Gear list Help!

[NLaeger]

Here is a first look at my Thru Hike gear list! This is my winter/starting list, I will drop some of the weight when it starts to get warmer...What am I missing? and what don't I need?
I've added the weight for things that I know and guessed on some of the stuff...Before water and food I am looking at about 25lbs...Thanks!

*Most things will be in dry sacks or zip locks

Shelter/ Sleeping	Weight
Big Agnes Copper Spur UL2 w/ footprint	3 lbs 8oz (I want the space, hence the 2person)
Marmot Angel fire winter bag (15 degree bag)	2 lbs 15 oz
Thermorest Prolite sleeping pad	16oz
Pack
Osprey Ariel 75 (this is the pack I have, possibly going smaller/lighter)	4lbs 8oz
Clothing (base layer)
Patagonia Capillene Long Sleeve Shirt	7 oz
Patagonia Capillene Long Pants	5oz
Clothing (Outerwear)
Marmot Jena Down Jacket	11oz
Marmot Minimalist Rain Jacket	14.4 oz
Lightweight Fleece jacket	6.6 oz
Clothing (wearing)
Lightweight wool t-shirt (shortsleeve)
Lightweight Long Pants
merino wool underwear
Sportsbra
Darntough socks
Salomon XR Mission trail runners
Clothing (Carrying in dry sack)
Lightweight wool t-shirt (shortsleeve)	5oz
lightweight shorts x2	1lb
merino wool underwear x2	4oz
sportsbra	2oz
darntough socks x2	5oz
Kitchen/Cooking (all in drysack with liner)
Alcohol Stove	1.5oz (weight includes stand and wind screen)
pot stand
windscreen
8-16 oz fuel in bottle	8-16oz
GSI Pinnacle Soloist pot 1.1L	10.9 oz
GSI Halulite cup w/coozie .6L	6.3 oz
Titanium spoon and fork	1 oz
Electronics
iPhone w/charger	7oz
Newtrent extrenal battery charger	6.8oz
Kindle	10oz
Panasonic Lumix waterproof Camera w/charger	7oz
Personal/Toiletries/First Aid Kit
Toothbrush
Toothpaste
Dr. Bronners Soap Toilet paper
Small Camp Towel	2.9 oz
Tampons (sorry guys, I'm a girl and have to carry them)
First Aid Kit (bandaids, moleskin, ect)
Misc.
Petzel Tikka headlamp	2.9oz
Guidebook/maps
Journal and pen
Small Gerber multi tool (knife, scissors, tweezers)	1.4 oz
Sun Visor
Bandana 50 ft parachord
H20
2L Bladder
1L gatorade type bottle
Aqura Mira Drops

[Tree Nerd]

looks good, before even starting you could drop the dry sacks and stuff your cloths or other stuff in the voids in your pack and invest in a rain cover or a trash bag as a rain cover. Speaking of rain cover, you dont have one listed? You could change the 50ft paracord to a lighter cord (if your currently using 550) and cut it down to 30ft. Drop the kindle and load what you absolutly need from it onto your iphone; from what I understand, most people are so tired at the end of the day they don't want to read. Rain pants? The pack seems a little big for everything you have listed, if you get a smaller pack it could possibly save more weight. Do you plan on taking camp shoes or a sitting pad?

All in all, looks great! I would do some things differently, but thats personal preference.

[NLaeger]

I forgot to list the rain cover and camp shoes.... I will have both of these!
Not carrying rain pants, my shorts/ pants dry pretty fast... I figure why carry one more thing that will just get wet?

[WhoDey]

I would add something like a 1/8'' foam pad to supplement the prolite since a lot of heat can be lost through the ground. A Kindle, iPhone, and camera? I personally wouldn't bring any but I would recommend just bringing the iPhone since it can do all three things. I ma not familiar with the bag but I hope you've tested it before at those temperatures. Overall looks pretty good.

[Razor]

If you are starting in the winter (before the end of April ) you will need rain gear-pants .Georgia,Tenn.,NC, can be wet and cold at the same time and be very dangerous . After you pass the Graceland Highlands ,north of Damascus, consider shedding winter gear . Then before the Whites in NJ pick the winter gear back up .You will need rain gear in both areas!

[RodentWhisperer]

Not trying to dis Big Agnes here (they are a local company for me), but have you investigated some of the ultralight 2-person tents? Tarptent, Six Moon, and others have very roomy shelters that weigh considerably less than the Copper Spur.

[Tree Nerd]

Piece of advice, get everything you plan on taking and weigh each thing individually. I just did this and everything I plan on taking, including the cloths I would be wearing came out to 35lbs before food or water. On a summer day, my pack would be 30lbs while on a winter day my pack would be at 27lbs. There are definately some things I am going to drop based on the sheet I compiled with all the weights for each item.

[kevin wells]

I would lose the fleece since u already have a down jacket. Your big 3 (4) are 12 lbs. I'd look there IF u were looking to cut weight. Have fun.

[Tree Nerd]

Piece of advice, get everything you plan on taking and weigh each thing individually. I just did this and everything I plan on taking, including the cloths I would be wearing came out to 35lbs before food or water. On a summer day, my pack would be 30lbs while on a winter day my pack would be at 27lbs. There are definately some things I am going to drop based on the sheet I compiled with all the weights for each item.

The only reason I say this is because you say some weights are guessed and some items are not even weighed. Those items that are not weighed or guessed could change everything, you could be up to 30lbs and not even know it.

[SunnyWalker]

I think you look pretty good unless you wish to go ultra light. One thing kind of stands out: jacket, fleece and down jacket. Hmmmmm . . . . think those over.

[punkin pie]

The Big Agnes Copper Spur is a piece of crap. Had one and sent it back. the material, even with the foot print, is very thin. I had holes in the floor after one use. If you use it, be careful what is under the tent when you set it up.

[stutterk]

Skip over this one gents:



Check out the diva cup no advice on it yet, but I'm looking into it for my thru

[swjohnsey]

I used a BA Flycreek UL1, basically same tent with front entry. Worked pretty well. When I got to the Whites a piece of the tape used to seam seal the zipper started to leak a little causing a drip. BA sent me a new tent and fly. Very good customer service. Oh yeah, the Flycreek weighs slightly less than 2 lbs (actual weight).

[swjohnsey]

Skip over this one gents:



Check out the diva cup no advice on it yet, but I'm looking into it for my thru

You can find 'em along with the orange trowels at the beginning of the trail.

[Datto]

Your backpack, sleeping bag, tent and sleeping pad are too heavy for AT thru-hiking. Those are the four big areas where you can cut weight when you get to Neels Gap (milepoint 31 or so for a northbounder) after you've had a chance to carry those up and down the mountains.

Here's what to look for when you get to Neels Gap (assuming you have money and aren't poor -- if you're poor you should be looking to change these out before you go):

Shelter -- use a 8x10 silnylon tarp and stakes -- Most AT thru-hikers stay in the shelter in order to get out quicker in the morning and just use their tent/tarp when the shelter is full or later on up the Trail, to continue the peacefulness of the day and hike until you're ready to stop and throw the tent/tarp out there -- if there's a storm, hike to the next shelter and hunker down there in the shelter
Backpack -- get one at least an entire pound lighter than what you're starting out with.
Sleeping bag -- you should reduce this weight to as close to 2 lbs as possible for a sleeping bag -- Marmot Helium or Western Mountaineering or Feathered Friends -- make sure you put these in a garbage bag in your backpack so the down doesn't get wet
Sleeping Pad -- just use a Ridgerest -- you'll get used to it after a while and you'll be able to fall asleep easily every night after hiking your miles

Also --

Lightweight Shorts -- just take one pair
Underwear -- Just take one pair -- many AT thru-hikers (male and female) forego this completely and go without -- not wearing underwear keeps the rot from taking hold, keeps the MBR at bay (Monkey Butt Runs) and avoids all the skin burnishing that underwear causes when you're making miles all day long -- I'd make sure that Merino underwear is going to work for you before you go -- wear it around the house for several days in a row and see if your body accepts that Merino wool fine (or not)
Fleece Jacket -- If you have a good insulating jacket and a raincoat you can dump this fleece jacket in the group of the first things to send home after you get a load of the mountains you'll be climbing
Short Sleeve T-Shirt -- just take one of these and make sure that Merino wool is going to work for you before you get to the Trail
GSI Pinnacle Soloist pot 1.1L -- That's too heavy. At Wal-mart get what's called a "grease pot" that is half that weight and works fine.
GSI Halulite cup w/coozie .6L -- That's too heavy -- if you have to have a cup get one that is much lighter. A plastic one would work fine and would be lighter.
Kindle -- If that makes it intact and still functional when you get to Damascus, VA (about milepoint 454 or so) I'd be surprised -- this should be first on your list to send home (or not take)

If money isn't much of a concern, you might consider using a bounce box to use to ship some of the stuff up ahead on the Trail -- that way, you can still have it available if you really need it (without shipping the stuff home and then having it shipped back to you).


Datto

[Datto]

Remember to take earplugs -- those will help you get much better sleep at night in the beginning of your AT thru-hike.

Also, mid-April through the summer months you'll want to have a No-See-Um headnet to keep the gnats from hugging your face while you're hiking. You may choose to sleep with a headnet on at night also since the bugs will be out at night too.

Take three eyehooks with you also so you can string up your carry-on shelter (tent/tarp) across the face of the AT shelter if a storm comes in blowing directly into the shelter (happened occasionally to me on my AT thru-hike and my eyehooks were useful for trying to get stuff dry-er that were soaking wet).


Datto

[Coosa]

If you're looking for ideas on how to reduce the weight in your pack, I suggest you get a copy of Lynne Whelden's dvd/video "Lightweight Backpacking Secrets Revealed" and watch it a couple of times.

Your pack weight reflects your fears. There are a lot of lighter items you could use to replace the heavier items you have.

Also, look for the various websites that list lightweight backpacker's gear lists ...

Here is part of my gear list ...

CAVEAT >>> BIVY LIFE IS NOT FOR EVERYONE. However, if you're going to be in a shelter most of the time, it's ideal, if you sleep on your back and like to snuggle under the covers. You're protecting your sleeping bag when you're in the shelter, you're protected from bugs and mice ... don't spill any food on your Bivy or put any food IN your Bivy ...

Eventually I'll even post the rest of my gear list.
1- Bivy ... 'heavy' REI Minimalist ... 15 oz
2- Tyvek ground cloth cut to size ... 2 oz
3- Uberlight closed cell torso pad [no longer made] ... 4 oz
4- Silnylon Poncho-Tarp ... 9.5 oz [could save an ounce if I used a small sylnylon tarp]
5- MSR mini-groundhog stakes [6] to set poncho-tarp up as lean-to ... 2 oz [trim the cords]
6- 1 Snow Stake as a trowel and stake to hold poncho hood out ... 1 oz
7- Spectra Cord for tie outs to stakes ... 0.2 oz
8- ZPack Trekking Pole Cups [2] ... 0.2 oz
9- REI Flash [Women's] 35* sleeping bag ... 28 oz
10- Cocoon Silk liner ... 4.7 oz
OR .... Sea to Summit Reactor Plus Thermal Liner for WINTER ... 9.3 ounces

Total: 64.6 OR 69.2 ounces

4 pounds .6 ounces OR 4 pounds 5.2 ounces

I could reduce this by probably half a pound to a pound, but I'm comfortable with this set up. It works for ME.

My clothing is part of my sleep system ... Inside the bivy, I can take the bag down 10 more degrees and with the Reactor Liner, another 10. Add my clothing and I can weather Three Season Appalachian Trail nights.

YMMV, Coosa