Hi!
Welcome to my blog! I document my travel adventures. Flying to new locations, taking old-fashioned road trips and backpacking through iconic trails are some of the many stories I want to share. Come for the pictures and stay for the inspiration!
Welcome to my blog! I document my travel adventures. Flying to new locations, taking old-fashioned road trips and backpacking through iconic trails are some of the many stories I want to share. Come for the pictures and stay for the inspiration!
I always like to check out new products to use on our backpacking and car camping trips.
We are prepping slowly for our thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail. Here are some of our upgraded gear.
I recently purchased a Marmot Tungsten 2P and I absolutely love it!. My old 3P Coleman tent had such a cheap rain fly that in any rainstorm, the inside had water in it. It was super heavy too. This tent is lightweight and can be assembled in a few minutes. There is a footprint included and you can even just use the footprint and rain fly as shelter. The tent itself has a bathtub bottom and lots of breathable mesh. This design expands a little bit more to provide more living space compared to tents this size.
The tent has 2 doors so J.J. and I don't have to maneuver around each other at night to relieve ourselves. There are 2 vestibules so we can space for our packs and space for us to work.
If you want to check out the specs of this Marmot tent, I will provide a link here.
This 2.8lb, 800 fill power, duck down sleeping bag is awesome! The quality is spot on and you can't beat the price! It offers heavy duty YKK zippers and hanging hooks from the foot box. Comes warranted to the original owner against manufacturing defects in materials & workmanship for the lifetime of the product. They also provides you with a link for their website that has videos that shows you how to care for and maintain your sleeping bag.
To pick up your own sleeping bag, visit Outdoor Vitals.
I currently live in Florida so this is a great bag for weekend trips. It is also good for when you travel to a hostel. Also, you can put your hammock through it!
Even though this exact sleeping bag is no longer available, REI offers this model as a similar product.
My first pack was a hand me down from my great uncle, Jimmy. I waned to use it for the AT as a gesture of respect to him but it was too small with hardly any padding on the shoulder and no hip belt. I love the external pack though. So a much needed upgraded was in order.
I received a notification that Outdoor Vitals was making a 60L pack. I've bought my sleeping bag from them so when they released this pack, I snatched it up!
This 60L, water resistant pack has a big pocket in the front which has mesh pockets on the inside. The main compartment is vast and has hanging loops for a water reservoir. Best part of the main compartment is that there's a zipper along the side of it so everything is easily accessible. The mesh pockets on each side are big and the bottom compression straps can go over or through them. YKK buckles, YKK zippers and well constructed straps were used in its construction. The back offers lots of air flow! There's lots of padding on the shoulder straps and hip belt.
The brain converts into a day pack and the hip belt pocket detach and can attach onto the pack.
In the end, I am so happy with my pack!
You can get your own awesome pack here.
This lightweight, inflatable sleeping pad is very comfortable. The side ridges keep you in place while the mat keeps the warm air close to you. It comes with a pump bag to blow it up and it has a quick inflate valve to inflate and deflate quickly. It has an estimated R Value of 4 and you can snap multiple sleeping pads together. It's very thick, lightweight and super comfortable.
Amazon sells one here.
I love this stove! It's easy to use. You can adjust how much gas it uses. It only weigh 1 oz! This is a great little stove for a solo backpacker!
Get it here on Amazon!
This french press is simple to use! Put coffee in, add hot water, strain and pour! It's also made of plastic so it's safer than glass. Easy to clean.
Found mine at REI.
Compact, lightweight and functional little pot. It has slits so you can strain water. I can put my gas, stove, lighter and scraper inside it and keep it all together.
I found this on Amazon.
I modified the sawyer gravity system to start with a Platypus 2.0L dirty bag. The opening to get water is so much bigger and it attaches right on the sawyer squeeze. I also picked up a sawyer mini in case J.J. wanted to walk ahead.
Sawyer Squeeze Water Filter System is found here.
Sawyer Mini is found here.
The Platypus 2.0L Dirty bag is found here.
The Platypus GravityWorks Filter Hose is found here.
It feels like bears are everywhere. We're in their home so protect your food/ smelly stuff with this 2 lb, 9 oz bear canister. Made with super rugged polycarbonate housing, it uses 2 tabs that you have to push in to keep the bears away. I love that it is see-thru, so I can find what I'm looking for easily. You can use it as a bucket for grabbing some water at its source and then filtering it somewhere else. You can also use it as a seat or a small table. Its got nubs along the sides so you can strap it to your pack.
Lots of websites sell this canister. I found mine here at REI.
This nifty little lantern can be charged by sunlight or usb. It can charge electronic devices such as phones, power banks and mp3 players. When it is together, you can use it as a flashlight or pull it apart to open the lantern. Lightweight and use a carabiner to clip it in place.
Lots of websites sell it but you can find it here on Amazon.
A small but handy mug. Stainless steel and you can clip it almost anywhere.
I found this mug at Target.
This little headlamp has the power of 180 Lumen Led (300 Feet Beam) with 2 separate buttons to select white or red light. You can tilt the lamp and is comfortable to wear. Used this many times and love this headlamp!
Find this headlamp here!
Originally I had a much cheaper brand, but I found out on a test hike on the Florida Trail, it was a much cheaper product. It would slide if I put a lot of pressure on it. That's a big no-no, especially it you have to depend on these poles to take you over the mountains. No customer service at all, and can't even sell them because what if the other person gets hurt? Into the trash, they go.
I took those poles as a loss and bought 2 pairs of Black Diamond's Trail Ergo Cork Trekking Poles. 18 ozs for each pair. Aluminum poles with cork grips with FlickLock adjustability. Once the tip is gone, you can just switch it in for a new one! Also, they have great customer service!
Go with quality and your knees will thank you.
Pick up your own set of BD's Trail Ergo Trekking Poles here.
