I'm new to the community and thought a little activity on the community couldn't hurt!
I am a pretty large guy (6'2", 240lbs) who's also pushing 50. As much as I'd like to do ultralight, I struggle to keep my base weight around 20lbs because I need large gear and sleeping on the ground is not that sexy for me. Plus... I have a chair because sitting on the ground is about as unsexy as sleeping on the ground is. I started off with a 50+lb pack and have gotten better gear as I've gotten more into backpacking.
I've done the CA section of PCT and now I do section hikes on the AT as I live on the east coast now. My trail name is JoePaca, and if you've seen me at a camp, I'm pretty easy to remember.
I'm happy to give honest opinions on any of the gear in my list, but I'm pretty happy with all of it.