Gear I'm Done With!.... For Now

Hey guys, it's Darwin. So as a backpacker and hiker I am constantly evolving my gear on what I use in the field and what I leave at home. So today I wanted to talk about four pieces of gear that I'm done with... for now. Alright, so like I said there's a ton of gear in my gear setups that I have been using forever and I've talked about it in a lot of my videos, suggested it, said I wouldn't hike without it, but lately I've been really trying to dial down my pack for the PCT, get a little bit lighter of a base weight, and just try different things. So even though I've made videos and I've told you guys that you should definitely have these four pieces of gear, I'm here today to tell you things have changed and I'm gonna be trading them out. So the first one is one that I've been getting a ton of questions about lately and that's camp shoes. Do I use camp shoes? What type of camp shoes do I use? And I used these guys for the past three years every time I went out on the trail. These are the Vivo Barefoot Lights and I absolutely love them. Well, I loved them. What I've discovered lately is when I get to camp I don't ever put these things on. Now that I hike in a trail runner I just carry an extra pair of socks and when I get to camp I put on the extra pair of socks and that pretty much becomes my camp shoes. So these things have gone out of my pack setup. I think when you're hiking in a light enough shoe that's breathable and at the end of the day you don't need to put something else on to get your foot out of a big chunky sweaty boot, you don't really need camp shoes anymore. So for now I am done with those things. Alright so the second piece of gear that I am pretty much done with for quite some time in my hiking career is a stove. Now I have suggested multiple stoves to you guys over the past two years whether it be my Snow Peak Light Max or the BRS Ultralight Stove and they're both excellent stoves don't get me wrong. I do like cooking from time to time but lately when I get to camp I don't feel like cooking anymore and if you've seen in some of my past videos when I did that section hike of the Continental Divide Trail I decided to experiment with going stoveless. So lately I've been cold soaking and eating dry food so now my cook system consists of this and this. That's it. 2.2 ounces for my entire cook system. I don't carry any fuel, I don't carry a stove, I don't even carry my beloved titanium Snow Peak cook pot. I know some of you probably thought I'd never say that but the reality of it is I just don't need it anymore. I'm totally comfortable with eating cold or dry food and if it simplifies things it takes out more weight in my pack. It's definitely worth doing for me. So I still have my Sea to Summit Alpha Aluminum Spork and now I have this little screw top gelato container so I can take my dry food like ramen or oatmeal or something I can put it in here about an hour or two before I get to camp, put water on it, seal it up, put it back in my pack and then by the time I get to camp everything is rehydrated in this little container and I'm ready to eat. I don't have to screw with getting my stove out, throwing it onto a fuel can, waiting while it cooks or putting it in my cook pouch. I can just eat my food, set up camp, relax and go to bed. So for me this is definitely an awesome switch from coming from a stove. Now in the next coming months I'm going to be doing a ton of videos, kind of a whole video series on cold soaking and going stoveless and I did a small video not too long ago on going stoveless, the pros and the cons and I'll leave a link up here in the corner if you guys want to check that out. But so far I've really been loving this setup and love trying to find new ways and new things to cold soak and go stoveless with. Alright so the number three piece of gear that I am done with for quite some time is actually a piece of gear that not too long ago I told you that I wish that I had during my 2015 through hike and that is my gravity feed system. So don't get me wrong, the gravity feed system is awesome if you're in a place that has tons of water, an abundance of water that you can constantly get, but take the time, fill it up, hang it from a tree, and filter your water. Since I've been doing a lot of hiking in the desert, whether it be the Continental Divide Trail, the section hike at the Arizona Trail that I'll be doing next month, or my PCT through hike next year where that first 700 miles is in the desert, this kind of becomes obsolete. So I'm done with it for now. So the new system that I've decided to go with is essentially a squeeze system, but it's a new system that I can't exactly show you guys who makes it yet, but it's this awesome lock top squeeze bag. It's huge and I can store a ton of water in it. So I've just been threading on my filter to either this or just a regular smart water bottle and drinking from that. When you're out in the desert you don't have an abundance of water and you have to focus much more on water storage. So now I'm carrying much more in storage, whether it be this awesome bag that I can fill up with water and throw it in my pack, or I also carry three smart water bottles just to make sure that I have enough water. Because in the desert you have these massive stretches where you have to carry a ton of water. So I'm not so worried about the efficiency and filtering like I used to be with the gravity feed system. Now I'm just worrying about carrying and storing my water in my pack. Now I'll be doing a full gear review of this awesome new system that I'm using soon after I test it out a little bit more, but so far I am loving this thing. It is so cool and I don't miss my gravity feed system at all. All right guys so the last piece of gear that I'm completely done with is actually one that I'm not swapping out for weight or anything, or even efficiency just for better quality, and that is my GoPro. Now as most of you know in 2016 on the Appalachian Trail and for my section hike of the CDT and even my section of the Arizona Trail last year, I used a GoPro to film everything. They're super convenient, they're super tiny, they're waterproof, the battery lasts pretty long, but the problem I was having is I wasn't getting as good a quality of footage as I wanted to give you guys. So even though I love this thing, it is much lighter hands down. Don't get me wrong on that. I've decided to put this guy to the side and now I'm carrying a Canon G7X Mark II camera. Is it waterproof? No. Is it heavier? Yes. Does it take up more room? Absolutely. But the quality that I get out of this on the trail is by far better, and in the end that's one luxury that I'm willing to take. Now I'm all about trimming weight in my pack and getting it down as low as possible, but one thing that I won't sacrifice is really good media and good footage for you guys. And not only for you guys, but for me. I love reliving the trail and watching my footage and looking at my pictures, so this gives me a much nicer look and depth of field on the trail. So believe it or not, this is one of those things that's not really a smart trade-out because it is heavier, it's not waterproof, and it's bulkier, but to me it's totally worth it. Alright guys, so I basically just wanted to make this video to show you that as backpackers and hikers we need to constantly evolve and figure out what's going to work best for us at that time. There's no one right way, there's no one right piece of gear, base weight, kit, any of that. Read reviews, listen to other people's opinions, and build your own kit and your own gear based on what you like and what you're comfortable with on the trail. Because that's what backpacking and hiking is all about. Right now I'm really hardcore focusing on my Arizona trail section next month, and I'm trying to get down a crazy low base weight on my pack. Just because I want to experiment and see how comfortable and how much better or worse a hike is with a much lighter kit. So what are some pieces of gear that are new to your kit? What are some pieces of gear that you've recently thrown to the curb? Leave them in the comment box below and let me know your thoughts. If you haven't had a chance yet, go over and check me out on Instagram. I'm posting a lot of new photos lately of some of the things that Snuggles and I have going on throughout the week, plus some pictures from some past hikes. If you found any value in this video, go ahead and hit that like button. Subscribe to my channel if you haven't already. And as always guys, thanks for watching.