greenhorn, need help witrh gear

“I haven't backpacked in decades but I am going on a 1 wk trip on the top 1/3 of the John Muir trail in late Aug. I know nothing about what to take. I am looking at the Gregory Shasta pack, the Big Agnus Seedhouse SL1 tent, the Mountain Hardware Phantom 15 bag, and the Snow Peak Gigapower stove. Any comments??”

“Several Snow Peak Giga fans around. My only first hand comment is that I am a big Mountain Hardwear fan. Their workmanship and design are impeccable. You'll also find that you'll get some ultralight fans here.”

“No personal experience with any of the gear you listed but all of it has a good reputation. Looks like you did some homework.”

“The MH Phantom series bags are pretty nice. They do not feel as "lofty" as their Marmot and WM counterparts. I had had a lot of down leakage from my MH Phantom down jacket, much more down leakage then I get from my WM Megalite. My MH Phantom jacket also seems to have more quills then my Megalite. I'd check out the WM Ultralite, Versalite, or the new WM Alpinlite which is an ultralite with the wide girth of the Megalite.”

“welcome to TT!

take whatever you want, it doesn't matter. just do some workin out/training type stuff between now and then...”

“The game would be to try and keep you pack weight down to around 30 punds, if you can. Seeing as you have not been onthe trail in many years, you should get out there and hit some "hills" to get the blood pumping. You do not want to get out there and find out yer body doesn't dig it and have a problem.

The pack weight thing should be very easy to do. Even if you have yer "Big Three" (Tent, sleeping bag and pack) all have a base weight (empty) of 15 pounds, that still gives you 15 lb of room. Clothing will be a big weight area. Take only what you need and make sure it is the lightest you can afford/find. Make sure you look at yer map to see were you water locations are, so you can judge yer water situation. I think the rule is 2-3 qts of water consumption a day (others in "trail shape" might use less). Water is real heavy, so take that into concideration. Don't take too littel either.

Invest you money into a, outstanding water filter/purifyer. It will reward you back ten fold. This is an area where you prolly don't want to skimp on.

There are plenty of hikers here to help with your questions. Also, there is a great deal of info located on this website. Try doing a search donw at the bottom of the main TT messageboard page and see what comes up. Please feel free to ask some questions as well.

Good Luck and be safe!”

“Does anyone have any other suggestions on gear? I have also been told to look at the Marmot Helium sleeping bag and the MSR Hubba tent.
I have access to a water purifier but beyond that I will be starting from scratch.
I am intending to hike the John Muir trail, one week per year, in the next three years.
My intent is to go as light as possible, I am hoping between 35 and 40 lbs total.”

“Welcome to TT from another old duffer (I base this remark on the fact you said "decades" not years when describing your lapse).

Go as light as you can afford while keeping as rugged as you can find. Most especially, don't get any more boot than you need -- the weight there follows you every step. If you can get your load way down and you have no incipient ankle problems, light trail shoes or trail runners will make life nicer.

There are several Sierra hikers on TT who should have some good ideas to share with you about gear appropriate for the Muir that time of year.”

“August in the Sierra Nevada mtns consists of warm days and cool nights, with possibility of afternoon storms.

As for equipment: the Snow Peak Gigapower is a canister stove, so it might be a little bulky on a weeklong trip on the JM Trail. Unless you're going to be using it sparingly, or intend to do a lot of overnight trips in the future, you might want to consider a liquid fuel/white gas stove - better heat output for the weight on a long trip. I have both canister and liquid fuel stoves, using the canister for short 1 to 2 night trips.

But the BEST advice is to use the time between now and August to get in REALLY GOOD SHAPE. Being in poor shape for that long of a hike at around 9000 ft will make it a week of total misery you'll want to forget as quickly as possible.”

“Hi felton,

Top Dawg makes great points you might take to heart. I've done two JMT sections, but you get another great walk-through here:

WLD's JMT Trip

You might get some conditioning hikes in as well. The JMT is every bit worth what you might go through to prepare for it.”

“Thanks for the advise. I am in decent shape, I run 10K\'s but I have been told that I need to start carrying my pack fully loaded so that I can get my body used to it. And I live near the coast so the altitude will be an adjustment for me.
We are planning on going on one or two weekend trips to try to get the kinks worked out of our gear.”

“Hi Feltonf,

I have just spent a lot of time researching all that very gear. I just bought the Big Agnes 1 SL though it has not yet arrived. (Can't wait!!!!!) I also have purchased a Ula P2 pack, very nice, very light. Check them out at www.ula.com. And I ordered a Wiggy's bag. My weight for these three items is 10, 1. The Wiggy's bag is not the lightest out there so it could be even lighter. www.wiggys.com.

I'm very new to this myself, but I thought I'd throw in my 2 cents on gear research. Good luck!!!!”

“Thanks for the response but when I went to www.ula.com a boathouse rental site came up. Could you check that address for me?”

“yeah, forget the hike and stay at the lake at the boathouse!”

“wiggy? Wiggy!? arghhh.............................”

“Troll!”

“This may be one of those "matter of opionion" things, but, like Top Dawg, I also have Snow Peak & MSR Whisperlite. Been a Whisperlite fan for years & years, but I took my Snow Peak last year on the JMT. You can take two of the larger cannisters (7 oz?), have far less weight and way more cooking time than w MSR. White gas weighs a LOT, I think I was better off, weight-wise, w my Snow Peak.”

“Wanderer - you might be right about the Snow Peak stove - personally I've never used one. Should have mentioned I use an old style GAZ bleuet canister stove, the type you can't remove the canisters from until empty. Its light and packs to nothing, so it works great on weekend trips where I like to cut weight to the minimum. I'm satisfied with it so haven't been interested in looking at a snow peak for an 'upgrade.'

I've got a Whisperlite, too. Works great in the winter and better on longer trips than the GAZ. Older ones work nice, but the newer ones seem to be a little 'high maintenance' from the info on this board and the 'Gear' section reviews. Also have two Optimus stoves (SVEA 123 and a Hiker 8B(?)), both over 20 yrs old and both work great. Actually use the Optimus stoves more than the Whisperlite; not a lot of fuel capacity and a little heavy, but the Optimus stoves are the ultimate in reliability.

All these stove names - now feltonf will be REALLY confused!”

“http://www.ula-equipment.com/index.htm

Ula site

Sorry about that”

“Thanks for everyone taking the time to offer their opinions and advise. I am a little leery about going to the ultra light packes since I don\'t have a clue what the weight will be for my load and the ultralight packs seem to be limited in their carrying capacity, (I know, that is part of their intent). But I am definitely interested in going as light as possible for the rest of my gear.”

“don't ferget yer gheetah”

“I have a Primus mini stove, exact model unknown, and it works great with not much butane mix used. I think one large cannister, 7.8 oz, might be enough, maybe one large and one small, 3.9 oz. All I use it for is coffee in the morning and a dehydrated dinner at night. Your menu may call for using it at lunch as well, that's up to you. I save some weight by using tin foil for the windscreen and pot cover. I think that as long as you stick to good quality, lightweight gear, that you will be OK. Just make sure to try it all out on a few trips before taking the plunge. I would suggest buying at REI if they are near you, since they have a great guarantee. You can return anything, for any reason, at any time, even years later, if you're not happy. That's important if you're not sure what you want right from the start.”

“Feltonf: I'll start by saying I'm one of the lightweight/ultralight nuts. Going completely lightweight is an evolutionary process. Takes years for many, as you learn more on the Internet and try new things out on trips. Also takes a corresponding change in attitude over time. Just work on the gear a little at a time and the attidude comes with it.

That is why I actually agree with your decision to go with a non-ultralight pack (for now). For this trip just try to downsize a few items. Maybe get the smallest/lightest sleeping system (bag and pad), or the lightest cook system (stove, pots, etc). Focus on one system, not all your stuff at once. Do just one downsize per trip and after a few years you'll be "lightweight". But your pack will be near the end of the evolutionary process. Once everything else in your pack is light and small, you'll then know it is time to downsize your pack, too.”

“I have bought a Shasta bag and a Seedhouse SL1 tent, but does anyone have any thoughts on sleeping bags and pads? I am looking at the Helium 15 and phantom 15 bags and the therma rest 3 pad, but as usual, any comments would be helpful”

“good choises again, GO FOR IT DOOOD!”

“I thought you were already told that Marmot is the superior bag. It is still true.

If you want to buck the system, Western Mountainering, Feathered Friends, and Marmot make the best bags you will slip into.”

“Facinating how you track people.”

“I'm a convert to synthetic sleeping bags. If you're into milder weather hiking they are the way to go. I hate worrying about spring/summer/fall rainshowers soaking a down bag. Have to admit that down sleeping bags still excel in winter.”

“I am leaning toward the down for the weight with the smaller size when compacted as an added bonus. And from what I was told if you put your sleeping bag inside a trash compactor bag, and then inside your backpace it shouldn\'t get wet during the hike. And if you get the tent up before getting the bag out, it should stay dry while making camp.”