Apollo's new backpack

 

More Gear Reviews

Katadyn Hiker Microfilter - Love it! Probably the best piece of gear I have bought so far. The pump action is easy to operate, it fills a 32oz. water bottle in around 1 minute, and the water tastes great. I had no problems with it clogging or getting harder to pump. I always made sure that the stream I was filling from was clear of dirt and made sure to keep the inlet tube off the bottom & out of the sand. When I returned home, I pumped water diluted with bleach through it and let it air dry. I am sure this little pump will be accompanying me on many future backpacking trips.

Granite Gear Dry Sack - Works exactly as advertised. I stuffed my sleeping bag and extra clothes in it, and was able to compress them down to a very small size. It also served double duty as a bear bag at night. This sack also just gives me a little peace of mind knowing that no matter what happens, my extra clothes and sleeping bag will always stay dry.

Montrail Torre GTX Boots - I bought these boots about a month ago, and wore them around the house, to work, and on short day hikes whenever I could. Last weekend was the first long distance hike that I have had a chance of doing since purchasing them. Up until the second day of our hike last weekend, they felt good. The balls of my feet were hurting a little, but this could have been caused by carrying to much weight in my pack (once again). The first leg of our hike on the second day was going to be on flat terrain, so I decided to not tie my boots using the heel lock method, and just tied them up normally. Several miles into the day, the heel of my right foot (the shorter foot) began hurting, so on our next rest break, I retied my boots using the heel lock method. But I think the damage had already been done, and a blister began to form. A little bit of mole skin and some duct tape took care of the problem. Other than that, the boots are very good. The Waterproof gortex works great, allowing me to walk through mud & water without worrying about getting my feet wet. They seemed to hold up to the wear and tear of some rough & rocky trails very well. 

Gear Reviews

I had the chance to try out all of my new backpacking gear last weekend. I will write a few comments on each item, describing my likes/dislikes of each.

Snowpeak Gigapower canister stove - This stove works great for what we will be using it for. It is very light weight, folds up & fits into a very small carrying case, and the auto ignition feature is a major plus. The boil time is very quick when using a full canister, and only increased slightly as the canister got close to becoming empty. I have nothing negative to say about this product.

Eureka Tetragon 7 (3 person / 3 season) tent - Nothing really new to write about concerning this tent since my last review. I still haven't had a chance to try it out during a rain storm. I'm sure I will get a chance soon. One thing that I will say is that I am really impressed with how well ventilated this tent is. There is basically no condensation build up inside the tent over the course of the night. All of the condensation build up occurs on the underside of the fly. 2 adults & all of their gear can easily fit into this tent, with room to spare.

Therm-a-Rest Trail Lite sleeping pad w/stuff sack - This sleeping pad is very comfortable and relatively light weight for the cost. It does a good job of insulating your body from the cold ground. The only complaint that I have concerns the water resistant stuff sack, which I bought separately from but is made to fit this sleeping pad. It could have been made just a little bigger. It normally takes me at least 2 tries before I can successfully roll the pad tight enough to fit into the stuff sack. Other than that, a great sleeping system.

Slumberjack Talon +40 Sleeping Bag - This was an item that I bought at the spur of the moment while at Cabela's and didn't do any research on because the price seemed to be right. This is a good warm weather, middle of summer bag. On my trip last weekend, I would feel comfortable in the bag when lying down for the evening, but as morning approached, I would become chilled and have to put on a layer of clothing to stay comfortable. I am not positive what the temperature got down to at night, but I believe it was the upper to mid 50's. So, my only complaint is that the temperature rating for this bag does not seem to be accurate. 

New Backpacking Equipment

I've been busy purchasing backpacking equipment the past month. So far, I have bought: Eureka Tetragon 7 3 person/3 season tent, Snow Peak Gigapower stove, Katadyn Hiker Microfilter, Therm-a-Rest Trail Lite Sleeping Pads w/ stuff sacks, Slumberjack Talon +40 sleeping bags, Granite Gear Dry Sacks, Montrail Torre GTX boots, and some smart wool hiking socks. This is a photo of the Eureka tent that I took last weekend while car camping near Seneca Rocks. Although it didn't rain, I am pleased with the performance of the tent. It was very easy to set up and it breaths well, with almost no condensation build-up inside. It's not the lightest backpacking tent (6.5lb), but it fits our budget and what we plan on doing with it well. Plus, I doubt if I ever backpack alone, so I will always be able to split the load with my hiking partner. Once I have had a chance to test out the rest of my new gear, I will write a post. 

Backpacking Equipment

Since we enjoyed ourselves so much last weekend, we are now researching light-weight backpacking equipment. The first item I plan on buying is a tent. I have been looking at several brands and models so far. They are: Eureka Zeus 2EXO , Eureka Apex 2XTA, Kelty Gunnison 2, REI Half Dome 2 & MSR Hubba Hubba . My search criteria has been based on the following factors:

• 3-season (no winter camping here :)
• 2-person (leaning toward one with a little more square footage)
• 2-door / 2-vestibule (lots of room for gear storage, and possibly the dog)
• Light-weight (not a huge factor, as we can split the load between us)
• cost (low to mid $100's if possible. Lets face it, I doubt if I tackle Everest anytime soon in this tent :) We just need something that is durable enough for hiking in the mid-atlantic States).
• breathability (I hate waking up all sticky from condensation buildup).
• factory-sealed seams

Anyone with experience in this, your comments are welcome. My thanks goes out to mrhyker at http://www.MidAtlanticHikes.com. He has been very helpful and friendly in his advise.