Gearlist for my June SOBO Thru, tell me what I'm missing

[DocMahns]

Clothing:
USMC Fleece Cap
USMC Boonie Hat
Peace/Love Bandana (going for a Full Metal Jacket theme here, haha)
Ballistic sunglasses
Merino wool blend base layer shirt
Merino wool L/S lightweight sweater
Merino wool S/S t-shirt
Gloves (wool inserts, poly gloves, leather shells)
Nylon rain jacket (Army PT jacket)
Nylon rain pants (wind pants)
Merino wool compression shorts x2
Merino wool base layer tights
REI Sahara zipoff hiking pants
Darn tough wool socks x2 and fluffy wool socks x1
Vibram fivefinger camp shoes/river crossing shoes
Merrell MOAB Ventilators

Gear:
Pack- TBD, pretty set on ULA catalyst
Black Diamond Ergo hiking poles
Trash bag pack liner
BD Headlamp
Cheap compass
clothing stuffsack

Cooking:
Jetboil SOL, 4 season mix 450g
BIC lighter
titanium spork
aquamira
two nalgene bottles 32oz
water storage bladder platypus 2L
food stuffsack

Sleeping:
Big Agnes bellyache 15deg bag
Hennessy Explorer Deluxe/Supershelter/Typhoon rainfly
bubble insulation reflective pad

Ditty bag:
NSAID/Allergy pills/bandaids/goldbond
TP
Purell
toothpaste/brush travel size
comb for my beard
bugspray/premethrin
sunscreen travel size
chapstick
nail clippers
earplugs

Misc:
leatherman
100ft 550 cord
duct tape
emergency blanket

Total packweight less actual pack/water/food is 21.8lbs
Any minor thing I can switch out at little to no cost would be considered
All of my big ticket items (minus the pack) I can't afford to swap.

[DocMahns]

forgot to add an Arc'teryx Fortrez fleece

[4eyedbuzzard]

Thoughts . . . I'd ditch the 100' of 550 para cord for something less stretchy like 50' of dyneema so that it could also be used as hammock suspension repair in a pinch. You probably won't need the platy for extra water in New England - plenty of water here especially in spring. Bounce the permethrin or buy new when needed - if you treat your clothing prior to leaving it will last through several wash cycles.

[tarantolk]

Head net. Or serious bug repellent. I got chewed up and spit out last year mid-June.

[4eyedbuzzard]

Head net. Or serious bug repellent. I got chewed up and spit out last year mid-June.

+1 or +2 on bug repellent. Although you say you are carrying bug repellent make it a big bottle of DEET (honestly, the naturalpel and other alternative stuff is just gravy for ME bugs) and long sleeve shirt / long pants and headnet. It's a crapshoot though. Some areas the bugs will be out in force, others they won't. And when the black flies go in for the evening the skeeters come out for the shift change.

[Slo-go'en]

You could go with a much lighter bag, it's not going to be that cold in June, chilly yes, but not 15 degree cold. Plus it will be warming up quickly, by the end of June it will be down right tropical.

You probably won't need gloves at all, but light liners might be handy a few times until you get out of the Whites.

A couple of 20 oz soda bottles is all you need for water, no need for the heavy nalgenes.

I never found a need for a Leatherman type tool - a small locking pocket knife is really all you will ever need. I carried an emergency "space blanket" for years until the package wore out and then I thew it away and never carried one again.

Camara? you will want to take pictures won't you?

A bug net hat is highly recommended. DEET is pretty much useless, black fies overwhelm you with numbers and they seem to thrive on DEET. The only effective repelant is a physical barrier. Tics are not much of a problem up here in the woods most of the Lyme problems are on the coast. Hopefully this really cold winter without a lot of snow cover so far will put a dent in the tic population. You'll want to worry more when you start to get out of New England.

[DocMahns]

All helpful stuff, thanks guys!
I will invest in some bug netting.
Slo- I'm working on getting a camera, I just haven't decided what to go with, funds are dwindling and they tend to be pricey
as for the nalgenes I really like the wide mouth on them vs the narrow mouth on anything else, this is why I chose them. Maybe I'll just cut it down to one Nalgene? The sp

[DocMahns]

*The space blanket will probably end up getting left at home.

[DocMahns]

You could go with a much lighter bag, it's not going to be that cold in June

The BA seems pretty light and I really like the compressability. I can't really afford a replacement for it and purchased it knowing I'll probably need it hiking into colder weather down south, same with the supershelter. I assumed I could just use it as a blanket or quilt in the warmer months.

[BuckeyeBill]

I am going to be carrying two wide mouth nalgenes. One for coffee with this filter . I intend to use the second one for soaking beans so I can quickly cook ham and beans.

[Slo-go'en]

Slo- I'm working on getting a camera, I just haven't decided what to go with, funds are dwindling and they tend to be pricey

I've actually had pretty good luck with really cheap kid camaras. Well, the last one I got wasn't too good, it had to be held really still not to get a blurry picture. But you can probably find a decent camara for about $50 on sale/discontinued if you look around. Also ask around friends and family, some one you know likely has a draw full of old, but perfictly good camaras kicking around.

[DocMahns]

I've actually had pretty good luck with really cheap kid camaras. Well, the last one I got wasn't too good, it had to be held really still not to get a blurry picture. But you can probably find a decent camara for about $50 on sale/discontinued if you look around. Also ask around friends and family, some one you know likely has a draw full of old, but perfictly good camaras kicking around.

My buddy says he's got an old one he might be giving me, but it's not shock proof or water proof so I'm hesitant to take it on the trail. I guess something is better than nothing though.

[Turk6177]

+1 on the spectra cord. http://www.zpacks.com/accessories/spectra_cord.shtml Also, I am not sure what size bic lighter you have, but I like to carry the two small ones. One of those I keep tightly sealed in a ziplock in case the other one ever gets wet. I would add a permetherin treated mosquito head net for Maine. I was in the 100 mile wilderness this past summer and I am soooooo glad I had that head net. You can get rid of it later. I would go with a tiny Leatherman or the small swiss army knife that has the tweezers inside it. I think you can dump the nalgene bottles and get a couple 1 liter platypus bottles with the sport squirt top. Lastly, and this is a preference thing, I know aqua mirra is lighter, but you have to wait 20 minutes every time you get water to be able to take a drink. That is 5 minutes for the drops to react and then another 15 minutes to treat the water. I used to use AM, but now I prefer my Sawyer Squeeze filter. It also fits right on your platypus bags, should the bags it comes with leak. I also don't carry toothpaste. I use Dr. Bronner's peppermint soap (a couple drops) for brushing my teeth. You can also use the soap to clean your pot, bandanna, etc. It really doesn't taste that bad.

[DocMahns]

I'll have to look into upgrading my cordage, I was just going to use the 550 cord because I had a spool of it laying around from the military.

[Weather-man]

I'd drop the leather-man or maybe switch to a micra.

Personally I like to carry a 2x2L bladders for camp water. That's just because I'm lazy and in the evening will treat 5.5 liters (my 2 bladders, Gatorade bottle and smaller bottle) which gives me water for the night meal, pound a liter to hydrate, breakfast water and water to start the day's hike with. I just don't like messing with treating water in the AM, especially if the water is a hump.

[CarlZ993]

Internal warning bells go off when I see anything 'Military' for backpacking gear (whatever an Army PT rain jacket is). That usually means it's heavy. Budget wise, it doesn't seem like you can do much to address bigger ticket items. Still, Mountaingear.com has a sale going on now on clothing. I just ordered a super-light rain jacket for $45 off regular price ($105 vs $150). Other examples also exist that will probably be lighter than what you're taking. Something to think about. If you win the lottery, be sure to buy a lighter sleeping bag.

Smaller items:
Liner gloves only
Ditch the Nalgenes. Wt =~ 6.3 oz. X 2 = 12.6 (empty) + 2L Platypus (1.3 oz) = 13.9 oz. Two Smart Water bottles (@ 1.4 oz each) & 2L Platypus = 4.1 oz.
Cord: Only need 50' max. Paracord is heavier & bulkier than other options out there.
Fuel = You might be able to get by w/ the smaller canister (depending on how often you boil water; I saw some guys last several hundred miles on a small canister w/ their JetBoil).
Shirt = nylon bug-resistant (infused w/ Permithirin) might be useful; I know ExOfficio makes some shirts like this
Pack = ULA makes good packs; I used the Circuit; sounds like you'll need a larger one for capacity

Anyway, really look at all your stuff before you go. It's amazing how little you really NEED to do a thru-hike. I carried stuff that I never used (compass) or rarely used (sunscreen/sunglasses). For my NoBo hike, there were things I wished I brought (Microspikes). See what you can cull before you go. Just don't run out of bug juice (DEET).

[Slo-go'en]

My buddy says he's got an old one he might be giving me, but it's not shock proof or water proof so I'm hesitant to take it on the trail. I guess something is better than nothing though.

Neither are any of the camara's I've carried for many, many miles. With just a little reasonable care, there shouldn't be a problem. Keep it in a plastic bag when its raining and don't drop a rock on it. Get a little padded case to put on your shoulder or waist strap to keep the camara handy.

[DocMahns]

Internal warning bells go off when I see anything 'Military' for backpacking gear (whatever an Army PT rain jacket is). That usually means it's heavy. Budget wise, it doesn't seem like you can do much to address bigger ticket items. Still, Mountaingear.com has a sale going on now on clothing. I just ordered a super-light rain jacket for $45 off regular price ($105 vs $150). Other examples also exist that will probably be lighter than what you're taking. Something to think about. If you win the lottery, be sure to buy a lighter sleeping bag.

Smaller items:
Liner gloves only
Ditch the Nalgenes. Wt =~ 6.3 oz. X 2 = 12.6 (empty) + 2L Platypus (1.3 oz) = 13.9 oz. Two Smart Water bottles (@ 1.4 oz each) & 2L Platypus = 4.1 oz.
Cord: Only need 50' max. Paracord is heavier & bulkier than other options out there.
Fuel = You might be able to get by w/ the smaller canister (depending on how often you boil water; I saw some guys last several hundred miles on a small canister w/ their JetBoil).
Shirt = nylon bug-resistant (infused w/ Permithirin) might be useful; I know ExOfficio makes some shirts like this
Pack = ULA makes good packs; I used the Circuit; sounds like you'll need a larger one for capacity

Anyway, really look at all your stuff before you go. It's amazing how little you really NEED to do a thru-hike. I carried stuff that I never used (compass) or rarely used (sunscreen/sunglasses). For my NoBo hike, there were things I wished I brought (Microspikes). See what you can cull before you go. Just don't run out of bug juice (DEET).

I opted out of a lot of military gear that I had laying around and upgraded much of it. The jacket is literally just a nylon shell with a mesh interior lining, and the pants were the same. It's just like a nylon track suit. I suppose I could go lighter with it though and have been looking into different rain gear that's affordable.
The bag is 2lbs 7oz, I don't know if that's heavy for a bag but the alternative was my military sleeping system which weighs infinitely more. I was actually surprised at how light it was in comparison so I figured I WAS going light with that option haha.
I'll have to ditch the poly gloves and leather shells and keep the wool liners only, that seems like a common theme in many posts here.
I chose the 450g fuel canister out of convenience of not having to try and find jetboil canisters on the trail and just get one and done kind of deal. I'll have to look into the smaller ones though if you think I can stretch that one, I imagine I'll be using it a lot though and my thought process was it'll get lighter the more I use it.
I was going to go with the circuit but I think I'll need the extra volume for the hammock set up alone.

I'm going to do a couple shake downs and see what I really need vs. what I don't need. I'm going to really evaluate my rain gear though, that seems like I could save some weight in that category now that you mention it.

[DocMahns]

Again, thanks for all the advice guys. Just when you think you have everything dialed in and set in stone.... haha seems like that's how it always goes when it comes to this stuff.

[Last Call]

Lots of people feel more secure with a bear bell attached to their pack, Coughlan's makes a good one, sometimes can be found at Wal-Marts. However, there is some debate on how effective they are, but for 2 or 3 bucks it surely can't hurt, and the weight is minimal. Flavor packets for your water are another good thing. Hope this helps.