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  1. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by TxAggie View Post
    Personally, I’ve ditched pretty much all of my individual stuff sacks and instead follow a system much like Beardoh from https://www.longdistancehiker.com/ uses. Both quilts and hammock go into a waterproof bag in the bottom of my pack without stuff sacks. This helps save space and weight.

    As to your tarp specifically: don’t worry about a stuff sack, your sleeve is the stuff sack. A lot of people simply roll it up, then put into the outside mesh pocket of your Exos. Putting your tarp there allows it to dry when wet (even if just from condensation) and provides a consistent and convenient place to grab it quickly should a sudden rainstorm flare up.

    Good luck on your thru.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    I followed that link to longdistancehiker but didn't see anything about how he packed his gear. One question I'd have is would moisture from the hammock effect the quilts if they aren't separated somehow? I have a pack liner and was going to stuff my quilts in the bottom and skip there stuff sacks but the hammock itself was going in a double sided stuff sack. I like the idea of reducing these sacks for sure. The tarp makes sense to put in the mess pocket on the outside of the pack. Thanks you for taking the time to help! Thanks Cameron

  2. #22
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dublinlin View Post
    I MUCH prefer a single mesh tarp skin (like SLD’s) over a 2 part silnylon tarp skin (like WB’s)...so much easier to use! Also, I much prefer a double ended stuff sack for my WB SuperFly over the original stuff sack. I hate having to keep track of sacks...the double ended tarp sack allows me to leave the sack on the tree end of the ridgeline and just slide the mesh wrapped tarp back into it as I take my tarp down.

    I would NOT set out on a ling hike before first practicing numerous nights sleeping in your yard to get to KNOW your gear well beforehand. Blackbirds and XLCs, in my opinion, especially have a learning curve. They can be finicky set-up-wise to get a comfortable until you get them dialed in and are very familiar with them. Once you get the hang of setting them up correctly they are an amazingly comfortable hammock, but it seems to me that the XLC and Blackbirds are not as forgiving as some other hammocks if you don’t get the strap angle correct, the ridgeline tension correct, and remember to hang the foot end about 14 inches higher than the head end. Once you get it dialed in well the first time, it’s a breeze doing so correctly every time thereafter. I’d do my learning and mistake making at home, sleeping in the yard...not out on the trail where you’re stuck if things don’t go right.

    Good choice on the Wooki! It is, in my experience, the easiest UQ out there to use. It’ll likely be perfectly right the first time you set it up.
    Thanks so much for the assistance! I've actually got to hang this finally. In a wind advisory below freezing. It was interesting for the first time. I did it without gloves and such. The buckle system will be a lot easier with frozen fingers than the whoopie susp I learned. I'll be spending some nights soon below freezing just to make sure I'm gtg. This is going to be a blast I can tell already. Thanks again. Cameron

  3. #23
    Senior Member cmoulder's Avatar
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    Nov 2017
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    Ossining, NY
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    Quote Originally Posted by Cameron1977 View Post
    I followed that link to longdistancehiker but didn't see anything about how he packed his gear. One question I'd have is would moisture from the hammock effect the quilts if they aren't separated somehow? I have a pack liner and was going to stuff my quilts in the bottom and skip there stuff sacks but the hammock itself was going in a double sided stuff sack. I like the idea of reducing these sacks for sure. The tarp makes sense to put in the mess pocket on the outside of the pack. Thanks you for taking the time to help! Thanks Cameron
    Beardoh goes by handle "Chop" here on HF. Here he discusses packing strategy. That whole thread really has a lot of good information that you might find useful.
    Five Basic Principles of Going Lighter (not me... the great Cam Honan of OZ)
    “If everybody is thinking alike, then somebody isn't thinking.” ~ Gen. George S Patton

  4. #24
    Senior Member Two Tents's Avatar
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    Jun 2009
    Location
    Hadley, Pa.
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    Wilderness Logic Night OWL
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    My 2 cents. As you go you will make decisions and that changes the things you carry. Once I carried less I had no desire to carry more ever again. Every town stop I'd send things home and switch for items mailed. I did many trips gear testing prior to my hike and had a pretty light and simple system to start. Or so I thought. Stuff sacks went home, extra of pretty much anything cept batteries and socks went home. Spare whatever was just a town away. I found a truth that I did not need as much as I thought I needed. Its awful but some suffering is going to happen. I found quick that with down gear you have to keep it dry. It will get what I call the lettuce effect. Down gets a tiny bit heavy each day unless you stop and sun/air dry it pretty regular. Ease of life came after I switched to a 40° top and under of synthetic from EE. I started and kept a Dutch halfwit for 500 miles before switching to a ground set up. I say ground but set up for staying in shelters and an asym hammy tarp I could rig if, if it rained when I wasn't in a structure. I cowboy camped a good many nights on purpose. A torso length mat, a chunk of tyvek and a synthetic sleeping bag. If I got cold I'd wear all my clothes. That happened twice and although I wasn't comfy, comfy, I survived and lived to walk another day. I carried two shepard's hooks and my trowel for catholes is an MSR snow stake which weighs the same as a titanium trowel. That gave me three stakes. I rarely used the stakes as there is always something to anchor guy outs to. A tip on finding trees the correct space for your hammock... on flat ground my trekking poles are always set to 110 so by keeping my grip the same and out stretching my arms, that total distance of a pole in each hand plus two feet is my minimum set up between trees. Trees the same spread distance as my last set up is what I seek so any adjustments are minimal. Nice nights I'd not hang a tarp A small mini biner I put in the Halfwit ridge line made it so I could flip the Halfwit over and go netless. I bunched and hair tied the excess beignet under me. I needed or used the bugnet only a handful of times. No net, no tarp weather permitting. I had success in rigging a hammock in almost every shelter I stayed at when I carried the hammock. Good luck. Enjoy even the suck when you have to.
    Last edited by Two Tents; 12-02-2020 at 09:37.
    I like refried beans. That's why I wanna try fried beans, because maybe they're just as good and we're just wasting time. You don't have to fry them again after all.

  5. #25
    TxAggie's Avatar
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    Jun 2016
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    Pasadena, MD
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    Quote Originally Posted by cmoulder View Post
    Beardoh goes by handle "Chop" here on HF. Here he discusses packing strategy. That whole thread really has a lot of good information that you might find useful.
    Thanks, that was the link I was trying to find. He helped me out a LOT when I was trying to reduce pack size.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  6. #26
    Senior Member cmoulder's Avatar
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    Nov 2017
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    Ossining, NY
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    Quote Originally Posted by TxAggie View Post
    Thanks, that was the link I was trying to find. He helped me out a LOT when I was trying to reduce pack size.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    Five Basic Principles of Going Lighter (not me... the great Cam Honan of OZ)
    “If everybody is thinking alike, then somebody isn't thinking.” ~ Gen. George S Patton

  7. #27
    cougarmeat's Avatar
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    Aug 2012
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    Bend, OR
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    I certain can’t claim any qualification to the UL community but as far as thru-hike’s, the main value of “mail stops” wasn’t to resupply - it was to mail stuff back. When it came to food, my diet got simpler and simpler. Often I would trade food which, to untrained eyes, seemed I was getting the short end of the deal. But on closer inspection, I’d be trading heavy oatmeal that needed to be cooked for quick easy calories of a snickers bar. I couldn’t afford today’s freeze dried options but I just needed basic calories with a little fat/protein, carbohydrates. I’d eat Brazil nuts and drink a quart of electrolyte infused water every day.

    In those days - see the 2004 movie, Wild, there was no UL culture. Even so, when I met someone heading south from the Mt. Hood area (too late in the season) who asked for recommendations, I lifted his 50 lb pack and told him to stop at the next post office and mail at least a third of his gear back.

    The biggest surprise on the Oregon stretch of the PCT was that food supply was hardly necessary at all. At the time (’74), the trail passed by or near lake resorts about every other day. Instead of planning/packing food, I could have gotten by with just a credit card and eaten peanut butter and jam sandwiches between stops.

    Last year, I listened to someone who hiked a new 800 mi desert trail in Oregon. He was from the No Stove school and relied on light, plastic jars of peanut butter (Jiff?).

    My UL friends have introduced me to the Alcohol stove. What a weight saving! - for short trips. Report after report states that for longer adventures, the volume/weight of required alcohol fuel “outweighs” the weight saving of the stove itself - but if you could resupply along the way … maybe the alcohol stove would be best.

    I’d suggest really digging deep into the potential “resupply” points - not just mail drops/pickups.

    One other “prep”, if you don’t over do it, is to put on a few extra pounds. I searched for, but couldn’t find, the quote that one friend said to his climbing partners for either Everest or The Eiger adventure When he showed up, he was a bit heavy and his partner’s were all lean and fit and giving him flak over it. He said something like, “At the end of this effort I’ll be fit like you. And you’ll be dead.” - Context is important, he wasn’t wishing them ill or being prophetic.
    Last edited by cougarmeat; 12-04-2020 at 13:29.
    In order to see what few have seen, you must go where few have gone. And DO what few have done.

  8. #28
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    Quote Originally Posted by cougarmeat View Post
    I certain can’t claim any qualification to the UL community but as far as thru-hike’s, the main value of “mail stops” wasn’t to resupply - it was to mail stuff back. When it came to food, my diet got simpler and simpler. Often I would trade food which, to untrained eyes, seemed I was getting the short end of the deal. But on closer inspection, I’d be trading heavy oatmeal that needed to be cooked for quick easy calories of a snickers bar. I couldn’t afford today’s freeze dried options but I just needed basic calories with a little fat/protein, carbohydrates. I’d eat Brazil nuts and drink a quart of electrolyte infused water every day.

    In those days - see the 2004 movie, Wild, there was no UL culture. Even so, when I met someone heading south from the Mt. Hood area (too late in the season) who asked for recommendations, I lifted his 50 lb pack and told him to stop at the next post office and mail at least a third of his gear back.

    The biggest surprise on the Oregon stretch of the PCT was that food supply was hardly necessary at all. At the time (Â’74), the trail passed by or near lake resorts about every other day. Instead of planning/packing food, I could have gotten by with just a credit card and eaten peanut butter and jam sandwiches between stops.

    Last year, I listed to someone who hike a new 800 mi desert trail in Oregon. He was from the No Stove school and relied on light, plastic jars of peanut butter (Jiff?).

    My UL friends have introduced me to the Alcohol stove. What a weight saving! - for short trips. Report after report states that for longer adventures, the volume/weight of required alcohol fuel “outweighs” the weight saving of the stove itself - but if you could resupply along the way … maybe the alcohol stove would be best.

    I’d suggest really digging deep into the potential “resupply” points - not just mail drops/pickups.

    One other “prep”, if you don’t over do it, is to put on a few extra pounds. I searched for, but couldn’t find, the quote that one friend said to his climbing partners for either Everest or The Eiger adventure When he showed up, he was a bit heavy and his partner’s were all lean and fit and giving him flak over it. He said something like, “At the end of this effort I’ll be fit like you. And you’ll be dead.” - Context is important, he wasn’t wishing them ill or being prophetic.

    To be honest I'm not mailing anything but potential gear replacements that can't be bought along the way. I'm not picky about what I eat I can survive on anything. There seem to be enough resupply points along the way on the at. I'll be carrying at least 5 days of food at time. I would like to just stay out of towns as much as possible. I already have those extra pounds and dont think being too skinny will be my problem. I do understand the logic though. A little reserve for the body can only be a good thing. Oh and my pack weight will be very manageable I don't have a weight yet but I know I'll never be a UL guy. I'll still be lightweight though. Thank you for taking the time to reply. I definitely agree with the points you made! Cameron
    .

  9. #29
    Two Speed's Avatar
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    Sep 2017
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    Lynchburg, VA
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    Quote Originally Posted by Cameron1977 View Post
    Hello Everyone, My name is Cameron I'll be heading NB on the AT trail come late Feb to Early March. I've never camped in a hammock but have camped in low temps. I sleep cold and went overboard a bit on my sleeping gear. I'll ship (bedding) it back home when its nice but I figured lets be comfortable at the end of a cold day. I was hoping some of you with experience could look over this list and see if I'm missing anything other than experience!! Thanks a lot! Cameron

    1 - Blackbird XLC Hammock with whoopie susp
    1 - Superfly Tarp. Might be a bit overkill but I already bought it.
    1 - Warbonnet tarp sock/skin
    1 - Wooki® Underquilt rated 0 deg. I sleep cold
    1 - Diamondback Topquilt rated 10 deg Long and wide. I'm over 200lbs and over 6'
    1 - 2QZQ 11' UQ protector
    100' plus of guyline and assortment of steaks and fasteners
    I need to carry some steaks on my next thru hike. I am assuming you have already bought the gear but I suspect you not using this setup the whole trail. The quilts may e a little warm for summer window you will be in VA and the mid Atlantic states. The superfly tarp will treat you well. Happy Trails.

  10. #30
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    Yah as it warms up I'll have the option for a set of 40 deg upper and lower quilts and a sleeping bag liner. Steaks! lol yah I'm a dummy with words : P Although I have wondered how much gas it will take to cook me a medium rare New York Strip.

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