On this page we will be listing all of our gear. We will eventually post the specifications of each piece of gear and at least a brief review, so if any of the links below aren't active, check back soon!
WATER TREATMENT
Water is the most valuable resource in the backcountry. It is essential to have a reliable way to purify, or at least filter, the water you collect from streams and lakes (and....gulp!....if you're extremely, life threateningly, desperate, from puddles). This is why instead of just buying the cheapest or lightest or most talked about water treatment system we educated ourselves on each type, and then tested the ones we were the most interested in. The links below will lead you to descriptions of the product along with our scientific tests of how well the product worked.
The Steri-Pen
AquaMira Water Treatment
Potable Aqua Water Treatment
THE BIG THREE
Vin and Gwen try to go lightweight with their gear--a base weight (no food, water, or fuel) of less than 15 pounds. The first step to acheive this goal and avoid carrying 50 pounds of back breaking, knee crunching, ankle grinding weight is to carefully evaluate the big three--Sleeping System, Shelter, and Pack
Sleeping System
GoLite Fierce Sleep System
Therm-a-Rest Ridge Rest Sleeping Pad
Therm-a-Rest Z-Rest Sleeping Pad
Shelter
GoLite Hex 3
Pack
Gregory Deva 60 Pack
Granite Gear Nimbus Ozone Pack
FOOTWEAR
Some of the lightweight, and especially the ultra-light, backpackers will tell you that you should be wearing light footwear. They say boots are heavy and unnecessary and trail runners, tennis shoes, or even sandals are fine. Rumor has it that every pound on your feet is equivalent to five pounds on your back. We don't know where they got this, but we don't exactly buy into it. If you are going to be walking a couple thousand miles, we think it is wholly appropriate to have heavy shoes if your feet are comfy in them and they help prevent injuries. You may very well see Vin and Gwen on the trail in well fitting tennis shoes, but you won't see us in sandals, and most of the time, we'll be in boots.
How to find the right shoes
Montrail Torre GTX for women
Vasque Sundowner GTX for men
Footbeds
Socks
COOKSET(links active, but some pictures not yet added)
Unless you want to eat a lot of cold meals, you're gonna have to carry a cook set. This involves a minimum of a stove, pot, pot stand, wind shield, fuel, and a utensil. All can be covered with a minimum of weight gain, and the hot meals once or even twice a day will do wonders for your morale on tough days.
Alcohol Stoves
The WalMart Grease Pot
Eating Utensils
Dishes
