Backpacking Gear Test 2012

Earlier this year I purchased a day pack and lightweight hiking boots for a trip to Europe, so for this year's gear test I decided to see if they would be suitable for an overnight backpack. For last year's Backpacking Gear Test I had a base weight (without fuel, water, fuel) of 14 lbs and a total pack weight of 19 lbs. This year I had a base weight of 12 lbs and a total pack weight of 17 lbs: a reduction of 9%.
Gear Weights
I took the 2012 gear on an overnight hike from Bottchers Gap to Jackson Camp in the Ventana Wilderness, 5 miles each way.
Mountain Hardware Hueco 34

The Hueco is a climbing pack. At 34 liters is is much smaller than my previous packs, and because of this it is almost a pound lighter than my previous lightest pack even though it is not an "ultralight" pack. With a new down sleeping bag (below) I was just barely able to squeeze in all my overnight gear. While the pack is hydration reservoir compatible it would not fit with my other stuff, so I am back to carrying two cycling water bottles externally. Unlike the Granite Gear Escape the external bottle pockets are not reachable while the pack is worn.
The Hueco does not have a proper hip belt; instead it simply has a 1.5 inch web belt (probably to keep the pack in place while climbing). I was curious to try a pack without a hip belt, as I have found that with each lighter pack in my progression I have gotten less "lift" from the hip belt, and have noticed that many leading-edge ultralight pack vendors (such as Gossamer Gear) also often omit hip belts. A hip belt would not work with a pack as short as the Hueco, and I found that with a load of 17 lbs I was ok without one. Of course on a longer or multi-day hike I might feel differently.
REI Igneo Sleeping Bag
This is an 800-fill down bag, rated to 19 degrees, long length. It has a waterproof+ breathable coating on the shell, which got me past my previous concerns about a wet down bag. Note the seams are not taped, so a waterproof bivy is still required. And they recommend stuffing the bag inside out (probably to avoid damaging the waterproof coating while stuffing), so a hydration reservoir leak in the pack could still be a serious problem. At 2.2 lbs it is only 9% lighter than my synthetic North Face Orion (20 degrees, regular length) bag, but as a down bag it compresses much smaller.
With one night's use in a bivy I found the Igneo much more comfortable than the Orion. The long length was more amiable to side sleeping, and the down felt more "fluffy" than the Orion which always seemed sparse. I felt warm all night, though it may not have been as cold as my previous trips. In the morning the only water I found in the bivy was underneath the sleeping pad, and the bag was dry, so I guess the waterproof+breathable coating worked.
Durham Cloud Hiking Boot
Durham is also made by New Balance, and comes in narrow widths. They have apparently stopped making my previous Rainier Hiking Boots; if so I should have stocked up. The Cloud is comfortable, and a pair is almost a pound lighter than the Rainier. They worked fine for carrying my light 17 lb load, but I would want my Rainiers for carrying 40+ lbs for a week in the Sierras.

Backpacking Gear Test 2011

For last year's Backpacking Gear Test I had a base weight (without fuel, water, fuel) of 16 lbs and a total pack weight of 22 lbs. This year I experimented with some different equipment for a base weight of 14 lbs and a total pack weight of 19 lbs: a reduction of 11%.

Gear Weights

I took the 2011 gear on an overnight hike from Old Coast Road to Pico Blanco Camp in the Ventana Wilderness, 6 miles each way. This trail is NOT recommended, as it is very rough and difficult to follow.

Osprey Variant 52 Pack



This pack is slightly heavier than last year's Granite Gear pack, and should be more durable. With metal framing instead of just plastic, it better supports loads. It is actually intended for ski mountaineering/rock climbing, and was quite maneuverable when crawling over and under logs. The external gear attachment points were useful for boots for wading water crossings. The external pockets are too small for water bottles, so I carried all water and everything else inside the pack. This was important when crashing through tall brush. At 52 L the capacity is smaller than my other packs, but I was only carrying a bivy instead of a tent. With the expansion collar extended it has plenty of capacity for Jeep trips, though it isn't well balanced when packed that tall.

Marmot Alpinist Bivy



Sleeping under the stars was enjoyable in the bivy, though I might have a different opinion if it had rained. In the morning there was a small amount of condensation on the outside of the sleeping bag and inside of the bivy, and this condensation may have contributed to an early morning chill greater than the temperature warranted. Both did dry quickly once the sun rose.

As seen on the spreadsheet the other big weight savings was from omitting all the cooking gear and dehydrated food, and only bringing Powerbars. This is tolerable for an overnight, but would not be for longer. I may experiment next with other varieties of uncooked food for short trips. Hiking with the low weight was enjoyable, and this trail would have been even more difficult with my usual heavier load.

Where's Eric?

I recently investigated CB radios for use on an upcoming Jeep Jamboree. On the forums I saw some folks also using ham radios. This looked interesting, so I studied for and obtained an amateur radio license, and got a Yaesu VX-8GR 144/430 MHz handheld. This handheld also has a GPS, and supports APRS (Automatic Packet Reporting System). With APRS enabled the radio will regularly broadcast its current position and status to nearby APRS enabled receivers.

My last reported position and status is available mapped at http://aprs.fi/?call=kj6njo-7

While the web display is similar to position displays enabled via smart phones, it differs in fundamental ways. APRS is peer-to-peer over radio, so each station is communicating directly with other nearby stations. Each handheld is able to directly generate and display the list of nearby stations, without using internet connectivity. This means a group of APRS users outside cell range can operate independently.

Backpacking Gear Test 2010

In last year's Backpacking Gear Test I achieved a base weight (without food, water, or fuel) of 23 lbs and a total pack weight of 30 lbs. This year I have replaced various items, and gotten down to a base weight of 16 lbs and a total pack weight of 22 lbs : a reduction of 8 lbs, or over 25%.

Gear Weights (spreadsheet)

I took all the 2010 listed gear to Castle Rock State Park. I hiked 2.6 miles (each way) with full pack to Castle Rock Trail Camp, and stayed overnight.

Granite Gear Escape A.C. 60 Pack





The Escape is Granite Gear's newest ultralight pack. Compared to last year's North Face El Lobo 65, it is over 2 lbs lighter. It has 5 liters less rated capacity (60 versus 65L), but with the rest of this year's compact new gear I actually have more free space than before. It is rated for a maximum load of 35 lbs (versus 70 for the El Lobo), but I've discovered I have zero interest in carrying heavy loads. The Escape only has a plastic frame sheet (versus the internal aluminum X-frame of the El Lobo) and has a smaller hip belt, so the El Lobo would be preferable for heavy loads. Overall I found the Escape with lighter load more comfortable than last year's El Lobo with heavier load.

The Escape omits various features the El Lobo has, including separate sleeping bag compartment, attached padded belt for the detachable lid as a fanny pack (the Escape lid does have belt loops), extra zippered entries, etc. It does also have a hydration compartment (internal pocket for a "camelback" bladder, plus drinking tube ports), but I used the external bottle holsters instead. They are angled so bottles can be accessed while the pack is on. This frees up more internal space, and eliminates opportunities for liquid disasters.

Big Agnes Fly Creek UL1 Tent









This year I've switched to a one-person tent. The Fly Creek UL1 saves over 2 lbs compared to last year's Sierra Designs Vapor Light 2 XL. This tent is smaller : I can only sit upright in the exact enter of the tent, and my head does touch both sides when I do so. My regular length North Face sleeping bag exactly fits in the tent length. There isn't room to place my pack beside me, but since I only carry a short sleeping pad I use my empty pack as leg rest. One nifty feature: a pocket in the mesh roof holds a headlamp perfectly positioned for night reading (see flyless second image).

The tent is free-standing, though it needs 2 stakes at the rear to pull the foot area open. It also came with the same aluminum stakes as last year's Vapor Light 2 (see stake picture with last year's blog entry). This year I decided to give them a try. They worked fine: no bent stakes. And a tip: the titanium wire handle of a folding spork can be placed through the small hole to use as a stake-puller. Don't try to pull them by hand.

Therm-a-Rest ProLite Air Mattress, Small

See image inside tent, above. This doesn't save weight compared to my earlier closed cell foam pad, but it is much more compact when rolled. They do make an even lighter pad, but user comments have had concerns about durability. As stated above I am using my empty pack as leg rest, so a small works fine.

REI Ti Ware Titanium Pot - 0.9 Liter

I picked this up on close-out sale last year; this non-nonstick version has been discontinued. I only use it to boil water for dehydrated meals, so I don't need the nonstick. My stove melted the silicone coating off the fold-out wire handles almost immediately, so I threw the handles away and use the old pot-lifter from my MSR steel pot set instead. This expensive pot does feel cheap (the lid wants to drop into the pot), but at 0.9L it does balance over my stove better the the 2L MSR pot, and most importantly it saves half a pound and a bunch of pack space. Yes, I bought a folding Ti spork, as my old plastic utensils won't fit inside the 0.9L pot. As stated above, the spork wire handle can double as a tent stake puller...

Other Changes

Include headlamp instead of mini-mag-lite, and a lighter first aid kit.

Backpacking Gear Test

After hauling my camping gear to the airport for RAGBRAI, at the magazine stand I noticed the cover of the latest issue of Backpacker: "Your Lightest Load Ever!" Intrigued, I read all about Ultralight Backpacking and the newest lightweight tech. Then I started shopping. I ended up backing off from ultralight, and now could be classified as lightweight+: 23 lbs base weight (without food, water, fuel).

Gear Weights (spreadsheet)

All listed weights measured myself with a Cuisinart kitchen scale.

I took all the listed gear to Pinnacles National Monument as a test. One night in the campground, day hikes to the Bear Gulch (2.4 miles) and Balconies (5.4 miles) caves, plus 2 miles with full pack. Impressions follow.

North Face El Lobo 65 Pack



This was the one non-"ultralight" purchase. I considered several other recommended ultralight packs, including the North Face "Flight" series Skareb 65, but wasn't able to convince myself of their durability or gear hauling ability (assuming I didn't commit to ultralight for everything else). The El Lobo has some useful features over the Skareb, including a separate sleeping bag compartment and a detachable lid converting to a padded fanny pack. I used the lid pack to carry two 0.7 L water bottles plus food and flashlight for the day hikes. According to spec the El Lobo (at 4 lb 4 oz) was only supposed to be 8 oz heavier than the Skareb (at 3 lb 12 oz). However, my scale shows the El Lobo at 5 lb 6 oz -- over a lb above spec.

In the field the pack worked fine. Held all my (new) stuff, comfortable on the trail. Built-in hydration compartment (common in new packs) is great for hiking, though an internal leak would be very messy. Katadyn water filter (tested at home, not on trip) does provide quick-connect fittings for the drinking hose so the reservoir doesn't have to be opened or removed to refill. Hopefully this will reduce the odds of mishap.

Sierra Designs Vapor Light 2 XL Tent

This tent replaces my 1990 North Face Coriolis 2-person tent (7 lbs with footprint). The Vapor Light saves over 2 lbs, while still being a 2 person tent -- so far I find one-person tents too claustrophobic (plus I like keeping my pack inside). I do expect the Vapor Light to be less durable; I would rather have the North Face in an Iowa Tornado. The stakes it came with (middle) are a joke:



So I replaced them with REI stakes (top) similar to those provided by North Face with my old tent.

I went with the REI-exclusive XL model (93" long, instead of 83" in the non-XL) so it could fit my old long sleeping bag (86"). My old tent was 90" long.

North Face Orion Sleeping Bag (20 deg, synthetic, regular length)

This bag replaces my 1990 North Face Cats Meow (20 deg, synthetic, long length) bag (3 lb 11 oz), saving 1 lb 4 oz. More importantly, the new bag fits in the sleeping bag compartment of the El Lobo pack, and leaves enough room that the hydration pack can be used without the new tent being carried outside the pack. Yes, down could have been even smaller and lighter. I don't want to worry about a wet bag. I decided to go with regular length since most ultralight one-person tents can't hold a long bag. Trying it in the store, regular bags do hold a six-foot person -- if they are sleeping on their back like a mummy.

In testing, I found this doesn't really work for side-sleepers. You get a cold draft over the shoulder, since you can't scoot down to cover unless your legs are bent. I also experimented with the head-cinch cord, which I normally never use (again too claustrophobic). My old North Face bag had a rope cord, and a normal-sized squeeze-lock. The Orion has an elastic cord, and a tiny squeeze lock which gives no feedback as to whether the tiny button is activated. As a result I broke the elastic inside the hood while trying to open it during the night. Frankly this worries me about North Face's "Flight" ultralight product line (including this Orion bag, and the Skareb pack I had considered). With almost 20 years of North Face products (discussed above, plus a ski shell and down jacket) I've never managed to break anything until now. Fortunately I don't use the head cinch anyway. Looking at other bags at REI (including the current Cats Meow) they all use larger squeeze locks and many use ropes instead of elastic. I only found the micro squeeze lock on some ultralight packs.

New Balance 1500 Rainier Hiking Boot

Replaces Vasque hiking boot. Weights are basically the same: 3 lb/pair. Benefit (over many other options) of these New Balance is that they actually come in B widths. No blisters in two days (moderate, hot) hiking.

With a fully loaded pack weight of 30 lbs I didn't want to try just using low-cut trail shoes.

Trimble Outdoors Android G1 Phone App

This was a last-minute Android Market download/purchase, as I didn't want to add 5 oz for my old Garmin GPS (which also has a horrible menu interface, and doesn't support map downloads). I haven't figured it all out yet. I got waypoints for Pinnacles High Peaks Trail onto my GPhone, but didn't download a topo map.



One hilarious part: Help requires web access. Hope you're not too lost.

Next Steps

Turns out my old steel MSR pots are now considered "expedition grade". Ultralight titanium is apparently the new hotness...