Gear List for April NOBO - would greatly appreciate comments or suggestions!

[direwolf]

Hey! I'm new here and I know that people must be tired of the constant gear lists, but if anyone has any comments or suggestions, I'd greatly appreciate it!

Planning a NOBO thru starting on April 24th with my girlfriend (hence the two person tent). We have both done plenty of hiking, but nothing super long distance, so the learning curve may be steep.
As for the stove and gas, they are both being carried by ms.direwolf (her bag is lighter either way).

Thanks in advance, hope to meet some new people in a couple of weeks (oh god!),

direwolf (anthony)

ps. hopefully the format is compatible (pdf), if not i can upload in another

[Slo-go'en]

Looks like you'll live :)

With an April 24th start, it should (it better) be getting warm down south so you'll be able to cut back on the clothes a little. Rain pants and gloves will be the first to go. I don't understand why people cut the liner out of thier shorts. It doesn't save much of any weight and your junk is going to be falling out when you sit down. You'll probably be wanting a lighter sleeping bag real quick too

I'm not much on sunglasses. However, I'll have a pair with me as thier prescription and will be my spare glasses, even though they some how screw up my depth perception and can't hike with them on un-even ground (which is most of the AT!).

Unless your planning on buying a large DSLR, the camara should come in at just a few onces. The one I just bought is only 4.2 oz and it has a metal shell.

I forget, do you have a water bag? Something to lug a significant quanity of water up from the spring with? (Remember, it can be a long, steep walk down to water in places and you don't want to do it more then once).

[direwolf]

Thanks for the suggestions slo-go'en!

I forgot to mention it, but my girlfriend will be carrying a water bag. Still haven't decided on the camera (definitely not DSLR though), so hopefully it will be lighter, as you say. As for the shorts, Ive always just loathed the liner - I figure thats what boxers are for - but it doesn't do anything in terms of weight saving!

[moldy]

Pretty good weight. I could go with it as is. The 3 tiny things you carry, that I won't: The sunglasses, the sun screen and the leatherman. This all adds up to just about nothing....I just don't use these things. I like to read, I'm not real pickey so I just have one book of "whatever I find".

[RockDoc]

Best of luck to you but it looks to me like you are asking to get real cold. No pants. No down sweater. No merino long underwear. No knit hat even. What are you going to do on the days when the high is 33 degrees (and sleet/rain)? Remember that your clothes gets soaked and doesn't dry out.

[prain4u]

I would agree (in most ways) with the comments made by RocDoc (with the exception that I am going to assume that--because you are Canadian--the "Toque" that you will be carrying IS your warm, "knit" cap. However, "Toque" is also the name of the typical chef's hat!).

There will still be some cold days/nights that can occur at ANY time during your hike--but especially early on. I believe that you are at the "extremely marginal" end of the scale in terms of having warm enough clothing for the occasional cold times. However, Hike Your Own Hike.

[direwolf]

Thanks for all the advice. Now you've got me worried - I was originally bringing convertible hiking pants, but something I read on here made me think twice about them. I figured I could go with running tights/shorts for cold weather and add rain pants for wet weather, but it is inevitable that the tights will get wet and I'll be left high and dry (so to speak). I'll have to do some more thinking I guess. As for the knit hat - yes, that is my toque (had a debate yesterday with one of my american friends about the use of that word) and I think it is warm enough, as well as my fleece sweater (I know its no down sweater, but I was thinking it would be warm enough - hopefully I thought right...).

I am also thinking about replacing my bag with a +2 degC bag. Any thoughts on this - do I still want something a bit warmer?

Thanks again!

[MuddyWaters]

6 oz running shorts without the liner? Since you wear UA underwear, you can get ~1.5oz shorts without a liner.
Walmart starter compression shorts are lighter than the UA underwear too~2 oz

56 oz boots. Wow . WOW.
Seriously, WOW

Dont really need sunglasses on the AT
Why a 6oz shortsleeve shirt when you can get a 3oz? Thats like carrying 1/4 lb for nothing.
10oz for running tights is pretty heavy. Powerdry long johns are half the weight

2 extra pairs of underwear?
4oz for a pack cover is absurd. You can get one that weighs 1-2 oz from silnylon
You dont need the stuff sacks for the tent stuff. roll up tight, and put rubber bands around .

Unless you are used to minimalism (and your gear list doesnt suggest that) you will want more sleeping pad. A lot more. This is your one place you should splurge.

Dont need spare batteries. You get to a town every couple days. Use judiciously, and then replace when needed. Your GF should be your redundancy.

get rid of leatherman, and tenacious tape, tent repair kit, and reduce first aid kit. Make sure have ibuprofen, loperamide, benadryl, duct tape, moleskin, needle, tweezers, sharp cutting instrument

seriously, 6' of duct tape is your repair kit for everything on the trail. body and gear. You can permanently fix later. Take a couple feet of some unwaxed dental floss too, it can be used to sew up gear with the needle for draining blisters. It is extremely strong and tough.

I wouldnt take aspirin unless you have a heart issue. Or pepto bismol.

only cutlery you need is a spoon. 0.3oz

Lightload towels weigh 0.6 oz

Food bag? bear cord? pack liner?

They polycryo ground cloth is light, but not weightless. About 3 oz probably for 2P when cut down

Fancy pencil, taking the insert out the inside of bic pen works well too, cheap and easy to replace.
If you are going to carry a notebook, Rite-in-Rain works well (waterproof paper), humidity alone ruins paper (see condition of shelter registers)

[direwolf]

Thanks alot Muddy Waters, haha I was wondering when someone would comment on my boots...turns out theyre only 48 oz, so maybe just Wow. WOW? I might end up switching to trail runners, but i think im sticking with my boots for now (hopefully not to my detriment...)

I'll keep in mind what you said about the first aid kit and all the little stuff - already managed to take off an extra pound, but added bear bag and cord with pack liner

[jrwiesz]

...turns out theyre only 48 oz, so maybe just Wow. WOW? I might end up switching to trail runners...

3 lbs. on your feet...like 15 lbs. on your back. Ray Jardine.

Get the trail runners, or something comparable.

Just my take. HYOH.

[Jagger]

What brand and where can I find running shorts that weigh 1.5 oz?

[Hill Ape]

your head is screwed on right with your gear, any little tweaking others may suggest you'll discover on your own by neels gap. i wouldn't bother with kindle or solar charger, they don't charge in the green tunnel. thats just me though, i don't carry any type of electronics at all.

your shoes man, seriously, one of the biggest advantages of going light is that you don't have to wear heavy boots. look at keens, or merril moabs, something lighter than what you're planning.

and the old saying is true, your gear is not what gets you there.

[MuddyWaters]

What brand and where can I find running shorts that weigh 1.5 oz?

They are hard to find now for men, all kind of womens though. Todays mens running shorts are longer and heavier fabrics than they used to be.
One really light kind used to be called onion skins.

The nylon tricot they use today is heavier than the plain nylon of 20 yrs ago, but softer and more comfortable apparently.
I find the old kind at thrift shops all the time.

Soffe "ranger panties" weigh about 2oz in Medium with liner cut out, and are about $10 online. They are actually sort of heavy.
I have older thin nylon shorts that weigh less no liner. One pair is 1.9 oz and down to mid thigh in Medium.

[-Ghost-]

A lot of people will give you crap for the boots and say do trail runners etc etc. I wore those exact boots for the majority of my thru-hike. I switched to trailrunners in VA because thats what everyone was doing. Switched back to my boots in VT. I should have never left them. I have always hiked in boots and am more comfortable in them personally. They are awesome boots. Stick with em if you are comfortable in them.

[mak1277]

Several folks talking about sunglasses, and I notice you say you don't have them yet, but need them. If you don't have sunglasses at all, and don't wear them frequently, then I agree with the people that say you won't need to bring them on the trail.

I wear my sunglasses pretty much every day in the real world, and I have worn them on pretty much every hike I've ever been on (even in the rain). I would never leave home without them personally.

I do also appreciate that you're taking truffle oil :-)