Favorite new piece of gear?

[tmountainnut]

Anyone have any favorite new pieces of gear?

Personally, i picked up a new osprey Exos 48 backpack and a fresh new roll of leukotape :-)

I've been eyeing a sea to summit sleeping bag, but otherwise i'll probably just use my gear money towards trips.

[Aaron Zagrodnick]

Nothing too exciting here, I spent all of my REI dividend restocking on food and snacks for the trail. From that order they gave me a $20 gift code to use early this month however, so I just put that toward one of the new Sea to Summit Aeros Ultralight pillows which is on the way...Interested to see how it stacks up against the Montbell I've been using for the past few years.

Which bag are you looking at?

[tmountainnut]

Which bag are you looking at?

Sea to summit has me interested in their spark bags. They are superlight and have water resistant down, which sounds great. However i'm skeptical because bags like that tend to be fitted for "smaller" people, even in the long size. I'll have to see if it fits first.

Edited May 21, 2014 by tmountainnut

[Aaron Zagrodnick]

Looks like the long has a 60" shoulder measurement, which at least for me is right on the cusp...I've found I like the low 60's for just enough room to move around but go much higher than that (65+) and I feel like I'm swimming in the bag. Obviously this varies person to person though, and in any event the Spark series do look like nice, light bags.

[Lemonjello]

I love my 20 degree Under quilt from Hammock Gear! Fantastic! Light, packs small and warm. Still waiting on my 20 degree Hammock Gear (HG) top quilt. I have and used a 40 degree quilt from the HG down to 26 degrees in Yosemite up at Merced lake this past March. Crazy, but I was Hammocking and experimenting with the 20 degree under quilt with 40 degree top quilt and down booties with a down vest as my "core warmer" and the top quilt was at the lower limit for me, hence the ordering of the 20 degree top quilt. (40 degree TQ is my summer bag) I wanted to see how far I could push what I had as a test. ( I did carry a Survival bivy as backup if all failed)

[Bobo Uzala]

Used my REI dividend on a Gregory Baltoro 75 (currently undergoing field tests ) but I'm also stoked about an Osprey Escapist I picked about 6 months ago. My first foray with Osprey and I've gotta say this pack Rocks!

[Bobo Uzala]

I've gotta say that I've never delved into hammocks but some friends are into them. Gotta put that on the gear bucket list!

I love my 20 degree Under quilt from Hammock Gear! Fantastic! Light, packs small and warm. Still waiting on my 20 degree Hammock Gear (HG) top quilt. I have and used a 40 degree quilt from the HG down to 26 degrees in Yosemite up at Merced lake this past March. Crazy, but I was Hammocking and experimenting with the 20 degree under quilt with 40 degree top quilt and down booties with a down vest as my "core warmer" and the top quilt was at the lower limit for me, hence the ordering of the 20 degree top quilt. (40 degree TQ is my summer bag) I wanted to see how far I could push what I had as a test. ( I did carry a Survival bivy as backup if all failed)

[AdventureMyk]

Lemon, I run a Hennessey Explorer Asym Zip myslef though no quilts yet. I've been using my Cat's Meow sleeping bag but when it gets that cold I've been tent camping with some friends. A good underquilt/top quilt might change that.

I recently picked up my first backpack when I got a ridiculous local craiglist deal on an Osprey Aether 85 and I love it. Only run a few overnights with it but so far it's done everything and more that I could expect.

Another favorite piece of gear would be the Pinnacle Dualist from GSI (so easy to clean and work with I use it at home as much as on the trail) which when coupled with the MSR stove is a great little package.

The to get list would be the Big Agnes Slater 3 tent and a Western Mountaineering Alpinelight bag for the next 10-15 years. (It sounds crazy but much of my camping gear I bought new in '88-89 and is still in nearly new shape with regular use. It's just heavy, outdated, etc. but after 25+ years what do you expect?)

[Lemonjello]

Lemon, I run a Hennessey Explorer Asym Zip myslef though no quilts yet. I've been using my Cat's Meow sleeping bag but when it gets that cold I've been tent camping with some friends. A good underquilt/top quilt might change that.

I recently picked up my first backpack when I got a ridiculous local craiglist deal on an Osprey Aether 85 and I love it. Only run a few overnights with it but so far it's done everything and more that I could expect.

Another favorite piece of gear would be the Pinnacle Dualist from GSI (so easy to clean and work with I use it at home as much as on the trail) which when coupled with the MSR stove is a great little package.

The to get list would be the Big Agnes Slater 3 tent and a Western Mountaineering Alpinelight bag for the next 10-15 years. (It sounds crazy but much of my camping gear I bought new in '88-89 and is still in nearly new shape with regular use. It's just heavy, outdated, etc. but after 25+ years what do you expect?)

I started with a Hennessy a couple years ago with my synthetic mountain hardware bag. wanted a lighter setup and research led me to quilts in hammocks. Now, I mostly use my DIY and lately my warbonnet blackbird XLC.

Funny you mention your older gear as most of my stuff is 90s vintage. Seriously getting back into backpacking I have an old alum Teflon coated MSR pot and a MSR dragonfly stove. Although reliable, they are heavy.

[AdventureMyk]

I don't expect the new stuff to last the 26+ years of regular use the old has but hey, they might surprise me. I haven't played with the WBB brand yet but heard really good things about them.