My Gear: Part 1

My current pack is a Granite Gear Blaze 60. I’ve had it for a few years now, and I can sing the praises of this thing pretty much indefinitely. In that round of pack shopping, I was specifically looking for the best ratio of weight to load capacity that I could find.

Photography gear adds some weight, so I need a pack that can carry that extra few pounds comfortably, which rules out a lot of the true ultralighter packs. For the same reason, I also want the rest of my gear, including the pack, to be as light as possible. The Blaze 60 weighs in at about 3 pounds and has a 50-pound capacity, which works great for me. The high capacity also came in clutch for 12 days unsupported on the Uinta Highline Trail, when it was crucial to have a pack that could carry almost two weeks of food and supplies.

Sleep is important, so having a good sleep setup is also important! I am notoriously bad at sleeping, but at least I can be comfortable while I lie awake.

My sleeping pad is also from Nemo, and comes with a very handy pump sack to inflate it without having to spend half the night blowing directly into the valve. In addition to the pad, I also have a small inflatable Nemo pillow. It does not use the pump sack, but is small enough that it only takes a few regular breaths to inflate.

Branching out from Nemo, my sleeping bag is a Magma 15 from REI Co-op. I’ve taken this bag on winter trips and it’s done great, so summer — even at elevation — is no problem. I also have the quilt version of this bag, which sometimes comes out in summer instead of the bag, depending on the location and anticipated weather. For really cold weather I have a liner for the sleeping bag that adds an impressive amount of warmth that I don’t think I’ll need in July, so the liner will be staying home.