Second thoughts when choosing equipment

[WldWil]

The shopping has begun. Fortunately, I am a very avid hunter, fisherman, boater and more. I know what it is to tromp through the woods or sit in a tree for days, be on the ice for fishing or standing in 37 degree (3C) temperatures while raining for 3-4 days, 9+ hours each.

Hiking was only part of any of these activities which makes me somewhat of a newbie to the backpacking world. (It is easier to just admit it sometimes). I am learning as I go. Here are my two first purchases. It is obvious that trying to get all three areas of low cost, high quality and low weight would be difficult to achieve.

The backpack:

I tried several on and chose the Osprey Stratos 36L. It weighs 1.36 kg (3 lb). There was another pack 40+10 for only $20 more plus 5 oz. which was very tempting. This forum has been great even, especially with its varied opinions. The comments that made me nervous were the explosion of opening a smaller pack at the end of the day and less compartments. I did pack it with gear to see how it all fits. I got the total filled pack weight down to 6.74 kg (without water or snacks). I will post more on this in a different thread. (I am a bit geeky and made an excel spreadsheet)

It has a sleeping bag compartment on the bottom. Built-in rain cover in its own compartment. 2 Compartments in the flap (rain gear?) and two pockets on waist straps. Also, it will fit carry-on from the USA. I’ve had delayed luggage three times already. One time it took 3 days to show up.

The sleeping bag:

My first thought was, “Wow, how small and light!” When I started weighing every individual item (I have a sensitive scale I used for the boy scouts pinewood derby cars) I thought, “Wow, this is adding up fast.” The bag in sack is 855 grams. But when I looked at cost to lighten this, I was feeling like I was in budget.

The liner and blanket thing is tempting, but I have been on to many hunting trips including caribou near the Arctic Circle to learn to be warm enough and well rested each day. I know Spain is not the Arctic Circle, but good rest is important.

So, how often do you flip flop on gear you are taking?

 

[evanlow]

Mostly footwear and raingear. The 2 banes of walking outdoors.

1. Blisters
2. Rain

The reason for the flip flop are the fact that if a pair of runners can comfortably covers 95 percent of the walk, would you get boots for the whole journey just for the 5 percent?
Will an umbrella be enough or do you really need a raincoat and rain protection on your lower half?
Will there be strong winds to make carry an umbrella a bad idea?
Will a poncho be too hot and not breathable?

I guess the 95/5 percent rule applies as lighter footwear and less chance of blisters will win over the 5 percent. But.....

One good tip (I digress) when flying is to keep the plastic spoon on the inflight meals. They are a godsend when you comes to buying yoghurt for the next day's breakfast as you need a spoon to dig into them.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

So, how often do you flip flop on gear you are taking?

I still make mistakes! I have mailed home my sleeping bag twice, and threw one away. Then I spent a camino wishing I had a sleeping bag. The sleeping bag is always my toughest choice. The extra shirt or pants has always been unnecessary. I forgot both long sleeve shirts in a hotel closet one time, and never missed them later, so I suppose I should never have taken them!

Will use.
Might use.

Take nothing in the second category and you will be fine.

 

[dougfitz]

@WldWil, what an interesting question. When I put my mind to it, there are some items that I carried this year that I carried on my first camino in 2010. Then there were another group of items which were simple replacements for things that had worn out in the meantime, or things that had been changed on previous multi-day walks. Finally, there was a group of items which I was using, if not for the very first time, on their first multi-day trip.

I think after my first camino I realised that late changes were as likely to be problematic as beneficial. Certainly the less time you give yourself to get used to new gear, the less likely you are to know if it will really work for you, or have time to make any adjustments etc so that it works as well as it can for your particular needs. That said, I needed to make some late changes because gear choices I had made were proving unsuitable when I started doing longer walks, and making the change was really unavoidable.

Some of my flips and flops have been

• footwear - different boots on each pilgrimage, although I am back to the replacements for the boots I wore on the CF in 2010, and walked the CI in these this year.
• raincoat - used the same rain jacket on CF and St Olavs Way, but bought a longer jacket for a walk in NZ, and used that this year on CI
• clothing - largely about replacing worn out gear. In contrast, I have used the same light fleece on all my multi-day walks since the CF in 2010.
• pack - this was my worst change before the CF, and resulted in me taking a Fairydown pack that was too large and heavy. On St Olavs Way I used the Kathmandu pack I was going to use on the CF two years earlier, and it was brilliant. Don't ask how I felt reflecting on that! It was too big for camino in Spain. so the last couple of multi-day walks were done with a Deuter Guide 45+.

 

[WldWil]

I do appreciate the thoughts. Each activity is so different. Sometimes when I go flyfishing in the rivers I walk right in with hiking boots and other times hip boots or waiters.

Rain clothes are driving me crazy, because to me dry is not being wet at all. I am beginning to get the feel with rain gear, various ponchos and shoes that it is more about controlling the level of wetness and sweatiness versus dry. I am looking at early May or next September for my trip. Ironically, I will be looking at rainy days around here to go hiking in to test different equipment.

I also think I am turning into a weightaholic. The whole cheap cost, high quality, low weight formula is a tough balancing act I am finding.

 

[jpflavin1]

The shopping has begun. Fortunately, I am a very avid hunter, fisherman, boater and more. I know what it is to tromp through the woods or sit in a tree for days, be on the ice for fishing or standing in 37 degree (3C) temperatures while raining for 3-4 days, 9+ hours each.

Hiking was only part of any of these activities which makes me somewhat of a newbie to the backpacking world. (It is easier to just admit it sometimes). I am learning as I go. Here are my two first purchases. It is obvious that trying to get all three areas of low cost, high quality and low weight would be difficult to achieve.

The backpack:

I tried several on and chose the Osprey Stratos 36L. It weighs 1.36 kg (3 lb). There was another pack 40+10 for only $20 more plus 5 oz. which was very tempting. This forum has been great even, especially with its varied opinions. The comments that made me nervous were the explosion of opening a smaller pack at the end of the day and less compartments. I did pack it with gear to see how it all fits. I got the total filled pack weight down to 6.74 kg (without water or snacks). I will post more on this in a different thread. (I am a bit geeky and made an excel spreadsheet)

It has a sleeping bag compartment on the bottom. Built-in rain cover in its own compartment. 2 Compartments in the flap (rain gear?) and two pockets on waist straps. Also, it will fit carry-on from the USA. I’ve had delayed luggage three times already. One time it took 3 days to show up.

The sleeping bag:

My first thought was, “Wow, how small and light!” When I started weighing every individual item (I have a sensitive scale I used for the boy scouts pinewood derby cars) I thought, “Wow, this is adding up fast.” The bag in sack is 855 grams. But when I looked at cost to lighten this, I was feeling like I was in budget.

The liner and blanket thing is tempting, but I have been on to many hunting trips including caribou near the Arctic Circle to learn to be warm enough and well rested each day. I know Spain is not the Arctic Circle, but good rest is important.

So, how often do you flip flop on gear you are taking?

WldWil:

Not often, but I have.

My biggest change was my sleeping bag. My first bag was a North face Cats Meow. This was over kill. I now have a Marmot Ultralight down bag. It takes up about a third of the space and 1/3 of the weight.

I am always looking for a smaller back pack (Osprey Kestral 48L). I like the top and bottom loading features along with the attached cover. Belt pouches for my gloves and sun screen and all the other external pouches for storing Items I like to access separately. The downside is the weight 3lbs. 8oz's. That is the only reason I keep looking. Your Osprey Stratos (36L) looks like it could be an option.

My under clothing, first layer, is all Under Armor. Then a nice fleece and a north Face all weather jacket. Separate light weight rain pants also good for warmth on cold windy mornings.

Ultreya,
Joe

 

[Mark Lee]

From what I see you plan on only doing the first half of the Camino Frances. I'm assuming somewhere around 15-18 days of travel and walking. If that is so, the 36L pack you have chosen should be plenty and you can do the carry-on thing with it on your flights, and it has a built in rain-cover which is good (give it a coat with Scotchgard or similar).
Since it's a summertime Camino you will need the minimum in sleeping bag type equipment, which means the lightest. The one you got is less than two pounds. That sounds good.
I never carried a poncho on either Camino, just a lightweight Columbia rain jacket. Worked great. Didn't care if my legs got wet (I wore shorts literally everyday on both Caminos), and my hiking shoes were going to get wet no matter what.
You got your whole kit less than 10 kilos, which is a good weight. Doesn't sound like you need to change a thing. As stated earlier just make sure you have comfortable footwear and good socks to prevent blisters. I wore hiking shoes and synthetic running socks. Blisters were never a problem.
Even the worst stretch on the Camino Frances isn't too bad. In two Caminos and over 60 days of walking I was only rained on twice and even those days by 3:00 pm I was high and dry in an albergue drinking a cold one. I'm sure you've spent nastier mornings in deer stands or duck blinds. Don't think too much about what to bring, and no need to get too technical about it. It's not climbing Everest. As I have said on here before, you can literally buy everything you need to walk the CF at WalMart.
And yeah, one of those "spork" things is great to have.

 

[Kitsambler]

Welcome to the joys and anxieties of pack planning and weight budgets. Your sleeping bag is weighing in at nearly 2 lbs, which is too heavy. Sea to Summit has a bag at 13.7 ounces (390 g), REI has it for around $200. http://www.rei.com/product/866775/sea-to-summit-traveller-tr-i-sleeping-bag

 

[Mark Lee]

Welcome to the joys and anxieties of pack planning and weight budgets. Your sleeping bag is weighing in at nearly 2 lbs, which is too heavy. Sea to Summit has a bag at 13.7 ounces (390 g), REI has it for around $200. http://www.rei.com/product/866775/sea-to-summit-traveller-tr-i-sleeping-bag

200 hundred bucks for a sleeping bag?! Yikes!
They must be awfully proud of dat bag....
I don't think I spent over $200 for all my stuff combined.....

 

[ebrandt]

The sleeping bag question is interesting. I carried a bag on the Camino Frances walking in April and May. It was rated dow to 30 degrees F and I am a copd sleeper so I thought I would be fine. But I was hot. And the thing is you don't want to sleep outside your bag (at least I didn't) because of the lack of privacy in the albergues. I decided that I would only carry a sleep sack of some sort on future caminos.

Now I am planning to walk the Camino Primitivo in June 2015. Today I am planning on brining a sleeping bag again. I think it might be pretty chilly in the hills, from what I can glean the albergues are a bit less likely to have blankets and less likely to be well heated. But I have 7 more months to flip flop!

LIz

 

[Felice]

200 hundred bucks for a sleeping bag?! Yikes!
They must be awfully proud of dat bag....
I don't think I spent over $200 for all my stuff combined.....

I did not dare add up what all my equipment cost me this year! However, I was starting from scratch. We have spent the past 10 years living in the Middle East, and my walking gear was, to put it mildly, somewhat eccentric, consisting mainly of T shirts from the souk, trousers that were no longer good enough to wear around town and whatever trainers that were available. So since we had returned to the UK for good, I thought it was worth while getting myself properly kitted out. So new sleeping bag (750gm) and silk liner (total £100), new technical t shirts and trousers (same again), new goretex waterproof, new socks.... I also bought walking poles for the first time (Black mountain z poles - what a difference they made) but I did not buy a new rucksack, instead using my 6 year old Lowe Alpine airzone 32l pack, which weighed about 1.1kg. It was a bit tight, and I made extra space by hanging my other shoes (Crocs) off loops on the back via carabiners, and using them as extra pockets - bananas in particular travelled very safely there! However, without food and water, my pack weighed just over 6kg, which was absolutely great to carry.

If I do it again, then I am going to have to make changes. My rucksack got damaged when it went through the washer at 60degrees and the drier at 85 degrees to be debugged. That process also damaged my sleeping bag, when the material got snagged on velcro and I dont think it has done the goretex on my jacket any good either.

I walked thorughout September this year, SJPP to Santiago, and we were so fortunate with the weather. For the first week or so, it was a bit on the hot side, especially in the afternoon, whilst at night the sleeping bag stayed in my pack and I slept on top of the liner. Then we had a spell of cooler cloudy weather which was wonderful to walk in, and some nights were slightly cool, so that I was glad of my liner. Finally, at the end of Sept, we had sunny weather and temps in the mid 20s which was absolutely beautiful, though nights were cool and I used my sleeping bag rather than risk the blankets in the albergues.

Best of luck with your preparations. This forum is a wonderful resource to help you get things right and not make dreadful mistakes!

 

[Al the optimist]

Whether you are walking this first half, all of it or just a few days of the Camino I think you still need the same things (subject to the weather).

 

[dougfitz]

Whether you are walking this first half, all of it or just a few days of the Camino I think you still need the same things (subject to the weather).

Unlike bush or wilderness walks, where one has to carry food and other consumables for several days, there is no need on the camino to carry more than a day or so of consumables, even less in the case of food. So there isn't going to be much difference between what is needed for a few days, and many.

 

[dougfitz]

Welcome to the joys and anxieties of pack planning and weight budgets. Your sleeping bag is weighing in at nearly 2 lbs, which is too heavy. Sea to Summit has a bag at 13.7 ounces (390 g), REI has it for around $200. http://www.rei.com/product/866775/sea-to-summit-traveller-tr-i-sleeping-bag

I disagree with this assessment. If you are prepared to compromise with a 10degC mummy bag, then this sleeping bag might be okay. In spring, I walked with a 5degC semi-rectangular bag, and wouldn't change it. The bag weights 900gm, and I carry a liner. All up, with a stuff sack, about 1.1 kg. Too much? Not if you find yourself sleeping in the gym at Zubiri or the church hall at Granon!

 

[saltwaterpearl]

My last camino was in 2001, and there was so much wrong going on with my gear and the mind-boggling weight I carried!

I learned a lot from that experience, and have since become an experienced backpacker and a bit of a gear-head. So yeah, I'm always tweaking..... but I think I'm at a point of satisfaction.
I have researched and tested ultralight options over the years, and have arrived at a balance of low weight, comfort, convenience and cost that works for me.

My first backpack (2001 camino) was a Lowe Alpine, 6 lbs I think, and maybe 60 liters?
I did 2-week sections of the Appalachian Trail, and some weekend hikes in Texas, a few years later with a Six Moons Design ultralight pack. Great pack, but I wanted something that could handle more than 20 lbs. and still be comfortable. Also, more structure and a ventilated back.
Found the Deuter Act Lite Womens 45+10. Perfect pack - lightweight (not ultralight), super comfortable (women's fit, adjustable torso), simple streamlined design with just enough "bells & whistles" (compartments and pockets) to make it convenient for multi-day packing, and just the right liter-age (compressed down or stuffed to the gills) for a trip of any length.

Welcome to the joys and anxieties of pack planning and weight budgets. Your sleeping bag is weighing in at nearly 2 lbs, which is too heavy. Sea to Summit has a bag at 13.7 ounces (390 g), REI has it for around $200. http://www.rei.com/product/866775/sea-to-summit-traveller-tr-i-sleeping-bag

I disagree with the blanket statement that a 2-lb sleeping bag is too heavy. It's pretty standard, actually, unless one is willing or able to spend hundreds of dollars on ultralight down.

I looked around a great deal to find a bag with the following specs (which that sea to summit bag is mostly lacking):
* 2-lbs max
* rectangular and full-zip (side-sleeper here... can NOT do tapered or mummy..... but took me awhile to learn that lesson, and to find other options)
* hood to stuff for a pillow
* NOT down - I avoid buying animal products like leather and feather
* 3-season or summer/shoulder season - I'm not a snow/winter backpacker, and when I am chilly, I sleep in multiple layers
* UNDER $100

I am very satisfied with my SnugPak Jungle Bag.

 

[Mike Savage]

I also think I am turning into a weightaholic. The whole cheap cost, high quality, low weight formula is a tough balancing act I am finding.

Count the ounces and the pounds will take care of themselves.

 

[susanawee]

Count the ounces and the pounds will take care of themselves.

Thanks for a small memory Mike Savage....my dad used to say this to me when I was a lot younger than I am now.....smiles.

 

[Kiwi-d]

I have just (September/October 2014) completed the Camino Frances and one item I flipflopped on was jandals/crocs. I bought three or four pairs, trying to find ones light enough for the shower, and ended up taking none. Instead I just had boots and a pair of Sketchers for evenings. I did a lot of to-ing and fro-ing about socks too, and after a couple of days on the trail ended up giving away all my socks as they made my feet sweat, and just kept three pairs of liner socks. I taped my toes and the balls of my feet each day, and only had one small blister when I forgot to cut my toenails. I used a Deuter 35 + 10 pack, and that was plenty, I didn't need to use the extra 10 at all, until I collected my clothes for travelling home from Santiago. I dithered about raingear, and ended up taking a pair of rainpants and a Goretex jacket, and cursed the weight until the last three days, when we walked in driving rain, at which point I was so happy I'd brought them! Oh, and I took a Snugpak Jungle bag for pretty much the same reasons as Saltwaterpearl and a silk liner. At first I only used the liner as it was so hot, then later only used the sleeping bag, but on a couple of nights used both as it was so cold.

And just for the record, in addition to the above, if I was packing for another Camino I would only take a pair of zip-off pants, a pair of leggings, two t-shirts, one long sleeved shirt, one light fleece and a puffer jacket, plus two bras and three pairs of knickers, because that was all I ended up wearing. (Loved the puffer jacket, and received many envious comments on it from chilly pilgrims.)

 

[neverlost4good]

I paid under $70 for my light bag from REI. It is synthetic, but packs down to the size of a shoe. It is supposed to be good to 40 degrees, which I'm hoping in May will be enough.

 

[owms2323]

I dont know when you are walking, but I walked sept 5 thruu Oct 12 and never needed my sleeping bag. Just a liner and sometimes a blanket which most aubergues furnished.

The shopping has begun. Fortunately, I am a very avid hunter, fisherman, boater and more. I know what it is to tromp through the woods or sit in a tree for days, be on the ice for fishing or standing in 37 degree (3C) temperatures while raining for 3-4 days, 9+ hours each.

Hiking was only part of any of these activities which makes me somewhat of a newbie to the backpacking world. (It is easier to just admit it sometimes). I am learning as I go. Here are my two first purchases. It is obvious that trying to get all three areas of low cost, high quality and low weight would be difficult to achieve.

The backpack:

I tried several on and chose the Osprey Stratos 36L. It weighs 1.36 kg (3 lb). There was another pack 40+10 for only $20 more plus 5 oz. which was very tempting. This forum has been great even, especially with its varied opinions. The comments that made me nervous were the explosion of opening a smaller pack at the end of the day and less compartments. I did pack it with gear to see how it all fits. I got the total filled pack weight down to 6.74 kg (without water or snacks). I will post more on this in a different thread. (I am a bit geeky and made an excel spreadsheet)

It has a sleeping bag compartment on the bottom. Built-in rain cover in its own compartment. 2 Compartments in the flap (rain gear?) and two pockets on waist straps. Also, it will fit carry-on from the USA. I’ve had delayed luggage three times already. One time it took 3 days to show up.

The sleeping bag:

My first thought was, “Wow, how small and light!” When I started weighing every individual item (I have a sensitive scale I used for the boy scouts pinewood derby cars) I thought, “Wow, this is adding up fast.” The bag in sack is 855 grams. But when I looked at cost to lighten this, I was feeling like I was in budget.

The liner and blanket thing is tempting, but I have been on to many hunting trips including caribou near the Arctic Circle to learn to be warm enough and well rested each day. I know Spain is not the Arctic Circle, but good rest is important.

So, how often do you flip flop on gear you are taking?

 

[WldWil]

Kiwi-d, Great information. In fact, I just finalized September next year for my date with the Camino. The Deuter 40+10 was my next option actually. I am still flip-flopping on flip-flops. I have water shoes I love that would be great for showers and short walkabouts, but weigh a pound.

Dumb guy question – Are knickers, pants or under the pants?

When you say, “only take a pair of zip-off pants, a pair of leggings” is that one pair with leggings or one pair with a second set of leggings for the same zipoffs?

Neverlost4good – I think we have the similar one and I was thinking May or Sept.

 

[WldWil]

At lunch (yesterday), I walked past my new backpack and thought maybe I should just go for a short walk and test it out. I clipped the tags, brought the weight up to 6kg, tied on my new shoes, donned a rain coat/jacket that I am considering bringing and headed out the door.

It is a typical early November type Wisconsin day with temps at 41 (5C) with winds at 13 mph (21k) and occasional gusts at 26 mph. I live in a relatively flat area and walked along the road or shoulder. Pants were my hikers and wore just my odor free under shirt and guide shirt under the jacket. It turns out it was a great choice resulting in comfort and not sweaty.

I intended a short walk, but my legs and body felt great and just kept going. My stroll turned into 7k! Where I live, that is once around the block. It was about 90 minutes without pushing (I even had a couple chats on the phone, so it couldn't be that bad. I would have gone further, but my boss figured I best get back to work. Overall, it was quite enjoyable an no negatives.

The hiking poles I ordered showed up today. Maybe I'll take a walk again today at lunch around the other block and see how they work. Same temps and wind as yesterday.

 

[joe g texas aggies]

@WldWil, what an interesting question. When I put my mind to it, there are some items that I carried this year that I carried on my first camino in 2010. Then there were another group of items which were simple replacements for things that had worn out in the meantime, or things that had been changed on previous multi-day walks. Finally, there was a group of items which I was using, if not for the very first time, on their first multi-day trip.

I think after my first camino I realised that late changes were as likely to be problematic as beneficial. Certainly the less time you give yourself to get used to new gear, the less likely you are to know if it will really work for you, or have time to make any adjustments etc so that it works as well as it can for your particular needs. That said, I needed to make some late changes because gear choices I had made were proving unsuitable when I started doing longer walks, and making the change was really unavoidable.

Some of my flips and flops have been

• footwear - different boots on each pilgrimage, although I am back to the replacements for the boots I wore on the CF in 2010, and walked the CI in these this year.
• raincoat - used the same rain jacket on CF and St Olavs Way, but bought a longer jacket for a walk in NZ, and used that this year on CI
• clothing - largely about replacing worn out gear. In contrast, I have used the same light fleece on all my multi-day walks since the CF in 2010.
• pack - this was my worst change before the CF, and resulted in me taking a Fairydown pack that was too large and heavy. On St Olavs Way I used the Kathmandu pack I was going to use on the CF two years earlier, and it was brilliant. Don't ask how I felt reflecting on that! It was too big for camino in Spain. so the last couple of multi-day walks were done with a Deuter Guide 45+.

Doug, Your comment about the Deuter Guide 45+ caught my attention. I just purchased a Deuter Actlite 40 + 10 from REI. I tried several back packs and this one seemed to fit my body the best. Do you or any others on the forum have a comment about this backpack?

 

[dougfitz]

Doug, Your comment about the Deuter Guide 45+ caught my attention. I just purchased a Deuter Actlite 40 + 10 from REI. I tried several back packs and this one seemed to fit my body the best. Do you or any others on the forum have a comment about this backpack?

The Actlite and Guide series appear to fill different needs - the Guide has plenty of external hanging points and attachment straps - slightly increasing its weight. Few of these are really useful on the Camino, where the cleaner design of the Actlite might be quite adequate, and a little lighter. Deuter packs are built much more solidly than some others, and clearly designed to take years of hard rough and tumble. That's not really necessary on the camino, where the harshest treatment might be the occasional scraping against the wall of a bar! Overall, if it fits, and your gear fits in, it is a pretty sound choice. It should last you for many caminos.

 

[Tia Valeria]

The problems of words in different countries' 'jargon'.
So, depending on where you live:_
Knickers=pants= ladies' briefs.
Trunks=pants=men's briefs.
Pants=trousers.

So - not a dumb guy question

 

[Al the optimist]

The problems of words in different countries' 'jargon'.
So, depending on where you live:_
Knickers=pants= ladies' briefs.
Trunks=pants=men's briefs.
Pants=trousers.

So - not a dumb guy question

I think we all have problems with the variations of the lingo. Personally I think carrying too many pairs of pants is pants.

 

[Kanga]

Flip flopping over gear is part of the fun. Preparing for my eighth camino and I'm still trying to decide about a couple of things. This time we will take a tent, so that introduces a whole new world of choices.

No-one gets it completely right. Or wrong.

 

[fernandezr]

I do appreciate the thoughts. Each activity is so different. Sometimes when I go flyfishing in the rivers I walk right in with hiking boots and other times hip boots or waiters.

Rain clothes are driving me crazy, because to me dry is not being wet at all. I am beginning to get the feel with rain gear, various ponchos and shoes that it is more about controlling the level of wetness and sweatiness versus dry. I am looking at early May or next September for my trip. Ironically, I will be looking at rainy days around here to go hiking in to test different equipment.

I also think I am turning into a weightaholic. The whole cheap cost, high quality, low weight formula is a tough balancing act I am finding.

I used a poncho during a rain storm while walking on the meseta last September; I found that I was as wet from sweat as I would have been from the rain. From then on I just used an umbrella; my lower legs got wet but they also got wet with the poncho. I think a rain jacket, a pack cover and an umbrella is a good combination.

 

[jeffnd]

Weight does not matter. Your comfort matters. I bought a lightweight sleeping bag but I barely fit in it so I just unzipped it and used it as a blanket. (This isn't much of a problem for me, I'd rather be too cold than too hot anyway.)

Avoid the trap of, "Your bag must weigh "X" kilos or pounds." Percentages of your body weight are a good place to start. But again, they are not laws set in stone, they are just guidelines. If you put all your gear together and it's comfortable to wear all day and it comes out to 13% of your body weight instead of 10%, there's no reason to start sawing off the handle of your toothbrush and ripping off tags from your clothes. It will be fine, it really will.