https://lighterpack.com/r/9vyw35
One of the reasons I started this blog was to be able to see how my gear choices changed over time as I became more experienced. To that end, let’s establish a baseline – here’s a quick blurb about everything that’s currently in my standard three-season backpacking loadout:
Sleep system
The Mountain Hardwear Down Flip 35/50 sleeping bag isn’t warm enough for fall conditions (lesson learned the hard way on my Lila Lake backpacking trip), doesn’t seem to have very much down fill (as seen when holding it up to a light in the tent), isn’t EN rated, and seems rather heavy for the amount of warmth. This is my first down bag after years of synthetics but I’ll definitely be replacing it for 2019.
The Klymit Insulated V Ultralight SL is a light, warm, and affordable insulating pad made even better now that I’ve added Seam Grip to the bottom to keep it from sliding around in the tent.
The Sea To Summit Aeros ultralight pillow is light, easy to inflate and adjust, and has a comfortable face so you don’t feel like you’re sleeping on plastic.
The Mack’s Ear Seals ear plugs are great for drowning out Person B’s snoring and feature a handy connecting cord so they’re harder to lose (although they do tend to get tangled up).
Pack
The Osprey Exos 58 is an absolutely phenomenal backpack but the 2018 edition lacks hip belt pockets which I have mixed feelings about. I think I’ll be adding a shoulder strap pocket to compensate in 2019.
I’ve actually replaced the Kenmore crush! trash compactor bags with plain ol’ Glad compactor bags from the drugstore. The Kenmore bags have mounting holes a few inches below the opening which doesn’t exactly help keep water out. The drugstore bags are thinner, more flexible, quieter, less full-of-holes, and much cheaper.
Shelter
The Six Moon Designs Lunar Solo tent is my first foray into cottage gear. I’ve only taken it on two overnighters so far. On the downside, it’s fussier to set up and the bottom is like an ice skating rink for sleeping pads. On the plus side it’s super light, roomy, and I really like the wide-open feeling you get when you’re sleeping right next to the door. Also, it only requires one trekking pole to set up.
The Paria Outdoor Products Tri-Fold Carbon Cork trekking pole has an interesting combination of carbon fiber and aluminum construction and is easy to assemble and adjust. Big fan.
The MSR Mini Groundhog stakes are super light and hold pretty well, but I’d prefer something larger for soggy ground. It hasn’t been a big enough issue for me to consider replacing them.
The Vargo titanium shepherd’s crook stakes are great for rocky ground where you only have tiny cracks available (learned this on the Kidney Lake backpack with my brother).
Clothing
The Montbell Climaplus 100 Warm Up Parka is my new favorite mid layer. The 100-weight fleece is light enough to hike in when it’s pretty chilly and also looks great around town. Like all light fleeces even moderate winds will cut right through it so it needs to be paired with a wind or rain jacket if you’re standing around in lousy weather.
I picked up a pair of Patagonia Quandary short-length pants when I was experimenting with hiking in sandals. That experiment is over so it’s back to the tried-and-true Prana Stretch Zion.
After years of searching I’ve decided that the Outdoor Research Echo Long Sleeve Zip is the best hiking shirt available. Light and breathable with a tall collar and half-length zip for adjustable warmth.
The Saxx Quest Loose Cannon are the best men’s backpacking underwear.
The Outdoor Research Sun Bucket almost concludes my search for the ultimate backpacking hat, but I may give the Alchemi Labs bucket hat a whirl since it looks a lot more breathable.
When I’m not wearing the Pranas (which have a built-in belt) I use a Molle accessory strap as a cheap lightweight belt.
The SmartWool Merino 150 beanie is super light and is great for wearing under a hat to help warm up when you’re setting off for the day. However it doesn’t offer a ton of warmth, so I may look into the Mountain Hardwear Dome Perignon which is both windproof and has one of the best names of any piece of outdoor gear.
Person B and I wear Kauia silicone wedding rings when we’re outdoors. Aww. Heart emoji.
Feet
After a couple years of Altra trail runners I’ve decided to go back to regular ol’ hiking shoes, specifically the Oboz Sawtooth Low. The increased padding, support, protection, and sturdier sole are worth the extra weight.
I’ve actually abandoned the Drymax hot weather running socks in favor of their slightly thicker trail running socks.
I’ve also abandoned the 3M Durapore silk tape because it sucks – it has really lousy adhesion to dry surfaces (aka your feet at the beginning of the day), poor durability, and I feel like the grid pattern, while handy for straight tears, actually irritates the skin underneath it.
Essentials
The Restop 2 waste bags make packing your poop out as pleasant an experience as you could reasonably expect. Between increasing population, increasing interest in the outdoors, and the relatively fixed amount of backcountry I feel like digging catholes is going to be a less viable option as time goes on – common latrine areas are already littered with toilet paper and poop and are generally disgusting.
For sunscreen I just pick whatever random SPF50 sweatproof option we have lying around. Between the bucket hat, long sleeves, and long pants I’ve made solid progress in reducing sunscreen consumption – sunscreen just feels gross at the end of the day.
The Nitecore NU25 headlamp is light, cheap, and super effective.
Purell hand sanitizer is a no-brainer, you’re much more likely to get sick from not washing your hands before you eat than from drinking unfiltered water.
The Osprey 3L dry sack makes a great ditty bag, I keep all my small gear in here. If I get a bigger camera I’ll need to get a second one since my Olympus barely fits into this one as it is.
The 3M Tekk Virtua safety glasses make great cheap sunglasses. I only wish they had gradient tinting but for $5 it’s hard to complain.
Ben’s InvisiNet mosquito head net works like a charm, and works even better now that I’ve switched from a baseball cap to a bucket hat – no more mesh resting on the back of my neck.
I have yet to use anything but the knife and scissors on the Victorinox Swiss Army Classic SD multitool but that may change on longer trips.
Tenacious Tape is my go-to for gear repair. I haven’t had a need for it in the field but I’m on my fifth patch for my ancient rain jacket.
Bic Mini is the gold standard for fire starters. Cheap, light, available at any gas station anywhere.
Sun Bum SPF30 lip balm keeps your lips moist and burn-free.
After reading lots of reviews online I settled on the Fox40 Sonic Blast CMG whistle. This this is LOUD. I have it attached to a loop on my shoulder straps for easy access.
I keep a generic lens cloth in my ditty bag for cleaning the camera lens. However, having it bumping around inside the bag with all the other dirty stuff is probably not super smart. I have yet to try to use it as a prefilter for filling up SmartWater bottles (which would make it an even worse thing to clean an expensive lens with).
I used to use a Light My Fire spork (which I would always forget) but have replaced it with a humble McDonald’s spoon. I’m thinking I might go with a titanium spoon in 2019.
Wipes are a nice way to help clean yourself up at the end of the day. WysiWipes look like a fuzzy pill that expands into a sort of mesh washcloth when it gets wet. Unfortunately it’s very insubstantial and I find that instead of sliding across your skin it just rolls up under your hand so I may replace it with a kitchen sponge as suggested by an article I read.
Weather
The SwingTrek LiteFlex trekking umbrella was a godsend on the Camino and in the Enchantments as an instant source of shade in the baking sun. It gets a lot less use as rain protection, but jamming the handle down the front of my rain jacket allowed me to set up our tent with two hands in the pouring rain without getting soaked.
My Outdoor Research Helium II rain jacket is riddled with patches and is several years old but still manages to keep me dry in the rain. I’ll be replacing it with a more breathable eVent-based jacket or going full mechanical (Frogg Toggs? Sierra Designs cagoule?) when this thing finally dies.
Water
I love blowing people’s minds with the MSR AutoFlow gravity filter on backpacking trips. Granted a lot of the trips I lead are for people who are new to backpacking but lots of people still don’t realize just how fast and convenient gravity filters are.
The SmartWater 700mL sport cap bottles have completely replaced my hydration bladder setup. I love the ease of refilling as well as increased visibility into how much water I have left.
The Potable Aqua chlorine dioxide tablets are supposed to be a back up method of water treatment. However, being able to just dunk a bottle into a stream and drop a tablet into it is a pretty low-effort way of treating your water – I’ll admit to being too lazy to bother with the gravity filter and just doing this in a pinch.
Miscellaneous
Not much to say about the phone. It’s old and heavy. There are ultralight minimalist phones like the Unihertz Jello Pro that might make for an interesting hiking-specific option.
The Garmin inReach Mini satellite communicator came in handy the first time I brought it on a multi-day trip (family emergency). I won’t head into the wilderness without it.
The Casio PRG-270 ABC watch (altimeter, barometer, compass) was an upgrade over my previous AB watch. Aside from being able to take quick compass readings I really like hanging it on a loop in the tent to measure nighttime temperatures – this helps me figure out if I brought the right amount of warmth for the conditions.
The Therm-A-Rest Z-Seat sit pad always feels like too much luxury. Sure, it keeps your butt a little drier/cleaner during breaks, but is it worth the weight? On the other hand it makes for a great “doormat” for your feet when you’re getting in and out of the tent and I almost always regret not bringing it, so I guess it’s here to stay.
Photography
The MeFoto Backpacker Classic tripod is, to my knowledge, the lightest and cheapest tripod that’s actually usable for amateur astrophotography. Meaning, it has decent stability and the right amount and types of adjustments available. Unfortunately with tripods weight is stability so I don’t know how much better we can really do here.
The Olympus OMD EM-10 Mark II mirrorless camera was my first “grown-up” camera. I’ve taken thousands of photos with it over the past few years. It’s lightweight, compact, and picture quality is pretty good. However, it just doesn’t have a large enough sensor for astrophotography so there’s a good chance it’s getting upgraded to a Sony A7III on Black Friday.
The Peak Design Capture Clip allows you to attach your camera to your backpack’s shoulder strap and has push-button detachment. This means your camera is always just a moment away from being available for a shot. It replaced shoulder strap and neck harness setups that I’d been using previously.
The Olympus RM-UC1 cable trigger allows you to take a photo without introducing any vibration, which is critical for any long exposure.
The Panasonic Lumix 14mm f/2.5 G aspherical pancake lens stands out for its extremely compact form factor as well as its wide angle (28mm equivalent) and sharp optics. If I do the upgrade to the A7III then this will be replaced by the Sony FE 24mm F1.4 G Master, which is just jaw-dropping.
The Peak Design Cuff v2 wrist strap is a great way to prevent dropping your camera when you’re shooting near water or other hazards. It isn’t terribly comfortable to wear when not in use so I tend to keep it in my pocket when not in use.
The CowboyStudio leashed lens cap prevents you from losing your lens cap. Why this isn’t a stock option on lenses is beyond me but this is always the first upgrade I make whenever I get a new lens.
The Lexar Professional 128GB memory card is too large. I could have saved some money by buying a reasonably-sized card after doing the math on how much storage I’d actually need for a decently long trip.
Food
The Ursack AllMitey is allegedly immune to both rodents and bears at the cost of some additional weight. I’ve often wondered if just the regular bear-proof version might have been a better buy – are mice really going to chew a hole in a bear bag and run off with a substantial portion of your food?
The Loksak Opsak is an odor-proof bag for storing food, which you then place in the critter-proof container of your choice. At about $7 a pop it feels like the right thing to do, but on the other hand it seems like the backpacking equivalent of nickel-and-diming – is it really necessary?
First Aid Kit
A tiny pill jar is great for holding very small quantities of pills so that they can’t get crushed or lost.
A gauze roll is useful for bandaging but I think some blood absorption pads are a necessary addition for treating serious wounds.
Burnaid burn gel is great for actual burns (from stoves or fires) and sunburns.
Antiseptic wipes are a good first step for cleaning a wound.
I store my first aid kit in a Target sandwich bag. Cheap and effective organization, and the kit lives inside the waterproof ditty bag so the lack of waterproofness isn’t a concern.
Anti-itch cream help alleviate encounters with nasty plants.
After being stung by a yellow jacket on a scrambling trip I can attest first-hand that Safetec sting relief wipes are both effective and a necessary component of your first aid kit.
Pepto Bismol chewables are a universal remedy for GI issues.
Advil LiquiGels are a decent source of ibuprofen for treating aches, pains, and swelling. Gel caps are not my preferred format for backpacking medication (I like chewables) but this is what we had in the medicine cabinet.
Finally, a triple antibiotic ointment is good for helping cuts and scrapes heal faster.
Man, that was exhausting. But now that we’ve got a baseline I think future posts in this category will just be on things which have changed.