Gear priorities

“As we try to make sense of our new national/world reality, is anyone re-evaluating their gear acquisition priorities or expanding their wishlist?”

“expansion here.”

“I need to decompress from my full-time addiction to the news to think about gear.

I'm contemplating zero-degree winter bags (I'll need two, 1 for me, 1 for my son, so we're talking serious $$ here), and possibly a 4 season BP tent. All told, this could be serious dollars so I really want to be sure of my decisions before I write my checks. Looking at Feathered Friends And WM bags as you might expect for my bog needs, but I'm also wondering just how much I'm paying for name-recognition.

I'm also wondering just how much I NEED a 4 season tent vs my current 3 season, 2 pole tent. Seems to me if you pick your site carefully (which is part of basic winter / wilderness survival anyway) you USUALLY won't need a 4 pole winter tent.

Don't know answers for sure... what do you think?”

“Have you ever waken up to a foot of fresh snow on your tent? I don't know if I would trust a 2 pole design in a bad snow storm. In the other 3 seasons you can usually bail when the weather gets bad but in heavy snow / white out conditions you want to stay put. So having a strong shelter can save you a lot of hassles and possibly your life.

Check out MH's bags. I know it's another "big brand" but I was also researching down bags and I found some of theirs to be the lightest and the cheapest in the gear guide.”

“Always expanding my wishlist. Life goes on.”

“Bibler I-tents and Eldorados are 2-pole. I think the Ahwanee may be also. The diference is that the poles are totally inside the tents -- no sleeves, no clips.

The SD Lookout I've got (3 poles) has stood up to a foot of wet snow in the Smokies. I didn't need to hook up the internal guylines.”

“I am always on the lookout for lighter/better performance gear. Usually if it is on sale I can get it. As for a diffrent type of gear, no. I don't think things related to bping and that out doors have changed much.”

“null”

“OOPS.. sorry about the (nothing) post...

REPTILES: "Have you ever waken up to a foot of fresh snow on your tent?"

Actually, yes I have, many times. So far no big deal, which is one of the reasons I'm wondering whether I should spend $350.00, or whatever, on a "4 season" BP tent. What I have seems to work perfectly well. If it snows a lot during the nite, we knock the snow off the roof periodically.

Bags, however, are another issue. SO far, I'm warm in my 3 season bag used w a home-made fleece liner. Part of me says that since it works, why fool w it... part of me says "WHAT... YOU'RE GOING OUT INTO THE SIERRA'S W A 3 SEASON BAG IN FEBRUARY??? (Maybe I'm reading too many marketing brochures) Yeah, but I'm O.K., not cold at all.

Am I falling for "Marketing" hype that SAYS I need a "4 season" tent; that I "need" a 0 degtree bag...

Maybe I already have what I need...common sense, and the ability to use what gear I have & adapt it to winter situations...

Comments???”

“I need a winter bag and am thinking of getting a 0 degree Western Mountaineering Kodiak. 750 fill and Dry Loft shell (MF is an option.)

I've read comparisons of WM and Feathered Friends and WM seems to have the edge. Haven't read any reviews of Mountain Hardware down bags. AmyG also has a WM bag and thinks they're the best on the market.

These bags are expensive but if it means the difference between being comfortable and freezing my butt off I'm not gonna give a damn about spending a couple hundred dollars more. My motto is always buy quality, and I've never been disappointed that way.”

“Mountain Hardwear bags are well made, but how their temp ratings compare to reality I don't know. I'm not a good judge of that as I tend to sleep cold.”

“I've heard WM ratings are very conservative. That is, they are usually comfortable at temps below the rating.”

“Steve Hiker I'm prolly with ya. Total $$ isn't the issue, I just want to make sure I NEED to spend the $$ before I do. If I do, fine, no problem. If I don't need to tho, I have other things I could spend the $ on. I want a GPS unit, a few more toys, etc., etc., etc.”

“Steve Hiker I'm prolly with ya. Total $$ isn't the issue, I just want to make sure I NEED to spend the $$ before I do. If I do, fine, no problem. If I don't need to tho, I have other things I could spend the $ on. I want a GPS unit, a few more toys, etc., etc., etc.”

“I guess I just like my 4 season tent a lot and it has features that come in handy for the 4th season. It has 2 large double D doors, 2 vestubles, bath tub floor, lots of head room and body room (40 s.f.), and it's free standing. Also, I'm a deep sleeper no matter what the conditions are outside. In college I was known to sleep through the fire alarms in the dorm.”

“Do you think that the gear you have because you are a backpacker puts you in a better position if faced with a disruption of services as some in New York are?

Will any Y2K gear acquisitions you made (and didn't most of us make some, or at least use it as an excuse to get something on our wishlist) seem less fringe these days?

Do you carry certain gear when you travel that would be essential should you get stranded, as so many air travelers did?”

“My only thing I needed for this season was a new parka. Found a killer deal on a Marmot shell in New Hampshire last week. I'm Set!”

“My truck is like a home on wheels, I have extra gas, extra water, tools, blankets, etc. at all times in it. Of course on any given weekend my truck maybe miles and miles from the nearest paved road and who knows how far from the nearest tow truck.”

“Pekka, I love ya man, but go away. This is a gear thread. We NEED Gear Threads as a form of mental therapy, I DON'T WANT TO ADDRESS EMERGENCY RESPONSE ISSUES on this thrtead. There are a million Y2K / associated threads going, PLEASE PLEASE let us have a real gear thread without your sh!t. here.”

“I'm in the middle of my daypack retrofit so no new gear right now. I wouldn't mind a LED keyring light and a new pocket knife with scissors. I need to see where I'm working before I spend money on a hydration bladder, rain gear, boots, etc.

Oh, yeah, I want a blanket for my car. There a kiosk near where I'm job interviewing next week that sells indian blankets for $8.”

“Pekka, I may owe you an apology. I had followed this thread down far enough that I thought it was a gear thread. I just scrolled back to the beginning to find that YOU had started this thread, and that your ORIGINAL question related to survival, etc.

I apologize for being an a$$hole...it wasn't intentional, it just happens with me.”

“Well, one thing's for sure... Winter in the Rockies or the Sierra is a completely different animal. I've gotten by pretty well with my "3 1/2" season tent and my 15-degree bag here in the Sunny South. I do pack a VBL liner once in a while, but I haven't needed it yet.”

“Yeah, BPing threads are few & far between these days.”

“Gee Wanderer, I STARTED the thread. The focus I had hoped for was about PRIORITIES. Sorry to get you out of your winter bag discussion/digression -- there have been threads for that, too. So get your head out of wherever you had it stuck and read from the start.

I just thought we might have had some sobering revisions of our little gear fantasies to make them more pragmatic. If you see no link between the abstractions of Y2K preps and what faces some person or may yet in these new circumstances, well I'm not going to yell at you. But back off with your venomous little tantrum.

Personally, I can see my candle lanterns serving as well when the power is cut during a blizzard as for the less likely winter camping scenario where I am caught in a blizzard.”

“Wanderer, you were posting your apology as I was writing my reply. Apology accepted.

I, in my own way, was trying to guide some discussion away from all the breastbeating back toward some of our backpacking interests by finding a link. I may have had my problems with some of the Boy Scout indoctrination I got, but I did take Be Prepared to heart.”

“OK, so Pekka & I kiss & make up (thanks for accepting my apology PEKKA), so now let's get back to business:

There are at least TWO great threads in the making here:
1. Winter Camping Gear Thread: Do we REALLY need all this stuff, or, are we being "marketed" into bankruptcy?
2. Boy Scouts. This one is potentially HUGE and very inflammatory. I'm a Scoutmaster, have been very active & devoted a lot of time & $, yet,,,,don't agree with an awful lot of what they do. I'm not sure we're paying enough attention to the problems faced by this very imporatnt organization. Since they influence a lot of outdoor / environmental issues, we should be a little more involved as a group. Also some interesting social issues here...”

“Absolutely right about Scouting, wanderer. I spent from age 8 to 17 in Scouting through the 1960s. My whole interest was in the outdoor skill building -- the camping, hiking, nature study, Indian lore, etc. The moral/social indoctrination I took as it came at first, since what else do you know when you are a pre-teen.

But as I noted above, the precepts of Scouting still are influencing me, including choosing gear (though the Scouts had really bad gear in the 1960s), and I find I can't completely separate my outdoor activities and preparations from social responsibility on both the individual and community/nation level.”

“1st Priority: a hydration system for my new day pack.

2nd Priority: minimize my current load so that my day pack can be my primary pack... most of my outings are weekenders... longer trips to come as my kids get older.

I also wonder about winter gear; need vs. advertising. Hopefully, I'll get to do a winter trip this year.”

“Wanderer, let me be an enabler for you.

Try rationalizing with "I need a bigger tent so I can take my kid/wife girlfriend along and stash our stuff inside to provide the necessary comfort to keep these VIPs comnfortable. I used the grilfriend and two dogs approach to justify my Marmot Sanctum that was also on sale at REI for $279.

The Up High can be had for 250, and so can the Moss Starlet. Of course, you could just go in head first for the I tent for 500 occassionally. The "it was on sale" thing is a good one too.

New gear, new gear, new gear.....”

“Sunshine, I'd say you touch on what I'm trying to get at when you recognize that doing trips that involve or accomodate being a parent of young kids, and prioritize your gear purchases/choices to fit your real needs, rather than that fantasy super trip we'd all like to take.

There are choices based on each person's current reality, which may have changed this week or which was always there but has now made itself apparent, vs. those choices we might have deluded ourselves into pursuing or which just don't seem so important anymore.”

“Hey folks - there are MRE's 2 for $1.00 at the local Marc's stores here in Cleveland! I'm going to buy enough grub to last me years!”

“NO WAY...wonder if the MRE's are in Akron stores also.

Takin the boy up to the Valley pretty soon, Mr.BuddahBear...one of these days we'll have to hook up and I'll show ya 'round.”

“Buddha Bear--What's a Marc's? Do they have an online source?!?

I used the girlfriend excuse to justify my MH Skyview, and I'm happy I have it, now. No, I don't *need* a convertable tent. Don't *need* a chair kit for my Thermarest, either, but you won't catch me out without it.”