Philmont unpacking and packing Advice

[@emilygideon7102]

Got back from my trek just last week! I can confirm that Philmont will replace their tent if you have problems on the trail. We had a pair forget their tent poles at Red Hills, and we didn't find out until we reached Beaubien. We talked to the staff, and the next day they got a new tent at our commissary stop at Philips Junction.

[@thewonderfulwizardoftheweb1053]

I like the way you think. Great work.

[@MrRayMac1963]

Going this summer, and at 55 I’m looking for all the good advice I can get, so thanks for the vid. No need to apologize for the REI plug, you can find a lot of cheap stuff on the web, but the service and support make REI the place for any significant investment in gear. Boots, packs, stoves and water filters, REi is the place.

[@DavidTheAppleTechGuy]

how much does your pack weigh without food and water and Philmont gear

[@wood0754]

Great video. Just curious, are you a boot or trail shoe guy?

[@texas11301]

Shoe. I got a good pair of water proof shoes that lasted two treks. Two things made my mind. One boots are heavier and each step adds up. Second your ankles are meant to bend so the ankle support adds more stress to the knees.

[@PurcellvillePatriot]

Is that the Copper Spur UL3, or a different Big Agnes? In any case, I recommend BA tents to leaders going lighter so they can try to keep up with the boys.
For the scouts consider the ALPS Mountaineering Zephyr 2 or 3 tents. At Philmont you can put the rated number in the tent, but for less intense trips you may want to use the Zephyr 2 as a solo tent or the Zephyr 3 as a 2 person.
Not also that this appears to be a traditional-style heavy backpacking approach. With minor adjustments like down bags, and Sea to Summit compression dry sacks for bag and clothing, my son and I used Osprey Exos 58 packs. Just have a sack that some good can go into on the outside on the few days when you have a big food load.

[@jyouker2]

I used a 65 liter pack and it was fine. I have 21 lbs dry weight before food, water and crew gear. Most crew gear is carried by the youth. My son has a 65 liter pack and is fine with that.
Also, I noticed that the "Philmont" method of doing things is sometimes a bit ridiculous. For example, the cooking. We cook two to a stove, small pots, boil 2 cups of water in about 3 mins, dump in pouch, and in 15 mins, you have food. LOW fuel consumption that way. My first trip to Philmont, it took about 20 mins on High for an MSR whisperlite to boil 6-7 quarts of water, and we used about an inch of fuel from the bottle -NO WAY could we have lasted all week on what we had, then we have boys with allergy issues who can not eat the same foods and cross contamination becomes a HUGE issue. Philmont does not have much patience for "other ways" to do things. Our crew is VERY experienced, has been hiking together in the backcountry for over 4 years now, and WILL NOT be using 8 quart pots on our upcoming trip to Philmont. We also use the iso-butane canister MSR pocket rocket stoves and have never had a problem. This time all of our camps are at 8500 or lower and Iso-butane does not start to become an issue until about 12,000 feet - so nothing at Philmont should ever be an issue with iso-butane.
We do not use the chemical water treatment either - the micropur tabs. We use filter and have been fine. We do not have to wait 30 mins that way and can have water instantly.
And the clothing - OMG, I have NEVER carried everything they recommend. I put it all together and weighed it and it was 8.5 lbs and that was high tech, lightweight, patagonia and name brand high end gear. One pair of shorts, one pair of zip offs, one rain coat, one rain pants, 3 pair socks, 3 underwear, one long sleeve tech shirt - wicking, and 2 tech wicking quick dry short sleeve shirts and that is IT! less than 2 lbs of clothing for the entire week. Had no problems. Their gear list is awesome, but most people do not spend the money on the ultra light gear and to carry everything that they tell you is MURDER on your back! Packs all weighed over 50 lbs at our first trek, and we were able to trim that down a lot. Also, we open all of our food at each food drop, go through what we want to keep and what goes in trade box, re-package many of the items and toss out a lot of the packaging paper, etc. and have the boys do all of their trades, etc. right as we get the food. This also gives us the ability to choose our meals for each night instead of being bound by "it is night 7, everyone eats chicken and rice." two to a pot, one packet per pot - alleviates allergy issues, and gives us options on the trail. We still ALL eat at the same time, prepare our food together, and do EVERYTHING as a crew, we just found our methods work better for us.

[@cadenwalker5843]

How did the tent hold up in weather

[@texas11301]

The Bug Agnes tent I used this year was great. No problems whatsoever and dried relatively fast.