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[pct-l] Gear vs gear vs gear



>> I've come to the conclusion that everyone is prejudiced towards the gear
they
already have. No one wants to admit that they made a bad choice when chosing
gear or, worse yet, that they REPLACED bad gear with bad gear. For a matter
of pride, they are going to swear by their supposed experience in chosing
gear. <<

I'm NOT prejudice about my gear! I've simply got the best gear and the best
system to use it! Actually you're quite right. We're all "Stuck in a Rut"
with the equipment choices we've made overtime.

As to the "Consumers Report" of backpacking gear, I'm not sure what good it
would do. At best it's a review of gear view from some "Common Denominator"
baseline. Backpacking gear today is more of a system than an individual
listing of items and features.

Just look at your own description of how you successfully utilize your down
bag in your system. That kind of comprehensive overview could never be
provided by "Consumers Report". There are just too many combinations and
variables.

Lets get back to your description of how you use your down bag for a moment.
It provides more of an illustration of how to use gear within a system. The
Down vs. Synthetic / tarp vs. tent discussions are basically hollow because
they don't bring in the whole environment.

A more important discussion is how we combine our gear over a wide range of
environmental conditions to insure our comfort and safety. Something that's
not easy to describe in a few terse sentences. Though for all of us seeking
to learn more it's precisely what  we need to make informed decisions.

As to the tarp weights and component combinations, again it's all about the
system. In general a tarp system is probably only a half to 1 pound lighter
than a lightweight 3# tent. Of course there aren't many 3# tents on the
market.

The primary difference of weight between tarp and tents is in the concept of
"Dual Use". With a tarp configuration, many of the items have multiple uses
that may be used through out the day. As you mentioned the poles maybe
hiking poles. Also the ground cloth is often taken out and used during
breaks to lay on. The tarp, without ground cloth, may be setup during a hot
lunch beak to provide shade.  With a tent, it's generally setup or stored
away.

Again, I'm not saying a tarp is better than a tent. Remember, I sale tents.
Instead we must look at our own hiking strategies and see how well our gear
melds with it.


>> Choosing gear to fit the situation is expensive. I'd rather have a one
size fits all even if a little more weight is involved. One can guess what
the conditions should normally be, but weather has extremes as well as
"averages." One just has to decide if saving weight is worth being miserable
for short, infrequent 1 to 3 day hypothermic events. I say no. <<

If you're traveling over a relatively short timeframe, 1 to 2 weeks,
accounting for the added weight cost of infrequent "hypothermic events" is
not a problem. However, if your traveling over months, you pay a big penalty
for carrying the extra gear needed for a relatively short event. While
hypothermia is not a laughing matter, I've yet to hear of a single death of
a long distance hiker due to hypothermia.

-Fallingwater