My First Big Equipment Order, wise choic es?

“Thanks to all for the great suggestions under "Newby, Apex 2, or Backcountry 2" topic. I am certainly learning a lot. I have to place an order for youngest (turned 7 yo) son's birthday present, and thought I'd get some of the things we were sorely lacking on our last trip. Any more thoughts on this gear list before I spend a pile of money (all items at Campmor.com)?

If you read the last thread, skip this paragraph, otherwise here is the skinny. I plan to take my boys 10 & 7 along with my girlfriend Aime on 3 to 5 day trips of say no more than 8 miles in, camp at some interesting spotfor a while, then come out. This could grow to involve longer hikes/more moving around, depending on how successful I am at taking the misery out of my 70# pack. We live in North GA and plan to hike/camp in GA/AL/TN, including some winter camping.

I am ready to order the following list of gear, trying not to break the budget. I picked likely looking packs for Aime to try out, keeping only her favorite. She is 5'2", weighs 125 and is very athletic. Two of the mummy bags are for Aime & I (hence the mateable bags) and the third is for 7 yo son who will grow into it. The two tents are a compromise. One at lower cost higher weight, the other better weight in case we push harder on the hikes. I guess I could use Iodine tablets, but the water filter seems like a good idea. I'm sticking with my heavy external frame hunting pack for now, 7yo will make do for now with his school pack, and 10yo is being given a youth external frame pack. Will continue to use Coleman dual fuel steel tank stove for now. . .

Here is the list:

- Katadyn Hiker filter
- Sluberjack Latitude 20F sleeping bags (3ea)
- Eureka Apex 2 tent
- Sierra Designs Clip Flashlight 2 CD tent
- Kelty 2004 Women's Red Cloud (5000 cu in)
or
- Kelty Shadow 4500 Ultralight Women's Fit
or
- Jansport Dharma 52 Womens Short Torso

Cutting my rambling short, I don't want to spend more than necessary, but I don't want to spend too little either and wind up needing/wanting to upgrade after just a few trips.

Thanks again for all the help and any more advice you may have.

Randy Todd, Dallas GA”

“Ya done good man. The SD Clip Flashlight is a great tent.”

“Yep, sounds like you have the beginings of a great trip!”

“Don't forget some good light food!

http://www.trailfoods.com/”

“You know, we never called him a troll.

We are getting soft. Mention gear and we all drool!”

“Poor, sweet child!”

“From everything I've read, Jansport packs are crap. They make a good bookbag. I wouldn't get her a 5000ci pack, that encourages overpacking.

On upgrading: You will upgrade some things, it's the nature of the beast. But you've made some good choices for first gear. I've got a Clip Flashlight, and it's a good tent.”

“Don't forget your survival kit either...












”

“You might want to consider the 4500 pack or maybe down to 4000 ci. The bigger the pack she gets, the more crap you get tempted to put in it.

It looks like you're headed in the right direction.”

“DO NOT buy your children krappy packs. PLEASE!!!!!
If for anything, you have the ability to understand why you can hump a heavy hunting pack, but kid's don't!
Kid's bones and muscles need a good fitting pack more than adults.
If you do go the external route (which will work) at leats get a kid's Kelty external. Theya re about teh same price as those cheap badly made Coleman ones! And the frames are still made of metal-so they will last.”

“I'm about the same size as your gf, and I love the Gregory women specific packs. I have the Palisade, which is unisex, but is pretty big and good for longer trips. The Tega is a great weekender pack and is very very comfortable. Also, the Gregory Diva is good too.”

“sarbar1 - I am not buying packs for the kids on this round. The 7yo packed 5lb in his "book bag", and the 10 yo packed maybe 12lb. I hope the external frame pack being given to us will be better than what the 10yo is using, and am hoping maybe something will come along for the 7yo. Meantime, when I offered a pack for his birthday present he quickly declined saying that I would just put some of the heavy stuff from my pack in his. Smart kid. . .

Embear,
Thanks bunches for the Gregory suggestion. I'll probably drop the Jansport (thanks bitpusher) and larger Kelty and substitute a couple of Gregorys. Will have to measure Aime for the correct size. At 5'2" I'm guessing small, but need to confirm. I said she is athletic, but did I mention she has more endurance than me on squats? I can get her on flat ground, but Heaven help you when you get steep. She is a machine. . .

Thanks again, and maybe the order will go out tonight if I can get ahold of Aime with a tape measure. . .”

“I'm guessing these are probably not the hot setup, but a friend suggested them and I thought I'd ask you folks. Junk?

http://www.texsport.net/acatalog/Knollwood_Bivy_Shelter_Tent.html”

“Randy, you have mail.

I wear a small size in backpacks. I'm sure thats what she would need.”

“I would stick with the tent's you mentioned above. You get more years out of them then the textsport.”

“My cousin had (note: had) one of those Texsport tents. The poles split on her the second time she used it. They are crap.”

“It depends on the texassports. Most of us here go regardless of the weather forecast. You're likely to make a whole different set of decisions with family along. In that case the tent is more of a "just in case" sort of thing. You mentioned on the other thread that you take a dining tarp just in case. You might consider saving the money and still take the tarp. If it looks like rain just drag the tent under the tarp.”

“Oops, bit scooped me.”

“The Knollwood is actually pretty descent for what it is.Think of it as a one year tent ;-) And that it WILL need to be seam sealed ;-) Just be very gentle with the poles, that is all :-)”

“The Hiker filter is an icon that you can't go wrong with. However, it's not a bad idea to also have a chemical treatment option along. I'd stay away from iodine though. Instead try Aqua Mira. It's more potent than iodine, has less health concerns than iodine, and most importantly - it has basically no taste. In fact, you may find that only using Aqua Mira works just fine for you and then you can ditch the weight and bulk of a filter on most of your trips.”

“I bought two Coleman external frame packs for my kids, one each in 1988 and 1989.

They are now being used by a third generation of kids.”