Schizophrenic rant incoming.
I truly believe a lot of outdoor gear is heavily influenced by or straight up designed for the climate in the western half of the US, and people in vastly different climates are adversely affected. Really it’s their own fault for not figuring things out on their own.
It’s only a few broad categories: rain gear, a schizophrenic-tier aversion of cotton, camping without a bugnet (tarp only or cowboy camping), anti-hammock opinions, and canister stoves.
If you live on the west coast, then obviously you’ll follow the major trends because the major trends apply to your local climate. There’s a yearly drought every summer with fire bans all over the place, so a canister stove makes sense.
>Rain gear This is the best example of what I’m blabbing about. They have an extremely predictable rain pattern; as mentioned, the summer is a drought and the winter is rainy. This stark pattern doesn’t exist in the rest of the country. On the West Coast, if you need rain gear, you generally need it for the coldest months. What’s more, a lot of the hiking can be found at higher elevation, we’re lapse effect can be easily seen. This is all perfect weather for a rain jacket.
Meanwhile, on the east coast (or New England, or Appalachia, or the Deep South, or the Midwest…), it can rain any time of the year. In some places, late fall sees the least rain. Spring and summer can be very rainy, and warm, and at low elevation. Or it could be winter. Or you could be in the White Mountains. There’s no singular carte blanche answer like there is for the comparably predictable west coast.
>>2627200>weightIf that’s a concern, why are you using a Nalgene? 32oz capacity Nalgene’s weigh 6oz each. The same size SmartWater bottle (or similar) is around 1oz. Swap out two Nalgene’s and you’ve saved over half a pound. Inb4 my water will freeze. It’s August.
