View Full Version : Please Critique My Gear and Food List!
Hey everyone, so I was getting organized on an upcoming 4 day hike from Camel's Hump to Mount Mansfield on the Long Trail and I figured that I might as well just throw a video together of everything I'm taking and post it on here to see what you fine folks have to say about it! I want to lighten my load which is currently going to be about 30 pounds with food and water. I want to go lighter, but I can't afford to switch out some of my heavy items at the moment because I have no money. So any help with what I could replace for cheap, or get rid of all together would be much appreciated! Just don't be an ******* about it cause I'll just ignore you ;) Thanks! Here is the link to the video, sorry it's a bit long! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcwP6J7p_2Y
RodentWhisperer
08-15-2012, 11:18
Your stove is brilliant. Making a can that small into an alcohol stove is pure ultralight. Kudos. Your budget (or lack thereof? :-) ) leads me to make just a few recommendations.
First, if you're not going solo (and I don't remember you saying so), compare your gear list with that of your hiking partners. Share the load of staples/emergency supplies (repair kit, first aid kit, map/compass, water treatment, etc.) and everyone's pack weight goes down.
Second, even if you're going solo, consider reducing the sheer amount of your supplies. Do you really need such a big pack of matches, when you'll only be using your stove for three dinners? Why take the fire starter if you won't be getting a campfire going? How many pills of aspirin would be sufficient? Do you really need an LED light if it doesn't get dark until 10:00-- and one of you partners has a headlamp to light up your nighttime card games?
Third, question some of your choices of gear. Although you can't afford high-end gear purchases, there are ways to work with it. For example, you could ditch the Nalgene bottle (almost 9 oz) for a 1 L Gatorade bottle (less than 2 oz)... even by grabbing one out of the trash and washing it (as a friend of mine once did). You could also get rid of many of the stuff sacks; use your pack as a giant stuff sack. Just be sure to have a liner (say, a plastic trash compactor bag) in order to keep everything protected from rain.
you should think about what you really need-- not what you want.
Thanks! If I was going for a longer hike I would ditch most of the matches and quite a few other things, but since I'll only be gone for a few days I've decided just to say screw it. I have thought about switching the Nalgene for a Gatorade bottle as well and plan to do so for longer hikes, but until I can come up with a few more things to save weight I'm just gonna stick with it. And as far as the catfood can stove goes... I'm getting rid of it after this hike because I have an MSR pocket rocket coming in the mail, as well as a new and better pot. Because I usually only do short trips, the added weight of a real stove is worth the easier, safer and more convenient boiling of water. However if I ever do a trip long enough that it requires resupplies in town, I will definitely take the cat food can stove rather than carrying extra fuel canisters. Thanks for the feedback!
jakedatc
08-15-2012, 19:39
Don't say "screw it" do it correctly and you will eventually come up with a good system that you can use for every trip regardless of distance. 4 day trips are perfect shake downs for longer hikes. if you want to lighten your load, especially without buying new stuff you need to look at things harder.
take 1 mini bic lighter and 1 book of paper bar matches. put a little of the antibiotic cream in a snack baggie or small container. 4 days.. skip the ipod. if someone is bringing a filter then use that, skip the iodine. how are you getting water into your bottles? the LT is extremely dry right now and many of the sources are just pools in streams. cut a plastic water bottle in half to use for a dipping cup. if you are only using the Nalgene for at night then definitely go to a gatorade or smartwater bottle why carry 1/4lb empty for nothing? skip the bug spray, i had exactly 1 bug bite for 280mi (plus that is a HUGE bottle), skip the pepper spray you will not use it. you are going for 4 nights.. you need like 1-1.5oz of alcohol per boil. thats like 6oz not a full bottle. repack it in an empty water bottle. also a lid for the pot even if it is a square of tin foil a few layers thick will increase your efficiency.
I would bring 1 metal fork of the cheapest lightest crap metal you can find, since you are only doing ramen. you don't need soap to clean your pot after Ramen.. bit of water on the sponge, wipe, dry, done. DO NOT wash your pot at a water source, especially with soap. or get some freezer bags, repack the ramen 1 per 1qt or 1gal if you are doing 2. boil water, put in freezer bag with crunched up ramen, wrap in your fleece and let cook for 5-10min. can do the same with Pasta sides 1 per qt bag in all kinds of flavors for 80c-1$ each and a lot tastier. either way no clean up, seal and put in your food bag/trash bag.
"not paying 30 bucks for a headlamp" but you paid how much for the multitool that will hardly get used that you could have used a $5 pocketknife? just sayin' you have to think about what will actually get used. a good Petzl headlamp will last a very long time and can be found on 20% off sale or whatever.
Everything i brought on my LT thru hike. I made it the entire trail on 1 canister of fuel, i only cooked breakfast maybe 3 mornings and boiled less than 2 cups of water 16 nights. i chose it over my alcohol stove because 1 100g canister weighs the same as 12oz of alcohol which would only be good for 10-12 boils. resupplying 1 canister is a lot easier than resupplying alcohol multiple times.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v115/Socjake/Long%20Trail%202012/0717021957.jpg
I think you are doing fine on gathering equipment and skills. I am sure you will have a fun and safe hike that you will look back on in years to come and be happy.
I have that same inexpensive multi tool from Cabelas and like it very much--I was surprised because I wasn't expecting it to be so good--I was just going to leave it in the truck but now it is in my day pack instead.
I forgot what you are taking that you need to cook--Happens when you get old..--but maybe you could go with just cold food and not take a stove. I always like to have the option of a hot drink not but when I was your age I didn't drink coffee so I didn't carry a stove sometimes. But there were fewer restrictions on people then and I could almost always count on a fire if I was cold--not so these days. I think you will like your new stove and maybe you will start doing some 'real' cooking when it comes. Mac and Cheese anyway.
Don't worry about not having name brand gear. You have made good choices and are not missing anything major that is essential it seems to me. Have fun, looking foreward to the video.
Thanks for the response. The mutitool was actually 4 dollars to be exact, and I've had to use it a couple times when backpacking and hiking. I would lessen the amount of HEET I'm bringing but this will be the last time I'll use my alcohol stove so I just poured it all in, I hope I use as much of it as possible because if I don't than I have no use for it. I also might have to be using my stove for my friend as well. I went and looked for Gatorade bottles but we don't have any at the moment so for this trip the Nalgene will do. I don't feel like re-packaging the matches so I won't do that this time but I will next time, I usually just bring one lighter and that's it but my friends need matches for their stoves and the fires and everything. I'm carrying the only first aid kit for us three so I think the amount of anti-bacterial cream is a good amount for this trip. The bottle of bugspray isn't that big and it is also half empty, and last time we went on a trip it was VERY helpful so I'm bringing it. I've decided to skip the iPod and my journal, not sure if I showed that in this video, I don't think I did. You seemed to be pretty on edge about the things I'm bringing, I'd like to see your reaction to my friend's gear list... a pack with a full sized pillow and a hatchet on the back is pretty funny...
jakedatc
08-15-2012, 21:18
" You have made good choices "
He is bringing extraneous things that are unnecessary. He asked for a gear critique not a pat on the head lol
for my last 3 nights on the trail i ditched my tent, rain pants, phone/camera chargers at my friends house because i had clear weather and wanted to go lighter. 20lb pack for 4 days over 65 miles was pretty damn nice
You mentioned several times that you weren't concerned with overpacking because if the short duration of your hike. Remember, ounces add up to pounds and if you are carrying a pack that you are uncomfortable with that extra weight can be detrimental to your hike.
You also mentioned several times that you weren't sure why certain items were packed. These are things you should know. If you don't know why they are packed then you will never use them.
Your first aid kit was good but again seemed over packed. Instead of gauze rolls pack a couple tampons. In third world countries they are used to plug bullet wounds. I noticed two aspirin bottles and both sounded half full. Why?
Closest to my heart is your food. I noticed a lot of chicken ramen. I am a novice when it comes to walking a stateside trail for fun but I know that when the day is done I want to be able to enjoy my meal and not just survive on it.
HYOH, your equipment is only crap if you say that it is. Anybody who says otherwise can be the first person that you use that pepper spray on.
-Ray
Thanks for the response. A lot of the things I said that I wasn't sure why they were packed was basically because I was tired and lazy haha, but yeah there are many things I packed that I could get rid of. My last pack was 35 with food and water, this one was 30 so five pounds is a good improvement! As I get some lighter gear I hope to bring it down even more, and combining that with the tips on here will hopefully get me very light! Yeah I ditched one of the aspirin bottles, it wasn't my first aid kit so I didn't put any of the things in there, this morning before I posted this I ditched one of the bottles of aspirin. And to address the food issue, I hear a lot of people hating on Ramen Noodles... I actually love them haha and I eat them for lunch quite often at home, not just on the trail. And I hope you were kidding about the tampon thing...:-? You have no idea how much **** my friends would give me for that haha
Dude - the stuff looks fine - I'm already sort of "over" AT thru hike gear lists and even LT end-to-end gear lists. I can't believe that you made me watch your fu*&ing youtube video to look at gear for 4 days - - carry whatever you want for 4 days! REALLY? (I'm being funny - sort of) Have fun, ok.;)
jakedatc
08-15-2012, 22:54
Dude - the stuff looks fine - I'm already sort of "over" AT thru hike gear lists and even LT end-to-end gear lists. I can't believe that you made me watch your fu*&ing youtube video to look at gear for 4 days - - carry whatever you want for 4 days! REALLY? (I'm being funny - sort of) Have fun, ok.;)
you know, there are other trails OTHER than the AT and LT... actually the majority of people are not doing these trails. Having a base gear list that works for most trips with a few adjustable pieces depending on the weather or length makes things easier to pack/prepare.
He could have posted over at BPL where he could have had them tell him to burn everything but the cat stove and start over. my suggestions were pretty tame and just took out a lot of unnecessary things without costing him a dime.
in the grand scheme of things 30lb for a 4 day trip is a lot, especially since he didn't list a tent. There is a lot to be said to research and buy things correctly the first time so you don't have to re-buy things later.