Gear

Do you spend extended amounts of time pondering the weight:cost:durability ratios of different types of fabric and metal? Or create spreadsheets to compare the functionaly of various backpacks, shelters, stoves?

If so then you may enjoy what you find below. If not, this may all be a bit tedius.

Click here for my current gear list. As of Jan 2015 there are still a few minor things I'm working out, but for the most part this is what I'm planning to take. I fully expect this to change somewhat during the hike.

I've always found gear discussions and reviews helpful in deciding what stuff I might like to try out. Below is a pre-trip discussion of some of the stuff I'll be carrying (some stuff doesn't warrant discussion; see the link for the entire gear list). I already owned a lot of gear, but that didn't stop me from making a few big and small replacements; for some of these I've discussed what the previous piece of gear was and why I made the switch.

I welcome any questions, comments, or suggestions.

Stay tuned also for a post trip gear review.

PACK

Backpack             Elemental Horizons; Kalais*         30.00 oz

Saw this pack on a PCT hiker in 2013 and liked the look of it. Got one for myself in the Spring of 2014 and liked it even more during weekend and day hike tests. Seems like the right volume (fits Bear Vault 500 pretty well), construction and quality of materials seems good, and good features. The external pocket scheme is similar to many other popular thru-hiking packs, and has been working really well for my hiking style on test walks (side pockets provide easy access for water, snacks, binocular, etc., and back pocket is a great place for a wet rain jacket or a warm layer I want to keep handy). The pack has a roll-top closure system, which is the only feature I’m not too sure about. It works fine, but I’m not sure how much I’ll actually go through the time and effort of carefully rolling the top closed and clicking the 2 buckles on the side straps. I don’t do a lot of walking on my hands while backpacking, and so far just sort of crumpling up the collar and closing it with the single over the top strap has been plenty secure for my needs. Maybe during real rain I would use the roll top more.

My previous pack was the Granite Gear Vapor Trail. This is a really good pack, very high quality and durable construction, especially considering its light weight (~33 oz). However, there were a couple things I didn’t like that I thought would get pretty old after even a month on the trail. 1) the way the pack fit me, it rode sort of low on my back, such that it actually hung down on to my but a bit and interfered with my stride. 2) the side pockets are difficult to use when the pack is full; I really like using the side pockets for water bottles, snacks, and other things I like to keep handy, but the pockets on Granite Gear packs are made tight against the pack and often have the compression strap on the outside of the pocket, so it’s tough to get things in an out while wearing the pack.

Pack cover          EH; size large*  3.10 oz.

I’m a pack cover type of guy, rather than relying solely on pack liners/trash bags inside the pack. A wet pack is heavier, and also my pack is part of my sleep system (pad under feet) so I like to keep it as dry as I can. A pack cover also keeps the stuff in the outside pockets dryish.

Goody pocket   Gossamer Gear waist belt pocket            0.60 oz

Handy closable outside pocket for stuff I want to have handy but don’t necessarily need to get at while I have the pack on. Headlamp, knife, etc. I attached this to the upper side of my pack, rather than the waist belt, because it sort of got in the way of my trekking pole swing while on the waist.

SHELTER        

Shelter Six Moon Designs; Deschutes Tarptent*  13.80 oz. and Serenity Net*  10.80 oz

Got this shelter for to replace the Integral Designs Silshelter I’ve used for several years. This is easy to set up and provides good coverage for 1 person and gear. The serenity net fits well with the tarptent, and it can also be set up separately when it's buggy but not wet. I normally sleep without a tent, and anticipate more nights with bugs than rain, so this was a main factor in selecting a shelter.

 The Siilshelter provides a lot of weather-protected floor space (room for 2) and if set up well does pretty good in the wind. However, setting it up well requires at least 8 guy-lines and stakes, and good setup takes quite a bit of time and is a little finicky. The shelter also has a sort of big foot print, so finding a good place to set it up can be tricky. There also isn’t a commercial-made bug net made for this shelter. I really like this shelter, but for the PCT I wanted something that was more efficient to set up and had a well-integrated bug net.

Stakes   MSR Groundhog              3.00 oz

There are some lighter stake out there, but I already owned these, and like them. The Y-shape gives them a lot more surface area than simple nail-shaped stakes, and I think this probably helps them hold the ground a bit better.

BED 

sleeping bag      Z-packs; 20 bag*               17.50 oz

Got this at a $50 savings from the Z-packs bargain bin. My previous bag is a Sierra Designs Nitro 30 degree at a weight savings of around 10 oz. Despite the temperature rating, the SD bag has a bit more loft and I think it’s a bit warmer. I really like the weight savings, and backyard testing suggests the Z-packs bag will be warm enough for me.

Sleeping pad     Thermarest; neo air        8.00 oz

This is about 5 years old and still going strong. I have trouble sleeping, and I really like the comfort of this pad. I have the short version, which is fine for me since I’m a short version too! Some people don’t like the time it takes to blow these up or the crinkly noise they make, but these are pretty minor issues for me relative to the good night sleep.

leg/sit pad          Ridgerest; cut to ~30 inches        3.90 oz

Nice to have something to sit/lay on during breaks, and in combo with my backpack this goes under my feet while sleeping to make up for the shortness of my sleeping pad.

ground cloth      clear painter's plastic    3.50 oz

Cheep and easily customizable, I’ve used this for my ground cloths for as long as I’ve been backpacking. 2 mil thickness seems about the same weight as Tyvek. I’ve also used the really thin Poly ground cloths available from Gossamer Gear and elsewhere, but these are so light and flimsy that they are actually difficult to lay out on the ground in even just a little wind, and make me fear for the safety of my sleeping pad.

KITCHEN      

stove     Optimus; Crux Lite*       2.00 oz +  empty fuel canister    5.10 oz

I’ve used home-made cat food can alcohol stoves (a la the Skurka video) quite a bit and really like the simplicity of these stove systems. However, I’ve decided to switch to a canister stove for this trip for a couple reasons. Alcohol stoves are potentially illegal in parts of California due to fire danger, and the canister stoves are a bit easier to use and have quicker boil times. Efficient use of time and energy seems to be a common trait of successful thru hikers, and I think a canister stove will help me achieve this. Also, with the fuel efficiency I was able to achieve with homemade stoves (my stoves used about 3 times the weight of fuel as the Crux lite does), I think the true weight savings of the total stove system are pretty marginal with an alcohol stove (though there's plenty of online discussion out there contrary to this statement).

Pot         REI ti ware 900mL            3.80 oz

Really solid pot I’ve had for quite a few years. A bit wider could make for more efficient heat transfer from stove, but this one is pretty good.

spoon   optimus; ti folding*       0.70 oz

Don’t try getting me to use a spork.

Coffee mug        GSI; Infinity Backpacker Mug*   3.50 oz

Coffee is my comfort food. I really like to make my coffee and drink it as I walk the first mile or so of trail. This is the lightest thing I could find that fully closes but also has a sippy lid.

WATER

Filter     Sawyer; Mini squeeze   2.00 oz

I’ve used this filter on a few trips this summer and so far really like it. I’ve also used iodine and pump filters in the past, and this is my favorite water cleaner to date.

Water storage   Platypus; 1 L       1.00 oz each

I’ve used Platy bags for a lot of years and had really good luck with them; light and durable. I’ve had 1 get a little leak, which was easy enough to cover with duct tape so that the bag was still usable (that bag has now had the top cut off to make a water scoop for filling other bags). I'll carry 1-3 of these as needed, depending on section. I'll also carry 1-2 1 L plastic soda-type bottles for some sections.

Electronics

Headlamp           Petzl; Tikka XP2                3.00 oz

There’s plenty of lighter options, but I already owned this and it has a nice bright beam that shines pretty far for hiking after dark and checking out things that go bump in the night.

Phone   iphone 4s w/ otter case                5.90 oz

Planning not to use mainly for updating blog, taking photos, and for field guide apps (Sibley Bird, Audobon Nature series [ CA and Northwest]), and maybe some podcasts. Will have Halfmile app and water report, but not planning on this as my main navigation tool. Also not planning on much music, mainly because I only have an 8GB phone.

Iphone charger                 Powergen           2.0 oz

Has 2 USB outlets and a total charging output of 2.5 A so having phone and battery charging together shouldn’t slow it down too much.

External Battery               Anker 2nd Gen Astro 6400mAh Portable*            4.80 oz

Should get 3+ phone charges out of this; which I think should allow for the phone usage I’m planning on.

Personal care  

1st aid                   3.00 oz

2 2x2 guaze; 5 asst bandaide; 1/4 sheet moleskin (precut into strips); roll 1" tape; ~15 benedryl; epi-pen; ~15 Ibuprofen; ~15 iodine tablets; 4 2" safety pins

Etc.         

knife     Iain Sinclair card knife thingy     0.50 oz

Got this as an x-mas gift and initially wrote it off as a gimmick. But I actually think it should be a pretty good trail knife. Very light, very sharp, and a blade long enough to get through most normal blocks of cheese, which it generally the only thing I normally cut when backpacking.

Monocular                          3.25 oz

Definite luxury item, but really nice to have something to look at birds and other critters with. Also handy for scouting routes and checking out landscape features far away.

Maps     Halfmile's paper              3.00 oz

This is a guess on weight per section. I like active navigation, not just looking at the map when I’m unsure of where to go next, but regularly looking to better understand where I am. I really like to have larger maps than just the screen of a mobile device so I can get a better sense of the landscape around me and visualize more of the land I’ll be walking through before I walk through it.                      

                               

CLOTHES

for warmth  

down hooded jacket      Mont bel             13.25 oz

A really warm jacket that may be a bit overkill for a lot of the trail, but this seems like the right choice in combo with the slightly lighter sleeping bag than I normally use. I was really tempted by some lighter options out there, but already own this and couldn’t justify another purchase.

Wool base layers: Short sleeve Smartwool top 5.10 oz; Icebreaker lite bottom 5.00 oz

Really love wool over synthetic for warm base layers.

Rain/wind jacket             Patagonia; Houdini jacket*         4.00 oz

May switch to something more water proof for WA

worn/carried while hiking 

Sun shirt              Columbia ; Super Tamiami          6.00 oz

I think Columbia is making some of the lightest, most comfortable sun shirts out there right now. I’ve had this shirt for a couple years and really like it.

Lone Peak           Altra 1.5*            22.00 oz

The “right” shoe is a really individual matter, so the only thing I’ll say about these is that they really fit my feet well. I also tried Brooks Cascadia and La Sportiva Wildcats. Pre-hike testing was in the 1.5's, but I'll actually be doing the trail in the 2.0's. These weigh a bit more, I believe.

Light running shorts (new balance; 3.25 oz) and light nylon long pants (Patagonia; 9.5 oz)

This lower body combo is lighter and more versatile than having only zip-off style pants (it looks pretty funny to wear just the legs of your zip-off pants while you wash your hiking shorts).

Treking poles x2               REI; “frankensticks”       11.00 oz

These are actually made up from parts of 2 different sets of poles. The first set was 3-section adult poles. I’m short so I cut off ½ of the top section and replaced the handles with cork from Gossamer Gear. The length was fine for my old shelter (Silshelter, see above), but they were a bit short for the new 6 Moon Designs shelter. I also had some kids poles, which replaced the others when they were temporarily lost, which have only 2, slightly longer sections than the adult versions. I really like the cork handles (light and comfortable), so I swapped out the original bottom section of the adult set with the longer, lower sections from the kids set. Just the right length and still quite light. These were both just the basic aluminum pole sets from REI, with the twist-style lock mechanism.