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Gear Post: Long Distance Trail and Backpacking Gear Research.

Warning: Gear Post!

Summer 2017: Long Distance Trail and Backpacking Gear Research:

In my spare time I like to research hiking and backpacking gear. (If that makes you yawn you should probably quit reading this post now.) I watch PCT (Pacific Crest Trail) and CDT (Continental Divide) through-hikes and gear review videos and I strive to find the best mix of quality, cost and ultralight gear I can. I scour ultralight gear reviews by Triple Crown Hikers (meaning they’ve hiked all three major long distance trails: the AT (Appalachian Trail,) the CDT (incredible 38min overview through-hike video here) and the PCT.) I text gear finds back and forth with my best friend Rachel, who has turned me toward some amazing finds and hiker channels on YouTube. (Follow Dixie’s 2017-PCT throughhike here.) I scour eBay.com to find desirable equipment lightly used for a fraction of the cost and I plan.

In case you also want to live vicariously through these long distance hikers, check them out!

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Darwin On the Trail	YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC18exdGWh7piVWisrnDXiZg
Homemade Wanderlust	Dixie’s  YouTube channel:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQhqmV26773qZhzqJz4VFcw
RedBeard	Will’s YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/wmwood2001
Sintax77	YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/sintax77

Here’s my list of what I would carry if I were to leave and hike the Appalachian Trail tomorrow:

My current pack: Osprey Aura 65L; Cost: about $200 now. 4lb, 2oz. Outside review of pack.	Dream pack: Zpacks Arc Blast; 55L, $325. 21 ounces!   Check it out.  Additional dream gear: Inside pack dry bags: ZPacks cuben fiber dry bags + food bag.
My current sleep pad: Klymit Inertia O-Zone. 12.2 ounces, cost: $45-80 online. Here’s my video review of it. Sitting pad for camp: None currently.	Most popular pad on trails: Therm-a-rest NeoAir XLite Mattress. $129. 15.2 ounces. Dream gear sitting pad for camp: Folding sit-pad by DutchGear; $7, 18 GRAMS! Another popular one: Therm-a-rest Z-Seat $15, 2oz
My current sleeping bag/quilt: Custom EnLIGHTened Equipment Revelation 40 degree quilt. Cost: ~250.	Dream Quilt: Custom EnLIGHTened Equipment Enigma 20 degree quilt. $355.00, 16.83 oz. (Takes 6 weeks to make custom quilt in USA and ship.) Alternative idea for a budget: Aegis Max down bag $73 on Amazon, 16oz. 35-40 degree bag comfort.
My current Tent: L.L.Bean Microlight Solo, Weight: 1lb 14oz. Cost: $299, or less during their tent sale.	Dream tent: ZPacks Solo or Duplex cuben fiber tent. ($550+)  Add titanium stakes to replace current ones for more weight savings.  See Dixie's demo of setting up the Duplex with trekking poles here.
My current water filter: Platypus system with bladder bags. 11.5oz. Cost: ~$100.	What I would take instead: Katadyn Be Free filter and .6L soft bag with wide scoop. Twice as fast as the Sawyer Squeeze. ($39.99) 2 oz. See demo here.  *Editor's Choice Backpacker Award 2017 Also popular: the Sawyer Squeeze products. Made in Safety Harbor, FL!
My current rain jacket: L.L.Bean Trail Model Rain Jacket. (16 oz) $80 Pants: Columbia rain pants 9.6oz $50.	Dream Rain Jacket: Marmot Essence Rain Jacket (5 oz!) $100-140+ Pants: Same or Marmot pants. 8.6 oz.
Poles: Cascade Mountain cork handle quick-lock, 15 oz. $45/pair.	Maybe aluminum cork handled poles if I break more than a pair or two. (Sturdier and less prone to break than the carbon fiber for a weight penalty.)
Hiking Clothes needed: Hiking: Tee-shirt, hiking tights, bra/underwear. Down sweater. Hat. Gaiters. Trail running shoes. Darn tough hiking socks. Seal Skinz socks for rainy days. Sleeping: Thermal long sleeve and pants. Wool socks. Backup pair of underwear. Rain gear: Jacket, pants, gloves, warm hat.	Popular brands/types: Socks: Darn Tough, Smart Wool, Seal Skinz, sock liners, Injinji sport toe socks. Shirts: Flash dry/wicking. Merino wool. Underwear: ExOfficio. Clothing brands: Patagonia, North Face, Marmot, L.L.Bean, Outdoor Research, Columbia, REI, Eddie Bauer, Dirty Girl Gaiters.
Cooking system: Basic Titanium alcohol stove 1.83oz ($30)   and denatured alcohol ($2/12oz Heet (yellow bottle) Methanol) plus lighter.  Read about alcohol fuel stoves here.	Ideally: Go stove-less.
More Cooking gear: None purchased.	Dream gear: Toaks titanium pot (500-700ml; 3oz) and a titanium spork

Recent gear purchases: While I did give up three weeks of my summer to teach summer school and camp, I did vastly enjoy spending time with the kids, and there was the added bonus of having extra funds to research and buy some new gear! Here’s what I found on eBay:

Eddie Bauer First Ascent Women’s 800 fill down jacket/sweater:

Retail: $99+

I paid (eBay) $68.64, shipping included.

Saved: $30.36.

Patagonia Capilene Women’s hiking tee-shirts:

Retail: $39.00;

I bought three and paid: $8.99, $4.50, and $13.98, plus shipping for two.

Saved: $82.00.

Patagonia Capilene Women’s long sleeve shirt:

Retail: $29.00

I paid: $10.49 shipping included,

Saved: $18.51.

Patagonia Water Girl tee-shirt (non wicking):

Retail: ~$35.00

I counter offered/accepted/paid: $8 with shipping included.

Saved: $27.00

Patagonia Women’s R1 Fleece jacket pullover:

Retail: $77 in this color. (More in others.)

I paid: $23.29 including shipping.

Saved: $53.71.

Zella (Nordstrom Athletic brand) wicking tee-shirt:

Retail: $45.00

eBay: $16.95, Made a counter offer/accepted and I paid: $12.95 (free shipping)

Saved: $32.05

Total savings for gear found on eBay: $243.63.

Another great discount gear website is Massdrop: where they order mass amounts of an item and offer it at a steep discount. 

"A Caribbean Daydream," trip video by Aimee.

Escape to the Caribbean for 3-minutes and watch my highlights video of gorgeous waters, tropical fish, rainforest sounds and spectacular oceanic sunsets!

Ultralight Gear Review: Klymit O-Zone Air Mattress

Today I reviewed the Klymit O-Zone air mattress for a new Vlog series on YouTube called Appalachian Trail Series: Ultralight hiking gear. Check it out!

Sport Review: Rollerblading.

Apparently rollerblading has decreased in popularity recently because I bought these $200 K2-skates last weekend for $105.00 at Dick's Sporting Goods. (I'm betting that they are even cheaper in the Cold States right now.) Let me explain to you why this was such a bargain.

I have always loved K2 (ski) boots, so much in fact, that I named my cat after the brand. So when researching popular rollerblades last week, imagine my delight when I remembered that K2 also made blades! More importantly, every review that I read indicated that it was worth paying extra for these "lighter" and smoother "soft boot" blades over the other competitive brands. So I went in to our local Dick's and bought a pair, along with a set of knee/elbow/wrist pads because I knew I'd be falling...a lot. You see, it had been fifteen years since I'd bladed/roller skated and I was preparing for the worst. Add my bike helmet and I was ready to roll. The first time I went "out" to try them out, I drove back to my old apartment, 3 miles from our condo, where I knew there was beautiful new pavement on the bike path. This was a good choice for a first timer. I suited up slowly, figuring out the pads (yes, 2013 pads are much more comfortable and stylish than 1996 pads,) tying the laces, setting the velcro and ankle boot clips (which were a replica plastic version of my K2 metal winter ski boot clips, which made me happy, especially in January, knowing that I now live in Florida instead of Massachusetts) and rolled away testing out the right heel brake and doubting how that could stop me safely in a quick need to. (They can.) I rolled out about half a mile, and then came back to the car. The wheels rode as smoothly as anyone could dream of. I felt safe with my helmet and pads, and enjoyed with nervous giggling the speed I could pick up before coasting safely back to a slow glide. This is how long it took me to get comfortable adding mileage and speed.

Day 1: 1.0 miles.

Day 2: 1.2 miles.

Day 3: 4.2 miles.

Day 4: 6.0 miles.

(3 day break.)

Day 7: 1.8 miles.

Day 8: 4.0 miles. 

Which means that in a little over a week, I've logged 18.2 miles (with no wipeouts or falling) on these new blades. No blisters, or sore ankle spots. (I've been using mid-weight L.L.Bean day hiking wool socks.) I feel great. Rollerblading stimulates thighs, calves, shins, your core and arms (for balance) and is a cardio workout that is less of an impact on my knees (which were severely hurt on days 1 & 2 from running.) The first 12.4 miles on blades could probably have increased if I hadn't started this sport injured from the week of running before. 

One of my foreign exchange students bought a pair of these same blades this weekend after seeing me blade all week. She tried on a couple of brands and noticed, like I did, that these were the lightest with the K2 soft boot. I'm excited to have a blading partner for this new sport, which did I mention, is extremely fun? Since I can't ski, or mountain bike, or swim in a lake, I guess I'm sticking with blading for a while...and I'm so happy I found this sport! 

RECAP: Boston 2012 Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure!

Aimee & Liz on Day 2!

Throughout my entire life, my mom and I have been on some pretty crazy adventures. From the 13k hike with river crossings in a thunderstorm in Canada when I was a kid, to the unforgettable nightmare hike in hail for twelve grueling miles on the Fourth of July (2009), to many beautiful hikes across Joshua Tree National Park desert in CA, the Blue Ridge, the White Mountains, the Green Mountains, Eastern Canada, and around my home state Massachusetts. We were dubbed by our family members as the "Walkie Talkies" and even had matching hats and shirts for our adventures! That team spirit followed us on our latest challenge in our 3-Day Team Name: The Walkie Talkies!

Now we can add another milestone: the grueling 4-6 month training and successful completion of the 60-mile Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure event! We trained in separate states, across the country from one another, but were able to have many walks together in Florida in March, in California in April, and during two wedding trips up in New England this past spring. I was so proud that my hesitant mother, who loves walking, trusted me enough to sign up, and then see how many people were willing to support her along the way to raising the $2,300.00 needed to walk (which she did with months to spare.) My mother's energy and enthusiasm was relentless (until about 8:30pm each night of the 3-Day) and I enjoyed watching her delight and emotions all along the 60-mile trail. 

Completing an event like the 3-Day requires intense amounts of support. Waking up at 5am on both days of a weekend for months (while working full time) can be draining and I could not have done this without my best friend, and fellow walker teammate, Rachel. Thank you Rachel! As Co-Captains, Rachel and I had talked in the fall about expanding our team. I coerced convinced my high school life-long friends Jenna and Randi to join us. I was nervous about the fundraising, because $2,300 is daunting, but I knew how inspiring our first 3-Day experience in Tampa Bay in 2010 was, and I knew that if we could do this together, we would make a difference. So the challenge began!

Training for and the 3-Day event was not achieved without obstacles. The grueling physical demands of endurance walking has its own set of problems: blisters, blisters on top of blisters (yes, this exists), shin splints, road rash, hyponatremia, chafing, heat stroke, muscle sprains-pulls-pain, dehydration, hypokalemia, and more. Maintaining energy, strength and happiness is very challenging during the event especially when it rained on the camp for hours after we got in after Day 2. Again, I could not have done this without Rachel for the toughest miles on Day 2, the day I spent four months dreading...

But no 3-Day is without its own personal experiences, (like the 3am sprinklers going off on Day 2 into Day 3 on the '10 walk) and the 2012 was no exception. Rachel and I were pulled off the course at 5pm after ten hours of walking, just shy of Camp, on Day 2 for a ferocious thunder and lightning storm and relocated to the school gym of the complex we were staying at. (I was very excited to earn a "2012: I survived a Relo" button for my lanyard. I LOVE flair!) 

One of the best parts of the 3-Day is meeting new people and hearing their stories. The heartbreak, inspiring strength and resilience of these repeat-walkers always moves me to tears. One man, George, had raised his entire amount in eight days for his 9th WALK on the Komen boards because he was so well liked and remembered as "Honey, I'm hoooo-me!"and a "Man with Heart" (a group of men who carry heavy backpacks filled with anything women walkers might need) shared his heartbreaking story for an hour with me and Rachel while we were waiting for my cell to charge on night 1. After sharing some tears and his nail polish, he solidified himself in my mind as the role model for overcoming any and all adversity and loss. To another mother and her daughters walking for a cure,  my mom's "favorite" Walker-Stalker, to the people we all met individually along the trail or at night in camp, the stories create a bond of  strength and connection to these complete strangers, who have come together from all parts of the country to walk for a cause greater than any one of us. Our team, the Walkie Talkies, successfully raised just under $12,000.00 for breast cancer research and community support. The 2012 Boston Komen walk raised over $3M. It was incredible to be a part of that success. 

Even more incredible than the fundraising success, was the personal success of the journey. Seeing my mom cry as she realized the "Victory Tunnel" was a tunnel of thousands of cheering people and not a plastic football tunnel, as complete strangers saluted her efforts and sacrifices for the cure, was a highlight of my life. I am so proud to call these women, Mom, Rachel, Jenna and Randi my teammates and friends. 

If it's time to do something "bigger than yourself", or to spring board into a feasible and achievable fitness regimen, please contact me, and I'd be happy to tell you more about the 3-Day Walk. (Or any other hikes around the USA!) 

A BIG Thank You to our Sponsors, without whom we would not have been able to achieve this amazing achievement!

And finally: a special shout out to our Walker Fans who showed up along the trail to cheer our team on!

Lynne! 

Aunt Beth!

Aunt Sue & Uncle Jim!

Aunt Cheryl & Donna!

Sean and Louise!