Totally forgot to insert my patented "I dont recommend any of this gear and I don't not recommend it. Do your own research and see what will work best for you" line I usually say in these videos. With the holiday season upon us and black friday deals abound I recommend giving some extended thought before any purchases. Cheers folks!
ChrisGoesOutdoors I appreciate that disclaimer. Different gear works differently for everyone. I’m sure others look at my bag of crap and wonder “what is he thinking?”
Thanks Chris. This series has been amazing. Planning to hit the CT in summer 2024. Your videos have been a huge inspiration filled with tons of great info on the trail and hiking at elevation. Peace and happy trails.
I really love that OR hat, my wife got me one for Christmas last year and it's been a lightweight lifesaver in the sun. Interesting comments on the EE pants...I may check those out.
Congrads on CT. With great interest I watched your Sun gear experience. Last fall I hiked the Camino Frances. All the time sun! I wore long pants(RailRider EcoMesh), sungloves (Litesmith), and put a white bandana behind my OR hat. All worked, no sunburn.So different from our northern New England hiking! Be well, Brownie
Hey Chris great video. Its not that you have especially the best gear but you explain exactly why you have it. And your reasoning is solid. Like me, I doubt that there was any likelihood that you were going to be miserable on trail. And mosquitos are misery. Soooo tempted to get those wind pants. Very multipurpose like you pointed out. I have a question though....kinda based on the fact that it seems the popular backpacking youtube channels are in the east. Is there a reason "you all" tend to go to Colorado mountains vs California mountains on your big trips. I'd argue that our mountains are some of the most beautiful inspiring places on Earth. More importantly other than weather its the only other good thing about California. If you came saw and passed the word to your friends in the east....they wouldn't hate us so much and I wouldn't feel like a unicorn
Chris, so glad you are happy with the HMG 3400. I’ve had four of their packs and currently have both the HMG Southwest 4400 and Windrider 4400, as hiking in Yosemite and the Sierras you need a bear canister and cold weather Backpacking needs more room. Love your honest and well tried and true experience with gear!!!
Its been a solid pack, hopefully recording that review soon. Its legit been raining for like 4 days straight until today in the MA area. Sucks for lighting haha
Awesome gear review and congratulations on another successful thru hike man! Hey would consider doing a video on a break down of town stops/resupply for the Colorado Trail?
Congratulations on finishing the Colorado trail. Looking forward to your review of the hyperlite 3400. Thinking hard about switching from my Arc haul to the hyperlite.
Very good. You have some cool gear. Expensive but cool. I think before my PCT attempt this year which I'm scheduled for starting 3/25/2020 I'll pick up that OR hat. I have the sun gloves. I drive with them sometimes, just because.
Thanks for this vid! I have the Columbia shirt, and am getting the OR sun gloves. Thanks so much for this video! We want to head out this Aug (depending on the state of the virus of course). - Chica
Amen! If its something you 100% were going to purchase and you can get it now cool but no use on buying stuff you can get a deal on just because its on sale
I carried a little osprey backpack just like that one on the AT and would use it around town or to haul water back to camp. It was nasty by the end though. I actually need to replace a lot of gear to be able to thru hike again I think
I'm fixin' to buy a pair of Copperfield pants and was happy to hear your favorable opinion on them. I'm also happy to see your opinion on the Flex 30. I haven't been able to decide between it or the Palisade. It's a small weight penalty for the flex but it appears to offer more options as far as temps are concerned making it more useful? I was hoping to wear all my layers and get down to 20 or so and open it up when it's spring/summer.
Ya I really like being able to fully open it up. I think it gives it much more versatility which is why I went with that over something like the palisade. I do kind of wish I got the 15 though. Just because for New Hampshire hiking it would be a genuine 3 season for me. In all honesty I can probably push the 30 to the 20s with layers but it can get quite chilly up in them New Hampshire hills
I have made the decision to stay with my Osprey Aether 70. Even though it is a little more than 5lbs I don’t care. For me the comfort supersedes any weight loss with using anything UL. I don’t even know the pack is there let alone what I carry in it.
Hi Chris! Interested what you ended up doing in terms of food storage at night when hanging a bear bag wasn’t possible. We have heard a bear canister is overkill. My boyfriend and I are doing the CT this summer and would love to hear your experience with this. Thanks!
I just slept with it. Wrapped food bag in my pack liner, and pack liner in my backpack. I dont necessarily recommend that. There are some people that claim sleeping with it is the best option. Perhaps they are right but who knows. I would possibly consider an opsack / ursack combo if I were to do it all again. Enjoy it. CT was amazing!
Hey Chris, love the channel!! I had a question about the OR sun runner hat. If you were ever to do the AT again, would you wear this hat? I'm thru hiking the AT next year (can't wait!!) and am considering a hat like this. Sun exposure is obviously not as much of a factor as it is on the Colorado Trail or PCT, but I feel like its versatility would be beneficial even on the AT. I burn pretty easily like you, so adequate protection is always a concern for me.
With the amount of shade cover on the AT I would probably pass over it and use the buff again like I did before. There are few long exposed areas on the AT. But I may also consider rocking the hat without the little curtain thing. Carry the curtain around though maybe incase you felt it necessary. Also depends when you start. When I started in Georgia in April the leaves had not grown back yet so we were seeing decent sun for the first couple of weeks. Hope that helps!
Thanks Chris, very helpful! I was really impressed by how effective the hat seemed to be on your CT hike. I may do as you suggest and wear just the hat and have the curtain handy for the occasional exposed areas on the AT.
Have you checked out the Modase 40l backpack? You won’t believe it’s only $22.99 on Amazon. A little heavier (12.7 oz) than the NatureHike but it’s sturdier than you’d think.
I have a pack similar to that I bought when I was screwing around with the idea of throwing together a super budget UL list but I wasnt happy with the build quality of it. Size wise too it was super overkill for what I was looking for. The naturehike is essentially a glorified stuff sack with backpack strap haha
I would think so. Dont think they would get through the pant fabric but possible, it is pretty thin. I feel like I had the black flies bite through some pretty crazy stuff haha
Thanks! I guess we will all find out together next spring. My 8 year old is trying to do all 4ks. He is hooked now but haven’t gone through black fly season yet. Hopefully these equipment will help him survive.
Hi Chris, I’m planning on doing the CT this summer. I have a 30* EE but I don’t think it’ll be enough. I’m getting a UGQ full zip quilt, but struggling on what temperature rating I should get. CT and all around cold weather quilt- 0*, 10* or 15*? Which would you suggest? Thanks 🙏
Depending on the year the EE 30 may be ok. The one I used back in 2017 was severely underfilled. They increased the down they used twice since I had purchased my original one. I dont really know much about the UGQ quilts. From my experience the 20 should suffice for CO. I wanted the 15 or 20 katabatic for new hampshire where I usually am. I literally just picked up an EE revelation 20 again to replace the katabatic 30. I believe it has 5oz more down than when I bought mine back in 2016-2017. Hope that helps
Pants and head net worked to keep mosquitoes off your legs and face, but was there anything that worked well to keep them off your torso? I always get bit through my shirt.
The columbia shirt I show worked great. They couldnt bite through it. The only really open spot in that case was my hands and unfortunately they were able to get through the gloves I show. I just kind of tried to be mindful to check and swat every now and again for the hands
It is the solplex. No longer made unfortunately which is probably why it can’t be found on the site. If you search for it on UA-cam I have an initial setup video of it as well as a post Appalachian Trail review of the tent as well. I picked up an altaplex this summer and it solves pretty much any “issue” I had with the solplex. But I still chose the solplex on a weekend trip this week haha. It’s been a great tent to me
I've been thinking about wind plants and those ar 2oz sounds great. I was wonduring if you've ever used permethrin for all the bugs and how'd it work for you?
Use it all the time but have never noticed it repelling any bugs. I like to think it works on ticks which is why I use it though as I have never found any on me but who knows haha
@@ChrisGoesOutdoors LOL!! Good to know. I though it was supposed to keep bugs away too. Got eaten up last year and was going (still am) use that stuff this year. I'll use everything then! LOL!!
Hi...I am planning on doing the CT next year. How much did you carry typically? I saw your video where you say your pack weighed almost 45 lbs due to water. Where was that? The 22 mile section in segment 26/27? Thanks!
Ya there that part in particular I had 5 liters of water on me at one point. At the beginning I 100% had way too much food with me as well. I went to breckenridge without resupply and still had enough food to have kept going if I wanted to.typical carry with a resupply was probably 30lbs. Usually didnt carry over 1-1.5 liters of water unless I knew it was a long dry stretch
I personally wouldnt go that route. I had a pair of patagonia thermal weight leggings and these with me. I feel like they add a little warmth but not that much. Your results may vary tho
I'm curious about the HMG 3400. If you were to only section hike the 100 mile wilderness of the AT with no resupply and estimating it to take 10 days. Would you think the 3400 could handle it? (without the rest of the gear being super heavy of course). I know it's a fairly open question, but I'm trying to decide if the 3400 is the best option or if the 4400 is the better option. I feel like the 3400 will be a better option in general for other hikes, so I'm kind of leaning towards that over the 4400.
I think it would be fine. I had a ton of room in mine. So much so that I could lay my camera on top when it rained and still was able to roll it down considerably. I considered the 4400 as well but am happy with the 3400. In all honesty if I didnt carry so much camera gear I would have been happy with the 2400
If you don’t pack a bear canister I would agree with the 3400. The weight difference IMHO is negligible however...and what REALLY rocks these packs is they STAND up by themselves when packing. Love mine!
@@drbryanbikes I was planning to bring a bear bag instead of a canister. Great to hear you like the pack. It seems most people just love them, which can't be bad :)
My biggest issue is most all the contributors I see on UA-cam and Instagram are fronting products that are majorly cost prohibitive to most of us weekend or week long hikers . Don't know or care what your income is your out of my price range.
Totally forgot to insert my patented "I dont recommend any of this gear and I don't not recommend it. Do your own research and see what will work best for you" line I usually say in these videos. With the holiday season upon us and black friday deals abound I recommend giving some extended thought before any purchases. Cheers folks!
ChrisGoesOutdoors I appreciate that disclaimer. Different gear works differently for everyone. I’m sure others look at my bag of crap and wonder “what is he thinking?”
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Thanks Chris. This series has been amazing. Planning to hit the CT in summer 2024. Your videos have been a huge inspiration filled with tons of great info on the trail and hiking at elevation. Peace and happy trails.
I appreciate your approach to reviews. Letting us know what worked for you, and what didn't, but not explicitly endorsing anything. It's refreshing.
Thanks man, just trying to keep it real
That little backpack is such a good idea. I am dumbfounded. Such a simple yet beneficial item. 👍
I saw your day-by-day CT hiking videos and was curious about the hat. Glad you covered that first here, I was hoping you would! Thank you!
Love your work bc it is very insightful. Btw, awesome beard.
I really love that OR hat, my wife got me one for Christmas last year and it's been a lightweight lifesaver in the sun. Interesting comments on the EE pants...I may check those out.
They were pretty fantastic to have around. I didnt expect to use them remotely as much as I did
Congrads on CT. With great interest I watched your Sun gear experience. Last fall I hiked the Camino Frances. All the time sun! I wore long pants(RailRider EcoMesh), sungloves (Litesmith), and put a white bandana behind my OR hat. All worked, no sunburn.So different from our northern New England hiking! Be well, Brownie
The sun gear was crucial made so much of a difference
Once I tried to take a bite of food while wearing the mosquito head net.
burned a hole in mine trying to spark up a joint in the cascades 😂
congrads on the hike. would like to hear about pack airflow compared to arc haul. wind pants on list.
to be honest I didnt really notice any real difference. I feel like it was pretty similar sweat wise even on the Zpacks
Hey Chris great video. Its not that you have especially the best gear but you explain exactly why you have it. And your reasoning is solid. Like me, I doubt that there was any likelihood that you were going to be miserable on trail. And mosquitos are misery. Soooo tempted to get those wind pants. Very multipurpose like you pointed out.
I have a question though....kinda based on the fact that it seems the popular backpacking youtube channels are in the east. Is there a reason "you all" tend to go to Colorado mountains vs California mountains on your big trips. I'd argue that our mountains are some of the most beautiful inspiring places on Earth. More importantly other than weather its the only other good thing about California. If you came saw and passed the word to your friends in the east....they wouldn't hate us so much and I wouldn't feel like a unicorn
Nice gear selection. Congratulations on your Colorado Trail Thru-hike completion.
Thanks Joe!
+1 on the Solplex. The Duplex takes a huge amount of space. I wish Zpacks would bring it back.
Chris, so glad you are happy with the HMG 3400. I’ve had four of their packs and currently have both the HMG Southwest 4400 and Windrider 4400, as hiking in Yosemite and the Sierras you need a bear canister and cold weather Backpacking needs more room. Love your honest and well tried and true experience with gear!!!
Its been a solid pack, hopefully recording that review soon. Its legit been raining for like 4 days straight until today in the MA area. Sucks for lighting haha
Awesome gear review and congratulations on another successful thru hike man! Hey would consider doing a video on a break down of town stops/resupply for the Colorado Trail?
Possibly. I only stopped in I think 4 towns total along the way but will think about it haha
ChrisGoesOutdoors cool cool. Well that’s good to know that it seemed to be pretty simple to resupply. Thanks
Congratulations on finishing the Colorado trail. Looking forward to your review of the hyperlite 3400. Thinking hard about switching from my Arc haul to the hyperlite.
I really liked it. Lot to like about the pack, very little to dislike. Hopefully review coming soon....ish haha
Very good. You have some cool gear. Expensive but cool. I think before my PCT attempt this year which I'm scheduled for starting 3/25/2020 I'll pick up that OR hat. I have the sun gloves. I drive with them sometimes, just because.
Think the hat would be a great choice for the PCT. Best of luck out there!
Thanks for this vid! I have the Columbia shirt, and am getting the OR sun gloves. Thanks so much for this video! We want to head out this Aug (depending on the state of the virus of course). - Chica
Hopefully things are better by then. I would really like to get back out myself!
Agreed! Hope you get to the PCT soon!
Ty
I agree on purchases. Don’t drop all your cash to save money. Save money buying what is needed.
Amen! If its something you 100% were going to purchase and you can get it now cool but no use on buying stuff you can get a deal on just because its on sale
Would luv to hear more about quilt and pack for sure. Great content as always. 💀
Thanks Teddy, will try to get them out soon. Both very solid pieces of gear
Definitely do a review on the southwest 3400
Hope to get it done as soon as I can!
ChrisGoesOutdoors Cant wait dude been eyeing this pack for a minute!
"that's one bad hat Harry"
I carried a little osprey backpack just like that one on the AT and would use it around town or to haul water back to camp. It was nasty by the end though. I actually need to replace a lot of gear to be able to thru hike again I think
Enjoyed your information.
Great stuff, dude! I leave on Friday for the Florida Trail. You should come down and do a section. It’s getting cold as balls in the North East now 🤪
Can't wait to see the Bad Stuff, Did you have rain pants/gear with you or just the wind pants?
Had a rain skirt with me along with the wind pants. I'll give you a little hint on what one of the non-all star pieces of gear were 😂
I'm fixin' to buy a pair of Copperfield pants and was happy to hear your favorable opinion on them. I'm also happy to see your opinion on the Flex 30. I haven't been able to decide between it or the Palisade. It's a small weight penalty for the flex but it appears to offer more options as far as temps are concerned making it more useful? I was hoping to wear all my layers and get down to 20 or so and open it up when it's spring/summer.
Ya I really like being able to fully open it up. I think it gives it much more versatility which is why I went with that over something like the palisade. I do kind of wish I got the 15 though. Just because for New Hampshire hiking it would be a genuine 3 season for me. In all honesty I can probably push the 30 to the 20s with layers but it can get quite chilly up in them New Hampshire hills
I have made the decision to stay with my Osprey Aether 70. Even though it is a little more than 5lbs I don’t care. For me the comfort supersedes any weight loss with using anything UL. I don’t even know the pack is there let alone what I carry in it.
How it carries is crucial. Can make 50lbs feel like 5 or 5 feel like 50
Good info!
Appreciate it Tim!
Hi Chris! Interested what you ended up doing in terms of food storage at night when hanging a bear bag wasn’t possible. We have heard a bear canister is overkill. My boyfriend and I are doing the CT this summer and would love to hear your experience with this. Thanks!
I just slept with it. Wrapped food bag in my pack liner, and pack liner in my backpack. I dont necessarily recommend that. There are some people that claim sleeping with it is the best option. Perhaps they are right but who knows. I would possibly consider an opsack / ursack combo if I were to do it all again. Enjoy it. CT was amazing!
Hey Chris, love the channel!! I had a question about the OR sun runner hat. If you were ever to do the AT again, would you wear this hat? I'm thru hiking the AT next year (can't wait!!) and am considering a hat like this. Sun exposure is obviously not as much of a factor as it is on the Colorado Trail or PCT, but I feel like its versatility would be beneficial even on the AT. I burn pretty easily like you, so adequate protection is always a concern for me.
With the amount of shade cover on the AT I would probably pass over it and use the buff again like I did before. There are few long exposed areas on the AT. But I may also consider rocking the hat without the little curtain thing. Carry the curtain around though maybe incase you felt it necessary. Also depends when you start. When I started in Georgia in April the leaves had not grown back yet so we were seeing decent sun for the first couple of weeks. Hope that helps!
Thanks Chris, very helpful! I was really impressed by how effective the hat seemed to be on your CT hike. I may do as you suggest and wear just the hat and have the curtain handy for the occasional exposed areas on the AT.
Have you checked out the Modase 40l backpack? You won’t believe it’s only $22.99 on Amazon. A little heavier (12.7 oz) than the NatureHike but it’s sturdier than you’d think.
I have a pack similar to that I bought when I was screwing around with the idea of throwing together a super budget UL list but I wasnt happy with the build quality of it. Size wise too it was super overkill for what I was looking for. The naturehike is essentially a glorified stuff sack with backpack strap haha
Chris, great video. Do you think the rain pants and the net will work for black flies in the whites?
I would think so. Dont think they would get through the pant fabric but possible, it is pretty thin. I feel like I had the black flies bite through some pretty crazy stuff haha
Thanks! I guess we will all find out together next spring. My 8 year old is trying to do all 4ks. He is hooked now but haven’t gone through black fly season yet. Hopefully these equipment will help him survive.
Hi Chris, I’m planning on doing the CT this summer. I have a 30* EE but I don’t think it’ll be enough. I’m getting a UGQ full zip quilt, but struggling on what temperature rating I should get. CT and all around cold weather quilt- 0*, 10* or 15*? Which would you suggest? Thanks 🙏
Depending on the year the EE 30 may be ok. The one I used back in 2017 was severely underfilled. They increased the down they used twice since I had purchased my original one. I dont really know much about the UGQ quilts. From my experience the 20 should suffice for CO. I wanted the 15 or 20 katabatic for new hampshire where I usually am. I literally just picked up an EE revelation 20 again to replace the katabatic 30. I believe it has 5oz more down than when I bought mine back in 2016-2017. Hope that helps
ChrisGoesOutdoors Yes, it does help. Thanks for your response. 20* for the CT, lower for colder temps other than the CT .
Hi Chris, it’s me again with another gear question. You brought a fleece and a puffy. Did you need both? If not, which would you bring with you?
Pants and head net worked to keep mosquitoes off your legs and face, but was there anything that worked well to keep them off your torso? I always get bit through my shirt.
The columbia shirt I show worked great. They couldnt bite through it. The only really open spot in that case was my hands and unfortunately they were able to get through the gloves I show. I just kind of tried to be mindful to check and swat every now and again for the hands
when you said solplex is it altaplex or which one cuz I don't think it's on the site for solplex
It is the solplex. No longer made unfortunately which is probably why it can’t be found on the site. If you search for it on UA-cam I have an initial setup video of it as well as a post Appalachian Trail review of the tent as well. I picked up an altaplex this summer and it solves pretty much any “issue” I had with the solplex. But I still chose the solplex on a weekend trip this week haha. It’s been a great tent to me
Did the mosquitoes puncture the wind pants?
Divers use MiraZyme to get the funk smell out of wet suits. I wonder if this would work on tents too?
I'd worry about it wrecking the water resistance.
I've been thinking about wind plants and those ar 2oz sounds great. I was wonduring if you've ever used permethrin for all the bugs and how'd it work for you?
Use it all the time but have never noticed it repelling any bugs. I like to think it works on ticks which is why I use it though as I have never found any on me but who knows haha
@@ChrisGoesOutdoors LOL!! Good to know. I though it was supposed to keep bugs away too. Got eaten up last year and was going (still am) use that stuff this year. I'll use everything then! LOL!!
Hi...I am planning on doing the CT next year. How much did you carry typically? I saw your video where you say your pack weighed almost 45 lbs due to water. Where was that? The 22 mile section in segment 26/27? Thanks!
Meant to ask "how much water did you carry typically" not how much you carried in general with respect to gear etc...
Ya there that part in particular I had 5 liters of water on me at one point. At the beginning I 100% had way too much food with me as well. I went to breckenridge without resupply and still had enough food to have kept going if I wanted to.typical carry with a resupply was probably 30lbs. Usually didnt carry over 1-1.5 liters of water unless I knew it was a long dry stretch
Would you say that the wind pants would work instead of leggings? If so down to what temperature. Thanks.
I personally wouldnt go that route. I had a pair of patagonia thermal weight leggings and these with me. I feel like they add a little warmth but not that much. Your results may vary tho
What size was the Naturehike foldable pack you used?
I believe it was 18L total. Its kind of like a glorified stuff sack with a zipper and backpack straps
I'm curious about the HMG 3400. If you were to only section hike the 100 mile wilderness of the AT with no resupply and estimating it to take 10 days. Would you think the 3400 could handle it? (without the rest of the gear being super heavy of course). I know it's a fairly open question, but I'm trying to decide if the 3400 is the best option or if the 4400 is the better option. I feel like the 3400 will be a better option in general for other hikes, so I'm kind of leaning towards that over the 4400.
I think it would be fine. I had a ton of room in mine. So much so that I could lay my camera on top when it rained and still was able to roll it down considerably. I considered the 4400 as well but am happy with the 3400. In all honesty if I didnt carry so much camera gear I would have been happy with the 2400
If you don’t pack a bear canister I would agree with the 3400. The weight difference IMHO is negligible however...and what REALLY rocks these packs is they STAND up by themselves when packing. Love mine!
@@ChrisGoesOutdoors Great, thank you :)
@@drbryanbikes I was planning to bring a bear bag instead of a canister. Great to hear you like the pack. It seems most people just love them, which can't be bad :)
Rune Arn thanks and sure you’ll be very pleased. No need for a pack cover and super strong and very Top Shelf pack!!
lol that hat ...I'm guessing you never had a mirror with you luckily? Function over fashion at its best. Good vid,useful and a chuckle too.
Hiker chic at its finest
What was your base weight overall?
Something around 17-18lbs with the camera gear I brought. I think I posted a lighterpack link in my intiail CT gear video
My biggest issue is most all the contributors I see on UA-cam and Instagram are fronting products that are majorly cost prohibitive to most of us weekend or week long hikers . Don't know or care what your income is your out of my price range.