Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Gear List

My current gear list is located on the right of the screen.  I will update it when I buy a new item, or upgrade an existing item.  Right now I am going to give a review of each of my current items.

Pack: Gregory Baltoro 75

This is an awesome pack, I absolutely love it.  I have never put a huge load in this pack, I normally hike at about 35-40 pounds with this pack, but regardless of the load, it feels like there is nothing on your back.  It is highly adjustable, but as always make sure to get it fitted by a professional because I well fitting bag can make all the difference in the world.  The only knock for some people is that it comes in at about 5.5 pounds, a little heavy but in my opinion it is totally worth the increase in comfort and features.

http://www.rei.com/product/809317/gregory-baltoro-75-pack

Sleeping Pad: Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XLite

Another amazing product.  Super light, super comfortable and easy to use.  I got the regular length which is about perfect me, I am a shade under 6'.  Its warm, and is not very noise.  It takes me about 20 breaths to fill up which can be a problem after a 30 mile day, but other than that I have never used a better sleeping pad.  It packs down to about the size of a 1 liter nalgene bottle and weighs 12 ounces.

http://www.rei.com/product/829851/therm-a-rest-neoair-xlite-sleeping-pad

Water Filter:  Katadyn Hiker Pro

I can't really comment on this since I have only used it on one trip so far.  It works very well, very easy to pump, but I have to admit the water I was "filtering" was probably clean enough to drink, some I don't think the filter was doing much.  I will comment on durability and filter life as I use it more often but my first impressions are that it is a solidly built product, it doesn't feel like it will break in your hands, its easy to use, light and packs down to about the size of a Bible.

http://www.rei.com/product/830745/katadyn-hiker-pro-water-filter

Stove: Jetboil Sol

The Sol is the lightest of the current Jetboil stove products.  I did not get the titanium version, just the regular.  I had heard some not so great things about the neoprene sleeve with the titanium version, so I opted for the regular version.  First of all this stove boild .8 liters of water in about 2 minutes, its great.  You can cook right in the heating cup, but I don't because I normally backpack with more than one person and I don't feel like scratching up the inside with my utensil.  It lights very easily and quickly and burns fuel efficiently.  I only cook food for dinner and my fuel canister is still not empty, I have used it for 13 days on the trail and its the smallest available capacity.  The reason I got the small fuel canister is because obviously its the lightest, and it is the only that packs right into the stove cup, it is extremely convenient.  Set-up is very easy, my only issue with this product is even though it has a neoprene sleeve, it still is too hot to touch just after boiling the water.  Gloves or a towel are needed if you need to move the cup immediately, otherwise after about a minute it is OK to touch with bare hands. 

http://www.rei.com/product/813622/jetboil-sol-stove




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