Bike shoe covers, do I need them?
05-01-23, 08:40 AM
#26
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I have done a good bit of long distance hiking. Long distance hikers never use leather boots and nearly all never use boots with fabric uppers. They use trail shoes that in essence are sneakers with a bit beefier sole. This saves weight and also shoes like this do dry out quickly. The same idea about faster drying bike shoes is applicable as others have pointed out
05-01-23, 10:32 AM
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The vast majority of thru hikers on both the AT and PCT do not wear leather boots, your sister is the exception. There is a great site that has surveys from thru hikers going back a bunch of years. Based on these surveys the site posts the most common gear and by far sneaker type shoes with just slightly beefier soles are the preferred shoe. Yes, you will go through multiple pairs but the weight savings with every step and the ability of them to dry quickly makes them the overwhelming choice
05-01-23, 10:33 AM
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Bizzare, I did not quote you and you think I was addressing you when I specifically addressed "OP"
I gave the cheap and the expensive solution to an obvious problem that the OP doesn't quite see. There is a good chance he will be cold and wet in the East, $25 on a cheap set of rain pants can be trashed or sent home. OP wasn't very specific why he does not have much gear. I suspect he wants to go very light, thus, I gave the light solution and the cheap solution. As to your wise comment about middle class, my income doesn't come close to middle class and in fact could qualify for food stamps. I just learned to cry once when buying gear.
I gave the cheap and the expensive solution to an obvious problem that the OP doesn't quite see. There is a good chance he will be cold and wet in the East, $25 on a cheap set of rain pants can be trashed or sent home. OP wasn't very specific why he does not have much gear. I suspect he wants to go very light, thus, I gave the light solution and the cheap solution. As to your wise comment about middle class, my income doesn't come close to middle class and in fact could qualify for food stamps. I just learned to cry once when buying gear.
https://www.cycleblaze.com/journals/.../packing-list/
05-01-23, 11:27 AM
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I spent the last two days riding in the rain......with rain pants.
OP, you really need to think that one thru. It can be cool/cold/wet in the Appalachians and Ozarks and cold early morning in the Western mountains
As a young lad, I toured without rain pants and did one 4 week stretch where it rained every single day.....hard. My thick merino wool Sergal tights never left my skin. I had no money and goretex pants did not exist. Being wet all the time didn't seem bad at the time.
I put my goretex shakedry jacket and Assos rain pants into a 2.8L Cyclite frame bag, all in it weighs just over a pound and there is still room with them tightly rolled. About as light (and expensive) as possible, if weight and space are your primary concerns. If money, ignore what I wrote.
Maybe a cheap pair of the Frog Todds made for cycling until you get past Newton. You can always mail them home.
OP, you really need to think that one thru. It can be cool/cold/wet in the Appalachians and Ozarks and cold early morning in the Western mountains
As a young lad, I toured without rain pants and did one 4 week stretch where it rained every single day.....hard. My thick merino wool Sergal tights never left my skin. I had no money and goretex pants did not exist. Being wet all the time didn't seem bad at the time.
I put my goretex shakedry jacket and Assos rain pants into a 2.8L Cyclite frame bag, all in it weighs just over a pound and there is still room with them tightly rolled. About as light (and expensive) as possible, if weight and space are your primary concerns. If money, ignore what I wrote.
Maybe a cheap pair of the Frog Todds made for cycling until you get past Newton. You can always mail them home.
05-01-23, 12:09 PM
#30
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The vast majority of thru hikers on both the AT and PCT do not wear leather boots, your sister is the exception. There is a great site that has surveys from thru hikers going back a bunch of years. Based on these surveys the site posts the most common gear and by far sneaker type shoes with just slightly beefier soles are the preferred shoe. Yes, you will go through multiple pairs but the weight savings with every step and the ability of them to dry quickly makes them the overwhelming choice
05-01-23, 01:11 PM
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And some hikers in flip-flops develop stress fractures in their feet and have to quit, while some upgrade their footwear as they go. Absolutes like "Long distance hikers never use leather boots" are easily disproved. While a lot of hikers do go with lighter footwear, some (especially older) hikers learn the benefits of adequate foot support. FWIW, she finished the AT!
BUT, I met this guy on my first day hiking a year and a half ago, we both started on the same day. Wearing sandals while backpacking. He was carrying his hiking boots in his pack, just in case he needed them later. This is not the AT, this trail is a bit under 400 miles, he was through hiking. Ran into him again after about 100 miles, which was when I took the photo. He stopped to get more water before continuing to hike that day, it was late afternoon and he had more miles to go.
I was amazed that he could backpack with sandals, but he did. I know I never could. But at least he had his boots as a backup contingency plan.
05-01-23, 01:23 PM
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.... There is a great site that has surveys from thru hikers going back a bunch of years. Based on these surveys the site posts the most common gear and by far sneaker type shoes with just slightly beefier soles are the preferred shoe. Yes, you will go through multiple pairs but the weight savings with every step and the ability of them to dry quickly makes them the overwhelming choice
Photo from 2011:
Photo below from 2022 (on the shore of Lake Superior), the toes show a lot more wear a decade later:
05-01-23, 02:32 PM
#33
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Here is my full packing list, I am trying to pack light
https://www.cycleblaze.com/journals/.../packing-list/
https://www.cycleblaze.com/journals/.../packing-list/
Last edited by staehpj1; 05-01-23 at 02:39 PM.
05-01-23, 02:44 PM
#34
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Re weight. My North Face rain pants fold fairly flat and are pretty light. Don't recall the weight in grams, but totally worth having for when caught in a cold rain storm.
You'd be surprised how even in summer big storms can bring the temps down and getting soaked through is not very pleasant and you can get really chilled.
No fun and for me, not worth it.
You'd be surprised how even in summer big storms can bring the temps down and getting soaked through is not very pleasant and you can get really chilled.
No fun and for me, not worth it.
05-01-23, 04:35 PM
#35
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Remember that there is another side to that coin. You can buy things or have them sent to you as well. Starting out with a lot of stuff makes it likely that you will finish with a lot of stuff even if you trim back a bit as you go. Try to get it right on the first try then adjust when you do get it wrong. Don't let the ability to mail stuff home be a reason to overpack (or less likely underpack). Once on the road a while do use it to correct packing mistakes or adjust for seasonal or geograpic differences.
It doesn't look unreasonable weight wise for fully loaded standards and may be right for you, but I wouldn't call it light. BTW, I'd really miss the ability to have hot food. I guess you are okay with that, but even when I cut the base weight to a very low level I still maintain that ability. When my combined bike and gear weight was 38 and 40 pounds (plus food and water) on a on off road tour and on the Southern Tier in Feb-Mar respectively I still carried and used a stove.
It doesn't look unreasonable weight wise for fully loaded standards and may be right for you, but I wouldn't call it light. BTW, I'd really miss the ability to have hot food. I guess you are okay with that, but even when I cut the base weight to a very low level I still maintain that ability. When my combined bike and gear weight was 38 and 40 pounds (plus food and water) on a on off road tour and on the Southern Tier in Feb-Mar respectively I still carried and used a stove.
My bike weighs 36 pounds unloaded so I am not sure how you got your bike plus your gear down to 40 pounds
I did a 2 week bike tour in October and carried almost exactly the same load then and it seemed fine. In fact the only new piece I am adding since that tour are the waterproof pants
05-01-23, 04:51 PM
#36
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One very old school trick to stay warm is...
thin pair of socks + sandwich bags + thicker socks + shoes
The first two layers acts on the wetsuit principle - a wet layer close to the skin that the body warms up but does not chill (evaporative cooling) thanks to the sandwich bags.
works in a pinch.
thin pair of socks + sandwich bags + thicker socks + shoes
The first two layers acts on the wetsuit principle - a wet layer close to the skin that the body warms up but does not chill (evaporative cooling) thanks to the sandwich bags.
works in a pinch.
05-01-23, 05:27 PM
#37
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On my first trip across the US (1992), I was having problems with tires and had my parents send a replacement tire to Miles City, MT general delivery.
On a trip from Abilene to the Canadian border (2018), my tires were more worn than I expected. I ordered on Amazon and had them sent to a sport shop in Liberal Kansas
On my current trip, I am experimenting with Amazon lockers.
05-01-23, 05:53 PM
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And some hikers in flip-flops develop stress fractures in their feet and have to quit, while some upgrade their footwear as they go. Absolutes like "Long distance hikers never use leather boots" are easily disproved. While a lot of hikers do go with lighter footwear, some (especially older) hikers learn the benefits of adequate foot support. FWIW, she finished the AT!
https://www.halfwayanywhere.com/trai...de-2022/#shoes
Direct quote
The overwhelming majority (over 99%) of hikers used low-top trail runners. Similarly, only a fraction of a percent of hikers used waterproof versions of shoes.
05-02-23, 04:59 AM
#39
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Wow, that is quite light
My bike weighs 36 pounds unloaded so I am not sure how you got your bike plus your gear down to 40 pounds
I did a 2 week bike tour in October and carried almost exactly the same load then and it seemed fine. In fact the only new piece I am adding since that tour are the waterproof pants
My bike weighs 36 pounds unloaded so I am not sure how you got your bike plus your gear down to 40 pounds
I did a 2 week bike tour in October and carried almost exactly the same load then and it seemed fine. In fact the only new piece I am adding since that tour are the waterproof pants
I have done a variety of approaches. My first tour was the Trans America and I packed pretty heavy. I mailed stuff home a few times. Each trip after that was lighter. I found that I enjoyed a lighter load more than I enjoyed having more gear so I gradually moved to what was essentially using an approach that approximated ultralight backpacking. It was a gradual process over a number of years. I suspect that I have gone too far for most folks, but that a lot would really enjoy going down to about 20 pounds or so base if they gave it a chance.
I never really liked riding a touring bike as compared to something sportier, so taking my old 1990 crit race bike with 14# of gear on the Southern Tier was a joy. I got a similar kick out of riding my old 1990 rigid MTB race bike when I did an on/off road tourwith very little gear.
These days after fighting to lose every ounce I have added a little extra weight to the load. I am likely to take either a larger tarp than I used to take or a 1 pound 14 ounce tent. I am also more likely to splurge on an extra item for another activity than I used to be especially if the pace will be casual or the climbs easy. For example, I have been known to carry a fly rod when backpacking (and still be carrying less than everyone i meet).
BTW, I don't advise doing without stuff you need. In fact in camp I typically find that the folks carrying more usually wind up relying on me for stuff they forgot or can't find. Maybe it is just easier for me to find stuff when I have so little to sort through.
