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Posted by virtualfrog (Guest) on September 28, 2006 at 8:56:19 pm EDT
In reply to Re: Anyone else have wishy-washy decision making habits? posted by Backcountry (Guest) on September 28, 2006 at 12:28:58 pm EDT

Steve,

I've been in much the same boat as you. Here's what I did:

last year - picked up some basic gear, borrowed some from friends, went out a couple of times. I figured out the tent I bought sucked, along w/ the "50" degree fleece bag, and some other stuff. So, I read some more, picked up a 20 degree down light bag on clearance, some non-cotton clothes on sale at Target, and basically figured out how few things I could get by w/ in the woods for at least an overnight (i.e. not much, although heavily weather dependent).

This spring, I bought a nice tent (REI 1/4dome...I recommend it highly, bought on sale for $149, was going for MSR Hubba, but sale convinced me on this one). I hit the trail a bit more often, did a few more overnighters. From my basic experience this summer, I now know much of what I really need, and am working on buying some quality gear, making some of the same, and just trying weird things out w/ homemade stuff.

You say you are just working on a tent now, but you have a useable one. Cool! Go out, and use it! That's the only way you'll really see what you need. Take note of how much of the floorspace your gear takes, and what features it is really lacking, or that you don't need. It may be heavy, but sitting at home and not using it isn't going to help.

Iirc, you were workign on getting into better shape before you started hiking. Well, if you're walking a couple miles a day, I'm sure you could do a hike that's at least 5 miles each way as a nice weekend thing. Do that a few times, and see how things work out.

Make some checklists, or pre/post trip reports w/ questions like these:

Was it too heavy? Is that due to poor pack, pack adjustment, or pack weight?

Was I too cold/hot? Do I need a heavier bag, do I need to use more/fewer layers? What're possible causes?

Could I eat reasonably well? Did it take too much time/effort to do so?

Did I stay dry in rain? Did clothes work as expected, or do they need replacement? Did needed gear stay dry in my pack?

Did boots/trail runners work nicely? Too slow to dry/blisterprone? Ankles need more support? etc, etc, etc,...

Anyways, w/ a series of things like this after each post, you'll really be able to see where your needs lie. I'm still changing things after almost every hike. This week I'm trying out a homemade cozy I made to cook my food in freezer bags (space blanket, bubble wrap, and duct tape), switched my nice polycarbonate measuring cup to a used peanut butter container that I marked volumes on w/ a permanent marker (savings: almost 1/4lb), and am trying some new foods. I picked up some trash compactor bags as a pack liner, and I'm going to see if they hold up better than regular trash bags w/ the expected rain this weekend.

All the while, I'm still trying to figure out whether I'm goin to buy a Kelty Tiogo 5000ci, or a LuxuryLite pack, or just sew a new packbag for my current, ditch my tent (using shelters mostly lately), switch to an alcohol stove vs. the esbit tablets I've been using, etc, etc,...

It's just a process, and you won't gain much if you don't go out on the trail and start experimenting. What's the worst? You'll be miserable for one night? I can't be much more miserable that my first solo backpacking weekend. 50o Fleece bag in mid-20oF temps, causing me to wake up every 10 minutes to rub warmth into my feet. If I stuck my face out from under the bag, my breath started dislodging the 1/4" of iced condensate inside the tent, to boot! Couldn't see anything since my flashlight bulb burned out and couldn't find/replace a new one by feel alone either lol. Either way, it was something I could cope w/, and at worst it's 10 uncomfortable hours and 5 miles back to civilization.

So, let us know what happens. I'm always interested in hearing from others new to this.

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