and most of you know that I have also sort of started hiking too (nope, more like addicted to hiking) ... and I want to do an overnight-er with him, and do some local "peak bagging" etc ... but I don't have a bet going on where I get to pick a super lightweight amazing tent and just buy it... and apparently buying me a tent takes away from Hubs working towards a back packing tent for the whole year, so I can't just go to REI or a small "cottage company" and say "take my money" and spend $600 on a tent.....
Oh ya, and I don't own a sleeping bag due to the vermin that moved into our outdoor closed back in November... so i'm sorely lacking in the ability to sleep outside right now...
So what does this new trail hugger do?
The UL Gear Trade/Sell Reddit feed.
- That's right, i'm buying lightly used gear at a fraction of the price.
Instead, what's available are my options... so I started checking out the posts because this is what you call "THE TIME" to hit the feeds.
- Early Thru hikers for the PCT, AT, and CDT start dropping out and need to sell gear to have funds for the real world.
- Planned Thru hikes might fall through
- People can't get permits for the start dates they want or they need to change dates
- People freak out about weather conditions and just say, screw it i'm not going...
- People are upgrading gear to shed ounces just before they leave (having bought new stuff to use on trail and now need to sell their old stuff so they can have more funds)
It's a good time to frequent the feeds folks.
So, after 4 days of browsing the feeds, I scored a 50 degree down quilt from enlighten equipment for $150 shipped (normally $240.00 with tax and shipping). It's super light weight (10.4 oz).. and is 850 fill treated down... bought a year ago and in really great condition... and perfect for the season of camping we will be doing out here in a warmer so-cal. How'd I get such a good deal on a quilt that is made to last 20 years?
- The bag was sized "short/regular." The guy could only sell it to a fraction of the hiking community that was under 5'5 and that means ladies mostly... and outside of California or Arizona (where he lives), a 50 degree quilt isn't as desirable for those thru hiking. They need like a 20 degree bag for current temps right now.
- So, this limited him to day hikers and short section hikers... and of those type of hikers, ladies typically sleep colder and will just opt for a warmer quilt because you can just use it as a blanket if needed or stick a foot out if your too hot.
- I've never used a camping quilt before, but I've been wanting to try one out for the weight savings since I have such a small frame (length of my back), there really is a limit to what I can carry...
- Having to pay $240 for a quilt and not being able to return it if I don't like quilt camping, wasn't really in the cards...
- It would be cheaper than a sleeping bag...
- It's LIGHTER than a sleeping bag.
- I don't really like sleeping like a mummy because I typically sleep warm.
- I can always add a light base layer for bed time snoozing if I feel cold...
I also found a tent... which was a WAY better deal than the quilt.
A Big Agnes Fly Creek Platinum... only used for 5 nights... with the footprint.... and the whole thing only weights 35 oz for a SEMI freestanding DOUBLE WALLED tent... and it's a 2 person, so plenty room for 5 foot me, and my gear without an added weight penalty.
- New from REI: $549.95
- Footprint from REI: $70.00
- TOTAL with tax: $668.00
I bought it for $288 with the security protection offered by Pay-Pal.
The only thing I need to do is buy some stakes for it, which I can easily do for $20-$40 depending on how light I want to make them.
I secretly think hubs is eye balling my used gear right now....
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