Appalachian Trail, last 500mi section hike, gear shakedown

[schwad]

Hi all,

First post on here.

I'm planning for a hike of the North end of the Appalachian Trail, the last 500 miles or so through NH and ME. I'd like a gear shakedown.

My style isn't ultralight, but I'm trying to push further that direction, within certain constraints. My base weight is still about 20lbs, but a couple trips ago it was 40lbs, so -- progress!

I'm just getting into hammocking, so I especially want advice about what hammock system to buy. I've hammock-backpacked only once, but I think I slept better than I ever have in a tent, so I'm about ready to take the plunge to buy real hammock gear. Here's what I used last trip:

CURRENT SYSTEM
Kootek hammock	~$28	23.1oz
straps, Kootek hammock	included	13.7oz
Equip Hammock bug net #97712 (Walmart)	$15	12.2oz
Paria Sanctuary Siltarp, 10’x8’ (over spec weight; hence discount)	~$45	25.2oz
TOTAL	$88	74.2oz

While heavy, this system worked reasonably well. I did find the bug net to be rather stifling on my outing (June in WV), so I didn't use it. Here's a gear list from that trip: https://lighterpack.com/r/6m6eev

In choosing a "real" backpacking hammock, I considered the Warbonnet Blackbird as an "all in one solution" but I think I prefer to sleep on the other diagonal -- with my head to the right, and feet to the left -- which is opposite the setup of the WBBB, unfortunately. So I've given preference to options that allow flexibility of which diagonal to use.

Below are a few options I've concocted. Should I choose one of these? Something else? What considerations should I have?

For reference, I'm pretty fit guy, about 5'10" tall and about 165 lbs.

option A:

CHAMELEON SYSTEM from Dutchware Gear
Chameleon Hammock, 11-ft, Hexon 1.6 (including asym bugnet)	$165	577.48g (20.38oz)
UHMWPE strap suspension, 15' with Ti Dutch Clips	$48.54	90.04g (3.2oz)
Dutchware aluminum Y stakes (check against REI), qty 4	$6	13*6=78g (2.75oz)
Xenon Hex Tarp, 11ft ridgeline x 9.5ft width	$110	370g (13.0 oz)
TOTAL	$323.54	1115.5g (39.3oz)

option B:

NETLESS SYSTEM from Dutchware Gear
11-ft netless hammock, with options: 1) Hexon 1.6 4) structural ridgeline ($7.50) and 5) continuous loops. Consider 3) dual Knotty mod	$58	345.7g (12.2oz)
Summer sock, 11-ft without zipper	$60	255g (9.0oz)
UHMWPE strap suspension, 15' with Ti Dutch Clips	$48.54	90.04g (3.2oz)
Dutchware aluminum Y stakes (check against REI), qty 4	$6	13*6=78g (2.75oz)
Xenon Hex Tarp, 11ft ridgeline x 9.5ft width	$110	370g (13.0 oz)
TOTAL	$282.54	1138.7g (40.2oz)

I plan to use a Becket hitch to attach the suspension to the hammock. I'm not afraid of knots, I like the infinite adjustability, and it's lightweight.

Whichever system I got, I would likely want a Peak Shelf ($25, 28g) and a Ridgeline Organizer ($10, 10g) for storage in the hammock. I'm somewhat concerned about the peak shelf interfering with my ability to get to the opening of the summer sock, to close/open it (with the zipperless version).

Here's a possible gear list for the AT hike through NH and ME, using option B above: https://lighterpack.com/r/n0oz4z

Considerations:

• I want gear that's lightweight enough that I can knock out 400-500mi in about a month... fingers crossed.
• I want gear that's durable enough to easily make this trip, and plenty of others.
• I'd like the ability to go to ground and not completely hate myself. Hence the Nemo Tensor pad. Also, I'm just starting with hammocking, so I don't want to get a UQ yet.
• Estimated dates: Aug 15 to mid-September
• Anything on my list that has a price hasn't been bought yet. Things with no price, I already own.
• I'm happy to spend about $10 to save an ounce. $20/oz sounds a bit much, to me, but I'd consider it.
• Yes, I know my Osprey Kestrel 48 pack is much heavier than numerous other options. But I need a very effective transfer of weight to my hips (nearly 100%) due to an old shoulder injury. Ineffective weight transfer leaves my shoulder hurting after a few hours. I tried on everything in the 35L to 50L range that REI had, and this was the one that worked. (Did not work: Osprey Talon 44, all Gregory packs, various Deuter packs, various Kelty packs. Not a fan of the curved packing volume in the Osprey Exos.) Granite Gear Crown2 60L came close to fitting, but not quite. Would love to try but they're not at REI: Gorilla Gear Mariposa 60L, ZPacks Arc Blast, HMG Southwest 3400. Oh well.

Thanks for your help!