I'm Buying Gear - Need Opinions

“Tent choices (I like the first choice because it is cheap and lights. I like the second choice because it has an addittional interior foot of space)

tent one

tent two”

“My cousin has your option 1. That tent has a lot more room to it than you may think. He was able to put all his gear inside and himself for the night.”

“Sleeping bag choices

bag one

bag two

bag three”

“I think that Radagast used to recommend the Solitare a lot, or a tent just like it but named differently. It certainly is a lot less heavy than the second choice. May not be good in winter snow though. Does it have fiberglass poles or aluminum?”

“The Marmot seems awful heavy for a 1-person tent.

Did you look at the SD Light Year?

I've got this tent and like it.”

“I dont like Eureka

I do like the 2nd one.”

“4 lbs. 11oz. is way too much weight for a 1 person 17 sq. ft. tent. I think that's what my Sierra Designs Clip Flashlight weighs and it's over 30 sq. ft. and designed for 2 people, but very comfortable for 1 person.
I've always maintained that if you are going to have any sort of gear inside, get a 2 person tent for 1 person, a 3 person tent for 2 people and a 4 person tent for 3 people.”

“I don't think that you should get a 0 deg Polarguard, should stick with down for under 20 degrees due to the pack size factor.”

“Only choice one came through.

where you planning on camping, the Artic Circle? Why a 0 degree bag?

I have heard lots of good things about the North Face Cats Meow.”

“I have the first tent. Your right it is cheap and light weight. I only use it when I go to the Smokies becasue there isn't a lot of room for larger tents at some campsites. I can get my gear in it with me but it is a tight squeeze. Depending on your height you shouldn't have any problems with it.”

“why not Mapleleaf?”

“didnt mean to hit submit. ok the first one weights almost 2 1/2lbs

the 2nd one is over 4lbs. thats alot for a solo.

I love my SD light year.


my tent”

“Also, look at the MSR Zoid 1 for a tent. I have the MicroZoid, not enough room.”

“The Marmot tent plus sleeping bag equals 8lbs 11oz. You are going to have a hardtime keeping your pack weight down.”

“WK - I'm female, slender and a cold sleeper - winter is too long to not go bp'ing in - I need a new winter bag - henceforth the 0 degree

Lyndy - down is too expensive

let me get the others posted”

“Twinks, you can always go to a tarp with some Tyvek as the floor.”

“OK on the cold and bag choice. I am the exact opposite.”

“The eureka is a little restricting, to say the least. If you have to stay in it for any long period of time, well, ya might have an issue or two. Also, if ya gotta "go" emergence style, it could get interesting. I have a friend that has one of those and he's 6'2" or so. Looks like he's getting into a human condom. HEHEHE

Anyhoo, have you concidered this one":

http://www.rei.com/online/store/ProductDisplay?productId=47612778&storeId=8001&catalogId=40000008001&langId=-1

this used to be a fav a couple of years ago. It's not freestanding, which is something you should concider. If it's not a porblem, learn what you can use to guyout yer lines in deep snow. Couple of weekends ago, I used my treking poles and snowshoes to guyout my Hilleberg.”

“ahhh the twinkie tent. no sir, i dont like it. i like to be able to sit up. too confining. but youre twinks, and the tent looks like a giant twinkie, so maybe theres some instant karma goin on here”

“What kind of pack do you have, Twinks?”

“still 5 lbs. heavy

if you wait a little longer the Down will get cheaper.
you are a cold sleeper, go with the down!”

“I know that down is expensive, but if you can't get the bag into your pack, it isn't going to work. Can you wait until someone from the east coast crowd sells one, or until you see a good sale? What do you currently have that you can work with?”

“Not to mention that it packs to 11x21....that's nearly 2000c.i., or about 30L.

You could line the stuff sack of the sleeping bag with a garbage bag, and strap it to the outside of your pack though. It would stay dry that way and not take up so much room in your pack.”

“True, you just can't plan on slipping through those crevices in the Catskills, though. But it will work if you have no other choices.”

“You might consider the campmor 0* down. I have the 20* down and would rate it to a useful temp of maybe 25-28*. I tend to sleep a little on the cold side.

What state do you live in? That might help with the recommendations.”

“http://www.rei.com/online/store/ProductDisplay?productId=47814449&storeId=8001&catalogId=40000008001&langId=-1" TARGET="_blank">how bout this one”

“Keep you eyes out for deals! Tarabull just scored a REI 0 degree bag that is regularly two hundred something and got it for 80 bucks!!

Those you listed are too heavy, tho the marmot one is close. Think of were you will be staying most of the time, temp wise.”

“I have the Campmor 0F down, and use it like a 20F bag. I sleep cold though.”

“I had the eureka and hated it so much that I used it for on trip (the TC2 trip) and never looked at it again.
But that's me. I like to be able to sit up in a tent.

I also like to keep my packweight down, so I decided on the northface canyonland. It's still over 3lbs, but I really like this tent.
This is the tent I want to buy next.

I am searching for a sleeping bag below 0 degrees now for the longest. I can't decide if I should get down or what.... Down is so compressable, but if it gets wet I am in trouble...so I am not sure.

checked out some Synthetic Fill bags the other day, and they are huge, not very compressable at all.

I am just so undecided. I can tell you though that I did NOT like the eureka solitaire”

“dude - the bag can't be much bigger than the one you have mapleleaf!

I don't have jack diddly squat - in a furious rage i dumped the beast from last year in the basement as a way to force my to get a new bag.....

I kinda like the Eureka - but I have a hammock - was looking for something not quite as chilly and to be avble to use when trees aere limited

oh...maybe a tarp? to go with the hammock? instead of a tent....


arghh - its too confusing - i am getting overwhelmed - this is why i have not purchased any new gear - its too overwhelming.. hahah”

“I am glad I am a warm sleeper! I had no idea some of these down bags were this heavy.”

“Great to see a gear thread,

will not offer any opinions as I like a lot more room.

I do see a number of people enquiring as to how and where you want to use the stuff.

It is difficult for people to offer meaningful advice when they do not know you, and the people that do know you may not have first hand experience with the gear you are trying to decide on.

Good luck with your search.”

“remember that you can extend the rating of your bags by wearing your rain suit and additional clothing ot bed, so you might be able to get away with a higher degree bag.

One thing I'd need to know is what kind of pack do you have? If it's external, then bulkier sleeping bags can be strapped on the outside no problem. I would suggest that you keep your "Big Three" (Bag, Pack and Tent) down to an average of 15 lbs. that really give you some weight to play with, but it's at the top end of the "scale". For reference, my total in spring/fall weight is around 8 lbs.”

“Sorry, just saw my answer. Well, that will something to concider first, buying a pack. That will "force you" into other desisions on the remander gear.”

“Damn laqtis, my empty pack almost weighs that! Gregory Palisade”

“just remeber if your going to use it in colder weather, think about how much Mesh you have.

I tried to find a tent that had very little. I have a cheapy solo summer tent thats pretty fun. But I love the SD for winter and rain.

for the sleeping bag, we upgraded and got down.”

“You might consider waiting a month and seeing what kind of closeouts you can get on down. It really is the way to go.”

“what about the wenzel starlite tent??
$40, that's really not bad.

wenzel tent
”

“take a look at this 4 season shelter. I think you can still get a floor for it. It weighs less than 3 lbs and sleeps 3-4 people. You can lighten its weight by using your trekking pole. Golite Hex 2”

“oh congrats on the down mapleleaf

no - I do have a pack - duh - I've bp'ed in fargin cold weather - I know that these are the choices I'm picking from for now. Can upgrade later...

I have a two person sweet tent from Pennsy - but for solo it's just too heavy - that's why I got the hammock which is great when it's warm or even chilly - but not for cold weather - henceforth the desire for the Eureka

maybe I'll just get a cheap bag for now - andthen continue to wait for the right down?

my bag is internal with loads of room - plus i have compression sacks”

“I agree with everyone on the down issue, however, if you mainly bp in wet months, you have to go synth. Down when wet is useless and the synth will dry out, keeping you warm and not losing loft. The newer fibers out there make synth pretty competive against down in weight. I would guess that in another couple of years, we won't even be having the down vs synth debate.”

“I dunno Q, I still see people arguing that you're not really backpacking unless you're humping 60 pounds...down v. synth is not going away anytime soon.

Kinda like CD v. vinyl...how long did that take?”

“I think the down issue is overstated. Just keep it dry. I live in the SE and have never had a problem. Before I bought down I talked with a high school buddy who now lives in Portland, OR. He said everyone out there uses down. It doesn't get much more wet that the NW.”

“I agree with laqtis. I have a 20-degree down bag. I took it on my trip over the weekend where it got down to 0. I had a fleece liner for it, and wore 3 layers of clothes. I was toasty. For warmer temps, I can just leave the liner behind and wear less clothes to bed.

BTW, I use my REI Half Dome +2 as a solo tent - it's heavy for a "solo" tent, but I'm seriously claustrophobic. I just consider it an extra couple pounds of luxury. For me, the difference between, say, 33 and 35 pounds is not significant enough to worry about trying to find a lighter tent.”

“Wow that golite hex looks like a great idea for winter. Very roomy.”

“bitpusher, I really like the "warmth" of vinyl, especially when played through a tube amp.

Just kidding, I don't even have vinyl anymore. Got sick of lugging it around in the early 90's, so I dumped them.”

“lol, skiracer...

I still have all my vinyl, but I never had much to begin with.”