View Full Version : Critique my Gear List for my 6-day trip
It's time to let you guys poke some holes into my gear list. I'm doing a 5 or 6-day trip nobo starting at VT/NH Border into NH in either late april or early may.
I'm no Ultralight Hiker or Gramweenie It looks like im startin with ~27lbs
Items with an X to the left of them are 'equipped' items, the ones im bringing. Otherwise I'm starting to map out ALL the equipment I have (so i'll be able to set up certain configurations)
Red-Backed Items are things I don't yet have but intend to get, (not necessarily for this trip.) Once I get Chlorine Dioxide tablets I'll probably remove the Hiker filter.
Given: I've got maybe $200 at best to spend on backpacking equipment between now and may. I'm not dropping the canister stove or water purification.
Ignore the clothing section.
As for my diet, I don't have too much of a hangup about eating the same stuff over again.
Let's hear whacha got for me.
4eyedbuzzard
01-29-2009, 15:12
Copy and paste your list into the text of the post if you want more responses.
eeeeee! easier said than done! turns out all my excel formatting isn't very happy with being converted into plain text. perhaps i'll rewrite it all later.
Slo-go'en
01-29-2009, 16:24
I'm doing a 5 or 6-day trip nobo starting at VT/NH Border into NH in either late april or early may.
Be advised about this quote from the Guide to the Long Trail:
"The Green Mountain club strongly urges people to avoid hiking during the spring "mud season" (usually mid April until the end of May), so this damage can be avoided." This refers to hikers trying to go around/avoid mud holes which makes the trail wider and the mud holes bigger. Although this is taken from the Long Trail guide, it is still is aproperate for NH.
If you do go this time of year, be sure to have long gatiers and watch out for those mud holes which you can sink up to your knee in! Also keep in mind that there will likely still be snow on the higher peaks, such as Moosilauke, especialy on the north side. In which case, you'll be doing a lot of post holeing. But on the bright side, the bugs won't be out yet :) Of course, this all depends on how quickly it warms up and drys out this spring.
Slo-go'en beat me to it...if you're planning a late April/early May hike, please go somewhere a much, much further south. You will be spending a great deal of time in snow and mud, the winter blowdowns won't be cleared yet, and you'll be damaging the trail and the flora. You'll be on the $hi7-list of every trail worker in New England.
But, you were asking about the gear list. Personally, I'd be inclined to carry more fuel that time of year (or anytime, really) for a 5-6 day hike. I'd carry an 8 oz canister and a 4 oz backup. Just about guaranteed I won't finish the large canister in a week, but it's nice to have backup in case of seal failure or stupid man-made disaster, and nice to heat all the tea/coffee/hot cocoa I want without rationing fuel.
I recommend some form of traction device... you will be spending considerable time on snow and ice.
I hope I'm helping here: For those of you who have MS Word but not Excel, here's a version in MS Word.
I tried to save it as a text file but it requires too much manual work to make it look right.
Panzer
Thanks Panzer. I design these spreadsheets for me so when it comes time to share them I made a lot of sad people. I'll spend my time at work fixing it today (ah i love my job)
Your protiens don't look to be very balanced. Add some milk powder or legumes like lentils or split peas to balance all the grain protiens. If you do this you might find your vitamins and minerals and digestion all work out much better also.
Pack
Gregory Z55 Medium 56oz
Teton Waterproof Pack Cover 2oz
Equipped Total 58oz or 3.625lbs
Shelter
Sierra Designs Ultra Light Year Tent 54oz
Sierra Designs Ultra Light Year Footprint 9oz
DAC J-Stake Aluminum Tent Stakes (7) 3.5oz
Equipped Total 66.5oz or 4.15625lbs
Sleep System
North Face Blue Kazoo II (+20°) 38oz
Cocoon Silk Liner (+5°) 6oz
Thermarest Prolite Long Pad 24oz
Fabric Stuffbag (Pillow w/ Platy) 3oz
Equipped Total 71oz or 4.4375lbs
Cooking System
MSR Pocket Rocket 3oz
GSI Soloist 10oz
MSR 4oz Canister of Fuel 8oz
Vargo Titanium Spork 0.6oz
Aluminum Foil 1oz
Mini Bic Lighter 0.4oz
Equipped Total 23.05oz or 1.440625lbs
Food System
Katadyn Hiker Water Filter 11oz
Platypus Cap 0.5oz
Platypus 3L Hoser Bladder 4oz
Stuff Sack w/ Paracord for Hanging 1oz
Chlorine Dioxide Tablets 0.4oz (will drop 11oz of hiker filter if bought)
Water (1 liter) 33oz
Food (6 days worth) 155.3oz
Total 204.8oz or 12.8lbs
Miscellaneous Items
CT810 (Phone / GPS / Camera / Journal) 4oz
Princeton Tec Scout LED Headlamp 1.5oz
Whistle (Compass / Thermometer) 0.5oz
Sunglasses 1oz
Medical Kit (in a 1-gallon ZipLoc) 6oz
- Safety Pins (6x)
- 15' of Bandages
- Blistex Lip Ointment
- Dr Bronners Soap / Toothpaste
- Kitchen Sponge
- Benadryl and Advil Tablets
- Toilet Paper
- Purel Hand Sanitizer / Handwipes
Equipped Total 13oz or 0.8125lbs
Bag Weight from Food Consumption
Camp 32 before breakfast and 29.896875after dinner
Day 1 29.896875 before breakfast and 28.27916667 after dinner
Day 2 28.27916667 before breakfast and 26.66145833after dinner
Day 3 26.66145833 before breakfast and 25.04375after dinner
Day 4 25.04375 before breakfast and 23.42604167after dinner
Day 5 23.42604167 before breakfast and 21.80833333after dinner
Day 6 21.80833333 before breakfast and 20.190625after dinner
Foods carried / Diet consisting of:
Met-Rx Big 100 Cookie Dough Power Bar
3.5oz - 370kCal - 28g of protein - 10qty - 2srv/day - 740kCal/day - 35oz total
Mary Janes Cheesy Noodle Casserole
4.3oz - 465kCal - 14g of protein - 5qty - 1srv/day - 465kCal/day - 21.5oz total
Backpacker's Pantry Chicken and Rice
6.7oz - 560kCal - 13g of protein - 6qty - 1srv/day - 560kCal/day - 40.2oz total
Trader Joe's Omega Trail Mix
4oz - 680kCal - 20g of protein - 6qty - 1srv/day - 680kCal/day - 24oz total
Quaker Instant Grits Original Packets
1oz - 100kCal - 2g of protein - 5qty - 1srv/day - 100kCal/day - 5oz total
Olive Oil (mix with tortilla)
8oz - 240kCal - 0g of protein - 1qty - 2srv/day - 360kCal/day - 8oz total
Flour Tortillas
1oz - 80kCal - 15g of protein - 18qty - 1srv/day - 80kCal/day - 18oz total
Propel Drink Mix
0.2oz - 20kCal - 0g of protein - 18qty - 3srv/day - 60kCal/day - 3.6oz total
3045kCal consumed/day
92g of protein consumed/day
Weighs 155.3oz or 9.7bs
Starting Weight: 29.89lbs
Some numbers seem to be lost in translation, like 3-tortillas a day and my clothing (roughly 2.7lbs) isn't shown (but is factored into the totals)
Of the clothing weight;
how much is shell (nylon etc)?
how much is insulation (silk,fleece,wool,down,etc. including socks,mitts, hats)?
how much is footwear?
For myself, I like to have 1 oz of clothing insulation for every degF below 85F. So if the lowest temperature is 37degF, I would like 3 pounds of clothing insulation. Depends somewhat on your size and how much activity you can sustain, and whether you like to hunker down in freezing rain, or slow down but keep moving. You can go less than that, but would be more reliant on sleeping bag and shelter, which is another way to go.
Seriously though, nice kit. I save weight with a 10oz blue foam pad, and a bivy and poncho/tarp, but the bivy is a 2 pound army gortex thing not much lighter than your tent. The main reason I like a tent is for getting my **** back together in bad weather, but as I don't carry that much stuff anymore its not so hard to keep it together. I do like to be able to read and drink tea though, but its kind of fun to try and make do with a bivy and poncho/tarp and candle lantern even when its nasty. Up on the ridges of the AT though I would really consider a tent like yours, and a self-inflating pad also, unless I went the hammock route. In the woods here I can make the closed cell - bivy - poncho/tarp thing work, even in winter. In mid-summer I sometimes make a go of it with less, just for fun.
I just read your post again. I think definitely more clothes for 6 days in VT, NH in late April early May, even if you aren't going to high altitude. I did the Fundy Footpath May 1,2,3,4 here and the weather wasn't too cold, but it rained constantly, and there was still snow on the trail, so it was basically a water filled snow ditch. There were no other footsteps on the trail but it was still a low spot, so it was wet. I hiked in neoprene booties and trail runners for the first 2.5 days of hiking. It worked. You can have some days like summer, but other days like March. Check with someone who knows about snow depth and stream crossings and wet areas that time of year. There can even be small ponds in places where trails should be, so be prepared for that sort of thing, and prepared to be delayed and to turn around if needed, so extra food basically. Fun time of year to explore though. Could also be totally dry and sunny. Not sure.
If you haven't bought any of that stuff maybe let us know and we can make other suggestions. Not sure if you are asking whether or not it will work for that particular trip, or whether or not it is good gear in general.
If you haven't bought that pack yet I would suggest something lighter, but if you own it already it is light enough to be a keeper.
I would also skip the water filter, the platypus, and maybe less rope, but better rope, for $5.
I wouldn't spend $25 on a silk liner,
but that seems like a pretty good deal on a Blue Kazoo. Specs say 44oz, not 38oz.
How about adding a pair of camp shoes to change into when your done hiking for the day, especially if the trail is so wet.
Also, I would bring 2 cigarette lighters. You'll probably never need a second lighter but its reassuring that if you lose the first one or if it stops working for some reason you will still have the second one. Its not much more weight. Your life could depend on being able to start a fire.
Why do you need 6 safety pins. I only bring one safety pin for draining blisters if I should be so unfortunate to get one.
Do you have a trail map?
Do you have a watch or does your phone have the time.
I would add at least 2 small trash bags. One for your sleeping bag and one for trash.
1 or 2 more spare zip lock bags for keeping things dry like for your camera, flash light, wallet and maps .
How about a bandanna for wiping your face and other uses.
and a pair of light weight gloves.
I also like to have one of those very small photon micro-lights for backup.
I also carry 25 feet of 4 millimeter cord for hanging food bags at night and for making a clothes line for drying things.(weight about 3 ounces)
Spare battery for phone since your using it for so many things.
Panzer
JAK: Plans changed. I'm now using this list for a 6-day hike in VT (Stratton>Killington).My AMC chapter is doing a section hike there in The Last week of July.
Panzer: Also, I Have Bandana, Maps and camp shoes. I'm not soloing this, we're doing it as a group of 8 so no doubt we won't all need to carry maps. Camp shoes were on the original list. Clothing isn't a big deal, I always manage well with it and keep myself pretty comfortable, hence it's not heavily documented.
I have waterproof matches in my GSI Soloist kit. Theyre not listed on here because the weight is negligable to me.
My Phone will not be used for anything other than pictures or telling the time. GPS functionality and Cellular capability will be in standby. This gives the phone 21 days of use. It also has a light on it if I should require backup.
Under food system I have my bear bag with 50' of Paracord on it. Additionally, I keep duct tape and aluminum machinists' wire wrapped around my Hiking poles. Aluminum Wire and 6x Safety pins are for a really bad injury or if my bag tears.
Jak, Just bought the z55 pack from a member on here. Plan to use it well. I'm heavily limited in funds so I'm not prepared to invest $300 in goretex shells and 900-fill bags.
I weighed most of this stuff myself... the Blue Kazoo's weight is actual. I purchased it used (i've since used it in 15 degree weather) so I suppose it's lost some weight, or the older bags' specs were slightly different. The liner is 'rated' at +9.5 but I didn't want to have people come on here and tell me it's wrong, so I estimated it at 5. I was given it as a gift, I wouldn't spend money on it. It is a staple though, I like using it to guard my skin against the sleeping bag.
Eventually I'll switch over to the old blue CCF but my thermarest was a steal and I fold it in half to double up on my torso.
I'm not losing the platypus bladder, this is for certain :) I have that and a power-ade bottle that i use to piss in. No need to complicate things with a bunch of bottles.
Slo-go'en
01-30-2009, 17:13
For a mid summer hike, you can drop the weight some by having less/lighter clothes. I'd drop the filter and use the tablets if you have to. Most of the water on that streach will be from good mountain springs. Since you can't spend much more money, go with what you got. If you could drop another 200 bucks, you could get a ligther summer bag and a smaller, lighter pack and get the base weight down to 10-12 pounds.
Once I get Chlorine Dioxide tablets I'll probably remove the Hiker filter.
I like to carry filters because it removes dirt particles. I don't care how much it weights.
Panzer
I like to carry filters because it removes dirt particles. I don't care how much it weights.
Panzer
a bandana can do that too