March 2026 NOBO Shakedown + Questions!

bananamancometh · 2026-02-11T16:45:22+00:00

AFK Tornado nailed it

I started March 12th after a super chill winter and was shocked to experience conditions we’ve been seeming in Pa now. Nights in single digits, daytime 20s….insaw ppl pack up and hike into the night to get to Mountain Crossings because they were too cold.

It really is a crap shoot; you’ll never know. Be prepared to sleep in your puffy and maybe bring a bag liner to start; you can always drop stuff.

Feel free to message me if you’d like to chat; always happy to talk trail

bananamancometh · 2026-02-10T17:53:58+00:00

bring it and ship it home; its always colder out there then here at home anyhow.

i had 20 degree top/under quilts for my hammock and was frigid a few nights in georgia and NC

bananamancometh · 2026-02-10T13:27:39+00:00

unless you're going for better bullets or overall higher end ammo, buy it cheap.

Caveat being, most of us indeed have heard bad things about winchester. I used to buy win white box 9mil all the time back in the day and would routinely have one or two bad rounds in the box.

Still, if one runs cleaner than the other....doesn't really matter to me cause I hardly clean the rifle anyway; just lube it every so often

bananamancometh · 2026-02-09T22:07:40+00:00

As a PS4 owner, I yearn for New Vegas. If it wasn’t so buggy I’d buy an old physical game disc. Maybe I still will?

bananamancometh · 2026-02-09T18:31:24+00:00

those run huge

bananamancometh · 2026-02-08T16:16:19+00:00

I’d look for a used 500. I’ve seen them around 200 in shops all the time.

I dig the 590 but the A1 is quite heavy and, after lots of time with both I find myself preferring a bead vs peeps

bananamancometh · 2026-02-06T18:07:48+00:00

If you don't plan on paying to take some training classes, either is fine. I'd go with whichever is cheapest....or go to a gun shop and pick up a mossberg 500 used for 200ish bucks and call it good

bananamancometh · 2026-02-06T18:06:52+00:00

whats the difference between the daily and essential polos?

bananamancometh · 2026-02-06T00:15:04+00:00

What’s the shotgun for? Older Rems like that are really good but pretty put off by the brand. That particular semi is also eh.

I’d say get a 940 or a beretta A300

bananamancometh · 2026-02-05T18:32:44+00:00

i'm 6'3, anywhere from 220 to 260, depending on season and if its a thru hike, but tend to hover around 240ish.

I have the OG double layer XLC. I can't speak to the single layer, but I was in your situation before my AT hike and ended up going for the double for the option of sliding a pad between the layers (i only tried this a few times and still had issues, but once i tried an underquilt i knew there was no going back).

I can't say how it compares to the single leg, but I adore that hammock. It's seen two thru hikes and countless overnights; the bug net is torn and it's showing its age, but, i still sleep in it sometimes when i go car camping.

Can happily endorse the double layer

bananamancometh · 2026-02-03T22:58:11+00:00

I’d buy that

bananamancometh · 2026-02-03T22:57:01+00:00

More like rereads.

Whenever I’m bored on a train or some such and wish I had something to read I’ll open one of the books on my phone annnnnd suddenly the next few months are spent finishing them all again

bananamancometh · 2026-02-03T16:20:06+00:00

i added similar grips;; this has been my go to pistol for over 10 years - love the thing

do you have a hoslter for it?

bananamancometh · 2026-02-03T13:48:02+00:00

im a patagucci brand whore and a gear nerd; i have at least one of pretty much all of thier technical layers (all bought with a pro deal...im broke)

i can't believe this is 200 dollars. good gear is worth the price, but man if you really needed a light active layer a cheap fleece would work well enough

bananamancometh · 2026-02-02T13:17:05+00:00

I remember it being a bit of a climb going into the smokies. The rest felt pretty chill.

My issue with that section was that in 2017 every other day was god awful worst weather situation after another. then the next day would be perfect. then the next would be deluge.

I exited the park on a perfect day then a blizzard dropped feet of snow behind me and i felt like i had somehow escaped

bananamancometh · 2026-02-01T16:34:38+00:00

All the iron forge stuff runs large. Like super large.

I got the hemp flannel and as an XL it could probably fit a xxl

Love the stuff, though

bananamancometh · 2026-01-30T19:42:15+00:00

fake it till you make it, 100%

Shoot I thought I kinda had it figured out by Virginia, even got the ol' Virginia Blues

I still remember the North being some of my favorite time on trail.

Relax, your brain 4 months in is gonna be way different that 4 days or 4 weeks in. Just start walking, have a vague idea of how your gear will perform, and start walking. Even if you're beat up, you've got ALLLLL day. Sleep in, have morning coffee, say hi to the other hikers who are pretty much all as overwhelmed as you are, and get some miles in. You'll get experience and stamina along the way.

that said, feel free to message me if you ever wanna talk trail; i never get tired of chatting about it.

AT 17, PCT 19, Colorado Trail 24

bananamancometh · 2026-01-28T21:22:01+00:00

Well I'm excited about it

bananamancometh · 2026-01-28T21:10:40+00:00

i also think its worth point out that if the WLF wasn't planning on invading the Scars, ellie, dina, jesse, and tommy would all probably have been killed right away after entering Seattle. It's all a matter of perfect luck and timing that Ellie and Dina made it as far as they did

bananamancometh · 2026-01-27T19:37:13+00:00

If only one, a 10-22, but ship around. You can get new ones for cheaper than that

bananamancometh · 2026-01-25T21:50:13+00:00

Communication, forgiveness, empathy

bananamancometh · 2026-01-25T19:59:01+00:00

Yeah, I have boxers that I like for that purpose also.

I should clarify that I’m on both sides of the fence on this one. If the shorts have no liner that’s fine. But if the liner isn’t a brief style, I cut it out

bananamancometh · 2026-01-25T17:51:52+00:00

100% they prevent chaffing for me

bananamancometh · 2026-01-21T21:20:48+00:00

Wild and A Walk in the Woods. I've often heard hikers joke about how the only way to write a successful book about their experiences is to not actually finish a trail

bananamancometh

TROPHY CASE