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I have. I used an Arc Blast 50 for many years, between 2016 and 2022. I used it for 3 Long Trails, the SHT, both my NET hikes, and the Cohos trail. I never found the hip belt to carry weight well myself. The SWD carries weight so much more like one of the heavier Osprey style packs because of its frame and plush hip belt. On the CDT, I left Pagosa Springs with all my snow gear with 7.5 days of food. The pack weighed over 40lbs, but it carried it exceptionally well for a pack of its weight. I've been impressed with its ability to carry heavy loads when needed, and how crazy comfy it is at ideal light weights. I did a 7L water carry on the PCT when I was road walking around the fires near Crater Lake during my through hike. It never feels "good" to carry that kind of weight, but I'd have been in tears trying to do that with most other packs.

Thanks for taking the time to check it out!

Yeah, no kidding haha. Somehow, I completely forgot that it had a low light mode. I would have used that many times on the PCT if I remembered it. Quite ironic with it happening in the video recording lol.

Thanks!

I'm glad it was helpful. I certainly wished I could find more information on their products before I made my first order.

I hope the new lottery system ends up working out well for everyone. What I really hope is that he finds some skilled employees that can help increase the production without reducing quality. I have no doubt you'll enjoy whatever you end up getting from them!

I'm glad it helped. I love my .75. It's the lightest jacket for its weight that I've ever used. And it packs down tiny too.

I didn't see that until after I had recorded my video. I'm curious how the new system will work out!

I only wore it while I walked about 3 days on the PCT, since it is such a dry time of the year out west. Thats certainly not enough time to be able to have any real information, but I would be nervous about wearing it under pack straps for a long time. Dcf wearing from abrasion is one of its biggest issues in general.

He said they are both size large 😊 and also gave his height and weight

He clearly states the answers to these questions in the video. Size large jacket and he is 5’ 11” and 155lbs.

I'm about 5'11" and 155-160lbs. I wear size medium in most things, with occasionally wearing size large in jackets if they are going over other layers.

I've never used a Terralite, but I have a WM Alpenlite 20, Apache 15F, and Puma -20. All of them are terrific bags and are my bag of choice when doing anything colder than a false bottom sleeping bag or a quilt will work for me. I've always found I trust the WM temperature ratings much more than the UL brands out there.

Thanks! There is a company that specializes in mail order down cleaning called Eclean Advanced Fabricare. They do water free sleeping bag and down garment cleaning. Their methods help save a lot of water waste and is better for the environment. They also do free shipping both to and from, which takes a lot of the pain out of the cost. I've been using them for years since it's such a chore to handwash down at home.

@@LynxOutdoors686what frequency (miles, seasons, etc) do you try to have your down cleaned. I’m sure it varies, but as a ball-park, TY!

Thanks!

Ok, thanks for the suggestion. I'll think about doing a video on the rain jackets/shells that I own and spending a fair bit of time talking about why the versalite is my current favorite.

Good idea, I've added those and time stamps to the video. Thanks for watching!

@ thank you I bookmarked the links

Yeah, this was semi-intentional. I know from the past that working with DCF fabric while wearing a mic makes HORRIBLE crinkling noises, so I took the mic off and put it on the mantle behind me. I also turned the volume way down while putting on the raincoat because it was STILL annoying loud while editing. So those were my attempts at sparing your ears haha

Thanks, I'm glad you liked it.

Thanks! I picked mine up from Amazon for around $5.

There is quite a bit more room for a pretty small weight penalty. The only other concern is needing a slightly larger place to set up the tent.

Thanks, I'm glad you liked it!

Thanks! I've spent a lot of time and effort trying to dial my kit and I'm quite happy with it.

Honestly, not a very easy one. The main advantage of the nU20 is that extra gram shaving weight, which the shock cord helps to do. The newer NU25 has the option to come with a headband and it's a great headlamp. You might prefer it for the very slight heavier weight but the comfort of the headband.

Well, all I can do at this point is face palm myself. I went the entire PCT without realizing that feature. Thanks for pointing that out as I somehow missed that mode.

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it.

I can't believe I never knew about the low light mode on it. Thats certainly the thing I found myself wishing I had to use the most. I'm usually really good at knowing all the modes and features! I agree, the NU25 is a great headlamp, and I really like it. I simply prefer the smaller size and button layout of the original, likely because it was what I was used to for so many years. I think the NU25 hate was/is very over dramatic as well.

​@@LynxOutdoors686Maybe they should have marketed it as a different headlamp, not a replacement for the original, and there wouldn't have been so much confusion from the public. I really enjoy your gear deep dives! Keep the great content coming!

Great point! That is something I hadn't really thought to do. I've always overcompensated by carrying a very large 20k battery bank for 4ish day sections between resupply. I'll have to see how more efficient I can be and maybe try a 10k.

Thanks! And I agree, I love that stuff.

Pro's of Nylon: packs smaller, costs less. Cons of nylon: very thin, absorbs some water and takes longer to dry, slightly more involved for repairing compared to DCF. Pro's of DCF: Lighter, stronger, doesn't absorb any water. Cons of DCF: most expensive, more prone to abrasion (rubbing) damage than nylon, doesn't pack quite as small.

If I were to go out and get the best cell phone (in my opinion) right now it would be the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra. The Ultra is the version that has the best camera of any current smart phone. I have had an Ultra 21, 22, and 23. It is what I've used for every picture and video of my CDT and PCT through hikes. The nice thing about a large cell phone like the Ultra 24 is it has a huge battery in it (about 5k mah). If you put the phone on airplane mode and are careful to not overly use your phone, it can go almost a week without charging. Even if you use it constantly for navigation, texting, listening to books/music/podcasts, pictures, etc, it still easily lasts the whole day without needing to be charged. I got into a routine where I'd top my phone and head phones off every day at camp while I cooked dinner, so the phone and headphones were fully charged at the start of each day.

It is an Outdoor Research Echo sun hoody. It is an incredible sun shirt. I wore the same one as my only shirt every single day of the PCT. I wore one as my only shirt for every day of the CDT up until it ripped at the shoulder, and I replaced it with the closest thing I could find for the last few hundred miles.

I went down to my gear room to measure it, and without any special care on packing it small it measured about 13" x 6". It is very compressible in its included stuff sack, and when I push down on it, I can get it down to about 6" tall x 5" in diameter. It's the smallest packed size for a real tent I've ever seen. I'm sure the DCF version doesn't pack down quite as small, but I expect it would still be impressively small. I'd personally have gotten the DCF version if it existed at the time, but 2 long through hikes have shown me the nylon one holds up just fine too. I like how the DCF floor is lighter, easy to patch with some DCF repair tape, and how it doesn't absorb any water at all. You can shake off any water just like you could a plastic tarp. The nylon floor does absorb some water and takes some time to fully dry. There isn't a wrong choice between the two, as both have their pro's and con's.

I'm really impressed with Dan Durston's attention to RUclips reviews of his tents. He soaks in a lot of feedback that way and has made several changes to his tents from it. It just shows how much he cares and wants his tent to be the best it can be. The vent struts, as well as the 4 bathtub floor corner struts, were a concern of mine in the very beginning. In my first impression video I talked about the concern of the snaping or poking through the tent. I never had any issues with them at all though. The bathtub floor ones are smaller, and I never once noticed them when packing up the tent. The vent struts are bigger, but you will feel them when rolling up the tent if they get rolled in "sideways." You don't have to reroll the tent if you do, you can just tuck them in line with the tent roll and continue to pack up. They are certainly something you could modify, but in my travels and thousands of miles using it, they never were an issue.

It was insane and I've never seen bugs that bad in my many long-distance hikes. I don't think that the bug suit would be very helpful since I had wind pants and a rain jacket they couldn't bite through. I was very glad to have the bug head net to wear over my hat for that section though.

For me, the Notch was just a bit too small. I disliked how close the mesh was to my face while sleeping, as well as hitting my head on it every time I sat up/lay down. The other thing that I really appreciate with the Durston is that lack of the carbon struts. It is too much of a chore for me to remove the struts each time I set up and take down a tent, and I greatly prefer to pack everything I can inside my pack as opposed to strapping it on the outside of my backpack. The struts would force me to pack the tent vertically, which messes up my system. The strut mod helped out quite a bit though. Between the 2, I'd prefer the Durston in almost any situation. It is much more livable, easier to set up, packs down smaller, and is lighter. The Notch does win out on breathability though. The vestibules don't go as low to the ground, so you get more of a cross breeze most of the time. This is a double-edged sword with bad weather though. I also would prefer the Durston in a bad storm for the same reason, unless you really pitch the Notch low to the ground, the vestibules tend to be set up pretty high off the ground. When you pitch the Notch that low, it gets even tighter inside. The Notch will naturally have less condensation due to its double wall design though.

@ Thank-you for the detailed response!

I'll have to check out that new battery, thanks! Thats part of why I have like 8 of them, every year they get better, and I try out the newest. On my Nashville Packs Cutaway I attached a mitten clip to the left shoulder strap and used that to clip to the middle/back of the behind the head part of the Shokz. They couldn't fall off this way and were always handy. On my SWD pack I have a big phone pocket on my left shoulder. I'd use one of the shock cord umbrella holders on that shoulder strap to squeeze down on the headphones, pinning them to the top of the phone pocket while they rest behind it. I hope that makes sense. I'd rest them on the phone pocket, like how you'd rest them on your neck. Then I fed one half of the Shokz through the shock cord and used the cord lock to pin it there.

I'll have to check it out, as I'm not familiar with the brand. My biggest issues with solar are the current charging output and the potential lack of direct sunlight. I could certainly see one being worth its weight in the southern parts of the PCT and CDT, but I live in New England and its mostly forested. The other thing is that currently solar panels realistic for backpacking usually max out at 10 watts. On paper that means it would take about 20 perfect hours of direct sunlight to charge a 20k battery bank. However, you make a good point about being able to bring a smaller size battery to offset the weight. These are good things for me to consider, thanks!

Thank you for watching.

Thanks for watching!

I'm glad I was able to help out!

Looks like someone else commented it. The best part is the lack of reliance in town. Seems like something you would like since you prioritized weight for quicker charging speeds

I don't have experience with that brand. I'll have to look into it, as I do like the idea of solar. Thanks!

Thanks for the kind words. Hopefully those pitching videos helped with your Xmid. I still love that tent. I have plans to keep making more videos on lightening the load.

She sure is! I love her and the breed very much. She is actually in training to become my official service dog. I'm glad the info was helpful and thanks for watching!

The way I use it is through the Fenix watch. I hit the bottom left button to go to the list of "glances". I click add, then temperature. When you have the Tempe paired with the Fenix it will by default search for the Tempe instead of showing you what the watch sensor thinks the temperature is.

Thanks! I have more ideas in the works for the next few videos already.

Wow, thanks. Thats great to hear. I do enjoy chatting with folks about gear, that's for sure.

Thanks, I'm glad you liked it.

I'll have to check it out. I live in the very forested NE and there is a lot of shade compared to the SW. I could see something like that working great in the desert though.

Thanks! I'm glad it was helpful. It's a lot of info and talking, but I like to think there are other folks like me that like that much level of information.