New Gear for the AT & PCT Thru Hike

Description

I talk about the New Gear that I will be using on my return to the AT in June 2016 & for my 2017 PCT Thru Hike.

Music By: Thunder/Dreamer

facebook.com/thunderdreamerband

Tags: Hiking (Sport),Thru-hiking,Appalachian National Scenic Trail (Protected Site),Backpacking (Sport),Gear,Pacific Crest Trail,PCT,Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail (Protected Site),Utra light gear

Video Transcription

hey guys it's Darwin so lately I have been posting a lot of pictures on my Instagram and Facebook accounts of lots of new gear and products that I've been getting so I figured I would make a video kind of explaining what the new gears for how much it weighs and what it is essentially I am planning right now for not only snuggles and I returned to the 80 the end of May and June but I'm also planning on doing some sections of the CDT this fall and a bike packing trip of the Arizona Trail but the big picture is the PCT in 2017 I'll be doing a thru-hike of the PCT solo snuggles won't be coming with me so I've already started to pick up some of the gear that I want to carry on the PCT my main objective is to go much lighter than I was on the 80 so that means new packs new quilts the advantage of getting in early is not only can I have it next year for the PCT but I can also take it out this year on the 80 so I'll be swapping out some of the gear that I had last year on my 2015 hike and finishing up my 2016 hike for the last 600 miles and essentially filled testing my new gear so let's take a look at some of it

all right so first off one of the new pieces of gear that I'll be carrying on me this year on the 80 that I didn't have last year is this my new GoPro session hero I'll pretty much be replacing the bigger bulkier Fujifilm camera that we had last year that snuggles carried and I'll be trading it up for this guy that way I can shoot videos and do weekly updates from the trail the other good thing about it is it is bluetooth and then my phone actually has the app for where I can upload the video on my phone and then either I can upload it and post it for you guys or I can send it - Blackstrap media where they will be posting some videos and updates from the trail so keep an eye out for those the new GoPro session with the tripod mount that I have and the stick pick all together it only comes in at four ounces so four ounces for some good nice high-quality video I can beat it last year when I got off the trail I had swapped from my 15 degree Big Agnes bag when it got warmer in Virginia and as the summer months started to set in I swapped it out for a mount Hardware Ultra lamina 45 synthetic bed so it was great bag nice and lightweight it came in at 25 ounces and that was 25 ounces with the z-pak stuff sack that I use but the problem was that whenever we got into the whites I was probably going to have to swap back to a little bit warmer of a bag again just because we were going to be at higher elevations the weather probably would have been a little bit colder so I was probably going to have to switch back to that Big Agnes bag instead for my PCT hike I definitely wanted to lighten my load and kind of go with one bag instead of swapping them out so I ended up going with the enlightened gear revelation it's a 20-degree bag it is a Down quilt so the great thing about that is it means that it's very versatile I can open it up and use it just as a cover it clips on to my pad and use is a full-on bag and then down here at the bottom it has an optional closed toe box or you can open it up so to me it just made much more sense going with a quilt over a mummy bag and it comes in at 24 ounces with the z-pak step set so only an ounce difference between the amount Hardware bag that I got off the 80 with and then the revelation that I'm going to be going back with but to me it just makes more sense to have more versatility it can be a warmer weather well if I want it to and it can also be a 20 degree down quilt and turn it into kind of a down bag if I need it to so again you know I got it to go on the PCT with to lighten my load and have just a one all-season bag but since I already have it and we're going to hit the 80 again in may/june I decided I'd go ahead and swap out so I'll be leaving the ultra laminate at home and not worry about swapping out for my 15 degree Big Agnes bag and I'll just be going straight to the enlightened gear revelation 20 so far I really really love this bag I'm going to end up doing a full-on review of it once I spend a little more time in it but it is just very nicely made it took quite some time to get but overall it was totally worth the wait

very nice high quality made right here in the US and this is also down tech so it has the waterproof down inside of it so I'm really really looking forward to using this in all different types of conditions

alright so next up is my down jacket last year on the 80 in 2015 I carried the Marmot Zeus it's an 800 fill down jacket size medium loved the jacket was absolutely great kept me plenty warm it weighs in at 15 and a half ounces so this year I'm actually trading up for this guy which is the mount Hardware Ghost Whisperer down jacket same thing 800 fill on the big difference is it has a hood and the other huge difference is it weighs in at 8 ounces so 8 ounces for the same level of warmth as my momma Seuss it packs down smaller and it has the hood so pretty much the reason I went to a down jacket with the hood is since I went with the quilt any time I'm in very cold weather it will act like a hood on a mummy bag that I'm not going to have with the down quote so that was a nice feature for me and then just overall it being half the weight of the Zeus it's kind of a no-brainer for me so you know I definitely got it to carry on the PCT but since I already have it I'll be swapping it out and carrying it on the 80 as well so a small one but yet another practical one I swapped my beanies for this year so last year I carried this awesome hand net beanie that was hand knitted for me from the abyss in Evansville Indiana they knitted that for me and it weighs in at 2 ounces I'm definitely comfortable I love that thing I wear it all the time now but I had the opportunity to get one of these so I went ahead and picked it up it's the Outdoor Research down beanie and it weighs in at 1 ounce so it's half the weight of the beanie that I used to carry obviously it's warmer because I think it's an 800 fill so for me it's definitely a small change only one ounce but just the whole warmth factor overall it packs down lighter and it being it half the weight of the other one I'm going to opt out and go ahead and switch to the Outdoor Research down me again bought it for the PCT but definitely plan on taking on the 80 if I can cut an ounce out of my pack it's another ounce ounces that up so yeah I'll be carrying the Outdoor Research alright guys then last but not least I have my pack that I carried in 2015 on the 80 which was the Atmos 65 by Osprey and then my new pack that I'll actually be carrying on the PCT next year in 2017 it's the Z packs are the last sixty liter cuben fiber pack now even though I am trading up some of my 80 gear for this year in 2016 with some of my 2017 PCT gear the pack is one of the things that I will not be trading in simply because I kind of feel like I started the 80 with the Atmos 65 and it's pretty important to me to finish with the same pack so even though I do have this nice new pack by Z packs I'll actually be only using it this year when I go out and do any section hikes on the CDT and then for the PCT next and then whenever we return to the 80 at the end of May beginning of June I'll actually be carrying my heavier pack the Atmos 65 by the way the Atmos 65 weighs in at 58 ounces and then the new pack the Z packs arc blast is twenty two point five so a little more than our little western half of the weight of my other pack so definitely be big weight savings whenever I do some CDT section hikes and the PCT at 2017 but like I said it's pretty important to me to keep to the same pack also I'll definitely be sticking with the Atmos so hopefully that will give you a little bit of an insight to some of the new gear choices that I'm making for my return to the 80 this year and then for my PCT through hike next year I know I've really been enjoying taking some of this stuff out and felt testing it I'm a big gear geek and love playing with gear so the more I get the more I'm going to kind of let you guys check it out and I'm also going to be doing some full-on review videos of my quilt my new pack the new tent that I got from six moons signed which isn't in the video yet but once I get those out in the field a little bit more and get a little bit more of a feeling problem I'm going to do a full-on review so definitely keep an eye out for those leave me some comments below tell me what you think of the video like or dislike my video subscribe to my channel if you haven't already go over and check out Darwin on the trail comm and check out snuggles diaries

she's been weekly posting some of her journal entries from last year on the 18 in 2015 and she'll keep posting them this year when we return to the trail so as always thank you so much for watching you