Backpack Gear Review

We took the opportunity to field test quite a few products on our Seven Devils trip. Here is what worked and what didn't.


Gregory Backpacks: I had the Jade 50 and Gordy had the Z55. I loved mine. Lots of great pockets for organizing my stuff, easy to to use & comfortable. When I first got it I was concerned it wasn't big enough (50L) to hold all I needed for a multiday trip, but turns out it was perfect. A bigger pack would have been like a bigger purse, I just would have filled it with random stuff. Gordy liked his too, but would have been better off with the next size up, the Baltoro 70.

Eureka Zeus 2 classic performance backpacking 2 person tent:
Yays:

1. Super fast & easy set up & pack up
2. Compact (little bigger than a loaf of bread) and light (3 lbs, 14 oz.) for packing
3. Well designed and manufactured with useful features

Nays:

1. The opening only allows easy entrance/exit for one occupant, whose head the other must climb over to get in or out
2. Snug accommodations for two average sized adults
3. Single layer tent, so doesn't breath well, so sweats like a hog in moist weather

Overall impression: Awesome fair weather backingpacking tent for 1 (luxurious) or 2 (cozy).

Thermarest pads: We used the Trail Pro's. These are shaped, so if we didn't have mummy bags I think I would have thought it was too narrow. 2" thick and super comfortable, didn't feel any rocks or lumps through it. Light too, under 2lbs.

Thermarest Lounger: This is the sleeve you put over your thermarest to turn it into a lounge chair. It remained a sleeve and not a chair for the entire trip. Too many mosquitoes to consider lounging around camp! It did seem to do a good job of protecting the pad from punctures & tears.

Sierra Designs sleeping bags: Gordy had the Wiiiiiiild Bill 20 with climashield. Judging by his snoring, it worked great. I had the Solar Flare 15. Loved it. Both bags have thin straps on the bottom that your mattress pad slips through, so you stay on the mat all night. I was concerned about condensation in a tiny tent & the down fill sopping it up, but the Drizone shell fabric really does repel water. And it weighed less than 3lbs. Wild Bill was 3.2 lbs.

Granite Gear stuff sacks: Super light Airbags worked great for organizing clothes, food etc. We also used the drybloc bags for sleeping bag stuff sacks. We used an Airpocket to keep our maps & guide book sheets in. This had a loop to hang it from the outside of my pack, where it was always handy.

Hiking Poles: These were absolute lifesavers! Like Gordy says, they are training wheels for backpackers. Really helps distribute the pack weight, and saves your knees on the descents. Adjustability was key, as you could shorten the poles for uphill climbs, and lengthen them for downhills. Gordy tried the Atlas poles we sell with our snowshoes (minus the powder baskets). These worked great except he was jealous of my Black Diamond flip lock's (faster adjustablity) and padded wrist straps.

MSR Whisperlite stove: Boiled water super fast and seemed easy to use (ok, Gordy was camp cook). We took the 11oz fuel bottle and used about a 1/3 of it.

MSR Blacklite Gourmet cookset: Way more pans than we needed. One would have done fine, as we were not feeling nearly as gourmet as we thought we might feel.

MSR Dromedary Bag & Hyperflow waterfilter: The dromedary bag is a bomber, super awesome way to carry extra water. Worked really slick with the hyperflow water filter too. The Hyperflow was really fast and light. Connects to your camelbak, nalgene bottles, the drom bag, etc to make refilling easy.

GSI Fairshare Mug: A 32 oz mug with a screw on lid and a hole in the handle to attach to your pack. We used them for holding snackies during the day and our dinner/breakfast dishes. The lid kept the bugs out & dinner spill free. Clean up was a snap, just put in half a cup of water, a drop of Dr Brommer's, screw the lid on, shake & fling ( the water inside, not the mug).

Thermarest Compressible Pillow: That's right, I brought a pillow backpacking....and I would do it again! Come on, it was only 9 oz.

Mountain House freeze dried meals: The chicken & noodles and Turkey Tetrazzini were both great meals. Add water, wait 8 minutes and dinner was ready. Perfect for novice mosquito harassed backpackers and really very filling. We did not get around to the Apple Cobbler, and the Tiramisu had too strong of a coffee taste for me. Gordy liked it.

Badger Anti-Bug: For some reason, this was the only bug repellent we brought. It worked amazingly well, especially for a non-deet product. I have no bites on my arms or legs, but do on my face and head where I neglected to apply it. Bonus, it makes your skin feel nice and soft. You don't get that nasty dipped-in-chemicals feeling you have after a day of deet.

Random things not used: deck of cards. Teva sandals. My raincoat (had fantastic weather). About half of the food we brought (either the elevation or the physical exertion, we just were not as hungry as we were led to believe we might be. Go figure). MSR Packtowl (used it just barely, probably not enough to justify). Extra flashlights.

Random things we did use: Gordy's raincoat (anti-mosquito layer), AMK adventure lite first aid (great size & weight, useful stuff), paperback book (back support the first night, read it the second), big black garbage bags (backpack protection at night) GSI rehydrate spoon (specially shaped spoon for freeze dried pouches, worked great!) Guyot designs Microbites (5 in one spoon, fork, knife spatula tool).

Random things we wish we would have brought: mosquito coils, bug proof suits, some sort of float tube to float all around the lakes.