Need some gear recommendations

[joshman]

Firstly, thanks for looking!

I'm headed into some pretty cold and potentially nasty weather next year (Overland track, Iceland and a possible Kosciuszko trip) and I'm looking for some very specific gear recommendations.

I'm pretty new to all this hiking/backpacking jazz, so I'm starting my planning early to avoid the last minute rush. I only have a few criteria that my gear must meet - it MUST do the job, money isn't a concern - if the extra cost is justified. And as lightweight/small when packed as possible.

I've been to Iceland before, so I know what kind of weather to expect, cold, always windy, will rain and possibly snow.

Anyway, what im looking for recommendations for are mostly clothing related, I'm in Gladstone, so getting my hands.on.stuff to physically inspect and gauge quality of a product is very difficult.
Specifically I'm after:
-Gaiters
-boots
-rain/snow jackets and pants
-wind proof stuff.
-Gloves
-Beanies
-socks

Thanks
Josh.

[Moondog55]

Hi joshman
First off I suggest you read the posts related to snow camping as these contain specific references to clothing by brand etc. This is a difficult ask as we ALL have opinions on gear and what works for me may not ( Definitely// probably) work for any-one else.
A lot of the debate on here is about the finer points of various gear.
Do you want separate wind suit or will the WPB rain-suit work for you?
Any of the ultra light wind proofs will do the job at the expense of fragility although they are much stronger than they look and are very light and compact Pick a brand any brand. Just the top is usually enough
Cost no object Google Arc'teryx

[wayno]

search teh forum, this has been discussed at length before.
go round the outdoor shops in melbourne, try stuff on, go to several shops and dont buy anything on first visit. get a feel for whats out there.
depends on your loyalty, if a shop spends time with you making sure you have the right gear its up to you if you want to reward that loyalty with a purchase in the end,,,, but be careful. a lot of shop staff will sell you anything.
but watch the prices,, big savings can be had online overseas or waiting for sales, if you can wait you can save a lot of money


-Gaiters - outdoor research.
-boots - do the rounds of teh shops.different brands fit different feet... you dont need superheavyweight boots either, paying more doesnt necessarily get you more....
-rain/snow jackets and pants - yea arcteryx, or montane, rab, the north face summit series, outdoor research are some of the better brands you can get down under... you dont need heavyweight like mont if you're not bushbashing. and the lightest stuff isnt going to last. get something in between, around teh 400-500gm mark in weight.
-wind proof stuff. depends how fussy you are in weight. again the above brands are some of the best
-Gloves - Outdoor research, black diamond make some of the best
-Beanies,,
-socks

[Ellobuddha]

I know everyone has their own gear they love so this is only my opinion.

I've just done the Overland track, with plenty of snow, rain and sleet and mud, lots of mud. I bought new shell gear for this trip ( good excuse) I was concerned my other jacket and pants wouldnt handle the Tassie weather.

JACKET - Arcteryx AR Beta

All I can say is that the Arcteryx AR beta was brilliant. Its made from Goretex Proshell. It was absolutely waterproof. It is the first Goretex Proshell jacket I have owned. It has no insulation but I comfortably walked with just a nylon shirt and the jacket each day. Wore a light polar fleece under it one morning but took it off after an hour. Its not a hot jacket but really blocks out the breeze and rain. You can really close it up with great waist and wrist closures and the hood is excellent and highly adjustable. It Vents really well. I was looking at getting the Alpha SV ( heavier, more robust outer) but glad I didnt as it wasnt needed. Cant speak highly enough of the AR beta.

PANTS - Rab Alpine Tour Pants

These are made from EVENT fabric. My other rainpants cost near as much but dont breathe near as well as these. My other pants (Montane) are great for some short showers and rip on and off as needed. These RAB pants were put on at start of day and left on. They dont fit over boots which is a bit of a downfall, however they have large venting zippers on the thighs to let the heat out if needed. Having said that, my old rainpants meant my legs were just as wet from sweat instead of rain, these new ones were heaps better and I remained a lot drier.

GAITORS

I Used Sea to Summit event gaitors. They were fine and again were not very hot given the Event upper material. They were great.

I hope this may be some assistance.

[icefest]

Sorry about the wall of text.
Instead of us just throwing brand names at you, if you give us some more details, we can name direct models and you can compare what you want.

Would you be able to give some more details on what you need the clothes for?
Are you planning on walking much though snow? (powder cuffs)
Will you be doing any off track walking where abrasion will be an issue? (face fabric)
Do you mind extra weight in exchange for functionality. (leg zips)
Do you have hip blet pockets on your pack? (less pockets required)
Are you flexible enough to easily pull up overpants? (no side zips)
Will you be using the jacket in temperatures above 10 deg c? (pit zips or not)
Do you use walking poles? (requires tougher gloves)
Do you carry a heavy pack? (Tougher jacket face fabric)
Do you use ski/crampons/snowshoes? (tougher medial ankle face fabric)
Will you be camping and need warm hut/tent clothes?
Do you prefer mitts or gloves?
Would you prefer hot pink or purple? (I'd personally go with purple)

-icefest

[Strider]

Interesting that you're new to this but have not asked for advice on tents or sleeping or cooking gear. Was this intentional?

[joshman]

re: tents/cooking gear and sleep system, I've got all that sorted; the options are far less expansive and a lot easier to choose from, but clothes confuse me, mainly because there is so much variety, and different kinds of fabrics to look into. I just find it difficult to choose and research without being able to get my hands physically on them, but with some tried and tested recommendations from experienced people I at least have a launching point.

I've lost a lot of weight since my last travel to cold climates, so I'm in need of completely new gear, so I'm doing everything I can to get good quality cold weather gear as I plan on traveling to many cold places. Tough gloves are essential, as I'll likely be looking to try and operate camera gear and buckles and whatnot with them on.

There is a chance I'll be needing to wear crampons for glacier walks in Iceland, and possibly snowshoes if i decided to do Kosciuszko.

My sleep system is:
Moment DW tarptent, thermarest prolite plus, -7 rated down quilt

My primary pack is an AARN guiding light with photographic balance pockets.

My cooking system is yet to be determined, but I have various options including, trangia, jetboil, or pocket rocket.

I'm headed to Tasmania in April, so I expect rain and snow, and it to be all kinds of cold one i stop moving for the day. Have never hiked with poles, but I'm tempted to get some and see how I go. My pack is likely to be heavy as I estimate I'll be carrying around 3-4kg of camera gear - which is why I'm opting for as lightweight a load out as possible.

[radson]

content removed

[wayno]

joshman... do you have a buget? if so do you want to divulge it?
arcteryx does make great gear but it's also amongst the most expensive, as far as rainwear breathability goes. at the end of the day a more modestly priced rain jacket with vented designs with pit zips, or vented pockets or core vents will come pretty close to being as good as something like an arcteryx, i'm more of an event and neoshell fan personally than proshell. but ideally it would be good if the thread doesnt get into a prolonged debate about which might be better, they are both good in my book, and i would say you're getting good material either way

[Strider]

Rain in April is likely, but not snow. That said, you should prepare for all conditions. P.S. Darn Tough Vermont socks are the bees knees

Radson - that post was just stupid and no help to anyone. At all.

[Joomy]

joshman... do you have a buget? if so do you want to divulge it?
arcteryx does make great gear but it's also amongst the most expensive, as far as rainwear breathability goes. at the end of the day a more modestly priced rain jacket with vented designs with pit zips, or vented pockets or core vents will come pretty close to being as good as something like an arcteryx, i'm more of an event and neoshell fan personally than proshell. but ideally it would be good if the thread doesnt get into a prolonged debate about which might be better, they are both good in my book, and i would say you're getting good material either way

Yes really we need an idea of a budget if we're going to offer specific advice. Obviously if you can afford it brand new premium stuff from the likes of Arc'teryx, Rab or Patagonia is generally the nicest and highest performing but most of us can't afford it all (not all at once anyway). One thing I will say is don't get fixated on brands like Macpac or the North Face (or Kathmandu), which have strangely inflated reputations. Not to say that they don't make good gear, but they also make lousy gear and they are not on par with the really top brands mentioned above.

A good place to look is obviously the marketplace here or at Chockstone. You can get good deals on good gear. Full disclosure I frequently post stuff both here and there.

[wayno]

if you're buying gore tex for instance it does carry a premium price with it, but companies like Mountain designs will give you a reasonable gore tex jacket a lot cheaper than the premium brands.
outdoor research gives reasonable value for reasonable quality compared to the premium brands.
as good as a brand like arcteryx and the north face are, they are still among the most overpriced brands and finding their gear on sale is definitely not something that happens with the frequency of sales at the chain stores....

[joshman]

Im a lot more concerned about quality, and if i can get that quality at a good price, then excellent. My problem is that I've recently lost a lot of weight, which means that nothing i used to own fits me anymore; so i really am after an entire new hiking/adventuring/traveling wardrobe, so i have a chance to put a bit of extra money down and get something that will do a better job and hopefully last a bit longer.

Budget wise... I don't want to drop a ton of money ($600 for a jacket is a bit steep for me), but i'm ok with going for a slightly more expensive solution if i can justify it. say $3-400 for a jacket, that kind of range, and if its something i can order from the US cheaper than i can get it in AUS, then all the better.

In short, i want the best bang for my buck.

[wayno]

www.gearbuyer.com US online shopping sales ssearch engine, there are restrictions on exporting a lot of brands, you'll need to use a mail forwarding company like shipito.com or myus.com

[joshman]

thanks for that link! that should help a great bunch!

maybe i should go back to basics and get your opinion on what layers i'll actually want/need?

[wayno]

layering - fleece versus insulated
insulated synthetic vs down...
fleece is a better alround mid layer... breathes better doesnt hold much water.
synthetic is warmer esp on its own as a layer... packs down better.
my personal choice is a vest and a jacket,, 200 weight fleece jacket, have been using a 200 weight fleece vest but am going to try a synthetic insulated one for colder conditions... i take a down jacket for huts and campsites, either a down sweater in warmer conditions or a standard puffy for colder conditions... i'm using mont bell down jackets but i have used a macpac sundown and an Outdoor research jacket thats been discontinued thats an inbetween weight
coat is montane superfly xt, end of run....

but i havent done the overland in cold conditions, my experience is in NZ