It was a cool, cloudy spring morning on Snowbird Mountain heading to Max Patch. As I stopped for lunch, it began to rain. It didn’t stop until sometime in the middle of the night. Hours later, as I poured the water out of my Gore-Tex boots at a shelter, a thru-hiker asked me how they were working out for me. I looked at his trail runners and had to admit, I didn’t much like my boots at that moment. Those boots must have weighed five pounds apiece for the rest of the trip. Two days later in Hot Springs, while I was inspecting the blisters that the wet boots had left me with, I knew something had to change.
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I also use a sit pad, but I made it by cutting the bottom 15" or so off my CCF sleeping pad – so now I have a torso length pad (for structure in my pack) and a sit pad (which can be removed on breaks). The sit pad also fits into the footbox on my quilt, if so needed in colder weather.
Steve,
While I enjoyed the friendly discussion on sitpads, I think it's distracting from the main point of your article. It was testimonials like yours that opened my eyes and got me into the lightweight, then UL approach.
While the more experienced folks immediately start digging into the details, I think the newer members can get lots of inspiration and insight into your lightweight journey.
Thanks for sharing! This is great seris of articles.
Tony, Great solution to the layers! The chaps at 2oz look like a good solution for the few showers, especially if carrying wind pants, too. I tried some Mt Bell full zip insulated pants for fall and winter and they added surprising comfort on very cold evenings and mornings. I also want to try the 3.5 oz windshirt vs a 1.5 lb Gortex parka for active hiking. The Goretex is just too heavy and always overheated for wind and is not breathable for rain. I tried some light wool layers and found them very comfortable and surprisingly resistant to odor retention. You have given me some great ideas. Thanks. -Roger
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