My Backpacking / Hiking and Camping Gear

I like to carry as much stuff as necessary to be comfortable but with as little weight as possible in my pack, so as to increase mileage and comfort. Right now, I average about 25 pounds for a weekender. That's not exactly ultra-light, but I'm happy with my pack weight for now. Soon, I hope to add some pictures of me "decked out" in and/or with some of my gear.

Sleeping Gear / Shelter

The most visible item in a backpacker's campsite is the tent. When I got to looking into buying a tent, I was pretty dismayed. Most were bulky, heavy, expensive, or hard to set up. Then I stumbled upon the REI Half Dome. It just looked interesting. It was moderately priced ($125), not too heavy (just over 5 lbs.), free standing, and easy to set up.

My sleeping bags are also pretty ordinary. I have 2 Kelty Clear Creek +20° mummy bags that cost me about $90 each. For the price, they are nice sleeping bags. My newest addition is an REI Travelsack +55° bag. Under the bag I use I have a Therm-a-Rest self-inflating full-length sleeping pad.

Food and Water Preparation

I prefer the Mountain House line of freeze dried foods, so these are the main cooked foods I choose to pack and eat while on outings. I use an MSR Whisperlite 600 Internationale stove. The stove itself weighs less than a pound and it runs on White Gas, Unleaded Automotive Gasoline, Kerosene, or Aviation Fuel.

I carry a PUR Voyageur (Level I) Purifier, mainly for convenience. It's great to come across a stream and start drinking clean water two minutes later. Sure, iodine works. It kills Giardia, viruses, and almost everything else, and I don't mind its taste (too much).

Rappelling Gear

Thanks to several friends of mine, a renewed interest in climbing and rappelling has been reborn in me.

Item	Weight (lb, oz)	Source
Blue Water Assault Line II (150')	8,3	Bass Pro Shops
Blue Water Rope Bag	0,13.7	Bass Pro Shops
Black Diamond Super 8	87 grams	REI
REI Locking Carabineer (x1)	54 grams	REI
REI Classic D Carabineer (x2)	51 grams	REI
U.S. Military Oval Carabineers (x2)		Gift
Black Diamond Bod Harness	1,2	REI
REI Spire Men's Harness	0,12.5	REI
PMI Rappelling Gloves	0,4.7	REI

Other stuff

Clothes are a big deal to some people. After all, you're not a "real" hiker or backpacker until you have that $400, waterproof, bombproof, super-insulated, hyper-wicking, ultra-light-weight pair of socks. Or are you? Some of the other things I like to carry are listed below.  I just want to stay warm (or cool - depending upon the season that it may be at the time) and dry and have comfort both on the trail and in the campsite. Ok, so I could probably do without most of these things. But I'm not going to. For a little extra weight, they make the trip much more enjoyable. I used to carry my Canon A-1 35mm camera, and any combination of the lenses listed below, and it takes great pictures. Recently, I made the leap from film cameras to digital cameras (I am not getting rid of any of my film cameras though) so now I take my Canon Digital Rebel XT with me on trips and it takes incredible pictures at 8.2 Megapixels and since I have a high-speed 2G Compact Flash card, I can store a vacation's worth of shots usually on one card.

Cold/Wet Weather Clothing

What can I say... other than, "The North Face"!

Backpack(s)

So, where do I keep all this stuff? I made a decision early on to go with an internal frame pack. I picked up the Mountainsmith Circuit II backpack when Gander Mtn. Sporting Goods came to Sherman.  I was looking for a pack that was larger in capacity than my REI pack (below) and for longer trips. I liked this pack from the moment I saw it, and with its 6000 cubic inch capacity, there's not a lot I can't carry on a backpacking trip now. I wanted to stay with the internal frame models simply because I am comfortable with them. This is now my Main Pack. If you click on the image at the right you will see a larger image of the pack.
Mountainsmith Circuit II	$114	5,13	Gander Mtn.
I bought the 2000 model REI Cima 60 Large for $238. It's not really heavy and is an internal frame model, and it carries a 4,400 cubic inch load well. Not to mention that I'm quite happy with it. If you click on the image at the right you will see a larger image of the pack.
REI Cima 60 Large	$238	5,15	REI

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This page was last edited or changed on Sunday, February 17, 2008 10:04:01 AM -0600.