Welcome to the other 2%.
The items that we need to upgrade with the biggest price tags are our backpacks and sleeping bags. If you don't want to read about things to consider when buying a sleeping bag skip ahead to backpacks or the full gear list link at the very bottom.
Sleeping Bags
My current sleeping bag is rated for 30 degrees, however I run cold, and anything under 40 I have to basically be wearing every stitch of clothing I own in order to be comfortable. Chris' bag is also not warm enough, but the bigger problem for him is comfort. Chris is too tall for his bag, while that's not a huge issue for a couple of days, even a week or two, after three months of sleeping in a cramped sleeping bag every night you are not going to be having good mornings.
The big contender for our sleeping bags is REI.
I am specifically looking at either the REI Women's Joule or Serrana. Now for those of you who roll your eyes when I say I want a Women's sleeping bag, stop it. Even the staunchest feminist would agree that the average woman is shaped differently than the average man. We also tend to have a lower body temperature, ladies will want to look at the EN Comfort Rating on a bag, rather than the overall temperature rating. Women's bags are cut wider at the hips than the shoulders and provide added warmth in the foot box specifically. Chris is a little bit easier, he's just looking for a bag that's got the "long" option in the temperature range he wants, so we're most likely looking at the REI Flash, Radiant or possibly the Igneo (though that's at the high end of the price range). The other reason he's also planning on going with an REI bag is because REI Women's and Men's bags zip together. I don't think I need to expound further on that.
The main considerations with the sleeping bags is temperature rating (EN rating for me), fill ratio, compressed volume (this dictates how much space it'll take up in the backpack) and weight. For me, the Joule is pricier, but it weighs less, is 700 fill down instead of 600, has a compressed volume of 6.6 L (versus Serrana's 9.9) and has a slightly better temperature rating. So provided we can make it work financially that would be my preference. Chris is a bit trickier. The Igneo and the Radiant have better temperature ratings, but the Flash and the Igneo have a better fill ratio and weigh considerably less. The Flash also has a significantly lower compressed volume (3.7 L versus 6 and 7.3). They are also both more expensive than the Radiant.
Backpacks
Both Chris and I have VERY heavy backpacks. Mine is somewhere 7 lb range and Chris' is 10-11 lbs. Now, that may not sound like much, but for extended trips your base backpack weight (before food and water are added) ought to be very small. Here's why: Chris and I will on average be carrying food for 7-12 days to minimize our stops. We'll be carrying somewhere between 2-2.5lbs of food per person per day. At the low end (7 days at 2lbs/day) that's 14 added pounds each, seems reasonable... but at the high end that's an added 30 lbs and that doesn't include water at all.. So shaving off pounds and ounces elsewhere is crucial.
A few of our friends have Osprey packs and seem to really like them. Having observed their functionality on the trail, Chris and I are pretty on board as well. The primary candidate the Osprey Aether Pack most likely the 70 L, but possibly the 60 if we can keep our volume down. There are a couple of features that we particularly like. The biggest is the external (though very much protected) reservoir sleeve. Anybody who has unpacked and repacked their pack over and over in order to refill their reservoir knows why this is important. It is a huge inconvenience, and honestly I never seem to get my stuff packed up as neatly as when I did it in the morning. The top lid is removable and can be carried as a separate pack. The last thing is pretty widely available but still important. Chris and I both currently have packs without zippered pockets on the hip belts. This is SO damn irritating. I want to be able to have snacks at easy reach. I want my Go-Girl (for stand-up peeing) in easy reach! I want hankies/tissues in easy reach!!
So that's what we're upgrading. The full gear list is below the cut. It also includes how many spare pairs we are going to have with our box mailer for replacement as needed.
Main Gear Stuff (priority):
Allison
Sleeping Bag
Backpack
Pants zip offs x4
Shoes x3
Tshirts x4 (2 already owned)
Long Sleeve x2 (1 owned)
Socks x12
Underwear x6 (1 resupply)
Sweater/fleece
Gloves
Shell
Paracord bracelet (must braid)
Flint and striker
Lighter
Iodine Tablets (Check ½ Life/Quantity)
Multitool (may upgrade)
knife
Sleeping pad*
Duct tape (15ft)
Chris
Sleeping Bag*
Backpack
Pants zip offs x2
shorts x2*
shoes x3
Tshirts x4
Long Sleeve x1
Socks x12 (4 at a time, 2 refills)
Underwear x4 (1 resupply)
Shell
Paracord bracelet
Waterproof matches
Lighter
Chlorine Tablets (Check ½ Life/Quantity)
Gloves
Water filter (change cartridge before, check length 1-2 refills if needed)
Ducttape 15 ft
Camelback
Multitool (may upgrade)
Sleep pad*
Both
Mess Kit + cup
Pot w/ lid
Fuel x12
Tissues (refills in every box)
FIRST AID
2 spare 2-3L water reservoirs
Tent*
Camp towels, biosoap/toothpaste, 2 toothbrushes, comb
Sunscreen (3-4 refills)
Bug Spray (2 refills)
headlamps x2, batteries in care packages
Compass (x2 if no GPS)
Topo maps plus section printouts for each section/box
plastic trowel
Emergency beacon
emergency blanket x2
Cell, extra batt, charger
decent point and shoot
Sunglasses x4
Needle and thread/nylon fabric patch
Garbage bags in each box
Military Hats
bandanas
Trekking poles
Optional - Likely will be necessary
Ice Axe x2
Snow Shoes x2
Microspikes
Reflector for stove
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