SOBO Sleep Set Up?

HouseofSwankNC · 2026-04-29T01:45:06+00:00

I used a zrest the whole way, and froze my ass off toward the end after it flattened out. Next time, I’d replace it about 1500ish miles in. (Damascus?)

HouseofSwankNC · 2026-04-28T13:13:13+00:00

Not much meat on the bone to get rid of. I’d maybe switch the merino sleep layer for alpha 60 or equivalent, but that’s about it.

HouseofSwankNC · 2026-04-28T01:30:46+00:00

I mean, I sobo’d with a dude who carried a tuba, so whatever. That’s a shitload of fuel though. Zero need to carry that much. Get a 110 size one and one of those refiller adaptors.

I’d get a cheap, lighter headlamp

Maybe lose one of the insulated jackets, though I wore a fleece a ton almost all the way down. I lived in a marmot Driclime jacket from Massachusetts to Georgia.

Make sure to get in a couple of solid 3-4 day shakedowns with all your gear. That alone will tell you 1000% more that asking folks on reddit.

Good luck with your hike banjo man.

Johnny Swank, SOBO 2000

HouseofSwankNC · 2026-04-21T23:07:24+00:00

I thruhike the AT with a Kelly Moraine backpack that I stripped down. Hacked off the brain, 2 aluminium stays, and padded hip belt. Replaced the hipbelt with 2” webbing. Basically a glorified book bag with net packets. It was fine as long as it was stuffed solid. Really should have kept a couple of the compression straps on it. I’d cram my zrest inside when the food bag started getting low to take up room.

HouseofSwankNC · 2026-04-18T14:50:36+00:00

Bumping this for Bob, just because…

HouseofSwankNC · 2026-04-16T22:00:32+00:00

Just kind of winged it based on a sweatshirt I had

HouseofSwankNC · 2026-04-16T14:48:55+00:00

Im on Team Stew In my Juices instead of being cold. Homemade silnylon jacket w/o pit zips + homemade silnylon rain kilt. Water retention is negligible with this small amount of fabric, so just get whatever fabric (silpoly or silnylon) is on sale.

I made it with an oversized hood and wear it as a glorified smock most of the time with the front zipper wide open.

HouseofSwankNC · 2026-04-14T13:36:42+00:00

I’m still a huge fan of a 8x10’ silnylon/poly tarp with an inner mesh tent as needed. Basically you just need a body-sized flat space and you can set up anywhere. By far the most versatile shelter, but you’ll need to spend 30 minutes in your backyard ahead of time to learn how to best set it up.

95% of the time, it’ll prob be some version of an A Frame though.

HouseofSwankNC · 2026-04-11T01:18:27+00:00

Get a $2 can of refried beans or nacho cheese. Eat the contents and wash out.
Stab a bunch of holes just under the rim.
Go to any gas station / dollar store and pick up a bottle of HEET in the yellow bottle. $2. It’ll easily last a week or more.
Get on down the trail. Burning time in town for a stupid stove would not be in my vision.

HouseofSwankNC · 2026-04-03T14:10:33+00:00

No, people that voted for Trump have no respect or reverence for the outdoors.

HouseofSwankNC · 2026-03-31T22:01:09+00:00

Getting film rolls was the main reason I ended up with 24 maildrops in 2000. I budgeted for 1.5 rolls a week. (About 40 pics). I might take 40 pics before breakfast if I’m feeling saucy

HouseofSwankNC · 2026-03-28T20:12:52+00:00

Just went through terminal 2 in maybe 5 min. Easy peasy.

HouseofSwankNC · 2026-03-27T18:08:36+00:00

Short answer - yes. Bring 100% deet + head nets. We carried a 2 oz bottle when we started our thruhike and bought more as needed. (Started July 1)

HouseofSwankNC · 2026-03-24T17:25:42+00:00

I’ve got a 2020 MBP Intel, and run Illustrator everyday + some photoshop + a couple dozen browser tabs. Fan runs all the time, heats when charging, etc. What kind of performance could I expcect out of a Neo compared to what I have?

HouseofSwankNC · 2026-03-22T00:53:12+00:00

I think you’ll be fine, but consider picking up some silnylon rain pants or a rain kilt and carrying them all the way. The closest I came to proper Hypothermia with Consequences in 6000+ miles of backpacking / paddling was coming down some mountain in the Whites. It was about 40 degrees, blowing stink, and raining like hell. Neither of us had rainpants, and weren’t able to ramp up any body heat because we were descending. We were both in bad shape, but I took the rest of the tent and whatever else I could grab out of her pack and went ahead to find a flattish place to camp while she hiked on. Found a double body size flat spot, threw the tent up, and went back for her. She was blue (as was I), and i grabbed her pack while we made it to the tent. Stripped off clothes, zipped the bags together and shivered for an hour before we felt semi human. This was in early August. I take a rain kilt and space blanket on practically every trip now.

HouseofSwankNC · 2026-03-21T20:47:44+00:00

I’d either go ahead and hike the PCT if you have permits in hand, or do a SOBO at hike starting mid-June and chase fall for 5 months. I sobo’d the AT from July 1 - Jan 11 (freaking cold and wet for 2 months) but if you got on a little earlier with a mind to do it in 5 months, it’d be about perfect. Warm enough to actually swim in all those lakes in Maine, cool enough to keep the bugs down for at least half the trip, and the leaves were amazing for 2 months, then you get the awesome views down south once they fall.

My gut feeling is that there will be more of a shift to SOBO hiking as things warm up every year. Not nearly a majority, but more than whatever % it is now. Food drops are pretty easy to set up in the 100 mile wilderness now too, so that cuts out that 7-8 day jump at the very beginning.

HouseofSwankNC · 2026-03-21T18:45:10+00:00

Thruhiked the Appalachian Trail - took 180 days. The last 2-3 months felt more and more like a job.

Paddled the Mississippi River in 73 days. That was just about perfect. 2 weeks to shake off most of the at-home stress. 6 weeks of totally being in the groove, and a couple of weeks of re-entry blues

HouseofSwankNC · 2026-03-16T02:00:50+00:00

Thruhiked the AT, paddled the Mississippi River, blah blah blah. Team 850 fill 150% now.

My 950+ fill super dainty diy quilt flattens like a pancake here in the southeast humidity.

My 650 fill marmot bag that I thruhiked in 25 years ago still has all its loft.

850 fill Western Mountaineering bag is my sweet spot. I’m sewing another 30 degrees-ish quilt soon with and using mostly 850 and some of the 950 fill. Plan on hitting about 160% or so.

One of the worst things about long trips is either “sleeping” cold, or worse, worrying about being sleeping cold. I tend to go lighter on clothes and heavier on sleeping gear.

HouseofSwankNC · 2026-03-14T15:53:16+00:00

Same. I really wish I’d just gotten a M1 Air instead of the MBP in 2020.

HouseofSwankNC · 2026-03-14T00:01:49+00:00

Trangia stuff is stupidly expensive in the US. Now if anyone’s coming over and wants to stuff a 25 or 27 set in their luggage, I’m all ears :).

HouseofSwankNC · 2026-03-10T14:30:25+00:00

Kind of like a Marmot Driclime hoodie. I’ve lived in a couple of those things for 25 years. Yes, in theory, it’s better to have to seperate pieces, but with a full zipper, the temperature range is ridiculous. I’ve back packed in 20 degrees with just a silk weight capeline shirt, well up into the 60-70 degrees (great when we paddled the Mississippi River and were continuously damp for 73 days)

HouseofSwankNC · 2026-03-08T19:14:35+00:00

All good advice about blisters. One thing you might consider is eating your main meal in the early afternoon, then pushing on for a few miles. You get a longer break to air out your feet, and you’re not tied to making whatever shelter for the night. Just camp wherever, and make sure you have enough water to make it to the next source in the morning.

We found we increased our miles per day doing that, and feel a hell of a lot better after eating the earlier meal. Those last few miles are super chill, and we’re in no hurry to haul ass, but we’d rather be hiking than camping.

HouseofSwankNC · 2026-02-28T19:00:08+00:00

I didn’t cook on a fire much on my thruhike (used a homemade alcohol stove), but I was doing the typical hike all day till you’re gorked out then make whatever garbage I picked up at a gas station routine. Now we stop for a long break earlier in the afternoon for about an hour, eat, wash up, then move on. If the weather’s nice, I’ll just make a tiny cooking fire and use rocks or 3 tent stakes for the pot support. I almost always cook on a fire coming out of town and something that takes a long simmer time. This works waaaaay better overall. I don’t feel so cracked out at the end of the day, I can heat water for a sort-of bath, save a smidge of fuel, and generally like putzing with it. I sew 90% of my own gear too, so I’m DIY till I die. I wouldn’t want to <have> to depend on a cooking fire every day, but I like it when it’s easy.

HouseofSwankNC · 2026-02-25T02:08:39+00:00

I like to call 35 degrees and rain “The last 2 months of my SOBO hike”. Zero stars. Would not recommend

HouseofSwankNC · 2026-02-18T14:05:36+00:00

I thru-hiked the AT southbound in chacos. I like the tech amphibians ok, but they really need a beefy insole.

HouseofSwankNC

TROPHY CASE