Need Gear Advise for Stolen Replacements

[ASmith]

I have been away from climbing for the past several years living In SW Florida but will be comming home to Seattle next year and plan to jump back in January. But.... due to a storage theft while we were gone I need to replace all of my climbing, scuba, biking and sking gear, everything!

 

So, I am looking for gear advise and suggestions as I am not quite up to speed on everything new with climbing gear and technology.

 

I am going to start with boots,I used to use Kofachs but see that they are discontinued, packs (I used to use a Terriplane) but now am considering Arcteryx Bora, Osprey or Gregory, tents (I had a VE25), stoves,and bags for Rainier and Denali trips next year,and ice gear for a trip to Oaray in January for the ice festival.

 

I am would be interested in other websites and forums that could help me get back up to speed.

 

I basically have to replace everything for my wife and I and now have to add my son into the mix. Anything that you guys can share would be most appreciated.

Edited October 15, 2007 by ASmith

[fenderfour]

This is an odd post, but I will bite.

 

Packs: The terraplane is pretty darn big. It might be good for Denali, but it's 5 more pounds of pack than you need for almost everything else.

 

There's a character who lurks around here by the name of "crackers" who makes some fine packs. Check out the Cilogear 60 liter worksack.

 

Tents: Welcome to the singlewall revolution. The Bibler Eldorado seems to be the default for most hard-climbing folks out there. It's good for two friendly people. Adding a third would not work out well. The VE-25 is still being made and it's still as bombproof as ever. It is a bit heavy, though. The Bibler Bombshelter might be a good compromise for size, strength, and weight.

 

Stoves: The MSR XGK is the defacto expedition stove. The Dragonfly has a similar burner. The Whisperlite is a good day-to-day lightweigth option.

 

Cannister stoves save weight, but require some trickery to get them working well in cold temperatures.

 

Boots: Koflachs are still widely available online. Look around a bit. You could get the Arctis Expe for a warmer boot, or get a cheaper model like the degre and add Intuition Liners

 

Ice gear: Black Diamond just updated their ice tool line. Older Vipers and Cobras can be had for cheap. There have a been a few sets of really good tolls for sale here at a good prices.

 

There are many different options for crampons. BD sabertooths will serve you well on Denali as well as on vertical ice. I've been a fan of Grivel products for a while. I use G-14's for steep ice.

[marylou]

Gregory and Osprey both make really nice packs for women. I second the suggestion of a Cilogear for yourself, but definitely not a good fit for the fillies.

 

I've done a few gear reviews that may or may not be helpful, you can browse the magazine's archives

 

here

[ASmith]

First thanks for your input I appreciate it greatly, I wish more would chime in. Sorry if the post seems "odd" but I am trying to do my best to research and take avantage of others experience which I feel is always better than sales or advertising hype.

 

Packs, my top choice right now is the Arcteryx Bora but am considering a few Osprey models as well as the Gregory. I want a pack large enough for the climbing the larger mountains and also for multiday treking trips without a ton of weight. For Alpine, two day, or summint attempts there are far better choices and more specialized for say strickly climbing.

 

Tents: I have never used a single wall tent and tend be still be a fan of the double wall for it breatability and usability in wet conditions and rain in lower elevations, down south and on trips that are not above the snow line. I am however all ears and would like to hear input from those who use both or have switched.

 

The MH Trango, VE25 and Mountain 25, look bomber but heavy, and the more I see the Hilleberg Tents the more I like them but have to compare the tunnel tent like the Keron as opposed to the dome styles like the Saivo or Tarra.

 

However the trade off is probably weight. While I am aware that there is always a weight trade off I would like to get as close to the best of both worlds as I can with one great tent since I have so much to purchase. I can add more specialized tents later.

 

Stoves: I had a XGK and a Whisperlight and really like the avantages of white gas especially in the cold and at alitude but really like what I see with the new MSR Reactor but I can not find any with hands on experience with them. Anyone using them? Also, can they be hung?

 

I have been looking for Koflachs boots on line and usless you are below 8 or above 12 there does not seem to be any anywhere. If you know where there are some please let me know. So Scarpa Inverno's with Intution liners and La Sportiva synthic double boots like the Spantik or the Nuptse pushing $650.00. I tried Invernos several years ago and just did like them compared to the Asolo Expediations that I had and I can't find anyone that can compare the new models for me. Most companies are pushing the Inverous except for Alaska Mountaineer which are pushing only the La Sportiva high end boots and recomended the Olympus Mons Evo or the Spantik or the Nuptse .

 

I used to use the Lowe Foot Fang (remember those) for steep ice front pointing and then a basic 10 point for alpine glacier use. Now, I like the Grivel G-12 and G-14 and the BD Sabertoothsand boot fit will probably determine the choice. The G-14 seems to be more suited to hard steep ice and the G-12 toward glacier usage. I wonder what experiences others have had using the G-14 on snow compared with a G-12 or other similar crampon with horizontial front points. In other words, any negitive feedback from the vertical front points being used on softer snow.

 

I like the new BD Cobra's and Reactor.

 

Edited October 15, 2007 by ASmith

[Chad_A]

I'll comment on what I have experience with on your list, and leave the speculation out.

 

I own an Osprey pack, and love it. It's the Ceres 70, and it's been replaced by the Exposure lineup. They look real nice, might want to take a good look at them.

 

As far as the crampons go, I've owned all of what you mentioned (G12, G14, Sabretooth) and I don't think you can go wrong with any of them. You'd be fine doing a trip to Ouray with either the G12 or the Sabretooths, and they'll save you a bit of weight over the G14s for the glacier climbs. That said, if you're really looking forward to experimenting at Ouray, the G14s do come with a monopoint conversion kit. I haven't heard of any problems with these crampons having issues fitting on certain boots, but someone will probably chime in and prove me wrong

 

Hope that helps you a bit.

 

Cheers,

Chad

[ericb]

3rd vote for Cilogear...I've got a 40L...sweet....very light and strips down even lighter for summit day. The other thing to consider about Cilogear that many don't mention is the price. The 60L is very reasonable ($200 bucks).....one of the benefits of selling direct w/o the ~ 40% retailer margins.

[crackers]

There's a character who lurks around here by the name of "crackers" who makes some fine packs. Check out the Cilogear 60 liter worksack.

 

It would be remiss of me, to borrow a line from FF, not to comment.

 

We're currently clearing out our last four or five 60L larges and our last 8 or 9 40L small packs (make an offer...). We'll finally be in production of the new packs next week, and we'll be selling V3 60L packs and the new 75L pack.

 

Folks summit Everest with our 60L and use it for doing the Continental Divide Trail. In between such august achievements, people have attempted many routine climbs on K6, Cerro Torre, Changabang and, yes, Denali and some of them have even summited Mt Hood and Ranier with their packs! The packs are alleged to make pretty decent luggage as well.

 

The 75L will be slightly heavier than the 60L, but has a significantly increased load carrying capacity. However, you can still strip it down to be a light weight pack for the mountains, and it's a lot cheaper than competitive packs.

 

Our materials are all made in the USA, and we do our cutting and sewing of most of our packs in our factory in Turkey.

 

Other stuff:

 

XGK. If cannister, then probably superfly and a Heat-it. My guys just got back from K6/K7 and were pretty happy with the Heat-It's performance.

 

Tent: single wall. Either the aforementioned Eldorado or a integral designs tent. Maybe a Nemo if you can find one...I've spent plenty of time living in a single wall tent on the Turkish Coast, and it was pretty nice most of the time.

 

Ice tools: Just go to Ouray and demo your brains out till you find what you want. The new tools from BD, from Grivel and others just haven't been used enough for consensus to build out IMHO, and you might as well wait three months and try them all out there.

 

Go to Marmot or Feathered Friends and try all the boots on...

 

Hope it helps!

[ASmith]

Thanks for your info so far. Since this site has so many great and experienced climbers and I was hoping to get some feedback from those who either have had first had experience and comparisions or those that have analized the products currently on the market and can make a recomendation or opinion from their conclusions.