Thanks for the info. Didn’t think we would get to see that smile again and the positive energy of yours. All we need now is for you to sing for us I know that we all miss your singing.🎵 Hope you have many Blessings in the New Year.
Thanx for the gear break down. It was nice hearing about what worked. It’s so surprising to hear about people that can make the whole trail without a punctured sleeping mat. There was one guy that used an Thermo Rest Uber light the whole trail without a single leak. He too had a Tyvek ground sheet. Happy trails…
Nice pack list…very similar to mine…(I don’t obsess w UL!) I ordered a pair of Ombraz last week, and now that I’ve seen how much you liked yours, I’m even more excited to get them in a day or so! I just came across your channel in my feed and am bingeing your PCT….2026 is my goal…I’m retiring!!! Woop! Woop! Need a few more long ones finished while I still can LOL!
The cow pie thinking on sleeping bags and quilts. If you have taken a marketing class, your sleeping bag or quilt idea of storage is a bag of cow pies.
@@ashobrienoutdoors in more ways than one! I hiked (some of) the trail last year too, camped at some of the same places, and I remember reading about your troubles before you started. It made me feel better about my own (I cracked a molar and lost my glasses in San Diego).
Wonderful review Ash! Loved the stuff your buff with your puffy for a pillow! May try that next trip! Loved the turkey bag idea. I also dislike the Opsak since they don't have a very long life, but I do use them; just have to keep re-ordering. Super lightweight idea using tin foil to abate the wind issue when cooking! Your fruit shirts were the best - great way to identify your trail family - the "FUN" ones! Pretty impressed that you brought your OMM rain pants all the way back home in their shredded condition...you were thinking ahead for doing this review, I'm sure! And the best thing is that the curly ribbons made it all the way back on your pack! 🙂
Thanks for the comment Maureen! Hehe yesss the ribbons on my pack are the best part, I can’t believe I forgot to mention them in the video! Those rain pants were so torn to shreds I had to keep them as a souvenir, a visual representation of what 2000miles looks like 😂 Ash
What a great review! I'll take a couple of your gear choices for my next hike, thank you! One recommendion I have is to use the Lixada 10W Solar Panel, it weighs just 2.82 ounces (80 grams!!!), highly recommemded for hikers. Just a heads up - the USB port comes off easy when hot, so add superglue around the USB port and it will never ever come off throughout the whole 3 - 6 months hike! With the superglue it weighs 2.9 ounces, thats under 3 ounces for a good solar panel. Compared to so many other panels out there which weigh around 1 pound, this one is a gem.
Thanks for the comment :) I have the lixada one as well but found the decathalon one was a lot more efficient , maybe even twice as efficient when I did a few tests. It also performs better in cloud so I figure it was worth the weight penalty although if I was doing the desert section again I think I’d give the lixada a go as it seemed to never not be sunny! Haven’t glued mine yet so I’ll give that a go, thanks for the tip! Ash
Hey Marmalade! Hope your keeping well :) I sure do miss sunny San Diego!! It’s gotten very cold here but still not quite Washington in September cold 😁 Ash
Ohhhh I want to so bad!! But with factoring in travel time, getting to trail etc the time would mount up and after taking 6months of work I wouldn’t be able to get the time to do the JMT. I will 100% get to it at some point :) I’m hiking the AT next (2025) because I will likely have a break in work contracts so it’s my best chance to do a 2000+ mile trail again, and the PCT Sierra section I can chip away at with my holidays over time :)
Awesome. I did wonder about this especially watching Huck SOBO. His videos (around #65 if you havent’ yet watched) are amazing in the Sierras and I’m sure will inspire you to return, I don’t think I’ll leave if I go there 😂
Hi there, thanks for watching! The holder was by PricklyGorse on Etsy , I had a look there and doesn’t look like they make them any more which is sad cause I was hoping to order another! Maybe they will come out again at some point , fingers crossed!
Great gear review Ash. Lots of tips and tricks shared, thank you. I’ve now got to find how to get a Gossamer mat and some Tyvek 🤔 How did you do that great writing on your Tyvek?
Thanks 😊 I just drew the writting on with a sharpie, it took foreveeeer! GG mat is great but in the UK it’s easier to get a gram counters one, they look identical. Think ultralight outdoor gear does them :)
Thanks for watching :) the link is in the description or here’s it for handyness lighterpack.com/r/j8clj4 The link for where I got the tyvek should be on there :) Ash
There's a lot of emphasis on base weights but I'm curious about a typical overall weight of a thru hike on any typical day. I'm assembling a kit and I can't break the 29lbs barrier including 3 liters of water, fuel and 3 days of food. Is that unusual for most days you carried or most people you encountered?
Halfwayanywhere is a great website for seeing figures on base weights. Honestly I’m not even sure what my packed weighted on average with all the consumables. At the very start of my PCT video of us heading into the sierra (the one after the Kennedy meadows video), there’s a video of my bag on the scales, it would have been fairly loaded up then !
Hi there :) I just set my MSR tent up and placed it on the tyvek then drew round it with a sharpie so I’m not sure of the exact size. You could do the same or find your tent dimensions and then go a little bigger and you can always cut it down :) best to have it no bigger than the overall size of the tent so if it rains it doesn’t pool on the tyvek. Goodluck in 2025!
