Zukland

Since I’ve completed my trip report for my week in the White Mountains, I decided to also post my gear report card. I typically go through my gear after each trip to determine what can be improved, replaced, or just left behind.

Up first is the “Big Three”, my tent, pack, and sleeping bag.

PACK
I went with my Granite Gear Vapor Trail for this trip. It’s a nice pack and at two pounds pretty light. However, I think I was pushing the weight limit on this trip, at around 30 pounds, and I had some problems with the hip belt causing some chafing. One thing that worked out real nice was my jury rigged hip belt pockets (see this thread for details. I loved the hip belt pockets. I kept my camera, bug juice, and alcohol sanitizer in the pockets and being able to quickly get to those items without opening my pack was great.

One day I’m going to perform some surgery on this pack and add a front mesh pocket and shorten the way oversized extension collar…

TENT
I pulled out the REI Quarterdome T3 for this trip. At about 5 pounds (same weight as my two person Sierra Designs tent) it’s a palace for just two people.

SLEEPING GEAR
I used my Campmor 20 degree bag in the Whites. More than warm enough, if not the lightest bag. I mostly used it unzipped like a quilt. I used a Prolite 4 torso length pad, which I was more than comfortable with. I also brought along an inflatable pillow, which, when half inflated, was pretty comfortable. Don’t think it was worth carrying though and I’m going back to using spare clothing as my pillow.

COOKING AND FOOD
My stove for this trip was my homemade Supercat alcohol stove. This was my first use outside of the back yard and it performed great. Brought 8oz of fuel (denatured alcohol) and a wind screen made out of aluminum flashing. The wind screen needs some work, but other than that the stove did what it was supposed to: boil water. My MSR Titan Kettle worked well with the stove as well and the entire kit fit inside the pot.

I used a long handle titanium spoon and one of those origami style cup to eat out of. Most of the meals were boil in a bag style, so the long handled spoon worked well. The origami cup was kind of a pain, but could double as a cutting board or plate and being able to store flat helped. I’m not sure if I’d use it again, though. By the end of the trip it started to retain the cup shape.

In addition to the freezer bag dinners, our lunches were either tuna pesto sandwiches or BMCs (Bagel, Meat, and Cheese). The Meat was both pepperoni and summer sausage. One thing I didn’t bring that I missed was gorp. I’ve decided that I function much better eating small amounts of food often. Three regular meals just doesn’t do it for me.

CLOTHING
My base layers were a long sleeve shirt with a pair of nylon zip off pants. I should have gone with the short sleeve shirt I brought, but when the weather was cold and rainy the first morning, I decided to go with the long sleeve base layer. Big mistake, way too warm in it. The zip offs were okay, but I think shorts with wind pants would probably be a better combination in the future. I also had a spare pair of socks.

For insulation, I brought the Montbell Thermawrap. Nice, light jacket. I also brought a thin wool sweater, which I didn’t use at all. A thin insulated hat completed my insulation.

One of the more useful/versatile pieces of clothing was the Marmot Ion wind jacket. Very light and was perfect to pull on at rest breaks or in high winds.

For rain gear, I had my poncho and my waterproof/”breathable” rain pants. As I discussed in my trip report, the rain pants didn’t really fit my purposes (or I was using them the wrong way, like while hiking in the rain, versus in camp in the rain). My poncho worked great after I figured out the best way to connect it to my pack.

CAMERA
I took a cheap Nikon digital camera, mostly because it was small and ran off double A batteries. Took okay pictures, but didn’t do as well on distance shots, particularly in tricky lighting. One plus was ability to record video. With the StickPic, I was able to do some cool SurvivorMan style shots and videos. Definitely recommend the StickPic. A lot easier than finding a rock to balance the camera on for those self portraits.

TREKKING POLES
I forgot my Letki poles at home and had to buy a cheapo pair from Walmart. Aside from cheaply made baskets that gave up the ghost, these poles worked great for just twenty bucks. One nice feature was the clamp style locking, as opposed to the twist locks. I like that a lot more than twist lock poles.

WATER TREATMENT/STORAGE
I took my Katahdin Hiker Pro filter, mostly because I’m willing to take the weight for the convenience of quick, easy water. On future trips, I want to start using more chemical treatments, though. For water storage, I had my 3 liter hydration unit and a 20 oz plastic bottle for powdered juice mixes. I also brought a four liter platypus zip water bag, for in camp use. It was nice to filter water upon reaching camp and then having enough for dinner, drinks, and to top off water bottles in the morning.

MISCELLANEOUS
For light, I brought a Petzl head lamp and a small photon style light. In the future, I think I’ll skip the head lamp and just bring the photon. For a knife, I brought my Leatherman Micra. More than enough for cutting cheese and meat and cutting mole skin.

This entry was posted on Monday, September 14th, 2009 at 18:34 and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.