Hi there.  I have been sending out emails over the last few months inquiring about warranties, gear issues I had repeatedly, etc, and I thought I’d share some of their responses.

During my thru-hike of the PCT I encountered a few gear issues.  Most of the companies were great to understand that I was only in town for a day and needed the issue fixed fast.  Some issues continued, but half way through the hike I realized some of my gear wasn’t such a necessity after all.

SOCKS !

Smartwool Outdoor Light Mini – These socks were fantastic BUT they didn’t last very long.  My feet generally stayed  warm on cold days, cool in the desert, and dry all the time (in part because of my very airy shoes. ).  But they would only last a couple of weeks on the trail before holes wore through the bottoms.  I swapped out socks often trying to avoid holes, but they were inevitable.  At $16/pair, the price of them added up quickly.  I often wore Injinji Toe Socks under, or instead of, they make great liners, and kept the area between my toes generally blister free.  But back to Smartwool, I contacted them about their life expectancy, and the reply came with a suggestion to try a heavier sock, which isn’t (personally) thru-hiking practical …

“ Our best guess depends on the fit of the sock and the fit of the shoe. So maybe 250 miles or so? The wear and tear would also depend on the cushioning of the sock, and how you walk and the conditions they are worn in. It would be unique for each person. I would personally recommend the Hiking Light or Medium crew as they are one of most durable socks we make! A heavier cushioned sock will allow more wear than a micro weight and cause less damage to the natural wool fibers, therefore lasting you longer. But still, you’re only going to get maybe 250-300 miles out of the socks. And thats with rotating them as well.” – Smartwool

After receiving a pair of ‘Darn Tough‘ socks for Christmas, I sent them an inquiry about their warranty.  Many people started talking about their wonderful warranty, if it has a hole in it, they’ll replace it…. I found that hard to believe.  Although this process could take weeks, I imagine, it seems it’s true!  Worst case scenario would be to continue buying them as I hike, as needed, ship the replacements to my resupply person, and have them thrown into the next food shipment.  So here’s exactly what Darn Tough had to say!

“Our socks are guaranteed to be the most comfortable, durable and best
fitting socks you can buy.  When you buy our socks you buy us.  We do have a
life-time guarantee on Darn Tough Vermont socks.  And, as you said, “the
further I hiked, the more I heard about your socks and their warranty.”
Yes, we have many, many people who love our socks and hike the Pacific Trail
Crest as well as other places all over the world in all kinds of elements.
And, yes, we do replace our socks if they get a hole in them as part of our
warranty.  We’d love to have you see for yourself and rave about our socks
as others do so join us all and make you and your feet happy too.  We don’t
want you to be disappointed – it is not a vocabulary word we use.  So take a
look at our website www.darntough.com and see what we have and if you click
in the upper right-hand corner on “Where Can I Get Em?” you will see the our
dealers we have out there near you as well as online dealers. ”

Thanks Darn Tough!

Solar Panel !

My Goal Zero Nomad 7 quit charging my phone and the accompanying battery pack/charger within 300 miles.  With one quick phone call and a few questions, my replacement was scheduled to meet me at the next town.  I sent back the old (I think it was even on their dime) and all was good.  2/3 of the way through the hike, long long after I sent back the useless battery pack that took forever to charge, (replaced by some energizer little, cute, lightweight battery packs with USB ports, rechargable via my solar panel or any outlet), the solar panel seemed to be charging slow again.  I was moving fast enough that I decided I didn’t need to use the solar panel, so it went un-used until I sent it home.

Post hike I contacted them again and asked them if they could test it for me.  So a few weeks ago I sent it to them, and I await the answer.  They were very friendly and all that used the goal zero chargers, that I talked to, were happy with their choice.

Backpack!

I love my Osprey Atmos.  I started with an Osprey Atmos, several people on trail had issues with them, mine was replaced, then, I admit, I over loaded it, and it was replaced again.  Right off,  had issues with Osprey Customer Service.  Calling me back two days later when I haven’t any service wasn’t going to work.  Repeated calls ended up in voicemail.  I blogged about it, I received great service from then on…. Osprey went above and beyond to keep me happily in a pack (do I get to whine and say I wanted the black one? – Really it’s my fault, it was either wait for a black pack in Independance, CA or swap my old pack for a shiny new blue one in Bishop).  It seemed on the trail, while wearing a wedding gown, that I fully needed the air cushion that these packs offer, to stay cool.  The Atmos is in rough condition after 1800 or so miles on the PCT, but they’ve offered to repair it via their Almighty Guarantee.

Sleeping Bag Liner

Sea To Summit Silk Liner, which, like some of my other gear, was toast a few hundred miles in.  I didn’t use it that often, but when I did, the seams started pulling apart.  The liner keeps things wonderfully warm, or serves as a ‘sheet’ when it’s too hot for the sleeping bag.  Sea To Summit replaced the liner quick and easy.  The same happened to the replacement.  holes in the seams.  Upon contacting them, they are aware of the issue, and hope to have it fixed by end of 2013.  In the mean time, I guess I can use the holey one, or the heavier synthetic version by the same company, which I had long before the PCT.

“Every now and again, we experience an issue with a fabric or a component which does not reflect this extremely high standard – the seams on the silk liner would be one such issue. When we first received reports of seams failing on silk liners, we forwarded the information straight to our design and development staff in Perth, Western Australia. The ‘solution’ seemed clear – reinforce the seams (or in fact, use a different seam construction altogether). However, in practice, it transpired that this merely transferred the stress to the surrounding fabric, again resulting in failure.

In fairness, this has still affected a very low percentage of the total number of liners sold, although PCT Hikers tend to be pretty hard on their gear and meet often to discuss the equipment they are using, which skews the sample somewhat.

But – to be clear, it is not a matter of weak seams as much as stress being transmitted through the seam into the surrounding fabric. We do have an innovative solution to this issue, which will become available towards the end of 2013″ – Barry – SeaToSummit

All in all everything gear related went well.  I think I did good with my decisions, but probably should have started with a heavier duty pack.  One dreams of being Ultralight when they begin, but many of us, I think, quickly realized that we were just glutton for punishment, carrying more gear than we needed.  I used the Mountain Hardware Compressor, a synthetic thermal jacket instead of a down jacket, and I loved it.  My down jacket of the same brand name gets soaked on day hikes, so I’m glad I decided to endure the extra weight.  I used a synthetic REI sleeping bag that I will be replacing for the CDT hike.  I want a down bag, and hope I don’t regret it.  They’re lighter, and compress far more than the synthetic bags, so my pack won’t be so over stuffed…. then again, i did carry a petti-coat the entire distance… for photos, you know…  Strange, I know.

So, for the CDT, I plan on a new bag, but everything else worked quite well for me.  I’ll likely reduce my load by one camera and make better use of the Iphone I now have.  For Christmas I received a Garmen Etrex 20 to help me work my way from border to border, the CDT is not nearly as clear as the PCT was, so I’ll need the extra electronic weight.

Once more, Rutalocua.com sponsored me with Yana Trekking poles on the PCT – I LOVED THEM, so incredibly light!  I intend to use them every step of the way on the CDT.

If anyone has any questions about my gear or wants to discuss, please contact me, I enjoy it!