Out with the Old and in with the New!

Love it or hate it Gear is necessary 

Some of us are gear nerds, and the rest of us only endure the gear talk because we need it to get to our goals in the outdoors. Let’s be real gear isn’t everyone’s first choice of topic when you meet someone on trail. It’s normally not even a first choice topic for most of us at camp or in town when we’re around other hikers. However, it does pique our interest when we see someone using a piece of gear we have in a way we never thought about using it. In my case when I was hiking in 2023 I was either seeing pieces of gear for the first time that I didn’t know existed, or gear that I had myself being used in ways I hadn’t thought of. 

Major gear adjustments

The best example I have of gear being used differently would be bear bag hanging. I know how to hang a bear bag I’ve been doing it since I was ten but I’d never seen a PCT bear hang done before. I wound up using that technique my entire thru-hike attempt. The rest of my thru-hike I spent time looking at other peoples gear and comparing it to my own. Then I compiled a list of what I was going to change for the next trip. The first change was my big three. I Bought a new hammock set up, a new bag, and new sleeping gear. 

I wanted a top quilt the could fully unzip into a flat blanket for the summer time when it got hot and a foot box was unnecessary. I went to enlightened equipment for their revelation sleeping quilt that had everything I wanted in my new quilt. It had a collar for cold nights that wrapped around my neck. It also had a closable foot box when it was cold or it could be used as a flat blanket / quilt when it was warmer.  I changed out my hammock tarp to the palace. This was a 12 foot tarp with doors. If it got cold or super windy I could essentially make my own tent with a tarp that went down to the ground and doors that cut out the wind altogether making my own micro environment inside the tarp while camping. Finally for my hammock set up I changed from man inflatable ground pad to an under-quilt. I didn’t have the money for an under-quilt on trail so I’d switched it out for one now that I had the money. 

For my bag I got a six moons minimalist pack with the vest. I haven’t used it much but I’ve heard great things about the vest helping distribute the packs weight along with the 6 mounting points on the pack for a smoother hike. this hike will be it’s maiden voyage. I’ve had luck with mystery ranches packs using the double chest strap / vest for weight distribution and I’m hoping it’s the way more companies go in the way of pack configuration. 

Minor Gear adjustment

Gear changes was my bread and butter simply because anyone knows on trail that it’s the SMALL things that will make or break your day sometimes. First I had to change my winter hat, my beanie. The one I’d bought last second from REI was too small for my head and kept slipping off in the middle of the night making me wake up cold. Next was my puffy and fleece layers. I messed up big with them. My first realization was that neither my fleece nor my puffy had hoods, Worse decision ever. Second I’d bought a nano puffy which doesn’t work well below 50 degrees there’s just not enough down in the baffles.

I promptly switched out with REI’s magnus puffy one of the best on the market I’ve seen ( don’t pay full price I got mine for 50% off during a holiday sale.) Then I replaced my fleece with a light heart grid fleece that has a hood and thumb holes. A lot of companies are going this direction with the hiking fleeces. It’s got a hood and long neck material and thumb holes for a sort of half mittens if you’re feeling cold. I also got a stake cover for pushing tarp steaks in nothing is more painful than trying to use the palm of your hand to push a stake into the ground. You can always use rocks but it ruins them, they’re only aluminum after all. 

Cooking Gear 

Finally the last piece of gear change I made was my cooking stove. On the AT the canister stove was my go to. However since hiking  the AT in ‘23 I’ve done research my fair bit of research and come to the conclusion that they are wasteful, convenient, but wasteful. Those canisters are single use, and in certain areas they’re hard to find. Alcohol stoves are far from perfect but they excel in two areas that matter most to me. The first is being minimal waste. There’s no going through canister after canister. The second is they have multiple fuel sources that can be used with them. From 91% rubbing alcohol, to Heet from the store they are not designed to only use a single fuel source. 

My thoughts 

I’ve done some last minute gear changes from this trip. Unfortunately with as busy as my life is right now I haven’t gotten to test everything out with a shake down hike like I should have. I’m sure I’ll pay for that later. However, with three kids, a full time job, and going to school to be a nurse? My time is limited at the moment. I’m excited to get back to the trail, back to my roots per se. a lot has changed in the last two years of my life. This walkabout is probably more needed than I’m willing to admit. I went from being a single bachelor with a dog to moving in with my girlfriend who also has a dog and becoming a dad to three children. I’d always wanted to be a father but being thrown into the fire overnight was not initially on the list of things to do. I think I’ve done well with it though. We’ll see what revelations the trail shows me.  

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