Quoted By:
Posted my gear choices a while back in this thread and got out this weekend for a shakedown.
Everything worked pretty good, actually. Considering the baseweight was 14lbs it was very comfortable. Going in was hard due to having increase weight of water and food. The shoulder straps on my pack actually hurt me shoulders a bit, don't know if I'm going to keep this pack. I'll give it a few more long hikes before I decide if I want to find something else in the same weight range or even lighter. Any lighter though and I guess I would need to go cuban fiber.
Some things I need to get used to, or change completely...
Tent: Weird setting up. First time using it, sure it's fine.. might just need to use it a few more times. For a 2P, it was more like a 1P with just a bit extra room. Need to make some mods to the side exterior extenders tension lines to increase livable space. My fucking sleep pad moved around like crazy during the night, very slippery.
Sleeping pad: I really like this pad, but there are lighter alternatives out there with a higher R rating. Dont know if I can justify the higher cost though.
Drinking cup: I'm going to ditch it. I enjoy tea while on the trail, but this is just one more thing to carry. If I ditch it, I can fit a gas canister inside my 750mL pot to consolidate space. My pot is a little scorched though so I need to find a way to get rid of the scorch marks so I can drink from it without it tasting funky.
Extra shirt: Need to find something lighter. The night dipped into the 30s so I used it paired with liner socks to keep warm, but I can definitely shave some ounces there.
What I didn't use: Bandanna, First Aid, Tooth brush/paste. I might ditch the bandanna; I used my buff to dry out my cup once. As long as I'm not using it to clean out food residue, just using it for drying should be fine since I won't be dirtying it up. I might ditch the paste, I don't need pearly whites for a few days in the bush, just something to clean my teeth with.
