I have been spending the last couple of weeks going over my gear, researching weather predictions and deciding whether or not to change out some things. I took my third backpack and returned it to REI with the intention of exchanging it for a Deuter, when low and behold, the one I wanted all along was hanging there. If I had allowed someone to measure me in the beginning, It is likely I would have bought that pack to begin with and not needed to go through the pain of carrying around a backpack that was too big for me.
My next gear change is with my tent. Mother goose, my hiking buddy from last year is selling me a Big Agnes Seedhouse for 125.00 plus shipping. I woke to many wet mornings in my single wall tent from condensation last season, This time I hope to be able to stay dry in my shelter without needing to slip on my rain gear inside the tent, then dry out my down and everything else that got wet from the Rain inside my tent!
I am very much attached to my JetBoil stove, but its really heavy at 16oz, without fuel. I am switching to a Pocket Rocket, titanium pot, cozy and windscreen at half the weight of the jetboil. The trade off is efficiency. My Jetboil cooks very fast, at less than 3 minutes due to its innovative flux ring cook pot. I think I can handle the trade off, a couple more minutes to boil water is worth the weight savings over the long haul..
