Gear Update 2

Running Total - $788 (Eek!) 

Things Added: 

$223 Therm-a-Rest Vela 32 double quilt - 2 lb 4 oz 

$15 two ALPS Mountaineering compressible pillows - 8 oz each

$12 Sea to Summit pad couplers - 1/2 oz

$16 Swiss Army classic knife - 3/4 oz

$0 DIY pad sheet - 10.6 oz

$0 owned extra night layer (so we could use our base layers for day)

$0 owned thick wool socks.  

Things Dropped: both of our sleeping bags, some food, our trusty nalgenes in favor of more Gatorade bottles (two each), and sandals (too cold). We dropped 3 lbs 10 oz going from our sleeping bags to the quilt + sheet + coupler straps. We also further cut down our sponge (now a sq inch), mostly to make holding it less awkward. 

I was looking at quilts because we want more room than light weight sleeping bags offer, but I didn’t like the BA pad attachment system and BA seems to be the more generous sized brand. The best used deal I could find was a Sierra Designs 700 fill 20 F for $130 and a Sierra Designs 800 fill 30 F for $158 ($288 total for both). But I also liked the idea of a double quilt and became frustrated constantly looking for a good deal. I told DH I was just going to buy a new $450 EE Accomplice and a $250 used Copper Spur HV and be done with it. He went wide eyed, and, as the voice of reason, kept reminding me over the next three days that he wanted to retire sometime. Sigh.

When I saw the Vela 650 fill 32 F on sale for $209, that price seemed reasonable so I decided to give it a go. It’s 82 inches at its widest and we found it to be plenty wide.  Plus, it compresses to the same size as my BA bag, even though it’s for two people! The weight saved allowed me to transfer the tent poles and pot to DH’s pack, lightening mine a lot. By not having a sleeping bag in his pack, even with the tent poles and pot, he saved so much space that he was able to fully compress his pack to the 40L size. Hopefully, I can sell our sleeping bags to lower our running total.

You can see from the last trip why we went with the pillows. I probably should have got DH the compressible pillow and a stuff sack one for me, but I admit I knew I would be jealous of his. Sadly, they were very comfortable but took up a lot of space, even compressed, and I think we will need something less bulky for longer trips in the future. I wasn’t sure we really needed a pocket knife yet either. But going more into the woods, it seemed like it could be handy and it was fairly cheap. We did end up using it to cut open the plastic on the firewood.

After spending so much money, the idea of buying a special $50 sheet for our two pads just got to me. Luckily we had a rainy Saturday and I broke out the sewing machine I had borrowed from my mom with intentions of learning to sew (but never did). I made the sheet by cutting down and hemming an old bed sheet, previously used as a paint drop cloth. It was a struggle, including an hour trying to figure out how to wind and replace a bobbin. The results were really not pretty but functional, and I somehow managed to sew a pocket for the bottom of the pads. In hindsight, I wish I had made a pocket at the top too. I even took the sheet to work to weigh it on the postal machine. I felt like a dork and did it all sly like even though nobody would care. 

Whilst hiking, I noticed again that even though I adjusted my pack in a comfortable position, there was a large gap in the shoulder straps at the back of my shoulders and a small one at the top. I didn’t think it was supposed to fit like that, although it still functioned fine, so I’m not sure if it actually matters. If I pull the load lifters, the pack hugs my back, but then my straps lift from my should tops more. I fussed with it a lot, but more out of a sense that it was “wrong” than from the pack hurting or shifting. It could be slightly too long in the torso; I have an 18 inch torso, which is the top of the short size range and bottom of the regular size range. My shoulders didn’t hurt at all after this trip though, so I think that’s a good sign. I’m still considering if I should keep it or find something else. DH had zero problems with his SD Flex, and I’m still jealous of his zip lid.