I know there are loads of threads asking and answering ‘which tent’ questions so hoping you’ll bear with me!

Wanting to buy my first tent, have been using a Big Angus Copper Spur 2p tent on loan. I don’t mind spending money for the right one. I’m looking at either a xmid 2 (would have to go solid interior otherwise need to wait until Feb) or one of the Tarptents…either a DW rainbow or a stratosphire. Would like to be as close to 1kg as possible (double wall). I always hike with hiking poles.

Examples of hikes planned/wanting to do over the next few years - light 2 light, jatbula, murramurang south coast, overland, larapinta, cape to cape. Local hiking is near the Baw Baw region, so out in that area as well.

What worries me most is I don’t have a lot of experience yet with camping so pitching a tent is always interesting 😅 I’ve read that the tarptents can be harder to get a good pitch so maybe the xmid is better? But the flexibility of the rainbow to be free standing is appealing for some of the hikes. Or do I just get the xmid and then an xdome later? And the fabrics / different combinations of the tarptents too, I’m not sure which would be best to go for?

I'm interested to see people's thoughts on food in the UL scene. I normally go with strive meals and my large I think 900ml toaks but I absolutely hate cleaning the pot after. Would also be nice to just take my smaller 750ml toaks. I see in the US there is a huge variety of eat out of the bag UL food but only a few options here. Are any of our locally available ones any good? I've tried a couple previously, I think they came from BCF and they were all pretty disgusting. Green on green packet from memory. Surely they are not all as bad?

Hi all, hope everyone is getting some great hikes in this summer. I'm looking for recommendations of bushwalks that are 3-4 days (approx) and ones where you walk in, have a base camp, and do day walk exploring from there. To do with my parents (fit, in their 60s). We just did Pine Valley, Tas, with day walks up to labyrinth and the Acropolis. Ideally in Victoria or Tasmania. But keen for ideas anywhere in Aus or NZ. Cheers!

Hi everyone Looking for any experience or recommendations on the sea to summit bags above. There’s a decent sale on them in AUS at the moment. I mainly overland trek in Europe in spring/summer/autumn. Looking at doing GR20 this year, also Camino de Santiago/portuguese, Alta via and manaslu Nepal in the near future. I regularly do 4 week treks in Switzerland with my mate and his donkeys up to the alps in May/june. Last year did the TDMB and my overloaded pack was an issue on my knees so am looking at light gear.

Trek 1 long is 850g, 10L compression size (think it can get smaller). But full length zips so can use as quilt. +5C to -1C $200AUD

SP1 long is 480g, 2.5L compression size. But only half length zip, +5C to +9C. ~$400AUD

Is the 400g saving worth the money, and sacrificing temp rating and comfort?

Looking at about 4.5kg in backpack, tent and S2S sleeping mat already.

Thanks in advance

Did anyone else get a questionnaire from the Tassie government in the past few months about what facilities you’d like on a new premier 4-day hike from near Queenstown to the coast? It’s been on my mind because it felt like it was steering people toward pricier options ($700-$900) just to access decent facilities.

There’s ongoing debate in the hiking community about keeping trails affordable—especially when hikes like the Overland Track cost around $300 and the Grampians Peaks Trail can be pricey too. But this questionnaire seemed to frame the lower-cost options as really undesirable, like asking things like, ‘You’ve been hiking in the rain all day—would you pay $400 to sleep on a tent pad?’ And then contrasting that to a day with great weather all the way to a campsite.

Personally I choose to sleep in a tent on a tent pad and not spend too much time in huts. I love the Tassie wilderness. And prefer to contemplate that.

From what I remember, the lower-cost scenarios were always the worst case and still ended up more expensive than the Overland Track. I’m curious—has anyone else filled out something like this? Did it feel like the questions were nudging you toward the higher-cost options? What was your impression?

Hi guys,

I am trying to get into solo hiking and am currently looking at PLB/ satphone options. I am leaning towards PLB’s as they are cheaper and dont require any subscriptions to run unlike satphone options. Although I have discovered that the iPhone models of 14 and above have satellite messaging capabilites. Does this work in aus, is it reliable, and would i be able to use it instead of buying something externally? If anyone has any experience with this and can answer that would be great, thanks!

Has anybody tried any of the "Fine Fettle" Dehydrated vegie range that I saw advertised at Woolies when I was looking for where to get dried vegies?

Does anyone know where you can get small condament packets in Australia? Single use olive oil, mayonnaise, sour cream etc.

It’s summer again so sun protection is becoming more and more important (not that it is not important during winter). Following my massive sunhoodie reviews last year (and mostly left unimpressed), I picked up a few new items over the black friday sale. I haven’t tested these in intense hiking expeditions but have used them for light/short walks under the sun.

Kathmandu Sun-stopper (new version) ($56)

I noticed them updated their sun-stopper sunhoodie with some new material so purchased one to check out. It appears they used a complete different material.

The new version is very similar to the Arcteryx Cormac and has been treated with some citric acid (manufactured by a company called Noble Biomaterials with a fabric treatment called Ionic+ Botanical), which claimed to be anti-bacteria.

I tried to figure out what exactly is this but unfortunately there is nothing more than some marketing material. I did find out that this is not a permanent treatment so will last probably 50 washing cycles. It is not as cool as some mineral treated fabric (e.g., Patagonia cap cool) but it is very lightweight. Kathmandu claimed to be 142.9g for male M but I weighed 168.9g. Still light enough to be the lightest sunhoodie I’ve tried.

The fit is identical to the old version and I don’t like the stitch at forearm (appears to be a cost-saving strategy but otherwise I don’t find it disturbing during use). Also, the thumbhole opening is too small.

Overall, I liked this sunhoodie a lot (if it is durable enough) and I’d like to think this as a 70% off Arcteryx Cormac.

Columbia PFG sunhoodie ($60)

The atrocious logo stopped me from buying it two years ago but I decided to pick it up for camping etc.

The fabric is noticeable thicker than Kathmandu but weighs merely 200g for a M, significantly lighter than most sunhoodies (e..g, Macpac, Amazon etc). The fabric appears to be simply polyester with no fancy treatment. The fit is very relaxed and I probably can use a size S instead. I don’t know how it performs while being active (after all it is Professional Fishing Gear) but I will find an opportunity to test it out anyway.

Sunscreens

I have been using the Neutrogena Zinc stick for the past 2 years but then read some articles that it is very hard to apply the proper amount of sunscreen with a stick to be SPF effective). So I thought about trying some alternatives.

The only criteria I have is that it must be a boxy shape (I have the tubes with pointy end as it can easily poke a hole at my salomon running vest (mesh fabric))

La Roche-Posay

This is probably one of the most recommended sunscreen but I haven’t tested it out given the price. It is indeed very lightweight (a little bit too watery to my liking) but much easier to apply than the stick.

Bondi Sands Zinc Face Fluid

A lot of people hate it because it leaves a white cast (which I don’t care). It is noticeably thicker (as it is mineral based) but the packaging is questionable (very easy to explode when opening if you are holding the bottle, at least for the first few times).

Cancer Council Sport Zinc

This is another stick but it shapes like a lip balm so I hope it is easier to apply/carry. Also it was cheap ($5 for 12g)

Cancer Council Ultra 1L

I was trying to find a “default” product that is cheap enough that I can apply literately. Apart from the Woolworths/Coles ones this is probably the cheapest. It doesn’t feel as nice as the other options but it gets things done.

Lived all my life in Tasmania, hiked all my life and my mates have too. I'm coming down for a week in January and was keen to get everyone together to do an overnight hike. Was going to do walls of Jerusalem, however it's obviously been booked out for the week because it's not that far away now. Wanted to know if there's any other one night hikes that are a must do? Was thinking Lake Rhona (bookings available) or even Scott Kilvert hut (haven't checked bookings yet) because I haven't been there yet. Mt Anne and Frenchman's seem a little too difficult/long for the time I have, would do them with my skill level but with my group maybe not. Under 40 kms return is preferred.

There’s some older posts from when it first came out but looking for some opinions since then.

• Anyone used it for a long time.?
• Anyone tried it and decided it’s not for them?
• can anyone comment on the volume compared to, say, an Exos 48?

Grrr. Is it just me, or is anyone else disappointed in Thermarest NeoAir and NeoAir X-Lite? Wife and I just got back from hiking the GPT and both of our pads (she has the X-Lite), which are about 2 years old (maybe 5 trips) have developed teeny tiny holes which meant by the end of the hike we were adding air every 3 hours or so. These pads are pretty exxy. So I was wondering how many other Oz hikers had the same issue.

I'm wide, and these bags are available for about $300 bucks at the moment. I live 5 hours away from the store that has these so I can't really test the sizing out. So I guess I'm asking, are these actually large and spacious? I'm a side sleeper and I change sides a few times every night. And do they actually compress this small (see pic)? How about the warmth, it can get to 1 or 2c overnight around here, will I be right with long thermals and down jacket if needed? Weight is about 1kg so ok not ultralight but my other option is a zenbivy which looks amazing but I'm guessing will be heavier and is significantly more expensive. Any thoughts? Thanks for your assistance 🙂

I have booked to hike Lake Rhona (Tasmania) next month. I am wondering if the start of the track is accessible for a 2 wheel drive SUV?

Hey everyone,

After some recommendations, doing the overland track in March next year. Need a tent, sleeping bag and mat. Anyone seen anything super decent in re to black friday sales? Haven't done a multi day hike yet but looking to jump into UL asap for this hike and future ones. Thanks heaps 🙏

After a 2p ultralight tent, hoping to not spend more than $500, anyone have any recommendations or links for the Black Friday sales?

Those with non waterproof packs do you use a pack cover?

Just picked up an exos and looking into waterproofing options. First pack without cover included, but considering if it's worth the money to get one?

Is a pack liner and double bagging key items (electronics, sleep clothes, quilt) sufficient for packs like the exos that aren't themselves waterproof?

I just got the Insta360 Go 3S camera but didn't bother with the action pod as I will only use it for running and climbing.

The internal battery of the camera is only 310mAh which gives about 30 mins run time. So I was just thinking, is there a tiny powerbank of 500-1000mAh that I could get to carry on longer runs or hikes or whatever for giving it a quick charge on the go.

I have the Nitecore NB10000 which is like 140g, but I don't need anything near that big if its only to charge a 310mAh battery. Looking for something tiny!

Hi All,

Hope you are well! Just checking what water storage systems you use? I have a Playtpus Filter but wanted to take water with me initially ie 2 x 1L bottles, Hard or Soft, Which Brands, also have a 4yr old with me potentially as well so may want to carry water.

Also may need water for cooking ie Noodles, Dried meals.

And finally I am guessing you all plan to get water at different stops along the way too?

TIA!

I'll preface this by saying that while I am interested in a relatively light load out, I'm definitely not an UL purist and I'm not too bothered about optimising the weight to the absolute minimum. In saying that, I'm in the market for a new sleeping bag/quilt to replace my current well beyond use-by El Cheapo sleeping bag.

For context I'm Melbourne based and mainly just walk all over Vic, although I'm hoping to explore more of the country soon enough, and the most alpine I get at this point is the High Country outside of the snow season. I'm a side sleeper and I'd say I generally sleep pretty warm but I've really only used cheaper sleeping bags and have never forayed into the world of quilts so I'm at a bit of a crossroads as to what would work best for me.

At this point I think I've narrowed my options down to the Neve Gear Waratah (-2C, 850FP, 6'6, ~660g) or the One Planet Sonder (-5C, 700-750FP, LRG, ~787g). I've seen plenty of reviews for the Waratah quilt, and it does seem like a pretty good option, but I haven't seen much at all about the One Planet bags. I've had a quick chat with the guys at One Planet and they've also mentioned that they offer cleaning services and can add extra down at a later date if I decide that I actually need a slightly warmer rated bag.

Quilt vs Sleeping bag? Anyone have any experience with the One Planet bags? How much does no hood on a quilt actually matter? Any other options that I should look into?

Thanks heaps!

[EDIT - SOLD OUT] Never seen anything even close to this so sharing it (I am not affiliated in anyway hence no links). A few other bits in there but nothing as good as that. 8% have been claimed as I write this.

Can't find a good one. All of them have weak USB power.

Say the "Nitecore FSP30" - 30W solar panel, but, in reality it's not 30W. The USB output is only 18W. So, while the panel itself provides 30W - you won't be able to utilise it. I guess the USB controllers with >18W power are costly, so, solar battery makers use cheap <18W USB controllers. They use a trick to claim 30W - by providing 2 weak USB sockets 18W each, and claim its combined power 2x18 as ~ 30W , but that's not good, and it won't work if you want to charge single power bank quickly.

Even more, I bought AllPowers 60W Solar Battery - guess what - again, it can only provide like 15W from USB socket. It has raw non-usb output 12-18V with 60W power, but you can't charge USB power bank with raw 12-18V current.

Any options? Maybe use it in combination with some (which one?) lightweight "12V -> USB-C" adapters?

Also, reliability, I had 15W solar panel from Decathlon, it worked for 3 months or so, after couple of rains, don't work anymore. And it will get wet in rains, because you can't babysit it everyday, you drop it on some rock, and go explore around, and it may be rain and it will get wet, so it had to be more or less reliable and protected from the rain.

About powebank is better than solar panel - not always. I usually establish a camp, drop backpack, and hike around in star like pattern with small waist bag and bottle of water. So, no reason to attach panel to backpack etc, you just leave it on the ground. And my old solar 15W panel (not good, it breaks after 2 months) was able to easily charge 10k power bank during a day. So, a good one 30W panel would easily charge 20k power bank, which is a lot.

UPDATE

There are 2 solutions:

Take x2 weaker 20W Solar Panels and x2 5k (or 10k) power banks. A bit more weight, but also more reliability. And flexibility as you can take just one panel when you don't need much power.

Buy 30-40W Solar Panel that apart from USB also has raw output socket (usually DC 9-18V) + additionally Buy 12-24 -> USB C adapter 65-100W. Usually they advertised as Laptop USB C adapters for Car and cost ~$20-40 on amazon etc. Pay close attention to how powerfull adapter really is, as there're tons of garbage that's weak and have fake spec. You may need to puchase couple before find a high quality one.

I'm hoping to buy some sleeping pads in the black friday sales this year - one for myself and one for my partner (ideally just two of the same pad). Hoping to get some recommendations - we are both side sleepers and will be hiking around the Blue Mountains, Kozi, and planning a Tassie trip, but not in the middle of winter.

i've seen a lot of videos of people using the Nemo pads and even tying them together when they hike with a partner, but not sure what other quality options (that are also light!) may be out there.

Thanks for the help!!

Heaving down to Kosciuszko area this summer, based in Jindabyne. What are your favourite day hikes in the area? Anything <25km in length should be fine. Bonus for good photography opportunities.

Also what hiking shops are worth a look in the area? Currently have Mont on the way through Canberra and Tom's outdoors on the list.

Does anyone have any recent intel on the Penguin Cradle Track? It runs from the Tassie north coast down to Cradle Mountain. I’m looking at joining it to the Overland Track to make a 2 week hike in Feb- March.

• How hard is it in comparison to the Great Ocean Walk, the southern sections of the AAWT, or the Grampians Peaks trail?
• Suggestions for Commercial resupply at Cradle Mountain in order to continue down the Overland Track? (Get the Overland Track Transport Co to bring a second weeks supply?)
• Is it Grade 5 difficulty because of bush bashing, or because of the ascents?
• Is it underused, and the track is hard to find at points, or is it well trodden and reasonably easy to pick up the path again?
• Yes. I have seen the track notes from the North West Walking Club, and the GPX from Trailhiking.com.au (thanks Darren).
• I’m wondering how an ultra lighter has approached the track?

I love a good bit of camping, but I’ve been looking at starting with a few 1 to 2 or more overnight hikes and would love to know what yall typically would include in your ultimate hiking kit?

Anyone tried the hybrid variant? Checking past reviews of the normal version, wind goes right through it. The hybrid adds a wind proof layer? Looks like it adds 80g which is still pretty light weight, but wonder if it's sacrificed it's high breathability.

Been watching the normal variant, with the intent to pick it up when it's on a extra 30% sale, as I figure I'll pair it with a rain shell jacket if it's windy, but this appears to be a 2 for 1 type of layer.

Welcome to the future gang. Still not getting Japanese prices but fair bit cheaper than the current wholesaler.

Western versalite from ~$300 (previously $400), Asian fit closer to $250.

Plasma 1000fp jacket $350 rather than $500.

400g 7 degree 800fp bag for ~$300 rather than the previous $350.

Major benefit will be the availability of the full range. Free shipping at $200 I believe.

Where: Bibbulmun Track, southwest Australia. 

When: 14/10/2024 - 30/10/2024 (16 days 13 hrs 35 mins)

Distance: Officially reported as ~1,000 km. My watch measured 982 km (610 mi) and 22,630 m of gain (74,250 ft)

Conditions: Spring. Generally between 10-23 C. Lowest temp around 2 C and hottest around 32 C. Mostly dry and fairly cloudy, it rained significantly once. 

Lighterpack: Lighterpack

Previous trip reports:

Tom's website (The Adventure Gene) is the repository of so much Bibbulmun info it's crazy. Thanks so much.

On here there's also the report by fellow PCT '24er Bumps from a while ago in a different season (autumn).

Introduction/Summary:

It feels a bit odd writing a report for this subreddit when my starting pack weight was about 19 kg. I felt far from ultralight but ended up eating my way down to my base weight of 3.7 kg and used everything except some repair/emergency items. So it was a hike in the philosophical ultralight vein. Although my legs perhaps didn't appreciate this distinction.

The Bibbulmun Track is a long trail located in southwestern Australia. I had completed the hike in a more leisurely manner the previous year and would have called it well-graded then, but my opinion on this has now shifted. It is though well marked and well maintained. The trail goes through open Marri/Jarrah woodland, scrubby plains, majestic Karri forests and finally the southern coast.

In a fit of delusion I decided to attempt to walk the trail fully “unsupported”. From the FKT guidelines: “Unsupported means you truly have no external support of any kind. You must carry everything you need from start to finish except water from natural sources. Public taps along the trail are fine, but no water from any commercial source even if free.” The main challenge obviously being the 1,000 odd km of food I’d have to carry. Resupplying in any way being against the rules. This sadly included any town food or coffee. 1,000 km of food can be as many days as you decide, but it is a trade off between going longer and lighter or shorter and heavier. I decided I didn't want to carry more than 17 days of food and the entailed pace was not too impossible, and so that became my goal.

So far as I know this is the first completion of this trail in an unsupported style. I found it very challenging to say the least and I barely enjoyed any of it. The hardest hike I’ve done by a long shot. My cushy ultralight life hadn’t prepared me for the weight and crushing impact of the heavy pack. It took its toll on my body from the get go and I was just trying to hold on till the end. My mantra was: "tomorrow is a lighter day".

I met a lot of people who hike regularly with this pack weight which I find insane and definitely vindicated the ultralight style of hiking for me. I would not enjoy hiking anywhere near as much if that was my regular weight. 

I was realistically pessimistic about my chances of completing the trail. I thought the most likely outcome would be pulling out due to injury on day 4 or 5. I did have a reasonable base of hiking fitness, having done the TA, Bibbulmun and PCT within the last two years. But I still struggled physically. I did get several injuries, the most serious on day 3, but they were all minor enough and manageable enough to allow me to continue onwards, albeit carefully.

Hiking the Bibbulmun unsupported required a lot of planning and preparation. Wild/free camping along the trail is not permitted sporadically for roughly half its length. The only permissible areas for wild camping are basically State Parks that are also outside of drinking water catchment areas. Towns are also out for the unsupported hiker as paying for anything, including accommodation or camping is not allowed. I had made a schedule that threaded the needle so to speak and pretty much stuck to it. Preparing all the food was a massive task. Being local, I cooked and dehydrated all my dinners which I cold soaked on the trail. Which was well worth the effort. I nailed the food so I was never hungry and finished my last snack 6 km from the finish. 

The Report: 

I’ve written a longer narrative style trip report with more photos here: Long report.

When I wrote it I was fresh off the trail (although fresh is not the word I'd have used at the time) and I go into the day by day, how I was feeling, how bad my sleep was, the ant invasion of Day 4, why Day 7 was my worst day on trail etc.

There is also a short summary I included in the FKT submission you can read here: Fastest Known Time.

As part of the FKT submission I included tracking from my watch which updated my location every second, although they didn't include the files in their reporting. So there was no short cutting or quietly making my way to a café. Although there is always a level of trust and honesty involved in these things.

The stats for each day I’ll list below, taken from my gps watch. The pack weights are estimates based on the food I allotted to each day - I didn't have a set of scales on me.

Day - Distance, total elapsed time (hr:mm), elevation gain, starting total pack weight for the day

Day 1 - 49.0 km, 13:00, 1,620 m, 19 kg

Day 2 - 50.0 km, 13:13, 1,213 m, 18.2 kg

Day 3 - 46.4 km, 12:57, 965 m, 17.4 kg

Day 4 - 54.0 km, 15:13, 1,103 m, 16.6 kg

Day 5 - 51.9 km, 14:51, 1,217 m, 15.7 kg

Day 6 - 59.8 km, 14:51, 1,221 m, 14.8 kg

Day 7 - 58.1 km, 15:00, 1,020 m, 13.9 kg

Day 8 - 58.7 km, 15:29, 1,262 m, 13.0 kg

Day 9 - 54.4 km, 13:46, 1,349 m, 12.1 kg

Day 10 - 58.9 km, 14:53, 1,514 m, 11.2 kg

Day 11 - 55.6 km, 14:08, 1,432 m, 10.3 kg

Day 12 - 63.7 km, 15:37, 1,317 m, 9.4 kg

Day 13 - 63.2 km, 15:26, 760 m, 8.5 kg

Day 14 - 59.1 km, 14:49, 1,579 m, 7.6 kg

Day 15 - 67.2 km, 16:31, 2,099 m, 6.7 kg

Day 16 - 69.0 km, 17:11, 1,670 m, 5.7 kg

Day 17 - 63.0 km, 14:46, 1,290 m, 4.7 kg

I don't really know how to conclude. It was tough. There were nice moments but it kinda just sucked. I reached new lows but asymmetrically didn't get close to new highs. Except maybe finishing. It was cool breaking new ground for the trail, doing something ambitious and challenging, something no one had done before and I am proud of the achievement for sure. But I'm looking forward to enjoying the next hike.

https://preview.redd.it/o599qmvrzezd1.jpg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6d64f1790d0f1ecb88576b46bb5e8b84fc1ea65f

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https://preview.redd.it/zttnwvvrzezd1.jpg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c8de37d6bdf7666ada7a3c0b84c44071aa2253b9

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Gear Notes: 

See Lighterpack for weights and the full list.

I went ultralight on everything except my sleeping system, intending to rely heavily on getting good sleep and recovery overnight. I ended up sleeping like trash for the first 10 nights due to having too much muscle pain to capitalise on my sleeping windows, but the strategy I think was sound. The pack also was about twice as heavy as I'd usually carry but this was a necessity as far as I am concerned given my starting weight.

Pack

The SWD Long Haul carries like a beast. I taped my hip area before the hike because I knew it would rub with the heavy weight. But other than that it worked perfectly. The ultra x has massively delaminated internally even before this hike, from the PCT, but that’s just what happens after about 3000 km with ultra I find (including the new x variant). The pack now has 5000 km on it and is going strong otherwise. I borrowed this pack from a mate I hiked with on the PCT, I would find it overkill for most other trips. For this though, it was the perfect weapon.

Shelter

There are 3-walled AT style shelters every 20 km or so on the trail and some UL hikers opt to forego any shelter. I decided to take a shelter mainly to allow me to wild camp in those areas where it is allowed so I could more closely hike the distances I wanted to. There were also a couple of locations where shelters weren’t available and pushing on 20 km due to weather would have been heinous on this hike. 

The tarp was great, pitched well and kept me dry the few times it rained overnight. It's approximately 2.95 m long and 2.2 m - 1.6 m wide with a cat-cut, tapered A-frame design that is slightly hexagonal. I had made a couple of these by now and barely refined the design. I went with 0.51 DCF for the weight savings. The Lineloc V from Zpacks held the 1.2 mm cord well but they weren’t tested by any high winds. There are several photos on the longer report I've linked above. 

My half bug net bivy idea worked well for the last third of the hike when my body heat output wasn’t as high overnight. At the start it was too hard to regulate my temperate and keep my metabolically blazing legs cool. The system relied on my legs being inside my quilt for mosquito protection. When I was too hot I had no way of cooling them down. Moving the down in my quilt didn’t cut it. It also doesn’t protect from ant attack which would have saved me from the invasion the morning of day 4. I should have just copped the extra 50g or so and made a fully enclosed bivy. Maybe not the hike to experiment on in hindsight.

Sleep system

I used a regular wide x-lite and a pillow I used to sleep with at home but cut down to a much smaller size. I am very particular when it comes to sleep systems. Using this system I generally sleep solidly the entire night without waking. It is a heavy setup but I thought the good sleep would be worth it. That didn't pan out but I imagine sleeping on a 1/8" torso length mat with a sock as a pillow would have been even worse. I've tried heaps of inflatable pillows and car washing sponges etc. They sadly don't work for me. I’m a precious pea.

Quilt

I went with an EE 5 C enclosed footbox quilt. I usually go for a zippered footbox but the weight savings swayed me. The quilt was essentially part of my shelter too so I couldn't be opening the footbox regardless. Closed footboxes are just too hot for me and not good enough at regulating temperature. My shoulders usually get cold well before my legs and feet. Maybe with a full bug bivy I could have made it work better but the zippered footbox remains my strong preference. I was cold in the morning a couple of times, mostly my fault though. The quilt kept me warm when it was above or at 40 F.

Insulation

For warmth I took a pair of fleece glove liners and a Versalite rain jacket. I was cold once when an unseasonable cold front came through but otherwise was warm in the mild conditions I hiked in. Except for that front, I probably would have been fine carrying a wind jacket with a new coating of DWR. I would have used a fleece once, so I was glad to have left it behind. Ultimately I'm happy with my choices here.

Shoes

After a lot of consideration I went with Altra Olympus 6’s. The last pair I had worn for over 1,000 km so I knew they would at least last the distance. The other shoe I was considering was the Hoka Speedgoat in wide. Overall I like these shoes better, but the toe box is not wide enough and I eventually get toe blisters from the wedge shape, something I’ve never got in an Altra. Someone please put the toe box of an Altra on the Speedgoat. The Olympus aren’t perfect. The new heel cup on this model is an odd choice and an immediate source of abrasion on my skin. I taped my heels occasionally to avoid blisters but eventually got one on the last day. Sandy terrain probably didnt help. They also wear weirdly at the bending point on the outside of the footpad area which makes it super abrasive here. My socks were getting chewed up by this on my last pair so I was having to tape my socks after about 500 km to avoid the same fate. Actually I was having to reapply the Leuko tape to my socks as the tape itself wore through.