Current Gear
Those who know me know that I’m a gear junkie, so I could go on and on with this section for days, but rather than bore everyone to tears I’ve instead posted my typical gear list below for anyone curious. The list is broken into two main sections—everything carried (minus consumables, i.e. food, water, and fuel, which can fluctuate wildly within a hike) and everything worn. With only a few minor exceptions, this reflects both the gear that I carried/wore on the Pacific Crest Trail in 2016 as well as on each of my hikes on shorter trails since then. On dryer stretches--like those on the southern PCT--I’ll throw in an additional 2-liter water bag, and for colder or higher altitude sections with long stretches of snow travel--particularly during the shoulder seasons--I'll add a pair of Thermasilk long underwear bottoms or a pair of Goosefeet Gear down pants plus a pair of thin ankle-length neoprene socks to keep my toes from freezing on my sandals. Where it's required, I'll take a small bear canister for food storage.
I can’t say enough about the small cottage industry manufacturers—Mountain Laurel Designs (MLD), Hyperlite Mountain Gear, Zpacks, et al—that specialize in making very light, very thoughtfully designed pieces of gear that have been stripped down to the essentials and nothing more. In many cases, I’ve emailed directly with the owners to make various customizations before ordering, something you’d be hard-pressed to do with the big gear companies. If you’re interested in finding out more about any particular piece, click on the provided hyperlink, leave a comment at the bottom of the page, or contact me at [email protected].
Category | Item | Notes | Weight (oz) |
---|---|---|---|
Packing | Backpack | Hyperlite Mountain Gear Windrider 2400 | 29 |
Shoulder harness pocket (2) | Zpacks (0.5 oz. each) | 1 | |
Pack liner | Trash compactor bag | 2.4 | |
Shelter | Tarp | Hammock Gear cuben fiber Hex Tarp | 11.2 |
Hammock | Homemade Hammock | 14.7 | |
Sleeping | Sleeping quilt | Feathered Friends Flicker UL 20-degree, regular | 26 |
Hammock underquilt | Hammock Gear Phoenix 20 underquilt | 15.4 | |
Sleeping socks | Thin liner socks | 0.9 | |
Glove liners | Black Diamond Screentap fleece mittens | 2.1 | |
Pillow | Sea to Summit Aeros Ultralight pillow | 2 | |
Clothing Carried | Insulating jacket | Montbell Plasma 1000 Alpine Down Parka (medium) | 8.7 |
Rain jacket | Montbell Torrent Flier | 6.3 | |
Wind pants | Montbell Dynamo wind pants | 2.7 | |
Long underwear top | Terramar Thermasilk long sleeve top (medium) | 3.2 | |
Wind shirt | Montbell Tachyon Anorak wind shirt (large) | 2 | |
Warm hat | Zpacks micro-fleece hat | 0.9 | |
Extra hiking socks | Darn Tough Light Hiker Quarter socks | 2.3 | |
Extra hiking liner socks | Injinji Run Lightweight No-show toe socks | 1.1 | |
Cook Gear | Titanium pot | Evernew 0.9L w/lid | 3.8 |
Titanium spoon | Sea to Summit Alphalight short | 0.3 | |
Alcohol stove | Zelph Modified Starlyte | 0.4 | |
Fuel bottle | Small gatorade bottle | 0.8 | |
Fuel measurement cup | Small plastic cup | 0 | |
Wind screen | Caldera titanium sidewinder cone | 1.3 | |
Lighter | Mini Bic | 0.4 | |
Stuff sack | Zpacks cuben fiber | 0.2 | |
Essentials | Water bottle | Smartwater (24 fl. oz.) x 2 | 2.2 |
Water treatment | Sawyer Squeeze filter | 3.2 | |
Water treatment bag | 2-liter Evernew | 1.5 | |
Small towel | Lightload | 0.6 | |
Camera | IPhone 11 Pro | 6.6 | |
Wallet | Zpacks waterproof zip case | 0.2 | |
First aid kit | alcohol wipes, tylenol, ibuprofen, bandaids, butterfly closures, immodium, antihistamine, vitamins, Imitrex, ear plugs, blister care in ziploc | 2.2 | |
Repair kit | Cuben fiber tape | 0.2 | |
Food bag | Zpacks large food dry bag | 1.4 | |
Headlamp | Zebralight H52w + 2 lithium AA batteries (1 spare) | 2.9 | |
Knife | Swiss Army Classic | 0.7 | |
Small compass | Silva Forecaster 610 | 0.4 | |
Extras | Toothbrush | Travel size w/case | 0.6 |
Toothpaste | Travel size (0.85 fl. oz.) | 1 | |
Emergency firestarter | 2 tabs | 0.1 | |
Backup matches | Paper book | 0.2 | |
Hand sanitizer | Travel size (0.5 fl. oz.) | 0.8 | |
Lip balm | All Good Coconut w/SPF | 0.3 | |
Sunscreen | All Good Coconut sunstick | 1.2 | |
Charging plug | Anker Powerport 3 Duo 36W wall charger | 3.5 | |
External battery | Anker Powercore Slim 10000 PD | 7.3 | |
Credit card, ID, insurance card, cash | Credit card, ID, insurance card, cash | 0.5 | |
TOTAL base weight (oz) | 176.7 | ||
TOTAL base weight (lb) | 11.0 | ||
Clothing & Items Worn | Hat | Herkimer coffee ball cap | 2.4 |
Trekking poles | Black Diamond Ultra Distance Z-poles (120cm length; each wrapped with a few feet of duct tape wrap) | 10.4 | |
Shorts | Kuhl Shift Amphibia shorts | 8 | |
Longsleeve shirt | Ex Officio Minimo long sleeve shirt | 4.8 | |
Emergency whistle | (built into pack sternum strap) | 0 | |
Calf compression sleeves | Cep calf sleeves 2.0 (size 4) | 1.3 | |
Socks | Darn Tough Light Hiker Quarter socks | 2.3 | |
Liner socks | Injinji Run Lightweight No-show toe socks | 1.1 | |
Sandals | Chaco Z/1 Classic with custom Terreno Sole | 37.3 | |
Underwear | ExOfficio Give-N-Go 9″ boxer briefs | 2.5 | |
Watch | Garmin Fenix 5 Plus | 2.3 | |
Sunglasses | Native Kodiak | 0.9 |