Our Gear List

***Note that Brian and Sylvia receive no compensation of ANY sort from any brand named seller of goods appearing on this page or otherwise. We are not paid; this is not product advertising. (If that changes we’ll let you know.) Meantime ALL of this is strictly advice. Any endorsement you see here are because we have used the products, not because we were paid to say it. Scouts honor.***

Our gear list is fluid and seldom static for long because we are constantly searching for ways to improve it. Which means, the gear we are using right now isn’t necessarily the gear we’ll be using next year.  Items break, wear out, and are lost; each time this happens it is another opportunity to improve your gear.

Personally, Brian has replaced at least five pairs of hiking boots in nearly twenty years of hiking, not including those I simply took back to the store because they weren’t right.  As he gravitates  toward less durable but less expensive lightweight hiking shoes, he expects replacement rate to increase, maybe to a pair each year.

Here is a snapshot of our gear as it stand right now:

Shoes

• Brian:      Moab II
• Sylvia:     Salomon Fast Hikers

Brian used Vasques for FOREVUH and liked their toughness and fit, but has since replaced them for a pair of lighter weight Merrell Moab shoes. He did the entire Tour du Mont Blanc in Moab’s and was impressed enough to buy another pair.

Sylvia very much likes the Salomon brand of shoes and uses them for everything (running, hiking, biking, and delivering swift motivational kicks to her husband’s behind.) Brian’s experience with Salomon has been somewhat less remarkable; he prefers Saucony running shoes. Sylvia and Brian have also used Keene Brand; Brian LOVES their closed-toed sandals, but neither Sylvia nor Brian could completely endorse their hiking shoes, which we find a bit stiff and boxy.

Packs

• Brian and Sylvia BOTH use and recommend Osprey packs for backpacking
• Brian and Sylvia also BOTH use and recommend Camelback lightweight packs for hiking/biking/trail running

We actually own two Osprey packs each…a full sized one (65 liters) for backpacking and a smaller one (35 liters) for overnight or hut to hut trekking. Note the current Osprey full-sized pack is only the second Brian has even owned, excepting one failed experiment used only once. He used a Lowe Alpine pack for nearly 15 years and liked it.

Sleeping Bags

• Brian:    Marmot Sawtooth 27 degree down
• Sylvia:    REI XXX
•  We both use Thermolite Bag Liners

Brian has only ever owned three backpacking sleeping bags in my entire life…the current one (recommended), a Cat’s Meow later used by Sylvia, and an ancient Sierra Designs lightweight down model, probably rated high 30’s, from back in the 1990’s. Of all of them, my favorite by far was the Sierra Designs one which I still have, and have used in temps as low as 15 degrees. The Cat’s Meow, which is over 10 years old, is my least favorite, but it is still quite serviceable. My biggest issue with  synthetic bags is they simply don’t compress well.

Headlamps

• Sylvia and Brian both use Black Diamond brand at the moment

We aren’t committed to any particular brand of headlamp. We replace headlamps often. Brian has used Petzel, Princeton and Black diamond and they all work well, but my main issue is, they break very easily. In fact one of Brian’s broke as recently as 2019 on a trip to Colorado.

Knife/multi-tool

• Brian uses (and recommends) the Leatherman Wave, and Leatherman products in general. He has never owned an actual Swiss Army knife, but has used several Leatherman and Gerber knives and liked them all. Brian is a firm believer that a multi-tool has more than enough utility to justify its weight.

Trekking Poles

• Brian and Sylvia both use REI brand Flash Carbon Poles

Note that Sylvia uses poles about 50% of the time; Brian almost always does. Brian formerly owned a pair of Leki poles that were quite expensive, but never quite justified the expense. They just worked less well than expected. He has had several pairs of REI ones that he liked more but they fell apart eventually. Our advice is, don’t spend too much on poles.

Tent

• Two Person:       REI Quarter Dome 2 (recommended)
• Solo:                     MSR Hubba (recommended)

The Quarter Dome is actually the second one we have owned, the first one having basically dissolved after about five-six years of heavy use. Improper storage might have contributed to this. Brian has also replaced the rain fly on his Hubba…MSR was VERY good about this and Brian would endorse all MSR products excepting maybe the water filters.

Both tents, and ALL lightweight tents in general, come with the caveat that each must be meticulously cared for, and even then last about seven years in average use. Lightweight fabrics are inevitably high-maintenance and wimpy. 🙁

Sleeping Pad

• Brian and Sylvia both use and recommend Thermarest inflatable mattresses. While we consider it optional gear, an inflatable sleeping pad makes a HUGE difference and we will always carry one. The few times it got left at home we ended up deeply regretting it. This is Brian’s second…The first perished after a week in Big Bend National Park after cactus needles did a number on it. Generally expect to replace them every few years and repair them oftener than that, as frequently as every year. Note that we have used foam pads too; they are cost effective but not as comfortable.

Rain Gear

• Brian and Sylvia BOTH use OR waterproof rain protection.

We have both used Marmot in the past. Of all the overpriced outdoor clothes Brian thinks Marmot does the best job at repelling water, and the wind breaking ability of their jackets for their weight is also excellent. However, they are also very pricey.