What worked this year

David, I have been using the Ruta Locura carbon stakes for two years with no issues.  They look similar to the ZPacks stakes, but given how different our experiences are, now I’m thinking they are not. YMMV.

I’ll give them a look. Two of mine lost tips in soft clay and the other one was in hard ground. I never pounded on them either.

+1 on the Duplex I love that tent. Soloing with a Dog it has so much room. And with the two vestibules I don’t have clamber over the dog at night when nature calls.

I’ve stopped using carbon stakes for that reason. I’ve literally shattered at least one on every trip I took them on (it was the desert, hard packed ground – so user error?).

Mine were the Ruta Locura ones.

And isn’t the Helios amazing??!!  i seriously love that pack.

I’ve been using Vargo Ti nail stakes.  Worked really good.

The striking force goes straight down to point.  Shepard hook stakes tend to bend a little.

They’re larger diameter so more friction in looser soil.

Make sure and get the ones with a larger diameter where the hole is, so they don’t break there.

The only problem I’ve had is when they go into a root.  Hard to get them out.

Gosh, I didn’t buy much new gear this year (again).

I did replace my Caldera Keg GVP Esbit stove after 5 years as my go-to stove with a Caldera Cone Fissure, and I stopped using my canister stoves (except for snow trips) and started using my old Svea much more often. The reason is that when I retired I did a budget and found I was spending a lot of money on gas canisters and Esbit. The Fissure is not much better than my early alcohol Caldera Cones, but it packs into a Ti pot that is much more robust than a beer can. So it works well for me and alcohol is much cheaper than canisters or Esbit. The cheapest fuel is white gas and I have really enjoyed using my Svea again.

Yes, the Svea is a little heavy, but my 3 season base weight is around 8 pounds so all is fine in the weight department.

Tragedy struck earlier this month when my 6 year old backpacking wristwatch died. So I bought another one that is similar. 

I never tried those carbon stakes, they seem to be too fragile. I’ve been satisfied with a combination of Easton and Ti shepherd hooks for most trips, and also sometimes use snow stakes for winter or really sandy desert soil.

I don’t plan on buying any new gear for the rest of my life other than stuff that wears out or breaks. It’s a good feeling and allows my bank account grow and there is no need to spend time reading gear reviews  :)

-MSR Windboiler. Easy, fast, fuel efficient. Took it on every trip but one (where I was really trying to save weight).

-2015 Alpacka Yukon Yak w/ cargo fly and WW deck. I won this at the APA Packraft Roundup last year, but due to low water never had the chance to put it to good use. This year I’ve been impressed with how stable the new hull is in whitewater, how dry and warm the WW deck is relative to the old cruiser deck, and how handy and stable the cargo fly is. It’s a lot simpler to rig skis to your boat with most of the gear inside, and last weekend I floated a deer out of the Bob inside the Yak, which kept the meat cool and dry. Having 90 pounds of gear plus meat in the tubes had remarkably little effect on the boat handling.

-Sierra Designs Tensegrity 2 Elite. A great three-season tent for two adults plus an infant or toddler. Great interior space, excellent ventilation, and very practical in terms of gear storage and getting in or out while it’s raining.

-Seek Outside Revolution frame. Backpacking with our son has seen me carrying some massive loads this year, and this system has consistently exceeded expectations. I’ve always been the limiting factor.

okay, say the cost per day for canister fuel is $0.50 or even $1.00

tiny compared to other costs, like the cost of driving to and from the trailhead

• GAIA gps, great app.  It came in handy in low visibility conditions and when there were a plethora of off shoot trails to choose from
• Exped Pillow, I found that I enjoy and sleep better with a consistent surface to rest my head.  Works great when sleeping on my side
• ExOffico Give-N-Go Sport Mesh 3″: the boys are happy
• Hand sanitizer as a fuel: I made multiple trips overseas and was always able to find and use hand sanitizer instead of denatured alcohol
• OR Ferossi pants -lightweight & dried fast.  They look great and I used them when not backpacking

Of course my Kahtoola microspikes have to be part of this list even though they do not work in deep wet snow as they pick up 5 lbs of the stuff under each boot and you’re walking on two big balls of wet snow.  Excellent though on ice and on steep descents in snow when temps are 0F.

Love my Voile XLM snow shovel which is part of my standard winter load.

Got a few Gear Aid zipper pulls for my tent doors.

Really like my MLD eVent shell mitts which help keep my fleece gloves dry in the winter.

Love my Mt Hardwear Nilas down mittens.  Backpacking buddy Patman (above) turned me on to these babies and they’re now part of my standard winter load, along with a pair of fleece inserts.

A summary pic showing the spikes, the eVent mitts and the shovel.

I picked up a MLD Duomid this year to use solo (and occasionally with my dog). It has been great so far with the easy setup and plenty of room. Here it is below Knapsack Col in the WRR this summer.

Lots of new gear in the closet this year. It all worked as well or better than anticipated through the summer, with only a few exceptions. Pretty much every piece of gear was new, except for the pillow, toothbrush, pants and misc. first aid items. The GG Gorilla pack, SMD Deschutes CF tarp and EE Enigma 20F quilt all worked great as new “big three” items. But the following things really stood out and exceeded expectations:

• North Face Binary wind jacket – Light, reasonably durable and more useful than I thought it would be. Wore this nearly every day in the mornings while hiking, around camp at night, and even to bed over top other layers. I really like how it slides around under the quilt at night and does not get stuck on my mosquito netting like fleece clothing does.
• Buff – first time using one was on the JMT this Fall. Wow, what a versatile piece of clothing it turned out to be.
• Tyvek shoe covers – At only 0.5 ounces per pair, these were excellent light weight footwear for bathroom breaks at night and limited around-camp use. The trail runners are kept under the groundsheet for elbow support while sleeping, and they are a pain to extricate, put on, then re-position properly under the groundsheet after each pee break.
• OR Sun Runner Hat – After using many different sun hats over the years, this is my new favorite. The ability to cinch it tight around the front of the neck really helps keep the sun off most of your face and neck, even in the wind. After 14 days on the JMT SOBO, I only applied a little dab of sun block to my nose and under each eye a few times each day, and my face never got burned once.
• Eddie Bauer sun shirt – Excellent sun protection, fast drying, cool in the heat, insulating when needed, better ventilation than my Rail Riders eco mesh shirt, and it looks great around town too.

Sean, Sorry, I couldn’t resist a photo edit of your very cool pic!

I can only guess it looked more like this in person…

Thanks Bob. No need for apologies. My brothers hexamid solo and youngest brothers contrail were also in the photo but I cropped them out already.

Not so much from our end.  I “edited” our homemade tent to give us a bit more space under the vestibule, and that seemed to work well, as did the extra guy line at the foot of the tent.

I no longer carry my down puffy on trips in the summer—as I’ve found that the $15 alpaca sweater I bought in Peru works just as well, maybe better.

With regrets I am giving up on Ruta Locura. I lost five this summer, and did not appreciate waking up in the middle of the night when they busted.

Black Diamond Vapor helmet- I just forget that it is there.

Black Diamond Ion light (2016)- 1.5 oz with lithium batteries. Four times more light than the Petzl e-LITE when you need it, well worth the extra .5 oz.

this is a nice idea for a thread.

sea to summit ‘aeros’ pillow – i’m a 6’1″ side sleeper with wide-ish shoulders, so sleeping on a stuff sack of extra clothes just does not work for my neck. i tried a bunch of inflatable pillows and this one does the trick. the longer i’ve used it, the more i like it. it’s great! just under 4 ounces.

steripen ultra – new for me this year. i like it. i dropped it onto a hardwood floor from about two feet up just before a big trip. it has a little rattle somewhere inside now (steripen said they’ll fix it for free), but the electronics all seem to be working fine. i prefer twiddling this around absentmindedly to using a sawyer squeeze.

Not really a lot new for me this year but I did come to appreciate a few things a bit more:

• My cuben trailstar.  I did a few days in the Winds and agreed to sleep in my friend’s hexamid twin on the nights I needed shelter.  We had one night of snow and heavy winds.  We were in an area that had very little natural wind break (Alpine Lakes).  We paid for it.  We were up most of the night with snow blowing in, stakes coming loose, and hands holding onto the tent.  I appreciate the trailstar a bit more now.
• Gaia GPS is such a nice supplement to map and compass.  First, it’s a good tool to confirm what you think you see on the map.  There is nothing like having a “you are here” arrow on your map.  I also find it more convenient to use when you need to look at a map frequently. I can pull the phone out of my pocket and look at it without even stopping.
• Caldera cone with Zelph stove.  I carry a lot less fuel than most people with this set up.
• My old frameless Zpacks Blast (not arc blast) with the non-hybrid cuben.  I have used this pack for years and it is finally starting to show some wear.  I have a couple of pieces of tape on it now and don’t feel quite as confident in it as I used to.  I’m in the market for a new frameless pack soon.
• My EE 20 degree quilt is not new.  But I had it in 20 degree weather this summer and never felt cold.  I have a lot of confidence in the rating on this quilt now.

More importantly, I did trips with my wife, my sons, my best friends, and even a new backpacking friend.  It was a good year.

Soto Windmaster Stove- Picked it up a few months ago and have been really pleased with it’s performance. Small, light, and the sheltered burner head helps to shed wind and keep boil times low. Worked really well in breezy conditions last weekend at the base of Mount Tyndall. Much faster to reach a boil than my buddys MSR pocket rocket.

Lightsmith Ankr Carbon Fiber tent stakes – Used them on a few trips this year and really like the way that they work. I really pounded them into some hard ground with a rock near Muir Lake up in Cottonwood Lakes and they took the abuse like a champ, the only damage being on the anodizing on the top aluminum bit.

The transition from a full tent (TT Notch and TT SS2) to using only the fly, or given predictable weekend weather, simple ground protection with a bivy. Tarp only transition currently in progress.  I’m not suffering one little bit.

I may catch some flak for this, but last Xmas I bought my gf a Luci Inflatable LED lantern.  I thought it was so dumb, but she really wanted it and I stuffed it in her stocking.  I was pleasantly surprised with this unnecessary item..  We love it.  I hardly ever take it solo, but for any trip of 2+ people or car camping its great.  I do take it snow camping and its a great light to have in your tent when its dark at 4pm.

kmart grease pot – I have gotten a ton of use with this $7 piece of gear both on the trail and at home.  From single pot dry baking to just a second 3 oz 1 quart pot.  It is no worse for wear after a full year of use.

EE 30 degree quilt.  – Probably the most important single piece of gear I picked up this year.  It has allowed me to transition to much smaller and lighter weight packs.

Petzl e-lite – all I need for a light. 1oz.

ZPacks arc blast with backpack belt pouches, older velcro style – While I like my used arc blast I picked up earlier this year (17oz before added belt pouches) I simply loved the belt pouches that came with it.  I had to get used to carefully closing the velcro, but having roughly 2 liters of goodies at hand while hiking (and not banging around in shorts pockets) is awesome.  From snacks to eyeglasses to headlamp to bandana to phone/camera to  .. . the list goes on.  and being able to access with one hand and not stop hiking is the best.   I am so glad my pack included these pouches.  If I ever sell the pack it will be without them for sure.

leaving a tent in my pack – on my summer 10 day trip I brought a hexamid twin, as it was the lightest tent I owned at the time (since sold).  I only set it up twice,as I found cowboy camping a much more attractive alternative.  polycro ground cloth did get used every night though.

home made cuben rain skirt – did not rain yet on me, but when I am not using my tent the skirt makes a great additional clean area to lay gear near my sleeping area.

Now that I have my gear mostly dialed in, looking forward to a bit more fine tuning as we prepare for the JMT next summer.