Currently I use a kit that is customized to specific trips. But for a thru hike you need a kit that provides a lot of options.
I would choose a Warbonnet Edge tarp (11.3 oz.) with a Dream Hammock Sock (8.2 oz.). A total of 19.5 oz. for weather protection compares to 19 oz. for a Warbonnet SuperFly. The combination of small tarp and sock extends the lower temperature range of your quilts at least 15 degrees, but a larger tarp only extends the range 5 degrees at the most. The Dream Hammock sock does not have zippers to stick and can be vented the appropriate amount to avoid condensation. Ad stakes and guylines for a total package of 23.3 oz.
My Edge tarp is rigged to pitch as a ground shelter using the hiking poles. No extra hardware is needed.
A comfortable ground pad gives you the option of sleeping on the ground, in a shelter or the floor of a hostel. A NeoAir shorty at 8.7 oz. gives you lots of options at a reasonable weight.
The hammock would be a Warbonnet Blackbird single 1.7 with 8 foot Dutch Kevlar tree savers, whoopies and 6" easton tent stakes for the marlin spike hitch. Add a ridgeline organizer and the whole hammock comes to 28 oz. You do not need bug protection for much of the hike, but the shelf in the Blackbird is addictive. And the integrated bug net keeps the top quilt in the hammock when you leave the hammock.
For insulation I would use a Warbonnet Wooki and Mamba at 40 oz.
This 100 oz. kit would keep you comfortable down to 10 degrees and survive the night to zero. It is possible to trim the weight. Go with a cuben or diamond tarp. Go with a 1.1 single BlackBird. Go with a hammock without a bug net. Go with an underquilt protector rather than a sock. Go with shorter tree saver straps. Go with a 3/4 length underquilt. Lots of ways to cut weight, but this kit allows me to make suboptimal site selection decisions ( e.g. hang at the overlook) and still be comfortable.
Compare that kit to a pretty good ground-dweller kit:
Western Mountaineering Versilite = 32 oz.
TarpTent Notch = 27 oz.
NeoAir All Season = 17 oz.
A total of 76 oz. or 24 oz. less than my kit. A better nights sleep will let you carry the extra pound and a half
Bookmarks