SOBO 2015 Gear List

[Jhgibson]

Hello Whiteblaze,

Below is the gear list I have currently compiled for a SOBO thru hike from July-November/December. Planning to go light, but not necessarily ultralight. Open to any and all suggestions so fire away.



Gear


PACK


Osprey Exos 58L


Zpack medium dry bag


Zpack shoulder pocket*


Aloksak for wallet


SHELTER/SLEEPING


Tarptent: Moment DW


20 degree bag


Boxers


Capilene Long Undewear: Bottoms


Capilene Long Undewear: Top


Thermarest Z-Lite


Exped Air Pillow UL-M


COOK


Zpack cook kit stuff sack


Lighter


MSR Pocket Rocket


Pot


Koozie for pot


SS spork


Isobutane cannisters


Bear Bag Kit: Zpack


SMALL ESSENTIALS


Small containers for stuffing


Tooth brush w/ tube


Floss


TP


Nail clippers


TOILETRIES


Body glide


duct tape


Krazy glue


Foot powder


Vaseline


Blister treatment


800mg Ibuprofen


Pill Aleve


antibiotic ointment


Immodium


Ambien?


MISCELLANEOUS


Safety pins


Needle


Thread


Tent pole sleeve


Cream/roll on Insect Repellent


Headlamp


Batteries


Lifeproof Fre


Sawyer Mini water filter


Platypus Softwater bottle


Mosquito head net


Headphones


Ear plugs


Bandana


AWOL guide


Anker 6000mAh 3.7v recharger


Packtowl


Chapstick


Leatherman


Hand sanitizer


Tootpaste


CLOTHING


Darn Tough Socks: 2 pair


La Sportiva Xplorers


Exofficio briefs: 2 pair


RAB jacket


Houdini


Patagonia/NW Alpine hoodie


Synthetic T shirt


Capilene Top


Capilene Bottom


NF Quarter Zip


Beanie


Shorts


Montbell wind pants


Zpack Rain Kilt


Zpack medium dry bag


GG LT3L Trekking poles


Dirty Girl Gaiters

[lisaj825]

My mini Sawyer filter does not thread well with a platypus soft bag. I got a lot of leakage, which is very aggravating when you're trying to fill your hydration pack. If you haven't tried to do so, might not be a bad idea to try it before heading out. Or, maybe I just had bad luck with it. I ended up buying a sawyer water bag, and never had another leaking problem. I have heard the SmartWater bottles also thread up well, but haven't tried them myself. Good luck!

[jdc5294]

Pretty good, I was always on the minimalist side for clothing so I had about half what you do. Some people can't deal with being that grimy but once you get out there for a while I really found you stopped noticing it, and also no one cares trust me. I just had 2 sets of quick drying rumney-type material tshirts and shorts, and a rain jacket and pack cover. I carried 3 pairs of boxers but stopped using them about a month in and threw them out. Anyway a good way to judge is pack up everything without food and water, I feel if you're over 15 pounds you're wrong but again it's all preference.

I had a Tarptent Moment (the original one) and it was OK but it got stolen in Catawba and I never used a tent again, and never missed it. Your choice.

[rickb]

My mini Sawyer filter does not thread well with a platypus soft bag. I got a lot of leakage, which is very aggravating when you're trying to fill your hydration pack. If you haven't tried to do so, might not be a bad idea to try it before heading out. Or, maybe I just had bad luck with it. I ended up buying a sawyer water bag, and never had another leaking problem. I have heard the SmartWater bottles also thread up well, but haven't tried them myself. Good luck!

The threads on Evernew Bags work well for the dirty water side -- worth googling up more on thread issue.

Its not the threads on the SmartWater bottles that make them so attractive, but rather the cap has a pull out nipple that is sized perfectly to receive the male clean water output-- worth playing with.

[rickb]

I am not going to make any suggestions regarding a 20 degree bag for a July start, but you might do some more research on that.

At the beginning of your hike you will surely get some nights when it gets cold and the bag would be welcome-- but you will also get many when it is very hot. Be aware that sleeping in many shelters with a 20 degree bag can be problmatic-- it can be too hot to zip up but too buggy to sleep on top of.

Also check out how much clothing July Sobos find necessary. The balance of the certainty of heat vs. the possibility of a few cold nights can be tricky to find.

A leatherman can be replaced with a snickers bar to increase overall happiness.

Roll on insect repellent? Liquid DEET seems to be the way to go -- take care that it does not leak.

I would prefer an extra pair of socks or two over some of your insulation, but se ms like conventional wisdom on that has changed. For my a clean dry pair of socks can be very uplifting -- even if they don't stay that way. The trail can be wet in the wilderness.

Not sure I like the idea of crazy glue for cuts, but I could probably learn something rom you on that.

One luxury item I might consider would be a very light pair of gloves-- for the skeeters in camp as much a as anything.

[RockDoc]

Rather than blister treatment, think about blister prevention. Once you have blisters there's no satisfactory treatment except not hiking for a few days. We carry body glide (no need to carry vasoline too), blister shield powder, blistobans, and wide athletic tape (not duct tape!) to tape heels. If you do get blisters you need a way to lance them to drain the fluid.

We like the spray bug repellant rather than roll on or liquid. Makes it easy to spray the neck/ears area which is the big target for most of the bugs.

I don't think a leatherman is a wise use of weight, it's so rarely needed. The Swiss Army Classic knife or similar is what we use.

Seems like a lot of clothes with some duplication; shorts, boxers, and underware? Quite a few shirts/tops? The idea we used was that if we put everything we had on, we would be warm. I don't think it's possible for you to put everything you have on... there's too much stuff.

Otherwise, that's a great list.

[BirdBrain]

Leatherman ps4 squirt for multi tool. Agree with body glide comment above. I inspect feet daily and clip and file nails as necessary. Therefore, I carry small clippers and a small nail file. Feet are too important to neglect. Permethrin on clothes for bugs. I take a very small amount of Deet but never seem to need it. I guess once you are used to black flies, all other bugs are wimps.

[Jhgibson]

Thanks to all of you for the advice! Great that the gear list is starting to thin out.

At this point I'm mainly stuck on two things: Pants and an insulating layer.

As far as pants go, I'm leaning towards taking the capilene tights and wearing the athletic shorts over them on colder days. I run hot as it is and once I'm moving my legs won't get too cold. Any suggestions here are welcome, however.

For insulation, I'm thinking that my mountain hard wear wicked lite and the RAB jacket won't be the best options without a layer in between. In this regard, I'm considering a mid weight layer. My options that I currently own are the Montbell thermawrap, Northwest Alpine spiderlite hoodie, patagonia r1 quarter zip, and a lightweight Northface quarter zip pullover (think capilene mid weight). Currently deciding as to which will be best when used in a layering system. Lastly, I'll be taking the Patagonia Houdini as a layer incase I get chilled and need something light. This piece has proved invaluable to me on numerous occasions and greatly helps keep the windchill off.

Let me know ya'lls thoughts, can't wait to hear!

[orthofingers]

Small point: why take ibuprofen and aleve? I'd just take the ibuprofen for its analgesic as well as anti inflammatory properties.

[Rising3agle]

Hello Whiteblaze,
Below is the gear list I have currently compiled for a SOBO thru hike from July-November/December. Planning to go light, but not necessarily ultralight. Open to any and all suggestions so fire away.

Sawyer Mini water filter
Platypus Softwater bottle

I've also had a lot of trouble with a platypus softside bottle mating to my Sawyer Mini - definitely going to follow up on the earlier advice on checking into a different bottle for my dirty water.
One thing I do add for 'clean' water bottle is a soft-side Nalgene 48oz/96oz bottle. it's only 2oz, packs up really small, but lets you get a large amount of water for camp time in the evening. Usually 48oz is enough - 16oz for cooking, 16oz for coffee, leaves me some to drink or whatever. what you don't want to have to do is hike back down to get more water, and if you have enough for the next morning to get going it's even better.


Headphones
AWOL guide
Anker 6000mAh 3.7v recharger

I assume from the recharger and headphones, you have a smart-phone of some sort with you. I highly recommend checking into the digital / PDF version of the AWOL guide; it's only $8, downloads to your phone/tablet/whatever, and with cheap / free software can easily replace the heavier book. I use GoodReader (I'm an iPhone guy) and I can pinch-zoom in to see as much as I want on my iPhone 6. Another plug (if you have the money) is GutHook's guide - that thing is amazing. how far the next water spot is, elevation, etc - it's an amazing app. but at a minimum I would replace the book with the PDF and save the weight


Leatherman


these can be heavy, depending on what you got. I picked up a 2oz micro-leatherman that has small set of pliers, knife blade, small screwdrivers, scissors, tweezers, and nail file - and has a clip to attach it to something. It's an absolute jewel. It wouldn't replace a full leatherman but I haven't needed much more than the lightweight utility - pot grabber, bag opener, tick picker, it's all in that tool. This leatherman and some gorilla tape (don't mess with cheap duct tape - buy good gorilla tape, and wrap it around an old credit card or something and not a water bottle / trekking pole / something that gets wet or beat up) is all I have for repair kits, and the tape is part of the first aid

also looks like a bit of extra clothes - but that's a personal decision. as long as they're light, not a big deal imo.

the big thing I would focus on is your tech - since you're carrying a recharge-btty, I would look at using the smart phone for multi-purpose stuff like AWOL guide, Guthook app, journal, etc. If your phone is in a LifeProof case, even better. I use about 20-35% power / day, depending on how often I check my position on Guthook and call home; with a btty pack that can recharge 2-3x (6k should do that) you should easily get a week or longer out of your setup

have fun!

[bemental]

+1 for Guthooks and digital AWOLs

[Goozpah]

Maybe this question has already been answered, and if so I would appreciate it if someone would redirect me to an article/thread with the answer. I am planning a SOBO thru-hike for 2016, and I'm wondering what size pack to get. I don't have any ultralight goals, but I don't plan on carrying a hotel room on my back either. I had been considering the Osprey Atmos 50, but I talked to some hikers with moderate experience, and they seemed to think I need a larger pack, maybe the Atmos 65. Any advice?

[Sue_Bird]

as an RN, recommend carrying tylenol/acetaminophen in addition to ibuprofen. You don't want to overdo it on the NSAIDS--taking them daily can actually delay the daily healing that needs to occur when you're thru-hiking and make you more prone to overuse injuries. Also, you can take acetaminophen and ibuprofen concurrently without any problems. Generally not recommended to take more than 800 mg ibuprofen in a single dose.

But these are small details. Have fun!!! Maine was my favorite state and I hope to SOBO on the AT someday.

[Sue_Bird]

Maybe this question has already been answered, and if so I would appreciate it if someone would redirect me to an article/thread with the answer. I am planning a SOBO thru-hike for 2016, and I'm wondering what size pack to get. I don't have any ultralight goals, but I don't plan on carrying a hotel room on my back either. I had been considering the Osprey Atmos 50, but I talked to some hikers with moderate experience, and they seemed to think I need a larger pack, maybe the Atmos 65. Any advice?

I have carried the Osprey Atmos 65 for many, many miles. It's a big pack, but efficient in that it really does direct the weight onto your hips/legs where it belongs. If you're not ready to move into ultralight territory (which involves lighter packs and lighter-everything-else), the Atmos is a great pack.

I knew people who hiked with the 50--you can make it work. It's occasionally somewhat uncomfortable when you have a big food carry, which on the AT is rarely the case.

[snowpiercer]

Thank you for posting. This has been very helpful. I'm also beginning a sobo hike in July!