Prep a Multi Day Hike - Equipment (1/2)

Equipment is probably one of the favourite topic of most engaged (Internet) hikers. There are thousands of forums on reviews of outdoor gear and gadgets. A large set of YouTubers more or less live on the topic of “outdoor gear”. I’m personally also fascinated by outdoor gear and would like to share with you some insight on what we did consider for our multi day trip when it comes to outdoor gear.

Requirements

We will spend the four days in the outdoors and rely fully on our own. We will bring all the required equipment to spend “a comfortable” four days and three nights. The main elements of our gear:

• The big three: tent, sleeping system and backpack

• A suitable backpack

• Cooking gear and water purification

• Clothing (rain gear, spare socks, puffy jacket, accessories)

• Sun protection and hygiene necessities

• First aid kit and goodies

In the following sections we dive a bit deeper into what we considered and what gear we finally chose to use on the hike. The first post will cover the big three, the second one the rest of the items. I will also write a post-hike report on how the different equipment did perform and hold up.

The Big Three

As the big three of outdoor gear are usually the following items considered:

• Shelter such as tent

• Sleeping system usually consisting of a sleeping bag and a mattress

• Backpack

Shelter

We had quite a bit of discussion and also testing on the shelter type we would like to use. We finally decided on a set of tents, some single person, some double. The following tents are going to make it to the trip:

• Zpacks Triplex: Great tent, very lightweight and quite compact. We used it as a two person shelter. In all our prior testing the tent performed very well. Condensation can be an issue - as it is with all tents and especially with single wall tents. As long as you can keep two of the vestibule flaps open it was always very manageable. The space to weight ratio is simply wonderful. What I personally also liked a lot on our prior hikes with this tent: DCF does not absorb that much water. So even when you have to pack your tent in the morning after a thunderstorm there is not much of weight penalty.

• Tarptent Aeon Li: A single person shelter, world class weight to liveability ratio. Works very well for a single person. Packability is a bit an issue due to the struts, but they offer so much addition when it comes to living space that they are worth “the pain”. We will have the pleasure to use the new 2020 version that comes with a two-way zip at the vestibule.

What other tents did we consider to bring? As mentioned there was quite a bit of debate and testing prior to the multi day hike. We are planning to spend most night above the climatic timberline and are exposed to some harsher high mountain climate. Would these ultra light tents hold up or should we stick to something beefier such as the Hillebergs. In the end, no one was willing to accept the additional weight and we decided to give the ultra lights a try. The following tents we considered as well:

• Tarptent Stratospire Li: Looks like the choice BUT it is too narrow. It can’t hold (based on specifications) two wide pads. What a pity, otherwise we would probably go with one of those. Tarptent, if you read this: please make the Stratospire a few inches wider.

• Tarptent Double Rainbox Li: Promising tent, but will it hold up to some high winds in the mountains?

• Hyperlight Mountain Gear Ultamid 2: Seems a very promising option with the half- or full-size inlet. We opted against this option as it was too expensive for our taste. Would love to test one though at some time.

• Hillebergs, especially the Soulo and the Nammatj line. In the end as mentioned, the weight and size of the packs did not entirely convince us. Let’s see if we won’t regret this choice after the trip.

Sleeping System

Everybody is planning to bring a bit a different sleep system. Each one was comfortable with something different - as this is a very personal choice. I personally love the Nemo Tensor sleep mattresses and I can’t stand the Therm-A-Rest ones as they are simply to crinkly (i.e. loud) at night. I would always go for a wide mattress. It adds so much comfort especially for my arms when sleeping on my back (as they not always fall off the mattress). The weight penalty is justified for the increase in sleep comfort to me. In the group we also have a few Exped Synmats which we also like a lot.

Interesting enough we will have no quilts in the group. Most participants chose a “standard sleeping bag” and we like the Feathered Friends offerings a lot. I am personally a big fan of the Sierra Design Cloud products. They feel more blanket like and not as restricted as a mummy bag. I feel very comfortable in these bags and usually get a good sleep - as long as it does not get too cold. These bags for me do not hold up to the comfort limit as provided by the vendor. I need to have ~5°C of safety margin to stay cosy.

Backpack

Backpacks are another field with ton of options - and most very interesting. We need something that could carry 16kg (~35 pounds) comfortably for a number of days. We are all opting for a backpack with an integrated carrying system / stays. We also were on the lookout for a backpack with a number of external pockets so that most gear required throughout the day would be easily accessible. After a number of evaluations and reading dozens of reviews we chose the following packs in the group:

• Hyperlight Moutain Gear Junction 3400: Great pack, carries weight well and is nearly indestructible. The mesh pocket is interesting, let’s see on how it performs (e.g. does not rip) over the multi days trip and especially some bush whacking. Not much fan of the centred ice axe loop and would prefer something else than velcro to close the top of the pack (tiny magnets would be great).

• Zpacks Arc Blast 55L: I had this pack for quite some time and I love it. It is extremely light, but carries weight quite well for me. I do not use the arc-feature too often as I’m getting soaked on my back anyway. The hipbelt pockets could be easier to operate.

Two of the groups use “ordinary” mountaineering packs - nothing lightweight per se. I wonder if we will see a difference over the days.

We also considered the following packs:

• ULA Circuit: Read some very good reviews online and the specifications would fit the requirements. In the end the other packs did convince more, but would love to test one of these in the near future.

• Atom Backpacks Atom+: I’m in general inclined by the Atom packs. This could be the Atom+ or the Mo. It is a shame that the packs are not waterproof per se or less water resistant than probably the Zpacks. The shoulder pouches look great as well as the bottom pocket (what a nice idea).

With the above mentioned options I think we are more than ready to tackle our adventure. In the next blog we dive into the details of all the other equipment we needed to bring onto the trip.