Gear List
When I first started to plan my hike in earnest (I’ve been casually planning for YEARS), I was stunned at how light gear has become. My tent in the 1990s weighed more than my current tent, sleeping pad, and sleeping bag combined. I used to treat my water with “Potable Aqua,” which turned the water brown and offered a lovely iodine flavor. I had a Coleman Peak1 stove that also could serve as a ship anchor. I wore tube socks, and I had exactly two pieces of clothing that weren’t cotton: my shitty raincoat and a wool sweater. Advancements in gear perhaps make completing a thru-hike less impressive than in previous years when people wore those giant old-school hiking boots with the red laces that weighed five pounds each, but I don’t care. I want to make this trip as pleasant as possible. With that said, here’s a rundown of my gear. I am sure it will change as my hike progresses. This is just my best guess at what will work for me.
Pack – Osprey Atmos 65. I might not use the top pouch, which I think reduces the volume down below 60 liters but that seems to be plenty of room. I really like the suspension system, and the pack actually needs some weight to feel comfortable, so going ultralight with all of your equipment other than this pack is not a great idea. My other “base weight” equipment is pretty light, so this just gives me some leeway to have some extra food, water, or comfort items, since I don’t mind the extra pounds. That could change. People agonize over ounces. I’ve taken several shake-down hikes, and the weighted down pack feels pretty good to me.
Tent – Zpacks Duplex. I bought the external poles with it in case a tent site doesn’t accommodate stakes in the ground very well (e.g. tent platforms in the Whites). The poles are only 10 ounces, so the extra weight is not going to kill me (I hope). I probably won’t bring the poles with me at the start of the hike.
Sleeping bag – Zpacks 20-degree quilt. It weighs next to nothing and is crazy warm. We’ll see how it does on a freezing night early in the hike. I almost planned to use the 20-degree bag I have (LL Bean) but it’s twice as big and weighs three times as much.
Sleeping pad – REI Co-op Helix Insulated Air Sleeping Pad. I bought the long and wide because I thrash around a lot when I sleep, and I want the extra real estate. It’s half a pound heavier than the standard size but I think it will be worth it. See my earlier comments about weight when I talk about the pack.
Footwear – Merrill Moab 3 mid hiking boot. I’m a bigger guy (i.e. more rotund than the normal thru-hiker) so I want the extra support a boot offers over a trail runner. I originally planned to buy some Keens, but The Merrills just fit my very wide feet better. As the hike progresses, I may downshift to trail runners. I have a pair of Merril Trail runners that I love so maybe that will be an option. My sock set up is Injinji liners with darn tough socks. I’ve taken some long-ish day hikes with this set up and my feet felt great.
Clothes – Icebreakers merino wool shirt. Generic shorts. Outdoor Research rain jacket. Mont Bell fleece. I’ll pack some long underwear too but will get rid of that as the temps warm up. I will use basic Teva sandals as camp shoes. I have a wicking hat, a buff, and a few small towels that are cooling. I tend to run hot, so I need them.
Kitchen –MSR Pocket Rocket Deluxe Stove Kit and a good piece of Tupperware to “cook” my meals after adding boiling water. I bought a generic long handled titanium spork. My water filter is the Katadyn Be Free. I read some bad stories about the sawyer squeeze and Be Free seems like it will be great. I plan to use Smartwater bottles like everyone else does.
Technology – Google Pixel 8 Pro, Garmin Inreach 2, Anker 20000 mAh power bank. The power bank may be overkill, but I like the peace of mind.
Trekking poles – Zpacks with cork handles. I had a pair of REI poles with built in shock absorbers which are nice, but they are very hard to adjust the height and since they will be my tent poles most nights, I don’t want to fight. Besides, I got the Zpacks poles for free when I made a large order. Super easy to adjust and lightweight. They were great on a few test hikes.
Luxury Item - Helinox Chair Zero. I’m 52 and after taking a long day hike with an older backpacking chair, I decided it was worth it to get this one. It’s only a pound and I will use it all the time.
Random other stuff. My lovely wife put together a kick-ass first aid kit for me. It contains all the basic first aid supplies, plus some nice extras including specially packaged sunscreen for single use, some doxycycline in case I find a tick on me, and some small rolls of various tapes. To round things out, I have a small pocketknife and a selfie stick.
Weight – With a full load of water, food, and the gear above, my pack should weigh between 30 and 35 pounds. That seems manageable to me, especially compared to my years as trip leader for a group of campers when my pack – at times – hit 100 pounds. That was a long time ago, though. I read that the art of backpacking is knowing what not to bring so I certainly expect to shed an item or two. Time will tell!
