Where should the "gear money" go?

I'm trying to decide between buying a new sleeping bag or Henry Shire's Contrail Tarptent. At the end of next week I'll have about $225 to spend on gear. That'll cover the tarptent. If I wait another month, I'll have $385. That'll cover a new sleeping bag. The problem is...I don't know which one to get.

Does anyone own the Contrail or ever tried it?


Edit: And does GoLite not make their Ultra 20 quilt anymore?

Kyle,

There is a lot of discussion about the tarptent on thebackpacker.com/trailtalk.

The folks there speak highly of it.

HBH

I own the Contrail Tarptent. I have now used it for hiking on two seperate occasions, one while doing the BRT end-to-end. I would recommend this tent to anyone who wants to lighten their pack. It is sturdy, easy setup, and has plenty of room for a backpacker.

Colt
My only concern is how it holds up in wind. Does it do okay?

So far, but I have not had it in "heavy" wind... just moderate. According to my research, if it is pitched tightly then it holds up great.

willky:
Lew and bostonmtnman both have contrails. I've hiked with both of them when they were using them and both seemed to like them a lot. You definitely want to pitch it with the low end toward the wind so that the door area doesn't catch it.
UL

Yes I have the Contrail!! Do I like it? Yes! I have camped in total 10 night in it. It has held up to wind and kept me real dry. I will say I enjoy using a tarp over the contrail and will only use my Contrail if I don't want to set up a tarp. I would go with the sleeping bag if you already have a tarp to use.

Lew

I would have to agree with Lew. Unless your really really needing a (OMG I can't belive I am saying it) tent, I would go with the bag. My 2 cent worth lol

Willky:
If you are still looking for a sleeping bag, and maybe looking into a quilt, here's a pretty good buy on the GoLite Ultra 20 quilt.
http://www.prolitegear.com/golite_ultra_20.html
Just thought I'd pass this on. There are also rumors that GoLite has discontinued this model, so it may not be around for long.
UL

UL.. your NOT recomending a Mont Bell... "Gasp".... such sacrilege hahaha

No, TM.
Don't get me wrong. I LOVE my Mont Bell, just thought I'd pass on a good deal to my friend, willky. Just in case he was thinking of a quilt instead of a bag.
But thanks for keeping me honest, buddy!!
UL

hahahaha... yea cause I am telling you. The Mont Bell is worth its weight in GOLD I tell you. an at $300 for a 15degree.. its not a bad price.

Here is my rundown: pack 5400cu @4.5lbs
Sleeping bag 15deg @ 4.1lbs
tent about 4lbs
I would like to lighten up and have looked at many of the options listed but don't know which would be best to get first. I'm a college student so money is tight, but the lightweight bug has bitten me, and I've got the fever!

Hey Ole Miss.. Good name by the way. I went there WAY back in 84 lol. But first this I personally would do is ditch the tent. 10X12 Tarp is right at one pound and offers to be just as dry as any tent out there. Tons of Do It Yourself ideas and other ways out there. Sportsman Warehouse sells a 8X10 for about $30 I belive and while not quite as light as mine still offers TONS of set ups and configurations. From there I would look at prob. the MontBell Bags or even the Golights that UL just posted about is good, even though I gave some ribbing about them. There is nothing wrong with them. From there I would look at Cook Systems and ect before moving on to a light pack. Light pack is nice but you realy have to have your system at least down on weight and in the process of refining it because the lighter packs are also light on padding with the heavy loads. Mainly because they use no internal supports or at least a lightend internal support. But I choise to change out the bag pretty close to last. What are you using for a stove and eat ware?

Im using an MSR PocketRocket and a plan boyscout style mess kit. I have looked into some of the titanium kettles but am not sure.

Personally Opion... skip the high price of Titanium kits. Do the Freezer Bag Cooking. Was looking for the URL but it would seem the site is down. Amazon has Sara's book though. Basically your only boiling water to put into a freezer bag. Simply. Far as a stove. I like the little Vargo Triad. Find it on Ebay for aroun $30 plus shipping I think. Its a Alcohol stove (don't drink it though, I remember my days at Ole Miss

Got the URL to the freezerbag cooking at http://www.freezerbagcooking.com/

haha thanks for the heads up. what exactly are you talking about with the freezer bag cooking? so i dont need any pots or mess kit?

haha nevermind!

Ole Miss:
Like TM, I would look at changing your shelter and sleeping system first. Your pack should be the last thing you change, especially when going to a smaller pack. The stuff you put inside has to already be smaller before you can fit it into a small backpack. When selecting a pack, you need to think about whats the heaviest load you anticipate carrying. Such as the most water and/or food you'll be carrying at one time. For instance, if you are going on a 5-day hike where you will not get a food resupply and you anticipate carrying 2-3 liters of water, then you are looking at food/water weighing around 14 lbs. This is in addition to your base load. This is another reason for trying to get your base weight down as low as possible. But even with the above example, you have a lot of lightweight packs to choose from. ULA makes both frame and frameless packs. All 3 of us that you met on the ERL carried ULA packs. Great packs. I own 2 and will be buying another one later this year for an upcoming 2 week trip.
There are a lot of other good packs, such as Gossamer Gear, Granite Gear, GoLite, Mountain Laurel Designs, etc.
Stoves - Look at alcohol stoves or even wood or Esbit tab burners.
Just a few ideas,
UL

The only thing is a pot to boil the water in... I use a tea kettle but you can actually just use a beer can.. I know you would be able to find these in abundence lol. I also use a 32oz Miller can and a Hiny can. But these need to be cut with a special can opener (before being opened) Not a nessaity but it does make it much nicer, because the top becomes the lid for the pot.

That's the only way I cook dinners is to boil water, pour it into a freezer bag with freeze dried or dehydrated food, let it sit for about 10 minutes, and then enjoy. No clean up, no fuss.
Works great.
UL

Yep.. UL and I for the most part seem to think alike.. thats scary. Maybe we were brothers in a past life hahahaha damn thats even more scary.

Hahaha!

UL,
Prolite must have just gotten the GoLite quilts in. I looked there yesterday and they didn't have them. I was actually going to post and ask about this bag earlier today. I really like the ideal of a quilt. I think I am going to buy this one. The only problem is that GoLite is releasing another round of these in about a month, and I don't know if there are going to be any changes. I think weight is going to win out this time. I'll get the Montbell later !

OMSC,
First off, welcome! Second, get the shelter and bag before you get a new pack. This way you'll have some kind of idea how much weight you'll carry, and how much space you are going to need. Also, check in to making an alcohol stove and a Foster's beer can pot. This is a super light cooking set up and directions can be easily found through Google search. Also, there is a thread on here about a wood stove some of us have made. This is good for longer trips because you don't have to carry fuel. These are just some ideas about lightening up.