with a 0°F/-18°C rating. I paid $264 for it, which is a steal for a 0° down bag. It's 2 lbs, 11 oz (1.2 kg) which while not exactly light is over a pound lighter than my old North Face Snowshoe synthetic bag which weighs 3 lbs, 14 oz (1.8 kg).

A price of $264 is pretty good for a 850 fill 0°F/-18°C bag, but it's an open question as to whether it will be significantly warmer than the 15°F/-9°C Mountain Hardware Phantom down bag that I already own. My new Alpini should be warmer than my old Phantom, but sleeping bag ratings are difficult to compare between companies. If it's not warmer, look for one or the other soon on a Gear Swap near you. :)

Here, my five year old daughter models my Phantom. Her facial expression shows the true joy of camping.

No photos yet of the Alpini.

HJ

More use and better fitness with all my current gear. I've spent enough money and dialed in my kit well enough that until something breaks or I add a new endeavor to my backcountry time, that I'm well taken care of.

That said, I do have a couple of MYOG projects in the works that I should buckle down and finish soon: a MYOG synthetic quilt to double as a winter overquilt and a summer one when the nights get warm. Hopefully, it will see more use in winter as our warm summer nights only last for about 3, maybe 4 weeks.

Oh–and it won't be in the backcountry too much, but I do plan on getting one of those baby-carrying backpacks. Our first is due in June. Maybe I can talk Paradox Packs into making one off of the Unaweep frame—-.

I am looking forward to using my new 10 deg EE quilt, having used a Golite quilt exclusively last year but being a little too cold in it many of the cooler nights.

But being a tentaholic, I am also looking forward to seeing the Swiftline by Yama Mtn Gear come out, also hopefully the Lightheart Gear version of George's MYOG floorless solo shelter.