Gear Check me

[oyster_07]

Personally, unless it is actually cold or the scrub thick, I'll wear shorts on the rain. Skin is completely waterproof and breathable.

[north-north-west]

Personally, unless it is actually cold or the scrub thick, I'll wear shorts on the rain. Skin is completely waterproof and breathable.

And the mosquitoes, horsefliesm, marshflies and leeches just lurrve bare skin . . .

[JohnStrider]

i wouldnt wait for the temp to drop anywhere near ten degrees before considering taking rain pants, theres extra wind chill with rain if its consistent or heavy enough or the wind is strong enough... plus the conduction effect of heat loss with water is far greater than with air, at least fourteen times greater..

In a NZ Summer as well?

[Hallu]

i wouldnt wait for the temp to drop anywhere near ten degrees before considering taking rain pants, theres extra wind chill with rain if its consistent or heavy enough or the wind is strong enough... plus the conduction effect of heat loss with water is far greater than with air, at least fourteen times greater..

Yeah but the walk he's doing is mostly in a forested area, almost no wind.

[wayno]

i wouldnt wait for the temp to drop anywhere near ten degrees before considering taking rain pants, theres extra wind chill with rain if its consistent or heavy enough or the wind is strong enough... plus the conduction effect of heat loss with water is far greater than with air, at least fourteen times greater..

In a NZ Summer as well?

the Word "summer" doesnt always have the same connotation in NZ that it does in a lot of other places around the world. if you know what tasmania can be like, just add a few more degrees of chill to the air, notch up the wind and rain and you'll have an idea...
hypothermia can be a year round event...

[perfectlydark]

Personally so long as cold isnt an issue i just wear quick drying pants and deal with any rain that happens. Just bring some longjohns to sleep in if needed and hang the pants to dry. If still wet in the morning no biggie. They tend to dry pretty quick while wearing anyway.
wet cold and wind is a different matter

[JohnStrider]

i wouldnt wait for the temp to drop anywhere near ten degrees before considering taking rain pants, theres extra wind chill with rain if its consistent or heavy enough or the wind is strong enough... plus the conduction effect of heat loss with water is far greater than with air, at least fourteen times greater..

In a NZ Summer as well?

the Word "summer" doesnt always have the same connotation in NZ that it does in a lot of other places around the world. if you know what tasmania can be like, just add a few more degrees of chill to the air, notch up the wind and rain and you'll have an idea...
hypothermia can be a year round event...

Cheers

[Bluegum Mic]

Well the only time I've ever been mildly hypothermic bushwalking was walking in the exact area he's heading. It is deceptively cool up there on the range and in the rainforest. I did a 25km day and I shivered all night long back home in my warm bed (it was a lovely spring day). So id personally keep the rain pants but thats just me. I also walk in gloves due to the gympie gympie and lawyer vine so all good there.

[cams]

I'll add my 2c. Although, it has mostly been covered. As you've mentioned, assuming you aren't replacing any items and we're just talking about things to cut from your list this would be my recommendations:
- Only one 1L plastic bottle if you want that for collecting and treating water. Although there are raised tanks at all the campsites on this walk which "should" all have water in them with all the rain we've had lately.
- You've said repeatedly you want the swiss army knife for the scissors. Ok, so leave out the other knife.
- Have you been using either of those torches for a while? Do you trust them? What are the real ramifications if your only torch fails? I'd only take one. This is a fully on track walk. If your torch breaks, stop earlier and make dinner/set up camp while it is light. Wherever this might be.
- What's in the fire kit? What is this for? Emergencies only? You have a jetboil for cooking and fires aren't allowed outside of designated fireplaces I would assume. Chuck in some waterproof matches on top of a lighter for the jetboil. Maybe some vasoline dipped cotton balls as suggested for emergencies.
- I'd leave the groundsheet out. They are well used campsites. Take an extra few minutes to clear your site before putting down the tent.
- I'd leave out the gloves. It is all wide open tracks. No bush bashing.

For the clothes this is more personal. As mentioned soft shell's are usually heavy for what they do. Maybe replace with another fleece which might be lighter and as discussed, use your rain jacket for wind blocking.

All of this is what I would do, if I was using your gear list, on this walk (based on prior knowledge of the walk). Of course, your mileage may vary and different people have different levels of comfort that they're willing to carry.

[wayno]

Well the only time I've ever been mildly hypothermic bushwalking was walking in the exact area he's heading. It is deceptively cool up there on the range and in the rainforest. I did a 25km day and I shivered all night long back home in my warm bed (it was a lovely spring day). So id personally keep the rain pants but thats just me. I also walk in gloves due to the gympie gympie and lawyer vine so all good there.

forests can be very damp places which increase heat loss more than is often recognised, a canadian in NZ commented it was the coldest place he'd ever been.....
he temperature in NZ doesnt get anywhere near as cold as it does in canada in winter

[JohnStrider]

Is 250 grams too heavy for a pair of rain pants?

Found a pair at Rebel that fit really well and fold into the right pocket for storage.

Here's the link: http://teamaustralia.com.au/store/cart_ ... 1=Trousers

[wayno]

thats light. at that price they probably won't let your sweat out...

[Strider]

Too light, if anything. They need to be able to handle a bit of scrub or they'll just end up shredded.

[JohnStrider]

thats light. at that price they probably won't let your sweat out...

Thought as much. Nothing worse than retaining the sweat. Drying it out is a pain in the bum too.

[horsecat]

Is 250 grams too heavy for a pair of rain pants?

Seems about perfect to me (unless you're going into heavy off-track scrub). My pair of Berghaus GTX waterproofs weigh in at 270g and fit into a small jacket pocket. Full length side zippers and ultra comfy too. And they breath just fine (but they are on the expensive side)

[JohnStrider]

Too light, if anything. They need to be able to handle a bit of scrub or they'll just end up shredded.

Fair enough. Do you have any suggestions? Thinking I'll more than likely need a pair for NZ in December/January.