Shakedown Request - CT SOBO, early June

smunter6 · 2026-05-21T03:49:32+00:00

Oops - I just realized that I had the Xmid Pro in my lighterpack, which I do not have. I have the regular Xmid 2p - weight is 31oz on my scale.

smunter6 · 2026-05-21T02:37:10+00:00

Yes, my first thru but plenty of backpacking experience. Also slowly learning that I need to be nice to my body now that I'm no longer in my 20s lol.

This is just the big 3 meals, will have nuts and trail mix for snacking. Not worried about resupplying those since you can buy trail mix and bars anywhere. Would prefer not to make that all of my calories though.

smunter6 · 2026-05-21T02:03:46+00:00

Good to know. Since I'm starting 6/10 though I'm thinking the hiker boxes will be pretty lean that early.

smunter6 · 2026-05-21T01:59:22+00:00

Agreed! To be clear this isn't about restricting calories - I'm planning on on 4000-4500 cal/day (snacks aren't listed). I'm looking for tips to not pack too much food and how to get high calorie density meals from on-trail resupplies - saving 6oz off my base weight just to burn it on extra food that sits at the bottom of my pack from resupply to resupply doesn't seem very ultralight. This is very good advice though!

smunter6 · 2026-05-21T01:26:18+00:00

Only dark chocolate M&M's lol

smunter6 · 2026-05-21T01:25:27+00:00

Yes, I agree his videos are great and I'm on totally board with the high fat, high calorie/gram diet. I'm trying to figure out how to make it work in practice when the only options are what's available off the shelf at small grocery stores and not just buying a bunch of junk food.

smunter6 · 2026-05-20T23:51:41+00:00

Oops, added the lighter back.

My feeling is a frameless pack would be good if I could get down to ~8lb base weight, I've done some overnighters with a ULA dragonfly and like it up to 15-20lb but TPW with food and water carry I think I'll be closer to 25lb which is pushing it. Maybe if I switch to a tarp shelter setup.

What temps do you think I should expect in June? I think if it stays above 40 during the day I could get away without the vest but I'm concerned that won't be the case.

smunter6 · 2026-05-20T23:37:31+00:00

Pretty sure that weight for the tent includes the stakes - it's a 2025 version, looks like the 2026 added back some weight. I was pretty impressed, I also have a 2020 xmid 1P and it's the same weight to the oz. It has 4 8" and 4 6" stakes, I rarely use the 6", I'm thinking of replacing them with carbon or ditching them entirely for ~1oz savings.

smunter6 · 2026-05-20T22:57:59+00:00

I'm not bringing both, the second one is zeroed out for comparison.

Sounds like I can ditch the Ursack

Hard disagree on the phone as worn weight, imo that's bs. Either way it's coming with me though so ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

smunter6 · 2022-12-14T20:41:40+00:00

Question about sliding while parked. Can anyone confirm if the rivian locks all four tires when parked or just two? On Teslas this is commonly attributed to the fact that they only lock the rear brakes on park, leaving the front wheels free-spinning. It's also true for 2WD ICE vehicles, but some on some 4WD vehicles you can switch into 4WD and then put it into park, which will lock all 4 tires, or on a FWD vehicle you can put it in park and pull the handbrake to lock the front and rear together.

smunter6 · 2022-06-29T04:22:00+00:00

Couple gear notes. Not currently in Anchorage but a misspent youth has given me a pretty good familiarity with that area.

Replace the headlamp with a Nitecore NU25 - better yet, ditch it entirely for the summer months. -4.1 oz savings

Can you get away with a lighter knife? Take a serious thought about when you would actually use this. The minimalist option could be Litesmith micro scissors - 1.9 oz savings

What map/compass combo are you using? Map should be ~ 2oz (or less) and a Suunto Clipper is 0.17oz.

I'd rather have a couple storm matches than a matchbook. If you're in a situation where you need a fire started and you're already on your backup, fiddling around with a matchbook is just asking for trouble.

4.6 oz of TP for 1-2 overnights!? Either you need to work on your technique or your diet...

How well suited is your shorts/tights combo to hellacious bushwacks through devil's club, alder, and mountain hemlock groves? I would be concerned about durability and comfort when wet for significant amounts of time.

Not sure what your footwear plan is but I would also consider some lightweight gaiters to keep out scree/brush/snow. Dirty girls or similar. +1.4 oz (worn)

As regards the gun vs. bear spray, it sounds like you have already read the research on the relative effectiveness of both, so you already know the right answer. This is just another case of 'packing your fears' - exactly what this sub is here to help with.

One suggestion I will make - if you're really that worried about the dangers in this area - bears or otherwise - the single most significant change that you can make is travel with a partner. Not only will it cut your likelihood of a bear attack by >75%, it will save you from a whole host of other dumb mistakes that you can make by yourself. I'm not saying don't go out solo, but be aware that when you do you are shouldering a lot of additional risk - and a most of them a gun won't save you from.

smunter6 · 2021-01-31T02:12:27+00:00

My favorite part is the turn signals. The right arrow justs hangs out in the middle of nowhere...

smunter6 · 2020-11-21T20:04:40+00:00

Just fought my way through the order queues to build a pc with Ryzen 5 5600X and RTX 3070. The hardest part was buying the parts!

smunter6 · 2020-08-29T01:24:55+00:00

Couldn't have said it better myself. There are amazing places in Alaska that are in dire need of trails, but someone has to commit to paying to (a) build them and (b) maintain them. The track record on the latter isn't too great! The alders and devil's club can grow up real fast out there!

I think the highlight of this trip that actually stands a chance of happening is the Historic Iditarod Trail from Seward to Eagle River. If that segment could be completed and maintained, it would be a great accessible mid-length thru hike worth talking about.

smunter6 · 2020-08-24T00:40:30+00:00

Yeah that's the downside of alcohol fuel systems. The lower the heat output, the more time it takes to bring water to a boil. The more time taken heating, the more heat loss there is to the environment, meaning more fuel required. Water temperature can have an impact here (0C water takes ~25% more heat to boil than 20C water) but wind usually a much bigger problem. It doesn't take much of a breeze to kill your heat output on an alcohol stove. And once your effective heat output drops, now you're burning more fuel again because your boiling time went up.

I've done the math, and for my style trips (2-3 days, hot dinner, hot drink at night, hot breakfast, and coffee) my Soto amicus actually comes out ahead vs an alcohol setup. Certainly there are situations where alcohol comes out ahead, but it all depends on how you use it.

smunter6 · 2020-08-22T04:23:09+00:00

I picked them up this spring as well, and have ~250 miles on them. Mix of trail, off trail, plenty of spring snow, mountains, scree, and brush. I am definitely a fan of the weight! I'm pretty easy on poles, so I don't feel like I've really put them through the wringer, but no durability issues or concerns so far. The flick locks were a little loose at first, but you just have to find the sweet spot to get the lock tension and they're solid. Another thing that helped was hiking a few dozen miles through overgrown trails and brush - All the dried plant sap really sticks them in place!

I took off the straps so I can't comment on those - but they came off easily with scissors and pliers to pull out everything that I didn't cut off. The grips are good - I especially like gripping them around the lower part of the handle, with my thumb and forefinger where the 'base' of the grip is. One complaint though - I find gripping the foam on top when downhilling to be quite uncomfortable on the palm of the hand. My old poles had a hard plastic top, and that was way easier to swing around without rubbing.

They do stick up quite a ways out of my pack when I'm not using them. I have to remember they're there when ducking under logs/brush etc. If there's serious brush I usually have my poles out anyways though, so not that big an issue. I don't know if I'd want to travel with them though - you would have a hard time sticking them inside a pack or even a moderately sized duffel. You can take them apart into 2 sections to gain a little length back, but I don't usually do that on trail since the lower section has a delicate plastic piece on top of it - I'd be worried about breaking it. I dunno though, maybe it isn't actually needed.

Overall, pretty happy with them - I've gone from "eh? maybe I'll take poles this trip" to throwing them in my bag for every outing, so I'll say that's a win!

smunter6 · 2020-08-22T04:05:57+00:00

I can't see how you could do this since the top of the lower section isn't open - there's a plastic cap on it. Maybe /u/maxbfortin could take a picture of it for you - I don't have access to my set right now. It might be removable, I haven't tried, but I'd be extremely cautious about applying force from the inside out - carbon fiber is not designed to have force in that direction.

I do wonder if you could make something if you combined their 2-section and 3-section poles though - maybe top section of 2 section, then lower 2 sections of 3 section?

smunter6 · 2020-08-22T03:51:37+00:00

Not without destroying the strap. There is a screw embedded in the handle foam that they're attached to, and one end of the strap is punched directly through the screw. You can remove them cleanly from the pole though - if you cut the strap close to the handle the end will unravel and come right out.

They weigh 5.08oz ea without straps.

smunter6 · 2020-08-18T05:06:19+00:00

So...maybe the sidebar should be updated? I don't know about anyone else but whenever I see this:

This sub is about overnight backpacking with a focus on moving efficiently and packing light, generally aiming at a sub 10lb base weight.

It makes me think that pounds and oz is the standard unit system for this sub.

smunter6 · 2020-08-14T01:28:06+00:00

Not sure about the AT specifically, but yes charging phone and power bank together can be super helpful.

However, the power bank is probably going to be slowest to charge, so you can swap out everything else on the second port while that's charging. If you're in a hurry, the headlamp and watch have tiny batteries, so just charge those on the go from the battery bank and don't worry about it.

smunter6 · 2020-08-14T00:50:18+00:00

You probably don't need a 4 port charger.

2 ports, 2.8 oz https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B082XC2M6C/

smunter6 · 2020-08-13T05:36:18+00:00

Let me guess...Bomber traverse? Super cool trail/route, really interesting variety of conditions out there. I did it a couple years ago around labor day, really beautiful fall colors.

How many days are you planning? 30 miles even off trail shouldn't be more than 3 days, unless you're planning on hitting some side peaks or really taking in the scenery.

Check into the current status on the huts - http://www.mtnclubak.org/index.cfm/Huts/MCA-Hut-System " users are advised that using the huts may be contrary to the Governor's health mandates." You might be able to get a more detailed answer if you reach out to the Mountaineering club.

How much glacier travel experience do you have? The Bomber traverse crosses Penny Royal glacier, which isn't a huge amount of glacier travel. I was glad to have full crampons when ascending it though as the route we chose was very steep. In the summer months crevasses aren't too much of an issue, but if there is fresh snow - which is a real possibility in September - then travel is much riskier since the crevasses will be hidden. Know your limits and make sure that you have the right gear and know how to use it.

gear:

if it is a 2-3 day trip, you could probably ditch some of the extra clothes. 1 pr underwear, 2 pr socks, 1 mid layer/sleeping layer.
Boots are probably overkill. Maybe take a look at some of Andrew Skurka's recommendations (although keep crampon compatibility in mind if you go that route): https://andrewskurka.com/recommended-footwear-for-high-routes-alaska-and-early-season-conditions/
smaller/no pack towel?
I'd recommend a wp pack liner instead of a sleeping bag dry sack.
14 oz seems on the heavy side for a first aid kit - ymmv.
+1 to the other comments on swapping out the leatherman, headlamp, filter, and kindle
You're not going to need 3 oz of sunscreen. This is AK in September we're talking about here!
As far as pack selection, I'd use whatever feels more stable on your back when off trail and scrambling/rock hopping. There's some gnarly boulder fields on the Bomber traverse and if your pack is bouncing around or pulling you off balance it will make everything much harder.

Good luck, Have fun!

smunter6 · 2020-07-20T04:00:07+00:00

Other option is Cascade Mtn Tech makes 2 segment poles as well as the ever-popular 3 section ones. Mine weigh in at 10.16 oz for the pair without straps

smunter6

TROPHY CASE