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nickamante
12-03-2012, 14:21
I've spent a while fleshing out my gear list for a March 2013 NOBO... I'm not trying for ultra-light, just comfortably light, but I'm sure there's still fat to be trimmed. I'd really appreciate it if you guys took a look and let me know if I'm forgetting anything or bringing along anything that's not worth the weight.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AoM1X-iCj-HxdFV5NTFNaVF2WnZQNktxRHBZQV92Umc#gid=10

Some things I'm still working to figure out are:

A good pair of light-weight camp shoes
A decent battery powered MP3 Player
Are Gaiters and/or Gortex shoes necessary for March?


Also, I know the weight totals are a bit off due to Summer/Winter gear being mixed in together, but it's just for me to get a rough idea for now.

BrianLe
12-03-2012, 15:07
Tent is on the heavy side. Are you starting early, mid, or late March? One option to bring down that 20# base weight is to think about sleeping mostly in shelters and going with a more minimal (while still useable, safe) shelter option.

I used a somewhat similar sleeping bag (Western Mountaineering Ultralite 20F) with a late Feb start. I have no idea how much warmth that "reactor plus thermolite" adds, but I hope it's a fair bit. What I did instead was to bring a pretty decent down parka, down booties, and very light silk long johns and wear all of that inside the sleeping bag on the coldest nights.
In that same context, I actually own a Montbell UL jacket, and I love it, but unless you're talking about late March, and you're reasonably fortunate about the weather, you might be a bit on the cold side. The great thing for me about the parka was that much of my time spent in camp on colder evenings/mornings was spent "half in the bag" --- i.e., my lower body was in the sleeping bag, but my upper body was out of it in order to eat, fiddle with stuff, whatever. The Parka (for me a Montbell Aplinelite) was a really perfect set of gear for the first month+.

For hand warmth: mittens, not gloves.

Gaiters: hard to say if they're "necessary". I brought a pair of very light eVent ones, if I remember correctly. I like them in some conditions. You can always mail them home.

Skip the deodorant. And the bug spray starting out. Sunscreen is questionable; it's possible to get sun early season, but I don't think I used it; just wear a hat.
Packtowel: yes, I cut mine down. Your preference might vary. For me the main use is to dry a single-walled tent (inside and out), but I mostly slept in shelters. That, and as a backup in case no other towel option at a hostel.

Camera: big weight hit there. You're carrying a great smartphone, doubtless with at least a pretty good camera. Unless you're really really into photography, make your life easy and just bring a spare battery (and charger) for the smartphone and use that as your only camera. If you must carry the Nikon, buy a spare battery for that (or two) and bounce the charger. Remembering that at least some shots will be just fine to take with the phone.

Pedometer: it's easy to know where you are on the AT, so each day you can calculate pretty accurately how far you came in how many miles. But like so many things, you can always mail it home later.
AAA powered MP3 player: a good idea IMO. If I were getting one today (I own a couple already) I'd probably go for this: http://www.amazon.com/Coby-MP315-4G-USB-Stick-Player-Display/dp/B0035P4BXO/ref=pd_sim_e_5
My hiking partner on the AT found the FM radio part to be his favorite thing to listen to (NPR, etc).

If your first aid kit is really a complete list it looks a bit incomplete to me. Yes, civilization is never THAT far away, but still.

Bring a sewing needle; weighs almost nothing, you'll likely want one at some point.

Plan for your platypus units if temps get well below freezing at night? (be sure to carefully blow out your drinking tube each evening)

I really appreciate this list --- you've done a careful job of making it pretty darned complete, and it's really clear what's there, what it weighs, etc. A lot of good choices built into this too. A light baseweight in cold weather is a real challenge. My starting baseweight was 17+ pounds, but my pack was less than half the weight of yours (I started with a Gossamer Gear pack) and my tent and sleeping pad options were lighter. If anything your clothing looks on the skimpy side for me --- I hope that thermolite reactor thing is better than I'm guessing it is --- if night time temps get down into the teens for you (as they did a few times for me) I suspect you might have the occasional chilly night to get through.

DeerPath
12-03-2012, 15:56
I have the AW100 camera and I use a PowerGen Rapid Smart Charger. This charger w/USB cord is 3.0 oz. You can charge your camera battery and cell phone at the same time. See this site at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/PowerGen-Multi-Purpose-Universal-Battery-Incredible/dp/B004B8ECMO/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1354564197&sr=8-14&keywords=powergen+charger

TheYoungOne
12-03-2012, 16:12
I'm not too familar with your Galaxy phone either, but I bet you can take pictures and listen to MP3 music on it, and leave the rest of the stuff at home.

I have a GSI Microdualist, and I'm confused with you weight on it because the total kit is over 17oz on my scale(I dumped the two "foons") and 18oz according to REI. The last time I weighed them each cup/bowl/lid set is about 3oz, so even if you removed one set, and did not bring the carrying case/sink you should still be a few ounces over 10 oz. I actually kept the microdualist for car camping/backup and for hiking I use a Snowpeak Ti pot with one of the GSI Cup/Bowl/Lid sets, and even with my alcohol stove everything comes in at under 10oz.


If you can I would go with your other suggestions with the sleeping pad, and/or the tent do it, I think it will be worth it.


That is my 2 cents. You did a good job with the spreadsheet. Good luck.

nickamante
12-03-2012, 16:20
A lot of good thoughts Brian! I'll be starting early March, so temperature is something I'm worried about.


Tent - I agree it's not the lightest but it's a nice tent and at $99 from the REI Garage sale I couldn't say no. I may decide to splurge on a TarpTent Notch, but I'm not sure I want to drop $260 for 18oz.




Bag/Liner - The Thermolite claims to be +20 degrees, though I'd suspect it's 5 at most, I figure I'll end up sleeping in my clothes a bit and at least the liner should keep some filth out of my bag. Another thought I had was to carry a hard plastic Nalgene so that I could toss some boiling water in the foot of my bag on the coldest nights, then ditch it for a collapsible bottle after March.
Down booties might be a good idea... do you think they'd be better than thick wool socks?


Mittens are a good idea, I always get cold fingers eventually with gloves.


I'm gonna take the weight hit on the camera because my smartphone sucks down battery so fast if I don't keep it off it'll be dead in a day of minimal use. I'm only bringing the phone because I feel I have to (mainly for in towns and coordinating with other hikers). The spare battery/bouncing the charger idea is a good one though.


MP3 Player: Pretty much every AAA battery MP3 player has crummy reviews :-) Have you had any experience with either of these? How do they compare to the Coby?
Electrohome - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0076N6L2K/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1
or
iRulu - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005Q6MX7G/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_9




First-aid wise the list is really stuff for blister/chafing/aches right now, but I'll pick up a small first-aid kit most likely.

Karma13
12-03-2012, 16:29
I got a little AAA Electrohome to try for the hike, and I have to say that in the month I've had it, I'm happy with it. I can load it with 2 or 3 gig of music, then I listen to it for 3 hours a pop during my training walks. Battery life is decent enough; it'll get me through a week or two, probably, for the amount of music I'm planning to listen to. And it has a little radio, too, which is nice (although that might use the battery faster; I haven't experimented much with that).

nickamante
12-03-2012, 16:30
I have the AW100 camera and I use a PowerGen Rapid Smart Charger. This charger w/USB cord is 3.0 oz. You can charge your camera battery and cell phone at the same time. See this site at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/PowerGen-Multi-Purpose-Universal-Battery-Incredible/dp/B004B8ECMO/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1354564197&sr=8-14&keywords=powergen+charger

Woah, that's awesome. I was going to try to find a wall charger for my camera since the cord is a lot of the overall weight, but being able to charge the phone or a spare battery at the same time is great... I'll definitely pick one up. Thanks!

jeffmeh
12-03-2012, 16:37
How long will your smartphone battery last if you are in "airplane mode," taking some pictures and listening to music?

nickamante
12-03-2012, 16:43
I'm not too familar with your Galaxy phone either, but I bet you can take pictures and listen to MP3 music on it, and leave the rest of the stuff at home.

I get this suggestion a lot; with cell/data off it might work, but my phone is a battery hog and I'd probably end up draining it by before I got to the next town. My plan is basically to stick phone somewhere safe from moisture and only take it out in emergencies and in towns if necessary.



I have a GSI Microdualist, and I'm confused with you weight on it because the total kit is over 17oz on my scale(I dumped the two "foons") and 18oz according to REI. The last time I weighed them each cup/bowl/lid set is about 3oz, so even if you removed one set, and did not bring the carrying case/sink you should still be a few ounces over 10 oz. I actually kept the microdualist for car camping/backup and for hiking I use a Snowpeak Ti pot with one of the GSI Cup/Bowl/Lid sets, and even with my alcohol stove everything comes in at under 10oz.

Good catch on my math... I have the Pot at 7.5oz, Lid at 1.4oz, and the Cup/Bowl/Lid combo at 3.4oz, so 12.3oz total. I think when I did the math at first I was just including one bowl (no cup/lid), but I found it leaves just enough room to rattle around in there.
What size Ti pot do you have? I've got an alcohol stove which I might toss in the bounce box in case I decide the stove setup isn't worth the weight.

nickamante
12-03-2012, 16:45
How long will your smartphone battery last if you are in "airplane mode," taking some pictures and listening to music?

I'm actually gonna have to try this.. without Airplane mode on my phone will go from 100% to 40% in about 8 hours of low to no use, which just makes me paranoid about trusting it in general.

SCRUB HIKER
12-03-2012, 17:44
Yeah, airplane mode might as well be called hiker mode. Your phone doesn't lose any charge from searching for a signal. I've never tested mine (HTC Droid Incredible 2) for very long, but I bet I could get 5 days out of it with one battery on airplane mode, taking pictures the whole time. I had a dumbphone when I was on the AT, but a lot of my friends were rocking smartphones for camera/tunes/phone all in one, and no one was running out of battery life. Pretty common hiker practice these days, at least for anyone under 50.

If you want lightweight camp shoes (I am still a big fan of camp shoes, even though I'm getting more and more minimalist each day with everything else), I suggest going to Target or Wal-Mart and getting a super-cheap pair of rubber flip-flops. If you wanted you could cut out part of the strap to make it easier to wear with socks, but I've never found that necessary. I don't know what mine have weighed in the past, but I'm guessing it's 5-8oz for the pair (Crocs are 10+ for reference).

BrianLe
12-04-2012, 04:49
"Down booties might be a good idea... do you think they'd be better than thick wool socks?"

Definitely, yes yes. I used Feathered Friends booties, which come as a two-part system: an eVent shell with a sort of sole, and an inner down booties. Wear the outer around in camp and the inner for sleeping. On other trails I might not want the outer so much, as in a solo tent scenario I tend to get in my tent and stay in it. On the AT, however, I spent pretty much every cold night in a shelter, and in that environment it was worth while to have the outer shells. But your feet are a key thing to keep from getting cold in the first place; so long as they have space to loft, they're definitely warmer for the weight than wool socks.

Airplane mode: yes, though I hear you on the issue of some phones being more of a battery hog than other. Look around before your trip, however, do some online searching for how to minimize battery hit and you can do more than just airplane mode to reduce the hit of having the phone "on" with the screen off at low energy cost. Hopefully your battery is one that takes a removeable battery; bring one or even two extras.

When you get into town, make it a priority to start charging. It's the AT, so you've got lots and lots of chances to do that along the way, in gas station mini-marts, stores, restaurants while you're eating, etc.

I used an older phone on the AT, and switched to a Droid X on the CDT. It was my only camera, and I blogged at some length every night, used the internet for weather forecasts and to upload journal entries, even on occasion as a GPS. Never ran out of battery power when I needed it. So it can be done, but there's some learning curve involved in keeping battery use low.

Separate MP3 player: mine is so light (1.6 oz with battery) that I find it worth having rather than listening on my phone. Battery power is a key reason why: I can listen to audio books or music without worrying that I'm running myself out of battery power for more important things (journaling, taking photos). It's also nice to have as a separate unit in my pocket that I can fiddle with and not worry about risking thereby any other functionality.
Reviews of these units: I find that they all kind of suck in one way or another, but that I can eventually learn the peculiarities of my unit and make it work for me.

On the off-chance that you would care to compare your list to what I started with in late Feb 2010, my honest-to-goodness complete list for that is here: http://www.backpackinglight.com/backpackinglight/forums/gear_lists/67fe0ded6ca475f01b01ecc540a5d632.pdf
I swapped out the Gatewood cape (and light bivy and disposable poncho) for a more conventional tent + rain shell combo fairly early on, due to blowdowns, but otherwise I think this is pretty much what I started out with --- and it all worked well for me. I really liked having the earbags; it gets not just cold but also windy that time of year. The rain chaps I don't think I used much, if at all. A windshirt plus a synthetic vest worked pretty well for walking in during the day early on.

CarlZ993
12-04-2012, 13:06
Nice comprehensive list.

Some personal preferences can effect weight. For example, I don't use a Camelbak-style (or Platypus big zip in your case) drinking system. My wife loves her Camelbak system. I prefer to have two 1-L Aquafina bottles & 2, 2-L Platypus water containers. This would weigh about the same are your set-up (mine = 5.6 oz) but allow for extra water capacity for dry camps.

You can always find something lighter that what you have. It just depends on what kind of budget you have to buy the lighter stuff. One question you have to ask yourself is do you have anything thing 'bigger' than it needs to be? For example, you've listed a 2-person cookpot - the GSI Microdualist. Nice setup. I own it. I wouldn't carry it on a solo hike. You could easily carry something around the 1-L size pot or smaller for at least 1/2 that weight.

nickamante
12-04-2012, 13:32
Some personal preferences can effect weight. For example, I don't use a Camelbak-style (or Platypus big zip in your case) drinking system. My wife loves her Camelbak system. I prefer to have two 1-L Aquafina bottles & 2, 2-L Platypus water containers. This would weigh about the same are your set-up (mine = 5.6 oz) but allow for extra water capacity for dry camps.

I'm actually thinking of getting 2 2-L Platypus containers and the hose attachment... it would weigh less than the Big Zip alone and the big zip is kind of a pain when you just want to pour some water in a pot.


For example, you've listed a 2-person cookpot - the GSI Microdualist. Nice setup. I own it. I wouldn't carry it on a solo hike. You could easily carry something around the 1-L size pot or smaller for at least 1/2 that weight.

Did you cook in your pot at all or just use it to boil water? I'm sure I could get away with smaller, but most of the one person pots I've seen look like if you tried to actually cook in them they'd boil over.

BrianLe
12-04-2012, 14:23
You could consider just eating cold (no stove) for the first month or so --- offset the extra clothing and such you're carrying for the colder weather. The food weight carried won't be that heavy on a per-day basis starting out as you won't have hiker hunger for a while, and resupply options are mostly pretty close together on the AT (assuming you can and are able to get out at Gatlinburg, that would be the one possible exception I can think of). Then if/when you got tired of eating cold you could have stove and pot and so forth mailed to you.

Drybones
12-04-2012, 14:25
1. Leave the pack cover.
2. You can save a little weight with a ligter compression sack. My Granite gear weighs 3 oz.
3. I have a couple of titanium cook sets but ended up taking a Foster beer can as a pot and a homemade alcohol stove. Weight for pot, stove, pot holder, wind screen and sack is 3 oz.
4. I thought about using the 1.8 liter Platypus I have but went with a 24 oz Smartwater bottle, it was all I needed. Did carry a 1-liter Platypus as backup and to carry extra water if needed, never used it. I carried a 2-liter Platypus to get water in camp. 2 liters was always enough for the night and enough to start with the next day...saved time getting water.
5. The 2 bottles of Aquamira I have weigh 4 oz. I carried 1-oz of bleach in a Clear Eyes bottle, 3 drops per liter...actually I put 3 drops per 24 oz bottle...when I used it at all.
6. I elected to use a poncho/tarp for rainwear to save weight, it also covered my pack, weighed 9.6 oz, I believe Golite has one at 7 oz....worked well.
7. I carried a pair of Seirus gloves also, my biggest mistake. The material may be waterproof but not the seams. My hands were wet and cold and I could not get the gloves on because my hands were wet, when I finally did get them on my hands were immediately wet. I now have a pair of waterproof mittens I use as a shell and have wool gloves to wear under them if needed. I did seam seal them even though they are supposed to be waterproof. If you use the gloves you have I'd recommend seam sealing them, which I did with the Seirus gloves I have. I'll still use them on shorter hikes.
8. I bought a pair of gators but did not take them due to weight. I now use the Dirty Girl gators which I highly recommend to keep trash out of your shoes, they weigh almost nothing.
9. Forget the deodorant...smell like a man...or maybe a skunk. I carried insect repellant but never used it, didn'y use the sun screen either...a mistake.
10. I took a lot of bandaids and stuff for my feet but the only thing I used was a small bottle of Newskin a friend left with me...definitely worth taking. I took only two pairs of socks but needed three to keep the feet healthy. Wet feet is what gives you the blisters. Change socks regularly and wash them often to get the grit out.
11. Rather than take a camera charger I used extra batteries. They weigh nothing and you can have them mailed to you along the trail.
12. At first I thought you had too many clothes but I believe you have what you're wearing also on the list.
13. I used the lighter version of your pack, the Granite Gear Crown 60 and loved it, extremely confortable. I believe the only difference in the two packs may be the hip belt. The tent I used weighed only 26 oz and packed small so I always carried it, poncho, and ground cloth in the back stretch pocket where I could get them easily. I used the ground cloth to sit on when I stopped for breaks.

Have a great trip.

CarlZ993
12-04-2012, 16:22
I'm actually thinking of getting 2 2-L Platypus containers and the hose attachment... it would weigh less than the Big Zip alone and the big zip is kind of a pain when you just want to pour some water in a pot.
The two 2-L Platypus (es; Platypi?) w/ a hose would be much lighter.





Did you cook in your pot at all or just use it to boil water? I'm sure I could get away with smaller, but most of the one person pots I've seen look like if you tried to actually cook in them they'd boil over.
I cook in the 0.9L Evernew (branded by REI; they no longer sell them). Plenty of room for one person's meal. Recently, I've used the Evernew 1.3L pot for my wife & I. She typically doesn't eat that much on the trail.
http://www.antigravitygear.com/evernew-titanium-ultra-light-9l-pot-eca252.html

I also made a reflectix pot cozy (1.1 oz) to keep the food hot while it rehydrates w/o using more fuel. Here's the antigravitygear version that I plagiarized my design from:
http://www.antigravitygear.com/antigravitygear-pot-cozy.html

q-tip
12-04-2012, 22:14
For music-I use the Sansa Clip--40 gig, 450 albums, 3.0 oz. including charger, lasts for 5+ days....

TheYoungOne
12-05-2012, 13:09
I get this suggestion a lot; with cell/data off it might work, but my phone is a battery hog and I'd probably end up draining it by before I got to the next town. My plan is basically to stick phone somewhere safe from moisture and only take it out in emergencies and in towns if necessary.



Good catch on my math... I have the Pot at 7.5oz, Lid at 1.4oz, and the Cup/Bowl/Lid combo at 3.4oz, so 12.3oz total. I think when I did the math at first I was just including one bowl (no cup/lid), but I found it leaves just enough room to rattle around in there.
What size Ti pot do you have? I've got an alcohol stove which I might toss in the bounce box in case I decide the stove setup isn't worth the weight.

I have Snowpeak 700 (4.8oz total weight), which the bottom will fit inside the GSI bowl & Cup . Basically its a X-large mug with a lid So my kit is a Snowpeak with with lid. Inside the snowpeak is a Vargo Triad Alcohol stove (1.5oz) in the little felt stove bag that came with the GSI and a small piece of pack towel. The a square of poly shirt material (just too keep the crud at the bottom of the snowpeak away from the bottom of the cup) then the GSI Cup and Bowl nessled at the bottom of the snowpeak. Then I have a piece of green scrubbing pad and the lid to the GSI. The whole thing fits inside the Snowpeak mesh sack and weigh in at 10 oz even.


The Microdualist pot is way too big for me and the heat transfer is better on the thinner Ti pot. Figure the full sized mountain house meals or Knorr Pasta or rice sides need 2 cups of water or less (on average its 1.5 cups). The max amout of water for food you will evey boil is only 16oz of water. The 1.4L GSI pot can hold over 47oz. My Snowpeak pot can only hold 24oz, that is a full meal and 8oz for a cup of coffee or tea. I do like the GSI because its more rugged though.

I bought the microdualist because it seemed like the better bargin when comparing it to the soloist, not much of a price difference and its a bigger pot, with 2 bowls and a extra cup and foon. If I was buying for a thru-hike though I would definately have gotten something the size of the soloist or a tad smaller.

Vulture
12-07-2012, 02:13
Sunscreen is not needed at any time- if my super pale GF can do two weeks in the worst part of august without sunscreen and no burning whatsoever, then no one should need it.

You will need bug spray. Parts of the trail turn into downright jungles in summer.

The only time I've ever wanted gaiters is going up a couple thousand foot high screen slope out west. I'm confident without.

That's a lot of electronics. The pedometer in particular serves no purpose, you'll pass a landmark every few miles at least.

The wallet is just dead weight- ziplock all the way.

I don't think a towel is necessary- squeeqeeing yourself off and then air drying for a minute works fine.

Shoe heel = trowel.

I don't think three layers of waterproofing is needed. Pack cover + another ziplock bag for the electronics should do you just fine.

BrianLe
12-07-2012, 15:04
"Sunscreen is not needed at any time" --> OP is starting in early March. A person that's not been outdoors might actually want a bit of sunscreen starting out at a time when leaves aren't on the trees yet. Indeed not a big deal on the AT, but not everyone has the same reaction to sun.

"You will need bug spray" --> OP is starting in early March. And can certainly figure out the bug issue later on. In fact, I almost never needed bug spray with a late Feb start and a July finish --- FWIW.

"I don't think a towel is necessary" --> for drying off a tent or tarp a light towel is useful, particularly a single-walled tent. Useful also if you ever hit a hostel that doesn't offer towels for showers; maybe this just isn't ever an issue on the AT, I don't recall.

"Shoe heel = trowel." --> I hope that you always make it to a pit toilet when you need to go then. And that you stay off the other trails where such amenities aren't available. I've encountered too many places close by the trail where, I presume, something like "shoe heel = trowel" was the attitude of the offender. Shoe heel doesn't do much against the roots and embedded rocks that I often have to work at quite a bit to get to any sort of responsible depth.
Trekking pole tip can start to get you there, if you're willing to work with it, but even then, it's a bit sketchy IMO.

Scotto
12-08-2012, 00:05
I just have a few comments. Excellent spreadsheet first of all.

I highly recommend something like Hydropel. I bought some "Bonnie's Balms" from Andrew Skurka. If he thinks enough of it to sell it then that is good enough for me. I have a .5 oz. tube of Neosporin in my first aid kit and I think it is too much. It weighs .6 oz. Your tooth brush weighs 1.5 oz. mine weighs .4 oz. I did chop off about an inch, but only so it would fit in my ziplock. I think it is a GUM. Your food bag carabiner is a little heavy duty, why not a ZPacks at .1 oz for $2. Your bear bag line weighs 4 oz. Why not 1.3 oz. also from ZPacks. A Big Dig trowel at .4 oz. is available at qiwiz.net, pricey, but light.

In evaluating my list, I am willing to spend $10 per oz. saved. Whatever your number is, it shouldn't be hard to cut an oz. here or there for very little money. The best way to save weight is to simply leave things at home. Others have pointed out some things that you may be able to leave at home. My own suggestion is the tent footprint.

Good luck out there, I'll be starting April 6th.

stumpknocker
12-08-2012, 05:23
Some things I'm still working to figure out are:

A good pair of light-weight camp shoes
A decent battery powered MP3 Player
Are Gaiters and/or Gortex shoes necessary for March?



This is the one I carried for quite a few years before I got an iPhone;
Sandisk Sansa m250 Black 2GB MP3 Player

It's an older mp3 player and you may have to look for one on an auction site. I think mine was well under $50.00, but don't remember exactly anymore.
If you think you might like it, but can't find a new one, send me a pm. I'll donate my old one to your successful 2013 thru hike.
It uses one AAA battery and weighs 1.4 oz without the battery.