JMT Gear Breakdown

I took a lot of great gear with me on the JMT.  Most of it was relatively new to me, but I also took some old favorites.  I have to say, it may have been a shorter trip than most, but I really figured out a lot about my system and what worked as well as what needs reworking.  Here the breakdown!

What Worked

Zpacks Arc Blast Slim – I have had a few UL packs since sending my old, heavy REI pack on its way, but none have been as comfortable to wear as this pack.  In fact, when I had it loaded up, it felt like that old 3 lb pack with all of it’s thick padding and weighty framing was back there instead of this 1 lb (with hip pockets) beauty.  Once I found the sweet spot on my body where this pack sat best, it felt like I had 5 lbs on my back instead of the 15 that I was actually carrying.  I’m still thinking about getting a Zpacks Zero small for those quick summer trips and SUL/XUL trips, but I am seriously considering trying to see if this pack could work for all my trips even if it means having way more space than I’d ever need on smaller trips.  Seriously, I’m not exaggerating when I say this is the one and only pack I ever want to carry.

I got it in the orange so that it would be very visible and make me very visible.  Most of what I wear is aimed at retaining as much heat or reflecting as much heat as I can, depending on the situation.  Those types of colors are rarely the ones that will be seen from the air or far away in rescue situations or make you visible to others if you’re hiking in hunting season.  I went ahead and got the orange to have just one piece that would be easy to see and I really do love the orange as well.  I had them put the S straps that they can do on request to work around my womanly figure and I had picked up a set of the old hip belt pockets that had the buckles a bit ago that I used with this.  I can’t even begin to describe how nice it is to have the S straps and how comfortable they were.  I have the same complaints with the old pockets that everyone else has had, they are miserable to get shut with just one hand, but they let me see how pockets worked with this pack.  I’ll probably be picking up a set of the new zipper ones at some point.  The slim has no pockets at all and just the bungie cord across the front.  This is the second reason I wanted to get the Slim version.  I have had outer mesh pockets before and I’ve not been very pleased with them.  I know people who have and love them, but I haven’t found it to be super useful and the mesh is just not durable over time even with being careful so I was happy to get a pack that held it all inside the main part of the bag instead.

Because I had a bear can (the Bear Vault 500) in this pack, I didn’t stretch the frame into a very big curve, so I could have the most room with the least strain on the pack materials.  A bear can is doable in it, but I would get a bigger size if you were going to make it a regular habit as I could tell I was pushing the limits of the pack in the smaller 35 L size.  I also started placing my Gossamer Gear Thinlight pad across the front of the outside to protect the material and get the most space inside.  As it is, I still ended up with a few tiny scrapes across the front.  I think it probably happened on the bus since I didn’t have them when I left home and they were there when I got to Yosemite.  On the way home I was far more paranoid with it and ended up with no extra damage.  The scratches I got weren’t even all the way through the fabric and I don’t even think they compromised the waterproof of the fabric at all.  It appeared as if the orange color was just scraped a bit.  All the same, I’ve bought some of the new patches that Zpacks is selling for the hybrid material and I’ll putting one in my repair kit.  I’ve only had this pack for a few months, but I know that it will be my go to pack until it can no longer be held together.  At which point I’m going to happily slap down another $230 for the same pack again.

Enlightened Equipment 20 Degree Quilt (old design with Karo baffles) – This is the old design and can’t be bought new anymore, but I can see why it was so popular in the first place.  It is a sweet quilt!  Based on the thermometer on my EDC (every day carry) lanyard, it got down to about 30 degrees and boy was I cozy!  The things that I liked about this quilt that are still the same in every EE quilt today are the foot box design and the optional straps that help keep the quilt over the pad.  The foot box is really well designed to give you multiple options on how open or closed you want it and that was really nice.  I could just cinch the cord up for a loose foot box, cinch it up and zip the zipper for a more structured foot box, or I could do all that and snap the 1-2 snaps that go up even higher for a really solid and tall foot box.  The first is great in warmer weather like we had in Yosemite valley when it was only getting to about 40 degrees and the second was great for the 30 degree night I spent on trail.  I can imagine that the last option would be really nice when it comes to the lowest temperatures this quilt was meant for.  The straps that you can use or leave at home were also really nice in the colder weather to keep the quilt tightened around me all night and kept it from slipping off the pad and me.  The cinch cord and snap at the head end are also very nice for keeping the quilt more around my shoulders and the opening at my head a bit smaller.  Without the top cinched down, I could wrap the top around my head like a hood which is a great option in colder weather.

One of the features I liked about this quilt which is no longer available, was the Karo baffling.  I’ve heard mixed reviews and there are some things that have to be got around with this style, but it also opens up a lot of options as well.  First thing I did was shift most of the down the the center baffles and especially away from my face area.  My thinking was that if the quilt was hanging over the edge of the pad, the down was basically wasted.  That worked really well for back sleeping, but of course left me with cold butt syndrome when trying to side sleep.  Happily, the Karo baffles meant it was easy to move the down back where I felt cold spots.  Having it away from my face ended up being really nice when I pulled it all over my head because it gave me some extra warmth without suffocating me.  One thing that I would like to try is shifting the down all to the second half of the quilt and using it more like an elephant foot in conjunction with a coat to see if I could make use of it in even lower than normal temps.  All in all this is a solid buy that I would make again, though I probably won’t have to for a good 10+ years thanks to the quality workmanship and down that has been used to make this amazing quilt.

Thermarest NeoAir Original 72″ – This is one of those items that I really wish they still made because after several nights in a row, this is the only pad I’ve used that keeps my back from hurting and I know my hip would have been much worse off.  Thankfully they sell the newer version, the NeoAir Xlite, but I wish it still had the square shape.  If this pad ever pops, I’m sure I’ll get the new version because it is warm, soft, not that noisy, and really comfortable.  I slept straight on the pad and had no issues with me sliding off the pad.  The key is blowing up the pad the whole way, laying on it the way you would if you were asleep and then slowly letting the air out until it feels right.  It didn’t take long to get used to just how much air needed to be let out and it allowed me to sink into the pad, preventing me from rolling off and giving the pad a softer feel that is more like my mattress at home.

Zpacks Pillow Dry Bag – This little bag worked out well as both a dry bag for my quilt and a pillow for my bed.  I have the original version back when my only choice was the medium.  The size works well for 2 season gear, but is a tight squeeze for my 20 degree quilt.  I make it work, but if I were to buy it again, I’d get the medium plus for my set up.  As a pillow, it was a lot more comfortable than one would imagine.  If you get your spare clothes in there well, it isn’t even very lumpy and the fleece was much nicer than a regular old stuff sack.  The only issue I see happening in the future is in summer when I don’t take extra clothes.

My New Zpacks Tarp!

Zpacks Custom 53″ x 96″ Tarp – This was my 2014 birthday present and it has been one of my favorite pieces to date.  When I decided that I wanted a tarp I did some thinking about what size tarp I truly needed.  I saw that most people were using 9′ to 10′ long tarps, but the folks using them were also much closer to 6′ people.  Being the small, barely 5’3″ tall, person that I am, it occurred to me that I might not need such a long tarp.  Turns out most other UL folks seemed to agree, telling me that your tarp should be about 3 feet longer than you are.  So I decided on an 8′ and knowing I don’t like sitting in my shelter and only like being in it to sleep, I decided it only needed to be as wide as one panel of cuben fiber.  That makes this tarp nearly 4.5′ wide.  I went back and forth on having a custom Zpacks regular one or the MLD poncho tarp.  I settled on the Zpacks in the end and Joe was happy to provide.

It took a bit of practice to perfect pitching, but once I got the hang of it, it was fairly simple and kind of fun!  The size is just right for me and I’m really happy I went with it.  If I wanted to hang out in my shelter or I was looking at days and days of bad weather, this would not be what I would take.  In the dry Southwestern and Sierra environments that I have been in recently and have used this tarp in, it is just the ticket!  I’ve also recently recieved a custom bug bivy from Borah Gear.  It is the one thing that I was missing with this shelter.  With the crawlies and flash floods here in Arizona, a good bathtub floor and bug netting can be essential.  It wasn’t a problem on the JMT at all for me, but if I had gone earlier in the season last year, it would have been.  The rains last summer had more than a few people waterlogged and feeling a bit under prepared.

Esbit Titanium Folding Stove – I wanted to give esbit a second try last year and picked up this little Titanium folding stove from my local hike shop that also happily sells the 4g tablets which are smaller and far more ideal for smaller amounts of water.  This has been working really well since I got it.  I know that the type of stove is as responsible for how well a fuel works, but it didn’t occur to me that switching from the big box folding stove to this small little version would make that big of a difference, but it has because since switching, I haven’t had any issues.  This little stove is a winner and will likely be in my kit on many trips in the future!

Aqua Clips – These were probably my favorite small find of the year last year.  They only cost $3 each and easily made my hiking experience 80% better.  I slipped these on my hip belt and for the entire hike I could reach my water without risking a leak inside my bag, dislocating my shoulder or putting any pressure on my shoulders.

The following is a list of the small things that worked, but I just don’t have much to say at this point.

Sawyer Squeeze – Most UL backpackers have switched to the Sawyer Squeeze or the Sawyer Mini in the last few years.  The Squeeze is my choice because sometimes I use it with Richard as well.  I’ve used it before and will continue to use it as it is small, light and has yet to fail me!

Petzl E Light – This little light worked well for what I needed.  All I used it for was looking into my bag for things and going to the bathroom at night.  I didn’t use it for night hiking, cooking after dark, or any other task that could use a higher lumen output than this little guy.

Bear Vault 500 – I borrowed one of these and it worked well.  It did fit into my pack, but it was tight.  I’d not use anything of a larger circumference.  It is really hard to open with gloves or cold fingers.

Terramar Long and Short Sleeve Tops – These two shirts have taken me through a lot of weather and they just keep going.  For the price of these pieces and the quality, these are shirts, I’d buy again in a heartbeat.

Terramar Bottoms – I hold the same opinion of these that I do the Terramar tops!

Darn Tough Socks – These are the only socks I wear hiking and they are quickly becoming the only socks I wear at home too.  They just keep trucking and with the lifetime warranty, their price is well worth it.

Dirty Girl Gaiters – These beauties did their job perfectly!

Buff – Worked great!

Smart Wool Glove Liners – Kept my fingers warm and have been really nice quality.

What Needed Tweaking

Zpacks Hip Pockets (old version) – There was a good reason why Zpacks changed these pockets to a zippered closure.  I have the old fold down and buckle version and they just don’t function very well.  I kind of knew that when I got them, but a friend sold them to me so I could try out the pockets without spending the big bucks on the new ones as I wasn’t sure if I needed them or not.  I definitely need them.  They were great for snacks and my camera, but they were hard to close.  The new versions are on my list of things to pick up at some point, but these do work okay for now.

What Did Not Work

Snow Peak Hybrid Summit Cook Pot – This was the first solo pot I purchased and it has gone on to someone else.  It was a great first pot, but it was way too big for my uses.  Even the most water I needed to boil on this trip filled only a small portion of this pot.  I was really happy with the quality and construction of Snow Peak so after this trip, I replaced it with a used Snow Peak 600 that came with the hotlips and an aftermarket Four Dog Stove lid.

Columbia Aruba V Convertible Pants – I love Columbia clothing, but these were a failure for me because the waist was not stretchy at all.  When sitting on the ground, a person’s body is more in a V shape than an L shape and with those angles, the waistband cut into my gut so bad it would make me sick withing 30 minutes.  I have yet to find pants that won’t either cut into me when sitting or fall off of me when standing while also being light and breathable except for tights which I am uncomfortable wearing by themselves.  So for my birthday Richard bought me a Purple Rain Adventure Skirt that I’ve been wearing for a few months now.  I will have a review coming up, but all I’ll say for now is these pants are on their way out the door.

 

I took a few other things that aren’t mentioned here, but it was either not used or is among the things that you always take anyway.  Sorry for the crazy long post and the lateness of it, but being without internet for 3 months really set me back.