BACKPACKING HAUL

zmartian
Sep 29, 2016
2 min read

I am no expert at backpacking what so ever, I'm actually just starting out. But with the help of my dad (who, in his youth, would disappear into the wilderness for weeks), I found the right gear for good prices.

The backpack - The one both zammitch and I got is from the Outdoor brand (which we found in Walmart and on Amazon). It does not have a metal frame, but is light and has a stiff backbone. The strap around my hips fits perfectly, if it was any looser is wouldn't work for me. However, after my dad pushing down on the backpack for several minutes, we found much of the backpacks weight did indeed lay on my hips. There are several places to clip supplied onto the back and lots of space in the main pocket.

One person tent - This was a lucky find at Big 5 during their anniversery sale. The solid, orange tent pops up with only two rods. It is lightweight and compacts into a small bag that barely takes up room in the backpack.

0-5 degree sleeping bag - This, though hard to see in the photo, is a Suisse Sport Summit sleeping bag. It is a cozy polyester sleeping bag, again found at Big 5. It got good reviews and is supposedly designed specifically for cold weather. Its hard to roll up, but generally light (around 3 lbs) and was a good fit for me because of its inexpensive price compared to many high brand bags and my plans for backpacking in upcoming year (which are generally shorter trips). It's a bit bulky, so I'll have to improvise, but where there's a will there's a way.

Backpacking stove - This is generally straightforward. Its a tiny, compact, single burner stove. The fuel for this stove comes is several different sizes, so you can decide what to bring depending on the length of your trip and how much you plan to cook.

Lightweight sleeping pad - I got this mat at an army surplus store, but we found it at Big 5 for cheaper. Essentially, it is a extremely light foam mat with ties to hold the mat together and clips on those to attach to the backpack. They have a thick and thin version, but I don't tend to need much padding to sleep in, so I got the smaller, lighter version.