Brett on Stuff

OK.. so we established that my dentist Bob likes a Pillow…

So what are the options for other hikers with a pillow fetish?

Bob mentions the Montbell UL Comfort System Pillow, which at 2.3 oz might be a pretty good nights sleep.

But can Bob (remember this is the same guy that saws off the extra length on the Titanium bolts on his race-car) do better? Sure he can…

The FlexAir Ultralight pillow. Totally waterproof and at 0.56 oz gives Bob a whopping 1.74 oz refund. Not to mention the $20 of so in savings, as these puppies run $6.29 for a 3-pack.

I actually did try the FlexAir on our Rampart Lake hike - it faired pretty well, although needed to be slightly deflated for the most comfort.

These days I’m back to the old stuff-sack of spare clothes approach and pretty happy with it. Give me a few Tylenol PMs and a flimsy torso pad and I’m a happy camper.

Wait! Doesn’t Tylenol cause tooth decay? Oh no - that’s Methadone, never mind…

The West Coast Trail is notorious for it’s wetness. One investment we made prior to the trip last year was a couple of dry bags. These don’t show up on my gear-list as I wouldn’t normally feel that they are necessary, but they sure gave great peace of mind. They delivered bone-dry down night after night – even after a few mud-pit submersions

At 0.9 oz for the Small (4L) – I ended up taking two. One to cram in my down sleeping bag and one to protect my spare clothes. Theresa needed to take the Medium (8L) at 2.3 oz to fit her bulkier bag.

Available from backcountrygear.com starting at $11.95 for the small.

Theresa gets cold at night. The one big drawback of the cloudburst shelter is that to prevent condensation, we often sleep with the door fully open and facing into the wind. That way the airflow keep condensation to a minimum.

The only way I could convince Theresa to keep the Tarptent, was to get her comfy at night. The highlite didn’t do it when the wind howls in and the temperatures drop.

So we took on an extra pound of weight, invested a lot of dosh and settled on the WM Versalite.

Theresa has the short (5′6″) model, which weighs in at 1lb 14oz (30 oz). This bag is rated down to a whopping 10 °F and does a stellar job at keeping her toasty warm.

Available from Backcountry Gear for $385.

Starting at a respectible 7.8 oz, this is a very interesting pad.

It’s quite thick and was a good candidate for replacing my thermarest. I trimmed the length down to match that of the 3/4 length thermarest I was used to. This dropped the weight to 6.3 oz - less than half the weight of the thermarest.

Sleep-wise, I have only spent one night on it so far, and it was comfortable enough. I have seen other people recommend taking “Tylenol PM” at night to help get more rest - I might even try pairing those up too.

The biggest downside so far, is that it’s bulkier in my pack than the thermarest. To the point where, I’m not sure if I can get 5-6 days of food in my pack anymore with this thing in it.

 Order from Gossamer Gear, for about $30.

12/14/07 Update:

I ended up replacing this single pad for the a combination of the torso only pad version and cut down section of insulation pad. This was mostly due to the bulk issue. The two pad total less, coming in at 3.5 oz and 1.2 oz respectivley for a total of 4.7 oz.

A true ultralight enthusiast would be sleeping on a bed of dander and leaves in the forest.

However, I like a good nights sleep, and this thermarest does it for me.

Granted, a little bit of a luxury at a whopping 13.1 oz. Get the short 3/4 length model - you really don’t need anything longer - just drop your pack at the bottom for your feet to rest on.

Available from Amazon for $67.

This is the ultralight tent of choice for two in my mind.

It’s an incredibly light 38 oz., and goes together in a breeze.

The quality and workmanship is excellent in this tent, and I love that I am buying a tent from a passionate backpacker in California who decided to start sewing his own one day, than handing over my hard earned cash to the pockets of a big company like Mountain Hardware or REI.

This is a “Tarptent” - it’s a compromise between a regular tent and sleeping under a tarp. It has a waterproof floor and bug netting all around, so little critters can’t get in at night.

The only downside for me so far of this tent, is that as it’s a single-wall tent, depending on the dewpoint you can get condensation on the inside. It’s not a problem until you bump your head on the top and it starts dripping.

Available direct from TarpTent for $225.

First all, I have to say, I love Western Mountaineering. Occasionally there are heroic companies in the outdoor world that push new boundaries. This is one of them. They make products that are both unbelievably light and well made at the same time. Kudos WM, I hope you never get too big you forget your niche.

Now back to the bag. This bag is the bomb. It weighs in at an incredulous 15 oz. and is respectably toasty to boot.

Its a down bag, that packs to almost nothing, and is rated to 35 °F. We’ve slept in it down to around 28 °F degrees wearing thermals. I was on the edge of cold, but mostly stayed warm.

The experience was too cold for Theresa and she’s since switched to the Versalite, a 10 °F bag. The versalite is riddiculously warm.

This bag is an ultralight backpackers dream. The top 3 heavies are sleeping bag, tent and backpack and this almost eliminates one of those from the map.

The only downside? It’s very spendy, at over $200! But IMHO, worth every penny. Save for this bag and you won’t be disappointed.

Available from Backcountry Gear for $230.