Trishness .... I hope so. Its heavier then I like and I really struggled with purchasing it based on weight, but it is rather comfortable so I figured Ild give it a shot. Ive read a lot of reviews though of them (and the neo air) leaking on people though so Im not sure what to expect. AZbackcountry ...

Awsome! Thanks for both those links ill be sure to check them both out thouroughly.

Preaching to the choir my friend. I'm not worried about it at all. In an attempt to ease her worries i did some research about a week ago, it sounded like there are only two fatal bear attacks previous to this year ....ever anyway. Also, shes not THAT bent out of shape about it. The whole bear thing...

Great suggestions! Te-wa .... I think you misunderstood my post. My girffriend is skittish now after the bear encounter, not I. I have told her all the things you just said to no avail. Either way, a tent is what she feels comfortable with for now. Sometimes you just have to do things for your signi...

BTW Big load ..... Im guessing the pack was about 40 lbs or so total - lesson learned!

LMAO ... no kidding! BEARITTO ... lol. So I looked into those shelters, and Im going to keep researching them but on first glance the only one that is big enough (keep in mind two people, two packs, and one big dog) is the six moons designs one. However its weight is listed as 39 ounces. Then you re...

You know ..... I kept getting notices that people were responding to my thread. When I came to it I didnt see any comments..... then I realized they were all on page TWO lol. Brain fart ..... I just now saw that you guys have been giving me suggestions. Ill look into all of these and greatly appreci...

I want to give everyone an update in case another newbie happens across this thread. After that single hike I realized the importance of leightweight yet COMFORTABLE gear. I sold the tent. Returned the pack and demoted my sleeping bag to backup car camping duty. I decided to just go for it and spent...

Well, once again I appreciate all the input. We went out to start the hike. Found out the road to the TH was closed 3.5 miles beforehand. Then we get up to the inner basin about 5 PM and find out theres no camping up there lol ... so we just kept on going. Ran into a black bear, ended up having to p...

Correction**** The pack is currently loaded to 36 lbs, and yes, I could easily shave off a good six - ten pounds. Ah well ... like I said... Ill consider it a conditioning exercise.

Thanks guys! Thats great info! I ended buying SOME gear, but not all. I got a mountainsmith lariat 65 pack... so far I love it... but take that with a grain of salt as we are just getting ready to head out to the inner basin trail. Its not an all day hike by any means but I have it loaded to 40lbs a...

Thanks for all the good tips. I appreciate the input greatly and will definitely look into all the suggestions. I haven't bought a pack yet, or footware....and I still need another sleeping bag so I may just suck it up and lug the 7lb tent around for awhile until I can afford more gear. Since I'm in...

I just moved to Flagstaff about 2 weeks ago and am loving it here. Im usually a pretty good researcher and to be honest, pride myself on it but I gotta tell ya .... trying to shop for backpacking gear is really starting to make my head spin and I think I need some advice before I end up making any m...