Let’s take a walk down memory lane and see how my gear evolved over the course of the year. But first:

2019 By The Numbers

  • Trips: 13 (4 solo, 2 trail maintenance, 6 group leader, 1 scramble)
  • Days: 32
  • Nights: 19
  • Miles: 143

Gear Lists

For reference we’ll be comparing the following gear lists:

Sleep System

In 2018 I was using the embarrassingly bad (in comparison) Mountain Hardwear Down Flip 35/50 sleeping bag. In line with the logic of quilts where the only insulation that matters is what’s on top, the Flip has different amounts of fill on each side. Unfortunately it’s cheap 600 fill power down and there’s only 9 ounces of it to go around, yielding a total of 5400 “fluff” and a weight of 816 grams.

In 2019 I upgraded to the Sierra Designs Nitro Quilt 800 / 20F which has 14.8 ounces of 800 fill power down or 11,840 fluff in a 732 gram package. The Nitro is EN rated with a comfort limit of 32F. Given that the amount of down in the Flip is split between the two sides you can immediately see that the ratings (which are not standardized) are ludicrous since the nitro has more than double the insulation. Warmer, lighter, more compact, and more comfortable – what’s not to love? One of my best upgrades.

Moving on to pads, 2018 gave us the Klymit Insulated V Ultralite SL. It’s an inflatable pad that’s 20 inches wide, 72 inches long, and 2.5 inches deep. While using a sleeping bag I actually really liked the Klymit but what initially turned me off to it was my move to quilts. A sleeping bag will help constrain your arms on a narrow pad but a quilt will not, resulting in arms laying on the ground more often than not. A wider pad was in order.

The solution was the Therm-A-Rest ProLite Apex in size regular wide. This is a mummy-shaped self-inflating (foam-filled) air mattress with a 25-inch width, 72-inch length, and 2-inch depth. Despite being somewhat thinner than the Klymit the insulating foam filling offers significantly more firmness than a full-on inflatable which is both more comfortable and, I believe, actually keeps you further off the ground which in turn increases warmth and reduces cold spots.

Weight-wise the TAR is a bust, clocking in at 732 grams versus the Klymit’s 427 grams. Not that the Klymit is anything to write home about in the first place, your gold standard NeoAir UberLite has identical dimensions to the Klymit but weighs only 250 grams. The Therm-A-Rests are also properly rated whereas the Klymit is not. Speaking of rating, I’ve verified that the ProLite Apex will keep me completely comfortable down to 20F whereas I’d get chilly on the Klymit in the mid to upper thirties. I also like self-inflating pads, they’re bulkier and heavier but less fussy to inflate and, most importantly, incredibly comfortable. Try as I might, I think the only replacement for the ProLite will be a slightly less warm self-inflating pad for 3-season use. Overall I think this was a huge increase in comfort at the cost of a correspondingly huge increase in weight, which for me is a perfectly acceptable trade-off for getting a good night’s sleep.

We’ll keep the inflatable-versus-foam theme going as we move on to pillows. 2018 was the Sea to Summit Aeros Ultralight, a 70 gram inflatable that’s widely regarded as one of the best backpacking pillows. However, air pillows have a balloon-like feel to them which I dislike and I also find myself constantly inflating and deflating it to make small adjustments as I search for the optimal level of support. As they are an air-tight bladder they are typically not breathable (other than the paper-thin face fabric) and if I recall correctly they can feel a bit chilly as well.

The 2019 replacement was the Therm-A-Rest Compressible Pillow. It’s essentially a boxy travel pillow filled with shredded foam. It’s advantages are its incredible comfort (it’s like my pillow at home, only smaller), lack of adjustability/fuss, breathability, and warmth in frosty conditions. The disadvantages are the outrageous weight of 229 grams and the fact that it despite the name it really doesn’t compress worth a damn, at least not compared to the Aeros which is essentially a limp balloon when deflated. However, once again comfort is king and not once have I regretted bringing nor been even the tiniest bit unsatisfied with the performance of the TAR.

In 2018 I was using dedicated ear plugs: Mack’s Ear Seals. In a fit of dual-purposing I realized that I could just use my Panasonic ErgoFit headphones as makeshift earplugs since it isn’t like there’s a significant amount of noise that needs to be drowned out in the first place. I also typically like listening to audiobooks to help myself fall asleep so they’re often in my ears already.

2019 saw the introduction of a couple new sleep-related items. The first was the Gossamer Gear Thinlight 1/8″ foam pad. Placed underneath your regular inflatable or self-inflating sleeping pad it provides puncture protection, a nominal increase in warmth, and most importantly it completely prevents your pad from slipping across the floor of your tent. As a complete solution to one of the most annoying backpacking problems the Thinlight is worth its weight in gold. The second addition was a pair of dedicated fleece sleeping socks in the form of Acorn Versafits. As someone who runs hot while moving but is a cold sleeper I find that keeping my feet warm at night is a constant challenge. I have never felt the least bit of chill while wearing these even down to 20F. For the size and loft they’re surprisingly light at 156 grams for a pair. Once again, taking a weight hit in order to solve a vexing comfort problem once and for all was the right choice for me.

Pack

Osprey’s lightweight men’s pack, the 60-liter Exos, was my pick in 2018. It weighs in at 1120 grams with the top pouch removed. In 2019 I upgraded to Osprey’s ultralight entry, the 60-liter Levity, which is just 863 grams including the top lid (which is not removable). The feature set is more or less identical (the Levity lacks a trekking pole attachment system) for a tremendous reduction in weight. Great upgrade.

My pack liner in 2018 was a trash compactor bag. No frills, inexpensive, and it definitely gets the job done. But for $2.50 a 52-liter nylofume bag cut the weight by more than half, reducing it from 68 grams to 28 grams. All these little upgrades can really add up.

Shelter

One of the few things that remained unchanged was my tent, the Lunar Solo by Six Moon Designs. Fantastic tent, couldn’t be happier. I did, however, upgrade the trekking pole I use to support it: the 243-gram Paria Outdoor Products Tri-Fold Carbon Cork was banished to the unloved gear bin and replaced with the 168-gram Element Equipment Carbon 3000. The Paria is undoubtedly the sturdier of the pair but given that I only use my trekking pole for tent support, stream crossings, or as a potential crutch in case of injury I’m not terribly worried about breakage.

2018 saw me using a mixture of 4 MSR Mini Groundhogs and 4 Vargo Titanium Shepherd’s Crook stakes inside an MSR stake bag. In 2019 I dropped the two stakes that were set aside for increasing headroom via panel pull-outs and consolidated on 6 groundhogs in a zipper bag. Since you only have one head you only need to pull out at most one panel for headroom and I find that just placing my pack up against the wall of the tent does just as good a job of increasing headroom without having to fiddle with a stake or cordage.

Worn Clothing

I trudged around most of 2018 and 2019 in my Oboz Sawtooth Lows, an incredibly comfortable and burly pair of hiking shoes. Their only sin was their abysmal drying time due to the abundance of leather in the upper: once they got wet they would most likely stay wet for at least the rest of the day if not well into the next. In pursuit of a solution I briefly tried out the Salomon XA Pro 3D trail runners. This was a short-lived experiment as blister after blister indicated that I just couldn’t get them to work with my feet. Fortunately in 2020 Oboz released their own trail runner/ultralight hiker in the form of the Arete Lows so I’m no longer suffering in the Salomons.

Oddly enough both the 2018 and 2019 gear lists snapshots were taken in the middle of two pants experiments instead of my tried-and-true Prana Stretch Zions. In 2018 I was trying out the Patagonia Quandary pants which turned out to be less stretchy and felt more like softshell climbing pants – not a good thing. 2019’s experiment was the Kuhl Contra Air, a lousy cotton-blend offering. Neither offered any advantage over the Zions in anything other than weight which for pants turns out to be a pretty meaningless number. Lesson learned, twice.

My hiking shirt of old was the Outdoor Research Echo Long Sleeve Quarter Zip. Great material but I’ve decided that zippers against skin just isn’t for me. The 2019 experiment was a Wrangler Riata cotton-blend western shirt. $20 at the local farm supply store, it was a more breathable and much cheaper alternative to my mainstay Montbell Wickron Light button-down.

I doubt anyone will ever convince me to replace my Saxx Quest 2.0 Loose Cannon boxer briefs. Best underwear ever.

The Outdoor Research Sun Bucket hat was replaced by the Sunday Afternoons Charter Escape. At 101 grams the Charter Escape is almost twice as heavy (101 grams versus 60) but the additional sun coverage from the wider brim and huge increase in breathability due to the mesh ring around the crown make it worthwhile.

Sometimes I go off on a tangent to figure out how little I can spend to fill a gear slot, the 3M Tekk Virtua safety glasses being a great example. Ugly, uncomfortable, and lacking in both polarization and photochromicity they don’t hold a candle to the Tifosi Crit Smoke sunglasses. They may be more than 20 times more expensive but given their performance and the value of preserving your vision the Tifosis are the hands-down winner in this category.

2018’s socks were the too-thin Drymax hot weather running mini-crews. The ventilating mesh on top sounds good on paper but in practice it meant lots of dust and grit getting onto my foot. After an embarrassingly bad experiment with hiking in socks and sandals along hot dusty trails I recall taking off my socks and seeing three strips of sweat-bonded dirt across the tops of my feet corresponding exactly to the positions of the vents. 2019’s Drymax Max Pro trail running socks are the best socks I’ve ever used.

I wore a Kauai silicone wedding ring on most of my outings in 2018 and 2019. It’s large and flexible whereas actual rings are hard metals which causes them to get stuck as your hands swell over the course of the day.

Packed Clothing

My 2018 fleece, the Montbell Climaplus 100 Warm Up Parka, is now a daily wear piece. Since fleece is complete garbage in windy conditions I replaced it with the Massdrop Veil wind shirt which is insanely light (85 grams versus the Montbell’s 442) while offering equal or better warmth in all conditions.

2018’s rain jacket was the familiar Outdoor Research Helium II. It has several holes that I’ve since patched and is now occasionally used as a rain jacket in the city. 2019 introduced the Sierra Designs Elite Cagoule which is an excellent pullover rain jacket with extra length and tons of mechanical venting. Unlike the Helium which quickly turns into a sauna the cagoule has never once left me feeling clammy and actually makes hiking in the rain for long distances enjoyable. The price is weight: 246 grams for the cagoule versus 193 grams for the Helium. The rain jacket upgrade also allowed me to ditch (or rather, not replace after I lost it) my trekking umbrella.

The rain jacket + fleece combo for camp wasn’t sufficient for shoulder season and so the 232 gram Mountain Hardwear Ghost Whisperer made an appearance. This was a very generous gift from Person B as this jacket was the cream of the crop when it was first introduced.

In 2018 I either wasn’t bringing dedicated gloves or forgot to record them (probably the latter). For 2019 I used Mountain Hardwear’s Bandito fingerless gloves. The product name is a bit of a misnomer because they also pack windproof convertible mittens which are tucked away in a little pocket on the back of the glove. An incredible all-in-one offering at 182 grams for the pair.

If there’s one thing that my fleece-to-wind-shirt adventure has taught me it’s that windproof/low-CFM materials offer a massive amount of insulation for the weight. Case in point: I swapped out my SmartWool Merino 150 beanie (which was so thin as to be basically useless) for Mountain Hardwear’s Mountain Tech Dome windproof beanie. At 38 grams it’s a bit heavier than the 15-gram SmartWool but it’s a night-and-day difference when it comes to warmth. I use the Dome all year round and even in the winter it does a great job of keeping my head warm while sleeping. Great purchase.

Essentials

My sunscreen of yore was Banana Boat Sport SPF 50 repackaged in a HumanGear GoToob. I didn’t do a good job of separating out the weight of the container from the sunscreen itself but swapping it for a Litesmith tottle yielded decent weight savings. The actual sunscreen was replaced with Coppertone Sport Clear SPF 30, an all-chemical sunscreen without any zinc which made it completely clear both in the bottle and when applied. Personally I prefer “lighter” SPF 30 sunscreens since they’re usually of a more milky consistency and less paste-y which makes them easier to apply and reduces ghostliness, a fair trade-off for blocking only 1% less UV than an SPF 50 variety. The chemical sunscreen definitely had a nice consistency but it also gave off fumes which irritated my eyes, although only right when it was being applied. It too bears replacing.

The stock Nitecore NU25 headlamp was replaced by the Litesmith edition, reducing the weight from 53 grams to 33 grams. It doesn’t sound like a lot on paper but it’s a very noticeable difference on your head. The Litesmith headband is also much easier to adjust.

For hand sanitizer I was using one of those Purell 1 fluid ounce bottles that you can find in the check-out line of any grocery store or gas station. Since this is at least a year’s supply of hand sanitizer as far as backpacking is concerned I repackaged it into a Gossamer Gear mini dropper bottle, reducing the overall weight from 43 grams to 15 grams (a whole ounce lighter). As far as the scent, I actually find scented hand sanitizer to be a really nice touch in the outdoors where everything either smells bad or doesn’t smell at all. I am not of the mind that household scents are to bears and critters as a drop of blood is to sharks in horror movies – they do not immediately drop what they are doing and home in on your location as soon as you open your hand sanitizer bottle. As far as scents go lavender is nice but not my first choice, recently I’ve taken a liking to “ocean mist”.

All of these essentials need a home (colloquially known as a “ditty bag”) so they aren’t rattling around loose in your pack: in 2018 it was the Osprey 3 liter dry sack that came with my Levity as part of some promotion they were doing at REI that day. At 26 grams it certainly wasn’t heavy but the Zpacks 2.2 liter dry sack is half the weight at just 14 grams. The one thing I really like about the Zpacks is that in addition to the roll-top buckle closure that’s standard on dry sacks it also includes a strip of velcro along the inside so you can quickly close the bag. I find this to be very handy during breaks when I have my ditty bag out and am pulling out and returning one thing after another since I don’t have to worry about things spilling while avoiding the hassle of having to unroll and re-roll the top over and over. I also like that the DCF material on the Zpacks is translucent.

Several items remained unchanged. After rescuing a handful of miserably buggy trips Ben’s InvisiNet bug headnet hasn’t given me a reason to search for an alternative. Likewise, the Victorinox Swiss Army Classic SD multitool was also unchanged due to a lack of complaints. The Bic Mini remains the de facto firestarter of the backpacking world, it’s perfect as-is. The Fox40 Sonik Blast CMG whistle is still attached in exactly the same place on the shoulder strap of my pack, fortunately I have still never had a reason to use it. For repairs it’s hard to beat Tenacious Tape.

I used to carry a dedicated lens cloth but in hindsight that’s of little use without some sort of lens cleaner to add to it. As a result I now carry a single-use lens wipe which can be applied to either my sunglasses or my camera lens as needed.

Towels/washcloths have always been a sore point for me. Most of the ultralight fabric towel solutions seem to push water around more than they actually absorb it and the more clever varieties have little to no structure or durability. 2018’s WysiWipe falls into the latter category: it’s a featherweight mesh towel packed down into a coin-sized tablet, simply add water to resuscitate. Once back to full size I found it useless for bathing since it would just roll up onto itself rather than slide across the skin due to the aforementioned lack of structure. 2019’s PackTowl was in the former category: when it came to mopping up condensation it didn’t really get the job done. Still it was an improvement since at the very least I could clean myself up with it – condensation can be dealt with in other ways such as air-drying during lunch.

Foot tapes are another category where I feel like I have yet to identify the perfect solution. At the time of the 2018 gear list I was experimenting with 3M’s Durapore, also known as “silk tape”. Compared to tapes with a zinc oxide-based adhesive such as the classic Leukotape (which I returned to shortly thereafter) the Durapore fares incredibly poorly: its edges roll up almost immediately (as in when you’re putting your socks back on). The only advantage is that it’s narrower than your typical roll of Leukotape so it can be more easily used on toes, but you can say the same thing about many other tapes as well. Leukotape is, of course, the reigning champ for preventing blisters due to its ability to stay on for multiple days as well as its abrasion resistance. I do feel that it’s a bit sponge-y (most likely due to its cotton construction) and would love to find a synthetic alternative.

2019 saw the addition of several new essentials. I started carrying a Zpacks toothbrush and Archtek toothpaste tablets as a nod to dental hygiene on longer trips. The tablets are particularly nice because you can package exactly as many as you need, in fact I find one tablet to a be a bit much foam-wise so I slice them in half using a pill cutter at home. I now consider a pair of nitrile gloves to be indispensible. After a trip where I found myself bleeding from my face but had no idea why (and forgetting the front camera function on my phone) I added in a Gossamer Gear micro signal mirror. Now I can give myself a once-over in the morning and also use the focusing star that’s cut out of the center to signal aircraft (or even persons on the ground) for help. Spare cord also started making the cut in the form of my LiteOutdoors 1.8mm guyline. It has a variety of uses: shoelace replacement, clothesline, attaching gear to a pack, and gear repair to name just a few. I didn’t include a compass in my 2018 gear list – I assume this was merely an oversight – but in 2019 I tied a Suunto Clipper micro compass to my shoulder strap so that it was always within reach.

Water

How far we have come.

2018’s water filter du jour was the staggeringly expensive and heavy MSR AutoFlow 4-liter gravity filter. At $120 and 308 grams it’d be hard to find something that wasn’t an upgrade although I was definitely on the right track with the gravity filter thing. The replacement is my all-time favorite setup: the CNOC Vecto/Sawyer gravity filter. Half the weight, less than half the price, but also half the capacity – although good luck finding a branch that’ll handle 4 liters of water hanging off of it (even the Vecto’s 3-liter flavor can be a stretch). The 700mL SmartWater sport cap bottles and backup Potable Aqua chlorine dioxide tablets remain unchanged.

Electronics

I’m the kind of person who only upgrades my phone when it breaks. 2019 was generous in this regard: I was given the opportunity to upgrade from my partially-fossilized Google Nexus 6P to a first-generation Google Pixel (and for half the price of the Nexus, I might add). The smaller form factor and carbon fiber case yielded a weight savings of 51 grams.

The “from my cold, head hands” Garmin inReach Mini satellite communicator isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

In 2018 I was sporting an ABC (altimeter barometer compass) watch by way of the Casio PRG-270. It was expensive and bulky and reminded me that I don’t really like having things on my wrist. In 2019 I didn’t use a watch at all.

In what I can only assume is yet another glaring omission: According to the written record I did not carry a power bank in 2018. In 2019 I cycled through a handful of power banks before doing the math and settling on the RAVPower Luster Mini 3350mAH which, aside from looking like an oversized lipstick tube, has a lot going for it and only weighs 75 grams.

If you’re carrying a power bank then you need a way to connect it to your devices, and a variety of connectors yields a variety of cords. Although short and light cords for any connector combination are available I have yet to find anything that beats the 5-in-1 capabilities of the Vonmahlen High Five at the ridiculous weight of just 7 grams.

Photography

Read: luxury category. In addition to an aging musculoskeletal infrastructure, being able to lug around photography gear in order to properly record my adventures is one of my primary motivations for saving weight. Shall we?

The clunkiest of them all is the tripod: 2081’s MeFoto Backpacker Classic was a full-size aluminum tripod will a staggeringly full-size weight of 1,171 grams or two-and-a-half pounds! However, experience taught me that for both landscape and astro shots being closer to the ground was almost always better in the former case and offered no significant disadvantage in the latter. Enter 2019’s Pedco Ultrapod Grip at only 100 grams. Almost functionally equivalent in a package that’s ten times lighter makes it the most significant weight savings of any upgrade, ever.

On to the camera. The Olympus OMD EM-10 Mark II camera has an astounding array of features in a compact and lightweight package and yet the tiny Micro Four-Thirds sensor just didn’t cut it when it came to astrophotography due to excessive noise. When it came time to upgrade I was left with a decision to spend upwards of $1,200 either on the fanciest MFT lens available (hoping it would do the trick) or switch to the APS-C platform by combining a Fuji XT-20 with the best X-mount landscape lens available (both used), netting an increase in overall picture quality and nighttime performance courtesy of the larger sensor. I chose the latter. It was the right call.

The Peak Design Capture Clip revolutionized camera carry for backpackers. Accept no substitutes.

One benefit of using the MFT platform for a couple years is that I had accumulated a wide array of filters and gadgets, among them the Olympus remote trigger. The future being what it is, the Fuji comes with an app that lets you control the camera remotely from your phone. Since software weighs nothing 68 grams were effortlessly saved.

Frequently I find myself taking pictures near water or cliffs or other places where dropping the camera could have catastrophic consequences. In the past I wore a Peak Design Cuff to address this but more recently I’ve taken to just fashioning a wrist loop out of some cord and attaching it directly to the camera, saving 22 grams.

Kitchen

In 2018 my distaste for canister stoves led to an extended experiment with “no-cook” where I would only bring food which did not require reheating, either directly or via boiling water. This in turn means that I can skip bringing a stove or kitchen setup completely. Given that I mostly focus on shorter 2-night trips this is mostly doable but also limits me to recipes that I prepare myself – something that’s quite limiting as far as limits go. So in 2019 I opted for an alcohol stove setup featuring the amazing Kojin by Trail Designs coupled with a 500mL Evernew titanium mug/pot. It’s only enough to boil two cups of water but that’s the most you’ll ever need to rehydrate any freeze dried meal I’ve ever laid eyes on. Aside from sticker price the other cost of hot food is weight, to the tune of 315 grams.

First Aid

In 2019 I made an attempt at first aid kit consolidation by replacing my burn gel, antiseptic wipe, anti-itch cream, sting wipe, and antibiotic with Green Goo First Aid balm on the advice of some forum poster who claimed to be a firefighter. In hindsight I think it proved to be the wrong call – the balm wasn’t nearly as effective as I’d hoped – but at the time I was very much attracted to the idea of doing the same with less.

So what remained? The Dynarex gauze roll stayed put as did the Pepto Bismol and ibuprofen, the extent of my pill collection in 2018. I did, however, add in Benadryl as a double-duty antihistamine and sleep aid in 2019.

Finally, after it sustained a number of cracks, the screw-top mini cosmetic jar of mysterious provenance that I was using as a pill container gave up the ghost. The replacement was a Litesmith 1.5″ 9.8mL hinge-top container with which I am very satisfied.

Toilet

This was a new category in 2019 if only because of more diligent bookkeeping, I certainly wasn’t using moss and pine cones in 2018. The go-anywhere Restop 2 was added in after some middle-of-the-night unpleasantness at Yellow Banks on the Olympic Coast (just because the ranger says there’s a toilet doesn’t mean there actually is one). Likewise, my increasing forays into shoulder season necessitated a pee bottle in the form of a Nalgene wide-mouth soft bottle. I just keep telling myself “climbers do it”.

Scent-proof resealable mylar bags, typically used for food storage, are opaque, inexpensive, lightweight, and, well, scent-proof – exactly the kind of thing you’d want for storing used toilet paper. I like the ShieldPro 8.25″ square bags, I bring one on every trip along with unused toilet paper and a wet wipe.

Food Storage

Last but not least: you need food on trips, therefore you need food storage that’s critter-resistant. Here in the Pacific Northwest our critters are of the bear variety so a bear canister or similar is in the running. For both years an Ursack AllMitey kevlar bear bag was my go-to solution in all areas which did not require hard-sided canisters. In 2018 I also included a LokSak OpSak odor-proof liner but stopped in 2019. I still have the OpSak, I’m not sure why I stopped using it – perhaps I had just misplaced it? These things happen, but for an extra ounce-and-a-half it seems prudent to use one.

The End

In summary:

  • Base weight for 2018: 17.61 pounds
  • Base weight for 2019: 16.61 pounds

So despite upgrading to a much larger camera, switching to hot food, and numerous other minor gear and comfort improvements I still managed to come away a whole pound lighter.

Timing-wise, here we are only a week away from June of 2020 and I’m just now wrapping up my 2019 year in review. Although I had started it back in February (I think), I got caught up with other writing as well as actually getting outside (always preferred). Still, I wanted to have something on record to compare with when 2021 rolls around. I made a mind-boggling number of gear changes in 2019 and learned an incredible amount, and my hope is always that despite (or perhaps because of) the long-windedness of these posts, you are able to do the same.