This picture was taken around midnight after we finally made the decision about our tent. Notice how Erin looks exhausted, and I have suddenly been transformed into Johnny Bravo.
After weeks of deliberation, Erin and I sat down and picked out our tent for the Pacific Crest Trail. We’ve decided to go with the Tarptent Squall 2. There are a ton of great ultra-light tents, and we did think about the Squall Clasic that Gossamer Gear and Tarptent collaborated on, but Squall 2 is tried and tested by a lot of thru-hikers and Section Hiker does a great insider’s review.
So here is our gear list:
Backpack: Addy- Granite Gear Vapor Ki (2 lbs 2 oz.) Erin- Some ancient external frame backpack, but she’s working on it and leaning towards the REI Flash 50 pack.
Tent: We’ll be sharing the Tarptent Squall 2 (34 oz) dividing the weight between two people equals 17 oz a piece. Still haven’t decided what kind of Tyvek to use underneath it.
Sleeping bag: Addy- REI Halo 25 (2lbs 2 oz), but secretly coveting Erin’s Marmot Helium 15 (1lb 13 oz). I’m also thinking about the Gossamer Gear Sleeplight bag (1 lb 1 oz) or the Montbell UL SS (1 lb 1 oz), which Rockin’ uses.
Sleeping pad: Addy- Thermarest NeoAir (13 oz) Erin- A crazy heavy huge sleeping pad that I may have to wrestle out of her hands before the trip.
Stove: Angst-ridden decision between a homemade alcohol stove and Erin’s Snow Peak Giga.
That’s about as far as we’ve gotten. We both have all of the gear necessary for a backpacking trip, but aren’t sure which things to jettison. I’d love feedback if anyone has it.
