What’s Working, What’s Not, and What’s Changed 

This past week I passed the halfway point on the Appalachian Trail! This sounds like a good time, and hopefully something that might be helpful, to check in on the gear!

Overall I would say that things have gone well gearwise. I have continued to tweak my gear along the way – get rid of this, replace that, add something, though this last one happens very infrequently as what you add you have to carry! Tweaking my gear while on the trail has been made easier as my wife has met me several times to resupply and swap gear as needed! Another overarching comment to make is that I have been surprised at the beating gear takes, the repairs I have made along the way, and how some gear doesn’t hold up – despite supposed good quality and reviews. 

Yes, I know you’re not supposed to set up tents in shelters. But, one of the benefits of being a SOBO is there is no one else on the trails! This shelter is in New York and was a great place to store, hand all my gear, and have a bug-free night! 

What Has Worked Well 

This is my favorite and thankfully longest category! 

Darn Tuff socks: I wear the same pair of medium-cushion each day. No blisters. No liners. No problem! I carry a second pair as a backup.

Outdoor Research swift cap: it fits great. It’s comfortable. It mostly keeps the sweat and sun away. No complaints. 

MSR pocket rocket deluxe stove: granted, I only use it once a day to boil water. But it works great every time. 

Big Agnes Fly Creek 2 tent: I wasn’t sure about this one before the trip. So far, it’s kept me dry, comfortable, and the setup and take down couldn’t be easier.

Nitecore 10,000 amp battery pack: it works great. Recharges my phone 3+ times. I actually got and carry a second one now for longer stretches between power sources. 

Ursack Almighty food bag: It’s heavier than a regular food bag, less heavy than a bear canister, and has kept all my food safe and sound.

Sawyer Squeeze water filter: it’s not too often you find a perfect product. This might be it. Inexpensive. Reliable. Easy to use. Someone told me to soak the filter in vinegar when you clean it and that works great. 

Cnoc 3 liter water bladder: same as above. Seemingly a perfect product. I use it with the coupling ring for gravity fed filtering. 

Trash compactor bag; it’s a simple thing but one heavy duty bag inside my pack has kept all my gear dry regardless of the weather. And yes, I do use a Zpacks pack cover on the outside too.

Flex Tail 2 air pump: many might consider this a luxury. Not me. Whenever I see someone struggling to use a pump sack to fill their air mattress I feel guilty how quick and easy this rechargeable pump is!

What’s Not Worked Well

And, fortunately this is a small category and all these items are no longer in my pack!

Burgeon sun hoody: this probably is my fault. I bought this because it was so light and breathable. So light that it tore several times. It also took forever to dry despite being such a lightweight fabric . 

Patagonia mesh shorts: this really surprised me as these shorts are the go to for many thru-hikers. For me they caused lots of chafing and the liner took forever to dry too!

Big Sky food coozie: I found this was not needed. Someone gave me the tip to just pour hot water into a dehydrated meal in a freezer ziploc quart bag and then put the bag back into the empty pan! 

Six Moon Design UL umbrella: I wasn’t sure about any umbrella working well. I tried it for a few weeks but could never adjust the straps to be truly hands free. I stopped using it eventually and it actually fell out of my pack somewhere in the Maine woods!

What’s Changed 

Black Diamond pursuit trekking poles: I started without poles. Fortunately by the time I got to the Whites I listened to some good advice! I wouldn’t think of hiking without them.

Nemo filo pillow: I started with a Sea to Summit one. Within a couple of weeks it had a leak around the valve. So far this replacement has been solid.

Patagonia sun hoody: this was a great replacement choice. I wear it every day. It dries pretty quickly. And even when you put it on damp in the morning it warms up quickly. 

REI trailmade shorts: they’re lightweight.  Dry really fast. Have enough pockets. And I like the built-in adjustable belt.

TBD

The things in this category don’t fit neatly into any of the above and/or the jury is still out.

Gossamer Gear Mariposa 60 backpack: I like this pack – I better as I carry it every day! It holds my gear well, even for someone who unfortunately pushes the 35 pound boundary. My concern is that in the first couple of months the pack developed some tears. I have patched them and so far so good. We’ll see how it holds up the rest of the trail. 

Petzyl Atik Core headlamp: I really like this headlamp. It’s super reliable and the rechargeable battery is great.  (I also got a second battery as a backup.) Two concerns. One of the headstrap clips keeps falling off. Fortunately I have found it each time to replace it. What about if I can’t find it one time? Also, I wish the battery took a USB-C charger cable like everything else!

Nemo Tensor All Season air mattress: it’s a really comfortable pad. And I like the extra space the wide pad offers. Three months in I had a small leak that was very hard to find. So far the repair is holding up. We’ll see how this goes down the trail. 

Shoes

This one gets its own category! I’m 1100+ miles in. I’m on my 4th pair of shoes. But, I’ve not had a single blister or foot problem, so something is going right.

Pair 1: Altra Lone Peak 7, this pair was great and got almost 500 miles. About 100 were before the trail as I was getting used to the Altra shoe style – wide toe box and zero-drop soles. 

Pair 2: Altra Lone Peak 7, this pair barely made it to Shaw’s just before the 100 mile wilderness and lasted less than 300 miles. Granted, this was the Whites and southern Maine. But they were really falling apart.

Pair 3: Altra Olympus 5, I wanted to stay with Altra since my feet were happy in these zero drop shoes. I figured maybe more cushion that the Olympus has would equate to a longer lasting and comfortable shoe – particularly since the rocks of Pennsylvania were coming up! And Shaw’s had them in my size. Again, after about 300 miles large holes developed on both shoes. 

Pair 4: Altra Olympus 6, Again my feet are still happy in this shoe style. Just not my wallet. Altra says the 6 model has addressed the durability issues. We’ll see and stay tuned. Right now I have about 200 miles on them so far.

One of me first things to do when I get to a hostel, hotel, or other non-trail overnight place is to take all my gear out, hang it to dry, and clean it as best as I can! 

Now that it is getting colder, I will be shortly switching up some gear for warmer options. I already switched my summer quilt for a winter quilt. Next will be switching base layers. I am not sure what to do about keeping my hands and feet warm through November and possibly beyond. I am open to any suggestions! As always, I will continue to monitor and experiment as needed. 

That’s it for now. I am looking forward to seeing how my gear does the second part of this journey and will post a post-hike review as well.