YOUTUBERS & ZPACKS
Both Darwin on the trail, and Dixie from Homemade Wanderlust are I believe doing different packs now from their Zpacks.
Darwin is now doing a Waymark Thru 40 pack. Last I heard Dixie is undecided on which pack she's going to use next but she mentioned she is going to try something else out.
SURVEY TAKE-AWAYS
In relation to the survey, my take-aways from it are that the most favourite highly rated gear - turns out to the gear that is:
1) REALLY COMFORTABLE (INCLUDING IF YOU'RE GRUMPY, COLD & TIRED)
2) DURABLE FOR ENTIRE THRU-HIKE WITH NO ISSUES
3) PRETTY DAMN LIGHT (but not necessarily the absolute lightest available).
So it's unsurprising to me that a fully-enclosed sleeping bag by Western Mountaineering turns out to be the most popular, as it's going to be cosy and no draft getting into it. That it's freestanding double wall tents that end up being favoured, which feel very cosy and get a bit less condensation issues than single wall. That it's the higher R value comfortable sleeping pad which ends up being preferred - such as S2S Ultralight or the sliver-coloured Thermarest NeoAir XTherm (rather than yellow lighter and lower R value XLite) that is favoured with higher rated experience. That it's the stove that reliably handles wind that is most favoured - the Soto Windmaster. And that it's the reliable Sawyer Squeeze large size rather than mini Sawyer which is preferred as the mini looses flow rate over a whole thru-hike. And so on...
So in other words that getting the weight is very important, but not necessarily more important than comfort and durability when you're only talking a few hundred grams difference on Big 3 (or Big 4) items, or a few tens of grams on smaller items.
So takeaway for me is if you're comparing something that is say 800 grams and 20 denier minimalist and ok comfort, with something 1000 grams 30 denier and really comfortable, it might be worth doing the latter option.
To be a bit warmer, a bit cosier, a bit more comfortable, a bit stronger and more durable and unlikely to fail on you.
I THINK IT'S THE GRUMPINESS FACTOR
Being cold will make you grumpy.
Being uncomfortable will make you grumpy.
Having gear break on you , wear and tear and need repairing will make you grumpy.
Having gear fail to the extent that you can't hike on with it and have to send it away for repair will make you super-grumpy.
Now of course the difference with the survey data is that these hikers are doing an entire thru-hike, for 6 months or however long it takes them. That's an awful lot of use. And they're doing long days to cover the miles, 8 to 12 hour days of hiking are common. So so they come into camp pretty tired.
Whereas if you're using your gear more for occasional trips, or weekend trips, you're not putting those kinds of miles on your gear.
And as a guide in terms of weights, I think you want to be looking at:
Tents under 1.3 kg
Sleeping mats under 750 grams and ideally with an R value of 3.2 or if you sleep cold then an R value of 4 or higher.
Sleeping bags under 1 kg, ideally 20F (-6 deg) or if you sleep cold and you're going to do mountains then potentially look at 10F (-12 deg). And if you're opting for a quilt then consider getting some kind of down hood (hoodlum) to go on your head to pair with it for cold weather - such as is sold by AegisMax on Aliexpress, or Enlightened Equipment.
Backpacks under 1.5 kg, and consider highly the comfort on your back wearing it and durability if you're going to be thrashing it.
The cuban fibre stuff is lightest option and most expensive option in general terms that saves weight but does seem to suffer from some durability issues, so that needs to be weighed up on a thru-hike. For example do I save 400 grams on my tent or backpack by opting for cuban fibre, but then the negative is that my tent could get an area of delamination or hole in it somewhere along the trail. Obviously you can take cuban repair tape. And it's also affected by how rough or careful you are with your gear.
And if you're sitting around 7 kg base, or lighter, you're doing well. But it's very much "hike your own hike" in terms of what works for you, and your priorities. And if you prefer to be really ultralight even if that means a less comfortable pad or a torso length pad with your pack underneath your legs, and so on. Or if you prefer to pay the weight penalty and be more comfy at night because you'd have trouble sleeping well otherwise. Everyone is different.
My base is currently at around 8 kg that I used for Overland Hike, including electronics, snake bandage and Garmin InReach etc. (
https://www.lighterpack.com/r/bz0cqf ) My sleeping mat is the one thing in particular I ideally need to switch out to something lighter as it's a whopping 1.2 kg but oh so comfortable like your home mattress comfort, and I tried but couldn't make the NeoAir XLite work for me with the crinkly noise, and I'm going to look at the new Nemo Tensor and a few other options. But I was very happy with that load-out for my hike and there was little I would change, for what I use my load out for and prioritising a good night's sleep which I got every night. The pack worked great - Sierra Designs Flex Capacitor which has a good weight carrying capacity going from 40-60L with compression straps and the only negative in my eyes was not having a back shove-it pocket if you're used to one. The tent was great - the Lightheart Gear SoLong 6 which I got on Judy's annual sale as a sample tent she made in a 30 Denier sil poly which I love. The Revelation quilt worked great, but if I had a female friend / cold sleeper I might suggest to them to get a fully-enclosed sleeping bag such as the Western Mountaineering Versalite for cold conditions because the negative of a quilt is that if you toss and turn you could conceivably get a draft and you notice it at really cold sub-zero temperatures and you'd want to pair with a hood or hoodlum. And for sleeping pad most people are happy with their NeoAir Xlites or XTherms for cold sleepers or cold conditions and I am the exception in not liking the crinkliness, and bigger people should opt for the large size pad which is wider so their arms aren't falling off the sides of the mat which is usually worth it for the 100 grams extra weight.
@adg On backpacks, people have really liked the Osprey Exos commonly available in mainstream shops so you can try it on and get the torso length correct and see how it feels. The ULA Catalyst is really loved and very durable and I haven't never come across anyone who didn't like it. And the Hyperlite Mountain Gear in cuban fibre / dyneema is loved by ultralighters, but if you haven't got your weight down then it's not got as much support in the back in my opinion so I wouldn't get it unless your base weight was at 8 - 9 kg or lighter, because you've still got to add food to that and toiletries consumables and water weight etc. Sierra Designs Flex Capacitor that I have I love, and I love that it will do weekenders and week long trips due to the way it cinches in and the Y-shaped aluminim strut which holds a lot of weight, and I'm happy to recommend it and I think it's a good pack for people who are light but not ultralight as it can handle a lot of weight. Other popular packs are the Gossamer Gear Mariposa 60 Litre pack which is a good size for most hikes.
Best, Emma