I’m working on my gear list for my Long Trail hike this summer, trying to get my base gear weight down under 13 pounds, and tuning my gear list for Long Trail conditions that will include black flies, mud, lots of rain and over 40 mountain ascents.

Technically, I have all the gear one could ever need for such a hike, but I’m a gear head and I’m always tweaking my systems. Last night the shopper in me got loose and I went on a little expedition. Here’s what I bagged:

At Gossamer Gear, I bought some hip belt pockets for my new Gossamer Gear Mariposa Plus Backpack. Each medium sized pocket weighs 0.72 oz. They are also available in a small and large size. I also picked up a StowLight storage sack made from spinnaker sail cloth (0.56 oz, 800 ci.) that I may use for stowing my hammock and associated gear in.

My digital camera is on its last legs, so I replaced it last night with another Canon Powershot. I’m nearsighted and I can’t see what I’m shooting at on an LCD screen because I have to hold the camera at arm’s length. So any camera I buy has to have an optical viewfinder and this one does. You can check out the Canon SD850 specs at Amazon. It’s loaded. Weight is 5.8  oz.

I love my Golite Reed Rain Pants (6.4 oz), but they are not breathable and don’t ventilate well under high exertion (like mountain climbing in the rain), so I’m replacing them with a Mountain Hardwear Cohesion Rain Pant(10oz) that has side zips for better ventilation. I bought these at Moosejaw.com with a 10% off MOOSE coupon code. Since I’m going to have to wear long pants on the LT to keep the bugs out, I’m hoping that these pants might also be cool enough for use in non-rainy conditions. If so, I can dump my convertible hikers, saving about 10 oz.

I also bought two Patagonia Capiline 1 long sleeve jerseys and a bottle of Sawyer Permethrin (kills black fies on contact) to spray on them at MooseJaw.com,again using the MOOSE 10% off coupon. Patagonia has a new odor management system that is supposed to help with the funk, but I’d buy these shirts anyway. They wick moisture very well and feel great. I got the shirts in plain white, for coolness in summer heat, and because the other two-tone retro-style colors offered by Patagonia are so ugly.

I bought an 3 oz. Overcover for my Hennessy Hammock Ultralight Backpacker Asym. This is a 30D uncoated nylon cover that goes over your bug net and ridgeline and helps eliminate evaporative cooling by blocking the wind. It has a blow hole for ventilation and is reported to produce little internal condensation. I’m hoping to get another 10 degrees of temperature range in the hammock by using it. I already own the Undercover.

Finally, I am on the verge of replacing my current 20 degree sleeping bag with a Golite Adrenaline 20 degree bag (29 oz). I have a coupon from Campsaver.com for 20% off (Coupon Code: MAYDAY) which would make a big dent in the $325 price tag for this product. Campsaver.com has the best selection of Golite gear available on the web - but I’d never heard of them until this year.

I’m not very happy with my current down sleeping bag, an REI Kilo 20 because it has a side zip which is a complete pain in the ass in a hammock, the mummy hood is flat rather than peaked, and because I feel the bag’s warmth is overrated. The center zip on the Adrenalin is much easy to adjust in a hammock since it’s on your chest and half zip bags are warmer than full-length zipper bags because there they leak heat less. The Adrenaline also has a better shell fabric than the Kilo, Pertex Endurance, which is a 30D ripstop nylon with moisture vapor permeable coating. The finished fabric is 2oz. per square yard which is extremely lightweight for a waterproof breathable fabric that is downproof and windproof.

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Related posts:

1. Mountain Hardware Cohesion Rain Pants
2. Patagonia Capilene Base Layers
3. GoLite Waterproof Reed Pants - Mens
4. Golite Calamus Shoe
5. Long Trail Gear List: Section One