I went and ordered the Lightheart Solo cuben instead, but your reviews really helped in the decision making. In the end, I could not get my head around the floating floor idea.

Welcome to the addiction…the itch that you can never scratch…

I hear ya about reading all the books…they are fun…all kinds…guide books, data books, journal entries…everything…I don’t think that you will get out of this “stage”…or maybe I am just still in it yet and haven’t moved on…

Some of my fun reads were A Walk in the Woods, Three Hundred Zeroes and Just Passin’ Thru. I am actually expecting 3 more books in anytime… Ultralight Backpacking Tips, The Ultimate Hiker’s Gear Guide and Appalachian Trials: A Psychological and Emotional Guide To Thru-Hike the Appalachian Trail (Volume 1). Of course I keep a copy of the Companion Guide close by too… And there are more…

First trip coming up! Sounds exciting… Just remember…ounces add up to pounds… take what you need and nothing more…before packing each thing up in your pack ask yourself do you really need this…

As far as what to expect…expect to learn…how does your body react to carrying that pack and hiking up that mountain/down that trail? Keep up with your gear and take notes…what worked the way you planned it too, what didn’t? Make a list of all the items you actually did use, and the ones you never did…review those lists the next time you head out on the trail…especially the list of things you didn’t use or you could have done away with… A multiuse item is gold…it means you can leave something else behind…

Take your time…put one foot in front of the other…breathe in and breathe out… take in the beauty that surrounds you and just enjoy yourself. Listen to your body…when it gets tired take a break…when it gets thirsty drink…when it gets hungry, eat…

It will all be fine…

Except for the fact that it will be done and you won’t be able to wait to get back out there again…

Anyway, I hope this helps some…if you have any questions please feel free to ask away. Also, if you are not aware of it, be sure to sign up at the forums over at Backpacker.com and WhiteBlaze.net. There is lots of great people that are quite helpful…of course you have to learn to take them…

Happy hiking!

~Stick~

Good luck and happy hiking!

~Stick~

Props,

Raul
(Water Monkey)

That is a good point…I thought about it when I was taping the tent, but didn’t do it…I will try to keep it in mind for any other items that I tape though. Hopefully though the tape will stick pretty good…I guess I will see though…

Thanks again,

~Stick~

Check my home page on my blog and scroll through the last few postings. The new Blast pack & Multipack made it too me a while back. Once it arrived I did another video review on it, but this was mainly a “features” review rather than fit review since I ordered the same size as what John sent me. I also made another video of me packing the new pack up with my gear. Then I made some videos while on my hike that I went on last month and used the Blast pack and the Multipack and then posted them on my blog too. In the videos I talk about the pack amongst other things…but short story…I started with 17 lbs total and it did awesome the whole trip. When the other guys slack-packed parts of the trail I left mine on. It worked well…and well, I think I’m in love…

As far as body type, I am 5’10″ and 195 lbs. My torso measures a 18.5. Although, I am not sure how much torso size really matters much here since these are frameless packs. I have not given this much thought and have not researched it, but I wonder if the reason you are getting fitted for a pack is to fit the suspension system to you…hhmmm…I wonder…

Anyway, I went with the same size torso that John had which was the +1. The pack really does fit me well, and I am super happy with it. I am planning on taking it out for another 4-day, 50 mile hike next month (as long as work doesn’t get in the way…)

Hope that this helps…

~Stick~

I knew that there had to be others out there…thanks for confirming…

That is actually a CloudKilt that I got from ZPacks a long while back. That was probably one of my first cuben purchases… Strange thing is I have still yet to actually use it as a rain kilt…the rain that I have been in was either to little for me to worry about putting anything on or I manage to luckily just miss the rain… But I have used the far out of it as a small ground sheet. I keep it close so that I can grab it and spread it out to use it as a spot to take a snack/lunch break, or more recently been using it as a front porch for my Hexamid. It also work well on the ends of tents or to cover items with…

Hope this helps.

~Stick~

I would highly recommend the twin tent rather than the Solo Plus. In my opinion, I would not want to be sharing the Solo Plus every time I used it, and I don’t think that it would be very comfy, especially if you add a dog in. The good thing about the twin though is that it is something like less than an oz heavier so that is cool.

I have heard a lot about Bear Paw and know that a lot of folks over on BPL seem to like them. TBH though, I have hardly been to his site and cannot even tell you what he offers.

When I got my BRG down hat, the Hadron was not in existence. Let me say that I love that hat. I would not say it is hot because it is sewn through and wind can pass through. However, that doesn’t mean that it won’t keep me noggin warm either…cause it does. In my experience, I have been able to use my BRG down hat in a very wide range of temperatures, and that is why I like it. It is versatile…

Now, don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t mind having the Hadron, but I have no reason to get it since I have my original. It would only save me less than 0.2 oz, and considering how happy I am with what I have, I have no reason to get the Hadron.

Hope this helps.

~Stick~

If I’m considering one of Joe’s shelters for two people and a medium size dog, do you think the solo-plus would be satisfying after your experiences?

Did you ever consider the BearPaw shelters (cub or bear den)? It seems like the prices are near other than the netting, which is much cheaper than Joe’s. I do want Joe’s GC and the thought of a zpacks shelter with a removable netting sounds nice. I don’t need netting for the floor but want it for the bugs where I camp sometimes.

The beanie…. Most people say that thing is HOT. After your experiences and considering our southern location, would you not consider the Hadron instead? I bought one of those down hoods from Joe but won’t always want such coverage.

Great job…nice incorporating so much DIY…thanks for sharing it with me.

~Stick~

http://steepmyog.blogspot.com/2012/02/gravitysqueeze-filtrationpurification.html

If I remember correctly, the M55 is a hair “heavier” than the 7D. The 7D is quite wispy and I would have a little concern with it as the outer shell, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. Also, assuming that the above is correct, the 7D would shave off a tiny bit more weight if it were used instead of the M55… For me though, I would use the M55 outside and the 7D inside. That is just what I would want.

Concerning the width, the 50″ (or more correctly, the 49″) is ok for me. You can see in the pictures how it fits around me, which in my opinion, it does fit, but with little wiggle room. If he would be willing to add about 5″ to the width that would make it about right for me. However, this is technically a summer quilt, so I plan to bring this quilt with me in the hottest of temperatures, but at the same time, I plan to use it as low as I can take it too. As it is I can use it to just about 40 F as long as I am wearing my heavy weight long bottoms, socks, a long sleeve shirt and a boggin. With my down jacket I could probably go to about 35 F but it may have drafty moments and be a little colder than I would like. I think a little more width would allow me to push it to right at freezing more comfortably, and since it will open up completely, I can still ventilate it very easily in the summer. As well, since I would use the lighter weight material, those extra 5″ in the width would probably not add any weight at all…

Hope this helps.

~Stick~

Any reason you wouldn’t go with the 7D for both inner and outer?

I had my questions about the width as well. When I put the measuring tape around my chest (over my arms and near the shoulders) I am at 50″. I was wondering a little when I saw that yours measured to 49″.

I really like the quilt, but if I could do it over I would do a few things different. I would go with the 7D on the inner and the M55 on the outer rather than the M90 on inner & outer. The 7D is very nice against skin, and the M55 weighs less than my M90. I would probably also ask Adam to add about 5″ to the width of the quilt just to have that little extra width on those sudden cool nights. Also, I would not use the velcro on the footbox because it is scratches my leg and it gets caught on the footbox draw cord. I would just go with the snaps.

This may sound like a bit much, but don’t get me wrong, it really is a nice quilt. However, as with most of my gear, I usually find out things that I would like to have different once I actually have it in my hands. But, for the time being I am very happy to use this quilt. I have no plans of getting rid of it either…

Hope that this helps…

~Stick~