May 2015 NOBO Thru Hike Gear List (Please comment & help but weight)

[wamodr01]

http://lighterpack.com/r/fzp9o5

I have tried to get all of my gear for under $300 and a base weight of 15lbs. I am right on the borderline of that 15lbs with still a few items to add.

I am wanting to switch out my pack (Jansport Katadin 50L) for one that fits a bit better, my torso is too long.

I think I could shed some weight on the tent by moving to one that utilizes my trekking poles, but I don't have too big of a budget to be dropping $200+ on a tent.

Please let me know what you think, or anything im missing/could drop to cut weight.

Thanks in Advance!

[soumodeler]

The TartpTent ProTrail (http://www.tarptent.com/protrail.html) is only $209 if you can get one. I think there is a backlog because of demand for them.

[Frye]

I'm going to focus on making inexpensive changes.

Ditch the camelbak. A two liter platy is like 2oz. Filling camelbaks gets annoying for most people anyways.

Make a stove out of a fancyfeast can and use heavy aluminum foil for the windscreen. The stove is the potstand and combined with the screen should weigh about an ounce. It's also a better stove then the pennystove. (I think Skurka's site has a simple howto.)

Ditch the athletic shorts. Hit up good will and get some lightweight running shorts. They'll weigh about 4 or 5 oz's.

2oz's of tape? You won't need that much unless you tear your tent completely in half or rip a leg off.

You have a spare oz of duct tape?

Walmart boxer briefs weigh under 3oz and work as good as ones made by Patagonia.

If you have a smart phone than don't worry about a camera. Unless photography is a hobby you probably won't notice the difference.

I honestly only carry camp shoes in warmer weather. Pretty much to play in streams.

[fastfoxengineering]

REI Flash 45. Size Large is actualy a 50L pack. REI outlet at $90 right now. trim the extras and you get left with a pack at about 32oz, might be for you

Tarptent protrail - $209, 27oz

Maybe just go with a tarp to shed alot of weight and save $$$ a good tarp is <$100

And along the lines of frye, inexpensive changes I see you can make to shave some weight.

1. ditch the camelbak, get a 2L softbottle and carry 2x gatorade/smartwater bottles
2. you cooking pot could be lighter. kmart grease pot roughly 1.1L and $10 weighs about half your pot
3. you could have a alcohol stove, pot stand, and windscreen for less than 1.5oz
4. i only purchase mini-bic lighters for hiking. they last forever on the trail, unless your chiefing a pipe
5. a long handled lexan spoon cost $2 and is lighter than your 1oz spork by a few tenths of an ounce
6. msr camp towel is overkill at 2.6oz. Get a 1oz packtowel or use a light load towel

I know, some of these reccomendations are only shaving tenths of an ounce. You are however in an UL subforum. We are gram weenies here.

The little stuff really does usually add up to 6-8oz. And on the grand scheme of things, that's half a pound!

ps. bring some hand sanitizer and tp my friend!

[4eyedbuzzard]

Have you slept in the sleeping bag in cold weather yet? 40° rating is questionable, and the reviews on Amazon aren't great regarding warmth. It gets cold in the mountains at night, even in April and May. I'd worry much more about this item than the tent or anything else.
Rain gear? Jacket or poncho/packa or?
Base layer? Especially with marginally rated sleeping bag.
Tweezers - good ones for tick and splinter removal.
AWOL Guide or Companion?
Maps? Mini compass? (yeah, old school)

[wamodr01]

Wow! Thank you all for the advice so far! That gives me some great room for improvement.

I will have the AWOL PDF on my phone, I have my wind shell to also serve as rain gear. I saw that the bag I have has some negative reviews, but I tend to sleep very warm. On a recent trip to Kilimanjaro, I didn't use my sleeping bag until about 14000ft. I will be doing shakedowns every weekend from now until I head to Springer Mountain to lighten my pack and figure out what works. Thank you all for your help! Please keep it coming!

[Frye]

A windshell isn't rain gear. It works for some people out west but we get real rain in the Appalachia. A windshell will fail in 10 minutes. (Not saying not to bring a windshell, I love em, it's just not rain gear.)

[CarlZ993]

Wow! Thank you all for the advice so far! That gives me some great room for improvement.

I will have the AWOL PDF on my phone, I have my wind shell to also serve as rain gear. I saw that the bag I have has some negative reviews, but I tend to sleep very warm. On a recent trip to Kilimanjaro, I didn't use my sleeping bag until about 14000ft. I will be doing shakedowns every weekend from now until I head to Springer Mountain to lighten my pack and figure out what works. Thank you all for your help! Please keep it coming!

Non-waterproof jacket for your rain jacket? Yikes! I'd recommend a rain jacket (or at least a poncho). It can still be chilly in May on the AT. Add a cold rain to it & bad things can happen fast.

FYI - The last day I saw snow falling on my thru-hike was 5/13/2013.

Regardless, good luck on your hike.

[Butch_Lodi]

You definitely need raingear. A light cheap rainsuit is frog toggs, available for around $25 at Walmart. You have to be careful with them though, they rip easy.

[CoconutTree]

For rain gear, at minimum an emergency poncho or a trash bag worn as a rain vest is worth carrying. But even with that I think you will quickly want to upgrade once you are on the trail, so might as well take care of that now. Drop the wind shirt if you have to in order to bring better rain protection. Drop the tent and take a cheap tarp before going without rain gear.

You have nail clippers, but a Swiss army classic knife, if that is what you are taking, has a small pair of scissors which can be used to trim your nails if you want to be a gram weenie.