Luxury items?

[Bear Cables]

When I hike I carry my Contrail TT and I also bring a 7x9 sil tarp. I know it adds 16 oz to my weight but I don't care. I want shelter from the storms on the trail or a dry place to cook and hang out that is not in my tent. So I guess some would say it is a luxury item. What do others take that might be considered a luxury item but for you it's necessary?:-?

[Bucherm]

Camp chair, and my Nikon D3000 DSLR. But then I've only been doing weekenders.

[Hikes in Rain]

Good book. Lexan pepper grinder.

[Mrs Baggins]

Nalgene bottle of good red wine.

[SGT Rock]

Sudoku, cigars, bourbon, music, attitude.

[Just Jeff]

Always a camera, usually some kind of journal, sometimes a GPS just so I can record where I've been...I don't use it to find my way b/c I like a map and compass. Every now and then I'll bring my iPod for music/movies at bedtime.

I guess the extra suspension goodies for my hammock are luxury...I could do it with just cord and huggers but instead I use whoopie slings, dutch clips and huggers.

[Tilly]

Um I carry alot of luxuries.

Book, journal & pen, camera & case, cell phone (more out of a convenience factor than anything else, also I never have a 'home base' so sometimes I do need a way for the outside world to reach me) a 1/3 oz. container of oil for my hair, 2 extra pairs of underwear, clean sleeping clothes. I guess I could cut weight with all that but for now I'm okay with carrying it.

[sbhikes]

might be considered a luxury item but for you it's necessary?:-?

A cup.

It depends on your base of reference as to whether it's a luxury or a necessity I suppose.

[Tilly]

OOh, a cup! I forgot about the cup. I actually carry two cups (tho one is for someone else.) I also carry a knife for peanut butter. I don't like using my regular knife. Maybe that's a luxury item too?

Now thinking about it I also carry a stove, pot, instant coffee, cream, sugar, and tea. And hot chocolate.

[David@whiteblaze]

I brought a hatchet on my trip this past monday...and a phone... well worth it.

[Two Tents]

Jiffy Pop so I can have pop corn then use the 'fry' pan for eggs and or pancakes. It took some trail and error but I can make it happen pretty good now.

[David@whiteblaze]

hot chocolate is not a luxury, it is a necessity... and Tang (instant breakfast dring with more Vitamin C than Orange Juice!)

[safn1949]

1 oz nalgine bottles of Capt Morgan and 1880 tequila,just enough to mix with a can of soda.And snickers bars.:D

[scope]

...attitude.

This is a must-have (I assume you mean positive), not luxury.

[Monkeyboy]

Backpackers pillow.

[scope]

Dales, Old Chub, Little Yella Pils, TenFidy, Pork Slap and occasionally a little Yeungling, in various quantities.

[chiefduffy]

Cell phone.

[Bear Cables]

Nalgene bottle of good red wine.

Like it :D

[Just Jeff]

I guess I'd consider my cup a luxury b/c I never used to bring it. I cut down a flexible Nalgene (not the bladder kind) to make a gravity filter, then I cut off the bottom at 500 mL / 16 oz. Now I use it to measure with, drink out of, and put my freezer bag inside to keep it standing up while I eat. Multi-use, but not really necessary. Sure is convenient, though, and since it's the soft kind I don't have to worry about it cracking.

Works well for Maker's Mark and Knob Creek, I found.

[fiddlehead]

Gps and guitar.
I always seemed to be a sucker for using my spare time to learn something.

SBhikes: consider a styrofoam cup. Lighter than air so you are not really carrying it.

[sbhikes]

SBhikes: consider a styrofoam cup. Lighter than air so you are not really carrying it.

No way. I need a bomb-proof tchotchkey piece-o-crap. Built to last.

I have to fess up that last year on the PCT my luxuries didn't include the cup, but instead I had a book, a flute, some sheet music in case I wanted to learn a new tune and a picture of my boyfriend and me.

[Daydream Believer]

Backpackers pillow.

Ditto that. I really like my little stuffable pillow.:o I do carry a change of clothes also, some dry shampoo and camp suds. I am headed out for 7 days in a section in a week or so, and I plan to wash clothes at some point and let them dry overnight. Same with my underclothes. I hate being filthy. I carry baby wipes as well.

I will carry an Iphone with some audio books on it and internet access (just to check email assuming I have a signal which is not likely), and a solar charger for it. Not sure how well that will work...first time I've taken it. My Iphone also has topomaps of the area and a GPS.

I take a small camera also...the I phone takes very average photos.

[TIDE-HSV]

I always carry an old Alladin cup made by Stanley. They're squat, dark green, insulated and have a light green snap-on lid. They'll keep your coffee, hot chocolate warm forever. In fact, they're what I drink my coffee from at home. A couple of years ago, I was going on a short backpack with a good friend, Krewzer, former thru, and he saw that I had two with me. His eyes lit up and he asked if he could borrow it for the hike. I said "yes," but I watched it like a hawk and saw that it went back into my bag. Did I mention that they're not made any more? :)

[SerenitySeeker]

My planned splurge is an extra pair of aesics, many extra socks, foot powder, and hand/feet warmers to help dry out the wet shoes...beach shoes now as my camp shoes, and every time i find it along the trail Boathouse Farms perfectly protein mocha cappaccino 32 oz bottled drink...

[robmurphy]

Garmin handheld GPS just to see where I am at the end of the day when I'm ready to throw down the pack and pitch a tent on a hillside. I can make another mile in any condition if I know that's all there is to a shelter, water and privy.

[DiamondDoug]

I carried a 3 liter nylon bladder watersack that had a shower nozzle attachment so I could shower and shave every night when I got to camp.

I carried a change of clothes for "in camp;" a pair of running shorts, a rayon Hawaiian shirt and a pair of lightweight sneakers to wear after my shower.

I carried a lexan container of 16 yr old single malt Scotch whiskey, and everynight after my shower I had a cocktail, sipping 50 ml down the bottle. I had three such bottles; one in my pack, one on its way to get refilled, and one full on its way back. I got six days out of each.

I carried Triscuits and cheese for hors d'ouvres with my Scotch each night.

I carried 100% Kona coffee, a backpacker's filter and a mug, and every morning when I got up I brewed myself a cup of coffee before I hit the trail.

I considered these things neither luxuries nor necessities, but items I chose to carry to make my time on the trail more enjoyable. The weight was worth every ounce. Of them all, the bladder and shower nozzle would be the ones I'd least want to do without.

[Graywolf]

Native American Flute, nothing like sitting down amist a stream or an overlook playing some Native American style music..Just seems to fit...

Oh, and a solar charger for my camera...

I guess thats everything...

Graywolf

[M1 Thumb]

Diamond Doug, I like what you brought. It sounds like you had a very pleasurable evening in camp.

[fredmugs]

Sudoku, cigars, bourbon, music, attitude.

My attitiude has been known to weigh me down but hiking certainly lightens that load.

[modiyooch]

water.
If I know that the next watering hole is a mud hole, or stream, I will carry water.
I do carry filtration, but I hardly use it. I navigate to the springs, and piped water.

[Tipi Walter]

The more experience I get, the more luxuries I like to bring.

** Beefy 2 inch Base Camp Thermarest. Even Cascade Designs lists this one as a "car camping pad" but it sure works well for backpacking. 3.10lbs. Prolite 4 large in the summer.

** Overkill 36 sq foot 8lb tent and my home in the woods. I can spend and have spent 3 or 4 days in this tent during a blizzard or a rainstorm and I like the four season quality and the waterproof floor.

** Many books--I always take reading materials with me on a trip and always burn them all before the end.

** Excess food and a wide variety of stuff including apples, pears, grapes, pecans, 4 or 5 different cheeses, avocados, homemade burritos with mayo, etc etc. And I always end up with more food than I need.

** A little Sangean radio with headphones. I don't even consider this a luxury.

** In the winter, a Feathered Friends Icefall parka. Now this is a true luxury and very few, even if they had the money, would carry this jacket. But I sure like it in the middle of a long winter trip.

** Down pants and down booties. Most would not take these items but they are very light and pack small and help greatly in camp comfort during long winter nights.

[ShoelessWanderer]

hmm...two man tent (extra space, so worth the weight!), red wine (not always, but quite often), a book (a MUST, not considered a luxury in my life), chocolate (not really a luxury, again, more of a necessity :))

[maicheneb]

Native American Flute, nothing like sitting down amist a stream or an overlook playing some Native American style music..Just seems to fit...

Oh, and a solar charger for my camera...

I guess thats everything...

Graywolf

That solar charger for the camera is an AWESOME idea. Is it a heavy setup? I will have to weigh (pun!) the options of that vs. an extra battery with its plug-in charger (for town stops).

[rpenczek]

In addition to my BA insulated air core, I carry a shorty ridge rest to use as a situpon and as a pillow at night (rolled up, its just right).

I generally hike with a group (6 to 8 Boy Scouts and two other adults) and we use a white gas stove to cook as a group (boil water), but I also bring my giga power and a titanium cup so I can make my coffee as soon as I get up, teenage boys sleep in way too long for me.

I also carry baby wipes for doing the business and crocs for camp shoes.

Finally, I carry a journal and camera to capture the moments, boys grow up way too fast.

I am not sure what these items weigh, but given all the pointers I have learned from all of you here on WB, my pack is plenty light enough and comfortable to carry for my three to 12 day trips.

[flemdawg1]

Piece of Tyvek for sitting on and beneath pad in shelters.
Blow up pillow
Real food, while my partners carry energy bars.
Crocs.
journal and bible.
a 3rd pair of socks

[warraghiyagey]

Vonfrick . . . .

[Frolicking Dinosaurs]

Mods - Warraghy stole my answer.... He-Dino