This is transcribed from the gear list I actually recorded while on the trail. Weights aren't there, but you get the idea. This wasn't SUL by any stretch. It was selected for comfort (for me!) over the course of 9 days. Pack weight at the trailhead was something like 21 pounds.

---
(new) = products that will be new to BPL this fall/winter

Pack: McHale Summit Pack
Bag: Expedition Arc Alpinist
Pad: TorsoLite
Bivy: Vapr NANO Bivy (new)
Tarp: Stealth Zero NANO Tarp (new)
Stakes: Lazr Hi-Vis Titanium Stakes (6)
Guylines: Stealth NANO Guyline Kit (new)

Hiking Clothes: Tilley LT5 hat, cotton bandana, Smartwool Microweight L/S crew, Cloudveil Rodeo pants (03 model), Smartwool Trail Running socks, Montrail Hardrock shoes.

Extra Clothes: GoLite C-Thru L/S scew, GoLite Ether (Wisp HP) wind shirt, Cocoon Pullover, DriDucks Rain Jacket, Montbell Ultralight rain pants (cut off below knees for knickers), Early Winters/Sahale poylpropylene tights.

Cooking: Vargo Jet-Ti stove, stainless steel windscreen, MSR IsoPro fuel (large canister), Vargo Titanium mug (no handles or lid), aluminum foil lid, Backpacking Light Mini-Spork, lighter/matches in small Aloksak.

Water: 2x1L Platypus bottles, Aqua Mira kit.

Navigation: Garmin Geko 301 GPS (used to mark waypoints for a new book I'm researching), Trails Illustrated NE Yellowstone map, Suunto X9 compass/alti watch, Rite-in-the-Rain mini-notebook, waterproof pen.

Toilet: TP (blue shop towels cut into 4x4" squares), 1/4 oz Dr. Bronners, toothbrush, alcohol hand gel, Aloe Gator SPF 40 sunscreen, Gossamer Gear chapstick.

Fishing: Cabelas Stowaway 8'6" 3wt 5pc fly rod, Sage 3100 reel with backing/line, 2x7.5' 4x leaders, spool of 5x Frog Hair tippet, 1 yarn strike indicator, 12 BB split shot, one tube Hydrophobe fly floatant, one Morell foam fly box with about 100 assorted flies (flies mainly used: green and gray drakes, small beetles and hoppers, large crickets, parachute adams).

Photography: Olympus Stylus 400 Digital, 512mb xD card, 3 batteries total. Took about 450 pictures.

Miscellany: 1.5 oz first aid kit (blister and wound care, meds, did not use it), 0.8 oz firestarting kit (Sparklite firestarter, tinder, and storm matches in sealed plastic bag, did not use), 0.3 oz repair kit for Torsolite (did not use).

Bear Protection: Ursalite bear bag system, UDAP bear repellent (260 g).

Food: 17 oz/day (4 oz breakfast, 9 oz lunch, 4 oz dinner), supplemented with trout.

I think that's about it...

OK, this message specifically addresses my wish list for changes:

>> Pack: McHale Summit Pack

Same pack in a lighter fabric.

>> Bag: Expedition Arc Alpinist

Same bag in synthetic ;)

>> Pad: TorsoLite

Could be a few inches shorter for me ;) - maybe I'll give Jay Ham's TRest hack article a go on a Torsolite!

>> Bivy: Vapr NANO Bivy (new)

Need to make a few minor changes to this, but otherwise, stay tuned for a 4+ oz bivy this fall!!

>> Tarp: Stealth Zero NANO Tarp (new)

Again, only minor changes needed here, and it's already gone to production.

>> Hiking Clothes: Tilley LT5 hat, cotton bandana, Smartwool Microweight L/S crew, Cloudveil Rodeo pants (03 model), Smartwool Trail Running socks, Montrail Hardrock shoes.

I love this system. I just wish the pants were the same fit, in Pertex Equilibrium Stretch.

>> Extra Clothes: GoLite C-Thru L/S scew, GoLite Ether (Wisp HP) wind shirt, Cocoon Pullover, DriDucks Rain Jacket, Montbell Ultralight rain pants (cut off below knees for knickers), Early Winters/Sahale poylpropylene tights.

Would probably ditch the C-Thru top even though I found it quite useful. The knickers came out to 3 oz, and could be lighter or more durable (it's paclite). They got hacked up pretty bad going through blowdowns. DriDucks jacket got shredded and poked bushwacking through the willows. Shoulda took the Zealot. Shoes absorb too much water (see notes in previous post).

>> Cooking: Vargo Jet-Ti stove, stainless steel windscreen, MSR IsoPro fuel (large canister), Vargo Titanium mug (no handles or lid), aluminum foil lid, Backpacking Light Mini-Spork, lighter/matches in small Aloksak.

No changes here. Might have switched to a small canister and done more cookfires.

>> Water: 2x1L Platypus bottles, Aqua Mira kit.

No changes.

>> Navigation: Garmin Geko 301 GPS (used to mark waypoints for a new book I'm researching), Trails Illustrated NE Yellowstone map, Suunto X9 compass/alti watch, Rite-in-the-Rain mini-notebook, waterproof pen.

I can't wait for the iPOD Nano sized Garmin GPS...Yes, it's coming...I'd hack my map up next time. That thing was a beast (1.8 oz).

>> Toilet: TP (blue shop towels cut into 4x4" squares), 1/4 oz Dr. Bronners, toothbrush, alcohol hand gel, Aloe Gator SPF 40 sunscreen, Gossamer Gear chapstick.

I came out with no TP...and we camped near a lot of spruce trees...by this late in the season, the sunscreen could've stayed home.

>> Fishing: Cabelas Stowaway 8'6" 3wt 5pc fly rod, Sage 3100 reel with backing/line, 2x7.5' 4x leaders, spool of 5x Frog Hair tippet, 1 yarn strike indicator, 12 BB split shot, one tube Hydrophobe fly floatant, one Morell foam fly box with about 100 assorted flies (flies mainly used: green and gray drakes, small beetles and hoppers, large crickets, parachute adams).

Oh, forgot in the last email to add: GoLite Team Pouch. This is what I used to hold my fishing gear. Not the right tool, but the right concept. In the process now of developing a more usable chest pack for both hiking and fishing. Hopefully be available in the spring.

>> Photography: Olympus Stylus 400 Digital, 512mb xD card, 3 batteries total. Took about 450 pictures.

I loved this camera system when it came out but I'm craving better photo quality and more manual control, and would probably haul a tripod next time.

>> Food: 17 oz/day (4 oz breakfast, 9 oz lunch, 4 oz dinner), supplemented with trout.

Worked out well, and I came out with 6 oz extra (leftover nuts from lunch, mostly). I'd drop calories even more, to perhaps 14 oz, and eat more fish :)

Ryan, That was way more of an answer than I expected, Thanks a lot. Forgive me if I say that I had to laugh at a few of your comments. I think that might have been expected however, when you wrote them.

This is all very interesting, I have gone days in the rain when everything I owned was wet but not in cold weather. I have tried to use Rocky Gore-Tex booties in my trail runners to keep my feet dry and sometimes they worked great but most of the time I think they just kept my feet warmer than if I had left them off.

After the fact have you though about some "nano-fabric" booties. Maybe calf or knee high? Used as a vapor barrier like item and super light? I might put that on my list of things to try with my nano fabric.

I hope your feet are OK.

Thanks for the great photo story, I enjoyed it tremendously. I'm hoping you will do more of these in the future!

Your photos looked great; what kind of camera are you using these days? Could you elaborate a little on your photo accessories such as batteries, film cards and tripods?

Do you think that boots such as the Brashers you used for the Lost Coast Hike would have been more appropriate for this hike?

Keep up the good work!

>> Thanks for the great photo story, I enjoyed it tremendously. I'm hoping you will do more of these in the future!

Thank YOU - all. It's the interaction and community, and not the vanity of the post, that really make it worthwhile.

>> Your photos looked great; what kind of camera are you using these days?

Olympus Stylus 400 digital. The camera's OK but has poor latitude. I used some tricks to get the good shots, not the least of which is preparing them ok for the web using Gimp (an open source version of "photoshop") and adjusting colors, levels, and sharpness.

>> Could you elaborate a little on your photo accessories such as batteries, film cards and tripods?

No tripod, although I wished I had one. I used 3 batteries total (stock Li's from Olympus that fit the camera). They weigh 1/2 oz each and I took about 450 shots total.

>> Do you think that boots such as the Brashers you used for the Lost Coast Hike would have been more appropriate for this hike?

They may have never dried out. I did enjoy some dry moments with the Montrails. They'd (Brashers) be a lot squishier when wet, too, perhaps...I don't know. Maybe I'll try them...!!

" I just wish the pants were the same fit, in Pertex Equilibrium Stretch."

I wish there were more articles of clothing made out of Equilibrium Stretch, period. I use my Golite Synergy pants (made of an earlier Equilibrium fabric) extensively and think the world of them (they are much more durable than Cloudveil's Inertia used in the Rodeo and they breathe well and seem quite water resistant ) , but they could certainly use the 2 way stretch of the newer fabric.

The only pants I can find made of Stretch Equilibrium are Montane's Terrastretch Pant, and they are not being imported stateside. Although, one can purchase them from Hike-Lite's site. They are a bit on the heavy side (12 oz. in L--a small L ).

Of course, there is the uncertain future of Pertex as we know it.

Edited by kdesign on 09/29/2005 17:58:12 MDT.

Ryan--two tripods for point and shoots I've had good luck with.

-Hakuba E Pod table top model. Comes with little ball head and quick release plate. Weights about 2 oz.

-Manfrotto Digi 714b. Relatively light full sized model--a little heavy for ultra-light hikers though. At full extension I have to bend over a little, but not too bad. (I'm 6' 1")

John, I actually have a Manfrotto Digi 714SHB. It's a little lighter, but shorter than the 714B. The difference in height, seems to me to be related only to photographer comfort (not a big deal for me). My main goal is to have something tall enough to get above the high grasses.

I made a spinnaker stuff sack, about 100 ci (0.1 oz) and filled it with sand, dirt, rocks, duff, etc. whenever I hiked, essentially made a bean bag out of it. It was awesome - I could set it on fenceposts, logs, in the crooks of tree branches, and just set the camera on it, and adjusted it so it was level. Works great but doesn't solve the height problem.

Ryan,

Why not pick up three sticks, take a tarp guy line or some other piece of cord in your pack ...lash up a hasty tripod...put your sand sack on top of the lashing junction,then camera .... level the camera ...shoot

Beside the zero weight option it is zero cost...

Jack, that's a great idea, actually. It would be pretty easy to make that part of 'camp chores' in the evenings, then i'd have a tripod for the evening and morning light, when it's needed most.

I've found the need to have a tripod on the trail for various reasons: low light, waterfalls, ND filters, self portraits, etc. and the sticks philosophy would complicate that some, and possibly cause me to miss out on lost opportunities...

But I will certainly do this on trips where I'm not taking a tripod. Sometimes simple is brilliant! Heck, I love that I could just take an extra guyline off my tarp.

On another note, we are manufacturing an upgrade to Stix poles that includes a tiny ballhead mount on one stick and a third CF pole (lighter than a Stix pole) with a molded plastic support that allows you to configure a quick tripod out of it. The whole addition, including ball head, should not weigh more than 4 ounces.

I thought this was someplace on the Forum but maybe not.

My Tripod uses two on my home made trekking poles and then a third 2 piece pole carried to become the 3rd leg. It can also be used to repair my one of my trekking poles if necessary.

It will hold a heavy (about 23oz camera) or a lighter digital.

Cool setup, Bill. What kind of ballhead is that and what does it weight?

My current "total kit" I use for more serious backcountry photgraphy is still based on a digital P&S camera:

Canon S70 8.8 oz
Three batteries 4.8 oz
Manfrotto 714SHB 36.3 oz
Giottos MH-1004 Ballhead 1.8 oz
Velbon Quick Release Plate (model unknown, 4.4 oz)
Aloksak for Camera & Batteries (1.0)

Total: 3.6 lb

The best place to lighten up is obviously the tripod, that thing is a tank for what I really need it for; however, it's build quality is outstanding for the price and it's fast to deploy. I'm probably not willing to go to a lighter tripod if it's going to be slow to set up a shot. In addition, I'm pretty reluctant to use trekking poles: they support my tarp at night/morning, when I'm doing a lot of my photography.

The ballhead and quick release plate: possible weight savings there but I won't be losing them: part of the "fast setup" gig. Love the ballhead and am pretty happy with the weight (yes, it's 1.8 oz, not 3.6-4.8 as per packaging and mfr specs). The QR plate is way too burly for the application. Anyone know of a plastic one that might be nice and light?

Then there is the camera. I'm willing to move up in weight/bulk but only if I can really get a marked increase in photo quality/latitude.

Love the specs on the Canon 5D but you can forget the price tag and weight. I'd carry a Rebel XT with a high quality lens (the kit lens is awful) but am not convinced that a consumer grade cam is going to give me much better than the S70 on most shots.

What I really want is a pro cam in plastic body, or Leica M7-digital :)

Another tripod worth considering for backcountry photography is the Cullmann Magic2 which (regrettably) weighs as much as your Manfrotto,Ryan,but weight includes head. It also has the advantage of folding flat due to some trick mechanical design and gives you something close to 2 feet more vertical height. Will handily support a prosumer grade/size digital camera,too. Comes with a composite metal/plastic ballhead w/ quick release.

A spinnaker (or any) stuff sack filled with sand,dirt,rocks,whatever and tied to the center column of these lighter weight tripods works wonders in stabilizing them for work in winds, long exposure times or sharper work with long lenses.

That is a very clever tripod, Bill. You really should be doing R&D for a progressive outdoor company. How about a trekking pole tripod with a center column ?

Edited by kdesign on 09/30/2005 22:13:06 MDT.

I took an Olympus Mini tripod
Tripod Link

and cut off most of the legs. The legs are a flexible spring thing and is where most of the weight was. I left enough of the flexible legs to slid into pieces of tubing that attach to the top of my trekking poles and the third tripod leg pole. You can see this in some of the pictures. The ballhead is the one that came on the Olympus mini tripod. It has a strong locking mechanism and holds my camera in any position without any problem. The part of the mini tripod left, ballhead and short sections of the three flexible legs weigh 2.67oz.

The third pole is packed when not in use. It is made in three sections the longest two sections are 24.5" long and the third section is 8" long. All the extra parts necessary to complete the tripod weigh 5.51oz. My trekking poles weigh 3.2oz each. It only takes a minute or so to set-up the tripod. My trekking poles can be adjusted to three lengths and will come apart to pack them. I can also add the 24.5" sections of the third tripod to each trekking pole or two extra sections to one trekking pole to use with a tarp.

Ryan what is the inside diameter of your trekking poles?


Keven Said: That is a very clever tripod, Bill. You really should be doing R&D for a progressive outdoor company. How about a trekking pole tripod with a center column ?

Thanks Keven, An R&D job would be nice. Is this the type of tripod you are asking about? This one was to heavy and I am working on a much lighter version. Sometimes you just have to get one finished and then look at how you can make it lighter. I learned a lot on this one.

Ryan, I don't see this pack on McHale's site. Is it a larger pack that is "broken down" or a custom pack not shown on the site? If a larger pack, which one?

Tim: no it's not on his site. "Summit Pack" refers to the size as much as the design. It's actually more of a Subpop style design, just a very small one. The main compartment is around 2200-2400 ci.

McHale used to offer a Summit Pack. It was basically a very simple, dumbed-down SARC (which is what this is as well) in a "day size".

Ryan: Thanks, I'm considering a McHale because I developed numbness in my thigh on a hike. Doctor says it is "meralgia paresthetica." So, I'm wondering if Mchale's double buckle hip strap makes a difference. Sounds like your back trouble wasn't worsened by the McHale.

Where/how did you carry the bear spray? Did you use one of the UDAP holsters, or was it in a pocket on the side of the pack?

While I'm on storage questions... I used the GoLite Team Pouch this Summer, but found it too hot on my chest(CDT in the Weminuche), so I attached it to the waist belt. I used it for camera, map, watch, sunscreen, bug repellant, etc. Where are you stowing those sorts of things that you need frequent access to while hiking?

I look forward to seeing whatever lighter version you're working on, Bill.

Ryan: "Summit Pack" refers to the size as much as the design. It's actually more of a Subpop style design, just a very small one. The main compartment is around 2200-2400 ci.

What are the approximate dimensions of the main compartment?

>> What are the approximate dimensions of the main compartment?

~6" thick x 24" (frame length, tall), 12" wide.