Help me pick out gear

[Vincent V]

Hi

New to the forum here. I come from a backpacking background but for the last two years I have only been doing trail/ultra running and thought I’d join the club and merge the two.  I live in middle TN, I am 5’6, 130 pounds so I feel I should be able to go light maybe even lighter than most. Because of bugs/ticks I do prefer a shelter vs cowboy camping.

Below is some gear I’ve picked out. I am looking for input on gear – maybe some things I’ve not thought of. Some of the items on the list are previous purchases from when I used to backpack.

https://lighterpack.com/r/1mfuij

Here are some things I have yet to purchase –

Women’s Thermarest neoair xlite sleeping pad

Sony RX100 

SMD gatewood cape with serenity net tent

 Polycro groundcloth 

Black diamond Distance carbon Z trekking poles size:

Garmin inReach Explorer+ 

 Enlightened Equipment Revelation 20 degree quilt

 Zpacks ultralight travel toothbrush []

Wipes 

 Insect repellent 

I plan on using my sawyer squeeze for water filtration and probably buy the petzl E +lite for nighttime – as I don’t plan on running/hiking at night

 

let me know now what you think

 

thanks

 

 

[Vincent V]

I usually use picaridin for insect repellent and was going to go with this product –

 

http://Sawyer Products Sawyer Products SP56114 Premium Insect Repellent with 20% Picaridin, Individual Lotion Packets, 14-Pack https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0764H5MRT/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_b.5IAbWMSK454

I am open to suggestions, I was also considering getting my own carrying bottle for the repellent and sunscreen

[Ben C]

500 ml is a little too small for me but it depends on your style.  If you’re pouring hot water into a bag, it’s probably fine.  I use a 900 ml pot that I cook in and, with stirring, need the full volume.

Most of the rest goes to preferences: durability vs. weight vs. price vs. functionality, etc.  Are you trying to go lighter, cheaper, more durable?

[Paul S]

Hey Vincent,

I have a very similar fastpack gear list. My 2c:

1. Women’s pad is nice and warm, and good size.
2. Zpack’s toothbrush sucks. :-) I moved on to short travel toothbrushes.
3. Picaridin is great! It doesn’t dissolve everything it touches.
4. I have a EE quilt. Very good for the $. But you might consider a synthetic quilt (e.g. EE or MLD) given you are running. I also run ultras. You may come into camp sweaty or damp, and the synthetic quilt will handle this far better. Last year I was in Yosemite and had to cross a creek right at dark, soaked my shorts. Got into my synthetic (MLD) quilt and woke up dry. I’ve also come into camp chilled and I think synthetic gets you warmer a bit faster. There is a small weight/volume penalty obviously.

[Lester Moore]

Welcome to BPL Vincent. Most items on your partial list are popular and functional choices among the BPL crowd. If you’re interested in making a more complete list of your gear, check out LighterPack.com – they have a good gear list format, broken down by category, that you can easily share with others using a web link.

If you wanted to go lighter still, you might consider a simple bug bivy instead of a full net tent (4 – 5 ounces saved). Depending on what you’re using the wipes for, a small bottle of soap may be more versatile instead (good for hand hygiene, dishes, glasses, etc).

[Vincent V]

The lighter I can go the better, that being said I don’t have thousands to spend :)

[Vincent V]

Hi Paul,

 

what didnt you like about the zpacks toothbrush?

 

Also so I was planning on using a pack liner, did you still have that same problem with a pack liner?

 

Thanks

[Vincent V]

Hi Lester

 

I usually use dude wipes when running long distance when doing my business but I’m open to suggestions ha

In my first post I put a link to my lighter pack link.

Is there a certain bug bivy you suggest? If so would you use it still with the gatewood cape? I’m pretty open to suggestions. I’m new to running with weight, I considering getting the small thermarest pad but for 4 ounces more I was leaning towards the women’s pad to add warm and comfort as the short pad didn’t seem comfortable to me.

[Vincent V]

Does anyone ever bring any recovery tools with them when they’re out? I was thinking of bringing something like this to roll out the legs at night –

http://Pro-Tec Athletics The Orb Extreme Mini Black Extreme Mini 3″ https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N213PGX/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_SkiJAbN29DSVJ

[Lester Moore]

Thanks Vincent – didn’t see the lighterpack link. You could save 6 ounces and nearly $50 with a simple bug bivy like this one:
http://borahgear.com/bugbivy.html

Also, you’ll find bug bivys listed for sale used on BPL from time to time.

YMMV, but the sleeping bag liner sure adds quite a bit of weight. You might experiment to see if you really need it. As noted above, it may be important if you’re sweaty. But unless you sweat a lot, you may likely find that you dry off within 5 to 10 minutes in camp after you stop running.

A lighter albeit less comfortably option for keeping moisture out of your down quilt is a VBL. You can make one at home for 3 ounces or so using three large trash bags, hot iron-sealed together into a long body bag. Unless it’s 20F or lower, I find a VBL unneeded and very uncomfortably, and many people consider them unbearable at any temperature.

[Vincent V]

Hi Lester

 

yeah the sleeping bag liner was a piece of gear I had from when I backpacked more so I added it on the list but wasn’t really planning on bringing it. I’ll look into that bug bivy thanks

[matthew k]

What conditions do you expect to camp in? Do you expect heavy bug pressure? Do you hang out in camp? I’m guessing you like to move all day and then just crash quickly at night. If so, the SMD inner is probably bulkier and heavier than you need. It definitely takes more time to deploy/stow than a bivy. I prefer a splash bivy over Lester’s suggestion of bug bivy under my Deschutes (similar in size to the Gatewood, yes?) because it adds a little warmth and splash protection. I have an MLD Superlight, my kid has the Borah. They are both fine.

I recently picked up a Komperdell Carbon Vario 4 pole and find it much stiffer than the BD Z-poles because of how the sections join together.

I strongly prefer my Hammock Gear Burrow over the EE Prodigy(synthetic) quilt I used to use.

[David Thomas]

I’ve never figured out how those sleeping bag liners pencil out weight/warmth.  Sure, if you’ve got one bag or quilt and occasionally need a warmer set-up, it might be a cheaper route (but clothing works too and is far more multi-purpose).  Yeah, potentially, you don’t need to laundry your bag as often.  But at 14 ounces, the Sea to Summit Thermolite Reactor isn’t going to add as much warmth as going with a warmer quilt/bag in the first place.

Under kitchen, you can’t beat the BRS-3000T you’ve got listed for weight or bulk, but you have keep it more sheltered from the wind than some of the 3 to 4-ounce stoves.  Maybe throw a half ounce towards a Ti wind screen (which will also up your fuel efficiency.  Or just some heavy-duty Al foil from your home kitchen, taking a new sheet for each trip.  As someone else noted, a 500 ml pot can be on the small side.  For the rare need of more boiling water, you can fill a freezer bag or FD pouch from two boils.  But if you routinely need 500 ml, then 750-850 ml pots makes that a lot easier.  Under “Kitchen”, you also need a mini-Bic at a minimum and a mini-scrubbie (cut 2 cm x 4 cm from a larger sponge) if you ever cook in your pot or use it as a bowl/cup and a small container of multi-purpose soap (Dr Bonner’s, CampSuds, etc).  And a spoon.  A regular-length one unless you’re doing freeze-bag cooking or F-D food in the factory pouch – then a long-handled spoon keeps the stroganoff off your knuckles.  I like a bamboo spoon because it is lighter and stronger than the Ti ones and about 10% the price.

Toiletries, repair kit, first-aid kit?  It seems you’ve mostly listed your big items, which is fine, but the same fine-tuning that a spreadsheet assists with is handy for the small stuff.  Lots of people hike around with 20 “little” 1- and 2-ounce items that could each be 0.2 to 0.5-ounces each and, boom, you’ve dropped another pound (for almost free!).

[Nick B]

<p style=”text-align: left;”> I never thought about bringing a massage ball but I think I’m going to add one to my pack.  Any reason a tennis ball wouldn’t work?  Much cheaper and likely quite a bit lighter.</p>

[Paul S]

The bristles started popping out of the toothbrush after a few uses. It’s also so small you might as well use one of those thumb brushes. A shorter reg toothbrush is just grams. I also found those toothpaste tablets nice also FYI.  I’m not knocking zpacks; I have good experiences with most of their stuff.

I just use a trash compactor bag or an MLD liner, etc. (I think litesmith and others sell the same basic thing):

//mountainlaureldesigns.com/product/pack-liner/

 

[David Thomas]

A pint water bottle, filled with water, is incompressible and is even easier to roll your foot over than a tennis ball.  Maybe step up from the super-flimsy 24-to-a-flat ones to a Evian or 16-ounce soda-pop bottle so it is strong enough to take some weight.

[matthew k]

I find my 550ml Toaks kit to be a great size. My kid likes his 10cm Imusa kit a lot. He and I both freezerbag it when we cook. We both like the simplicity and light weight of Esbit but that’s a whole different topic and it’s been covered in detail in many threads.

[Vincent V]

Hey Matthew

 

what bug net were you recommending? Can you provide a link?

 

Thanks

[Mike M]

Welcome to BPL :)

Your gear looks reasonable; you’ll want to pay attention to volume as well as weight- a 20 liter pack will keep things to the bare minimum

I second the suggestion into looking into a synthetic quilt- for running, the MLD FKT would be worth looking at- it assumes you will bring an insulating layer to add, thus less insulation in the upper portion of the quilt.  Syn simply does do a better job handling moisture without too much of a weight hit

 

 

 

[Vincent V]

Hey David,

 

A first aid kit I still haven’t narrowed down. This is the one I currently own (im open to suggestions) –

 

//www.rei.com/product/708124/adventure-medical-kits-ultralight-watertight-5-first-aid-kit

 

I am also open to toiletry kit suggestions as my current plan pretty much only involved dude wipes 🤷🏻‍♂️

[Vincent V]

Looks like a lot of people are suggesting I go synthetic when it comes to a quilt. Is this only because of sweat?

I have been assuming that by the time I setup camp and eat I’ll dry off enough to sleep without soaking my quilt. With the calculations I’ve done I’ll be looking at 16-17oz for a 20 degree down quilt from EE.

 

another topic. Stuff sacks? Do I get some or ditch them? My first thought was to not get them and just use a pack liner for everything?

 

Thanks

[matthew k]

Vincent, I was suggesting an Mountain Laurel Designs Superlight Bivy or the equivalent from Borah Gear. They aren’t exactly bugnets.

Most people here build their own first aid kits. They often look something like this. Also, it’s probably worth mentioning Wilderness First Aid training, often through NOLS. I think the training is probably more important than the FAK.

edit – bad link

[Vincent V]

Thanks Matthew

 

I am actually signing up for first aid training soon along with CPR as well (it’s been a while since I was a Boy Scout) haha

[David Thomas]

FAK:  The one you linked isn’t bad, at least it has some OTC (over the counter) meds – 4 ibuprofen, 2 aspirin, 2 antihistamines (presumably Benadryl).  To which I’d add Miralax (if you want to “go”) but can’t and Imodium (if you want to stop going).  Those, and knowing when to use them often gets you to the nearest trailhead.

But like Matthew said, knowledge trumps gear and I’d rather a skilled and creative rescuer use gear they had along anyway than an untrained person use a huge a first aid kit.  I figure cuts and lacerations are either minor non-trip ending and need only a Bandaid or they are major, stop the hemorrhaging, use any clothe to promote clotting, and excavate ASAP.

Try to find a FA course that focuses on wilderness settings.  Something at REI.  Or I’ve taught at Red Cross chapters that offered the usual class (expect an ambulance to arrive in 20 minutes) or a wilderness version (you might be a few days on your own) that was more popular with Scout leaders, sailors and Ski Patrol.

Toiletries include TP or wipes (or foraging for ferns and pine cones) but also some way to clean your hands (I carry alcohol gel) since most GI issues in the woods are self-inflicted hand-to-mouth transmissions.  Toothbrush you’ve been discussing.  Toothpaste (optional) or dried toothpaste dots or baking soda.  A flosser?  I don’t go super tiny on my brush or flosser (see hand-to-mouth issue, above). And then:

-sunscreen

-lip balm

-insect repellent

– microfiber towel for sponge baths (can be a 4″ x 8″ piece of one, or your bandana)

-foam ear plugs (very light, and when you want them, you REALLY want them)

-tweezers if not in your Victorinox Classic

Those lotions can be repackaged into very small containers, although I like to grab sample size and professional samples because then they have factory labels on them.  Then I refill those after a trips from larger containers at home.

 

[Link .]

watch Mike Clelland’s videos on the  the DINKY stuff (part 1) .

and  the DINKY stuff (part 2) . to get an idea on making your own, he has toothpaste dots that he makes you will see in his videos but if you don’t want to make them you can buy TOOTHPASTE TABLETS and bring only what you need for a trip instead of a tube. Oh, and all his videos are worth watching( he is a NOLS instructor and has published a number of books on UL hiking ) HERE they are all in one place instead of looking through his other non-related videos on YouTube.

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