Gear

Gear

Here is a list of the gear that I'm bringing to Argentina. I will post comments on how the gear preforms under different conditions. I doubt this will be very interesting to many. This is really more for me.

Backpack: Lowe Alpine TFX Horizon 65
Paid: 135$
This pack has a bunch of features (sleeping bag compartment, place for a water bladder, adjustable fit, rain cover) for the price. I wish it held a little more but it has plenty of place to latch things to the outside. I have had 45-50 lbs in the bag on prob and carried it for over 4 miles. The side pockets really suck. I'm happy with the bag for the money I paid but I wish I had another 100$ to buy one that address all the above gripes.

Sleeping bag:
REI Polar Pod +20
Paid 65$
I like the shape of this bag. The little "pillow pocket" on the inside is nice. I really like how you can pretty much make yourself a cocoon if you really need to. None of these things are unique to this bag in particular but they are cool. I had trouble with the zipper but I always hate zippers on camp stuff. The bag seems big to me and is hard to stuff into a little space. I don't know if other bags can address this or not but I will check this on the next bag I buy. I slept in the bag one cool night in the summer. I slept fine once I got comfortable my back was a little tight when I woke up. Next time I will use a sleeping pad.

Boots: Hi-Tec V-Lite FastHike Low Light-Hiking
Paid: 45$
I like the boots. Easy to wear, kept my feet dry, traction is good, looks only O.K.

Tent: Kelty Pagosa 4
Paid 144$
I love this tent! This tent is easy to set up. I love how you just hook the clips to the tent poll instead of running the polls through the tent. It rained hard one afternoon and the tent was bone dry better yet the tent took the wind without so much as a flinch. My tent may have a design flaw. One corner of the rain fly does not have a plastic clip like the other three and that seems odd. I may have been better off buying a two person tent and saving the weight however I'm willing to haul the extra weight for the extra space. My nephew Kaleb broke one of the tie dows. I bought some nylon rope and replaced the broken rope. Worked like charm.

Raincoat: Marmot Oracle Jacket
Paid: 110$
Perfect jacket. You can shove it in a small space. The fit is perfect for me. I can't get over how useful the rain proof coating is. Pit zips - genius. Looks really good as outerwear. I find myself reaching for this jacket instead of my favorite heather grey ultra worn in hoodie - that is saying something. I would recommend this jacket to anyone. I know I will have this baby for a good long time.

Camera: Olympus stylus 850SW
Paid: 280$
This camera is waterproof to 10 feet and shockproof if dropped at 5 feet. That is why I bought this cam. The zoom is limited and the pixils should be more but I understand that waterproofing the camera is where the money was spent. I do like the little features (high speed, panorama, etc.) Overall the camera takes good pics and I don't have to worry about breaking it.

CamelBack 70oz water blatter
Paid: 27$
I feel bad even posting this. I went to WalMart and found basically the exact non name brand blatter for 8 dollars! The only reason that I didn't take the thing back is beacuse I love using it so much and didn't want to find the box and take it back and then make something up about how I didn't want it and all that jazz. I would say this is a must for any one using a heavy pack. Hands free water and I recently bought a clip to keep the straw in place so the whole thing works even better. 70oz is good but I would buy a much bigger blatter if my pack could hold it. 70oz is enough for one person by themself for a full day - any more than that and you will need another water source. I'm still trying to find a way to carry multiple water bladders at the same time. Little tip: load your blatter full of ice and then put the water in. As the ice melts the water stays very cold.

JanSport Odyssey Day pack
Paid 50$
I bought this pack at an outlet store outside of ATL. At the time I feelt like to was spending to compulsively but I'm glad I bought this bag. The specs say that it only holds 38L but that seems too low. My big pack holds 65L. The little back seems like it can hold just as much and the bigger pack. I love the features. There is room for a hydration pack (I bought the cheaper one at Walmart for 10 dollars) plenty of little nooks to store things. Best part about this pack is the suspension. There is a hip belt - which I love, latch points, and plenty of room to adjust the load. I like the pack so much that I left my carry on in TN and put everything is this bag. I put everything in the new bag with room to spare. I'm pleased with the pack - plus it allows me to have a smaller pack to go on shorter trips and retains all the features of my bigger pack. I'm going to stitch my name in this pack just as I did the other one.

Swiss Army Camper Knife
Paid 24$
This is just a basic little Swiss Army Knife. There are 10 different function, two blades, can opener, bottle opener, and a couple of other things. I would really like to have a pair of scissors but I did not feel like paying the extra money b/c I knew I could get buy with just the most basic unit. I was surprised to know that the price that I got on the street was cheaper than I found on line.