Gear Reflections: Nantahala Aftermath
Thoughts After a 2-day Trip
This is not designed to be an extensive review, but simply the reflections about what worked and didn't work after my (mis)adventure in the Nantahala National Forest.
Hero of the Trip: Mystery Ranch NICE Daypack Lid
Being from Montana, I do have just a little bit of a bias when it comes to backpacking companies. It also doesn't help that Mystery Ranch makes pretty much indestructible gear and that my NICE Metcalf functions equally well on the Appalachian Trail (AT) or hauling big game out of the Missouri River Breaks (something I haven’t gotten to do with it yet).
Not shown in the pictures of the Daypack Lid on the website is the hydration tube port in the top pocket of the lid. This is awesome because it keeps my hydration bladder out of the pack. Having the bladder in the pack alternately squishes it, shooting water explosively out of the tube when you’re trying to drink or kinks it, making it impossible to drink until you stop and adjust whatever in your pack was sitting on it. In this top pocket I can also fit my Platypus 4L GravityWorks filter system and a SteriPEN Traveler purifier.
The bottom pocket of the Daypack Lid is big enough to hold at least three Nalgene 1L bottles. You could probably get four in there, but I didn't have to.
After setting up camp on the top of Albert Mountain, it was pretty clutch to be able to drop my camelbak bladder out of the Daypack Lid and re-fill it by emptying our extra Nalgene bottles. Then, after converting the lid to Day Pack mode, I was able to take my water filters and the bottles down to the water source at the bottom of the mountain, re-fill all the Nalgenes with filtered water and then fill up both (clean and dirty) Platypus 4L bladders and hike a total of 11L of water back to camp. The “Clean” bag on the Platypus system can also function as a hydration reservoir and just barely fits in the top pocket of the Daypack Lid. I had to carry the “Dirty” 4L bag in my hand. Overall, the Daypack Lid saved me from (a) unpacking my entire pack to go resupply water or (b) taking all my gear to go resupply water or (c) having to carry all the water containers in my hands and not being able to bring back as much water. It definitely was the trip MVP this time around.
Wife’s MVP (of this and every trip): Big Agnes Lulu 15 Degree Sleeping Bag
Since this is my first post on gear that we use, I guess I’ll throw this in here. This bag, combined with the Q-Core SL pad, is the bane of my early mornings. It is single-handedly responsible for us not getting on the trail until the sun is well above the horizon. I know exactly how she feels, because I have the same pad with a men’s Big Agnes bag. You definitely sleep like a baby. You practically don’t even have to worry about site selection because you just won’t feel any of the rocks or tree branches while you sleep. She loves this bag so much she’s asked me to get it out for her to sleep in while we’re at home before. It’s absurd. On a typical morning out in the woods all I see is a tiny little lock of hair while she is zipped up tight and “sooo cozy.” I practically have to take the tent down around her before she’ll get out of it.
Didn't Use/Getting Left Behind Next Time: Voltaic Fuse 4W Solar Charger
Not much to say about this. We didn't even use it. I actually wanted to leave it behind from the beginning. I prefer to turn my phone OFF when I’m out in the woods, but my wife wanted to bring this along. To her credit, she carried it, not me. But it was rainy and cloudy anyways and with my phone off we’ll have at least one charged phone in an emergency anyways. EDIT: She says it’s NOT getting left behind next time. I’m still making her carry it.
Getting Replaced As Soon As I Can Afford It: Big Agnes Burn Ridge Outfitter 3 Tent
For the price and intended use (mostly car-camping) when I bought this tent (I got it on clearance last year) I couldn't be happier with it’s performance. It’s light (enough) that I can take it on short backpacking trips because I don’t mind a 45-50 lb pack. It’s big (enough) so that I can lay comfortably in my sleeping bag while my wife explodes all her gear across half the tent. (We’re still working on only unpacking what you need and packing it back in your bag after you’re done with it.) With the optional footprint, which I have, you can take just the poles and the fly and pitch a quick rain shelter and drop over a pound off the weight. I actually prefer it in this configuration when it’s just me and my buddies and we leave the girls at home. I've been in some pretty good rain storms and had no issues even though most of the time I don’t stake out every guy line.
The reason I don’t like this tent is because it is a front entrance, one door/vestibule tent. When you stack two backpacks in the vestibule it cuts off half the front door and from then on you have to crawl over whoever is nearest the left-side (as you face the door) of the tent. If it’s raining, or if your shoes are muddy, you have to sit facing out the door to take them off, but you can’t just swing your feet around into the tent because your packs in the vestibule are blocking your way. You have to kind of tuck your feet underneath you, then swing/roll into the tent. This is even harder if you are on any sort of incline.
I’m in the market for a side-entry tent with two doors/vestibules. With this type of tent you can sit inside the tent with your feet outside nearly parallel to the tent body. Then you just take your shoes off, swing them through the door and lay down. We went beach camping over the 4th of July last year and I envied my friend’s REI Half Dome 2. However, I’m not about to trade in a 3-person tent for a 2-person tent that weighs just about as much.
Currently I’m torn between the Big Agnes Copper Spur UL3 and the Tarptent Cloudburst 3. Both come with great reviews. The Cloudburst is cheaper and lighter, but not free-standing. The Copper Spur is heavier, but freestanding and can also get lighter than the Cloudburst in Fast Fly configuration. Either way, I’ll probably have to hide the one I decide on for a couple months until the wife starts asking about where the tax return went.
Needed But Didn’t Have:
- Rain pants (at least for her): Being used to Army issue equipment, I prefer being wet to wearing the rain pants. They practically bake your legs in a sauna. However, after putting our Outdoor Research Helium 2 jackets to the test and seeing how breathable they are, a pair of comparable rain pants are definitely on the shopping list.
- Hiking Poles (at least for her): See Army attitude above. I understand why they are useful. I just don’t think I’ll get any for me. Still gonna get the wife a pair. Her having a pair of hiking poles also opens an ability to really get light with tents.
- FRS 2-way radios: Because cell phones aren't practical where there is no cell phone service. I did not like leaving camp and going so far down a mountain to get water without having a method of communication. Also, you can get the weather forecast on these radios as well, which is pretty handy out in the woods.
Well, that about does it for my reflections after this trip. Hit me up on Twitter (@MontanaGent) or drop me a note here and let me know what you think.
