08 Thru Gear Help

[mtnkngxt]

Ok so I've broken the news to my parents that I'm taking a semester off to hike and decide on a major since I'm halfway done with two majors I hate. Truth is I'd like to live and work in a trailtown. Anywho I've got my gear list and was wondering what y'all thought. All painful scrutinizing welcome and appreciated.

Base:

NorthFace Terra 40
North Face 20 degree synthetic bag
Eureka Solitaire
Thermarest Prolite 3

Cooking/Water Purification:

Katadyn Hiker Pro
Pocket Rocket/Wood Burner torture test will decide who goes.
MSR Dry Storage Pot
MSR packsoap
1x1 piece of pack towel (3) for cleaning pots and or water purifier.
Oldfashioned military can opener
Light my Fire Spork
Bic Lighter (2)
Coleman fingernail size saltpepper shaker mixed them together to save space and only need one shaker
2 Nalgene 1000mL bottles
*All the cooking supplies including the pocket rocket fit in my pot*
2 canisters of Iso fuel if I take the pocket rocket.

Navigation/Firstaid/Survival/Toiletries:

Sunto Compass
Waterproof matches
Whistle
Gerber Tiny Tool
Kershaw pocket knife
Hikers Roll Toilet Paper
4 Ziploc bags
Sport Nebulizer
4 Treatment Packs
Wall Charger
*First Aid*
Benydril Stick
Neosporin Stick
Ibuprofen
5 Bandaids Assorted sizes
6x6 sheet of moleskin for blisters
needle
Water Purification tabs
Most Importantly DUCT TAPE

Clothing

2 Pairs boxers
1 short sleeve synthetic shirt
1 long sleeve synthetic shirt for sleeping
1 cotton shirt for intown use
1 pair Pants with zip offs for shorts
1 belt
3 pairs smart wool socks
1 Pair old navy flip flops
1 pair boots havent decided which pair of mine I'm wearing Torture test to decide in the coming weeks.
Prescription Sunglasses
1 Beanie
1 Ball Cap

Camera. Music device
Ipod 2G
USB charger
Camera havent decided which one to buy
Cell phone for emergency and charger

Oh and food

[mtnkngxt]

Shoot already forgot

4000cui Pack Cover covers tent and pad so they stay dry

*Clothing*

Columbia Bugaboo Jacket with fleece liner
Winter coat/rain jacket.

[Blissful]

You could cut ounces that quickly add up to pounds -

Duct tape works good for blisters.

Why are you bringing a can opener? Get one knife - like a swiss army knife that has a couple of tools with it. Not many tools are needed though. I'd make sure to get one with tweezers and scissors (to cut nails, etc).

If you need a charger, suggest you bounce them in a box for town use. But get a camera that uses batteries.

I'd skip the salt and pepper. Most hiker foods are well salted. But that's just my opinion. You could grab a few salt and pepper packets to take with you next time you eat out, but we never used ours.

You don't need waterproof matches if you have lighters.
Consider using spring water bottles (like Aqua FIna) or soda bottles for your water containers as Nalgenes can be heavy. You can replace them when you are in town.

We broke two Light My Fire sporks on our hike. I dislike them. A 70 cent utra light spoon worked just as well and never broke.

You might want to leave the sunglasses at home. I wear prescription ones too but didn't need them. Unless your eyes are really sensitive, a baseball cap works good.

Convertible pants usually have a belt on them.
You need gloves. What are you wearing to hike in?

Get trail runners.

[Blissful]

Start date? A pair of synthetic long johns is good for early in the hike. Temps can dip below 20 degrees. Might consider a liner.
A balaclava is handy in the wind early on.

And of course ID, credit card, debit card
Journaling?

[mtnkngxt]

I'm planning to leave the last few day of March or April 1st. I hadnot even thought about a swiss army knife I'll definetly trade the other 3 items out for one. I have a set of ultralight fork, spoon set made by GSI, that Ill trade out for the spork then. I only keep about 10 waterproof matches in case of emeregency. Gloves I have never used but I guess it wouldn't be a bad idea to get some. I like the balaclava by OR I'll pick one up soon. MY credit Card and ID are housed in a neopreen ID sleeve to keep them dry. As far as journaling goes I'll get 2 pencils and a small 2x2 100page notebook and when they fill up mail them home and get another. I also forgot my Leki poles It helps As I'm kinda clumsy sometimes.

[Blissful]

Some other stuff I thought of overnight -

piece of Tyvek is good to have
only need one canister of fuel - fairly prevalent on the trail and you can ship it to yourself up north (we used a pocket rocket)
Bear hanging gear?

[hopefulhiker]

It would be good if you could weigh your stuff and try to cut some ounces off...

[warraghiyagey]

Looks good with not a lot of shakedown extras although I did see three chargers listed. Might want to pare that down to zero. Also, you may want to go with a breathable shirt for town too. Cotton can retain moisture even when it's not out in the rain - and get heavy.

extra tool will probably see little to no use. I use my lightweight knife for everything requiring a tool. Hasn't failed me yet.
Enjoy your hike and congrats on making a great decision for your future. Surely you will have a much better grasp on your course of study folowing your trail experience.
Oh. . . and,

[SlowLightTrek]

You would be happy with good raingear/windshell. The northface raingear I had retained its waterproofness all the way to Katahdin. Trail runners are designed for a fast pace. Heavy boots will take their toll on you feet once your pace increases. You won't need more than 2 pairs of socks. A 3 or 4 liter platypus tank is great for those long treks to water when you are tired. Gatoraid bottles are less than an ounce and have a wide lid for mixing drinks. The nalgene bottles are around 5-6 ounces each.

[Appalachian Tater]

Ear plugs will come in handy.
Consider an alcohol soda can or super cat stove.
You need maps and a guide or data book.
Leave the town shirt at home.
Consider trail runners instead of boots.
Carry a small piece of green scrubby to clean your pot with. Pack towel you don't need to clean your pot--if you need anything, you'll wish you had sandpaper.
What are you going to carry & hang your food in? Do you have bear bagging line?
Did I miss your headlight or other light? Sanitizing gel, toothbrush.
Also, like Blissful said, go with the plain plastic spoon for function, weight, and cost, and like SlowLightTrek said, forget the nalgenes, go with Platypus containers and/or Gatorade or soda bottles. Either Schweppes or Canada Dry makes their quinine and soda waters with big necks and there's a brand of water--Aquafina, I think-- that does, too.

Look at some of the other packing lists, you're probably leaving out some other things. Also, some of the posters can really give great suggestions if you list weights, your approximate start date, and your direction.

[mtnkngxt]

I appreciate all the info and the warm welcome. I have one of those stamp.com scales at home but not here at the college.

Ive spent today revising and repacking alot of my stuff dropping some things and picking up others. My bear bag kit is just 75 feet of parachute cord and a stuff sack. I typically tie the line to my nalgene and throw that over the branch. I think I can do the same thing by tieing it around a gatorade neck.
Green Scrubby pad is a great idea and Ive replaced the pack towel with it. Dropped the GSI utensils for Wendys fork and spoon. Got two bandanas at the dollar tree. Ill bounce box the canisters of fuel and only carry one if I carry a pocket rocket. I'm liking the idea of a woodburner more and more. I'm thinking of dropping the tent for a tarp tent and a sheet of silnylon for rainy nights as a temp hammock. I have been fooling with the idea for a few days and I'm liking the fact that it allows me to either just pitch the tarp and sleep on the ground or if the ground is wet tie up the sheet and use it as a hammock.

Weights I will post as soon as I can find a digital scale or some other scale Ive looked at walmart and such and can not find one. Departure will be April 1 and I'll be NOBO.

[rafe]

Weights I will post as soon as I can find a digital scale or some other scale Ive looked at walmart and such and can not find one.

A week ago my local Costco had a small digital scale for $20. IIRC, max capacity of 5 lbs. and 0.1 oz resolution. You can find them at office-supply stores as well (Staples, OfficeMax, etc.)

[mountain squid]

Looks good. In addition to what has been mentioned already:

hydration system for drinking on the go (and as everyone mentioned forgo the Nalgenes)
hand sanitizer
sun screen (no leaves on the trees in Apr)

what is a wood burner torture test?
Look in the food equipment section at WalMart for a cheap scale.

See you on the trail,
mt squid

[Blissful]

Dropped the GSI utensils for Wendys fork and spoon. Got two bandanas at the dollar tree. Ill bounce box the canisters of fuel and only carry one if I carry a pocket rocket.

Weights I will post as soon as I can find a digital scale or some other scale Ive looked at walmart and such and can not find one. Departure will be April 1 and I'll be NOBO.

I don't recommend bouncing fuel canisters- they have to go surface mail and sometimes they will take a long time to get to your town (it took five days for my bounce box to go surface from Franklin to Fontana and I missed it). Suggest you buy when you can, and when you know there isn't an outfitter available, have someone mail the fuel surface to your destination at least 2 weeks ahead of time to ensure it's there.

Get a 70 cent lexan spoon at an outfitter. Plastic spoons from Wendy's will melt over an open or hot flame.

Also, if you are taking off a semester, be sure you can finish in time to make the fall semester. If your classes start in mid August, you'll probably need to start in March. Plus the fact a hundred hikers start April 1st and it's gonna be jammed.

[mtnkngxt]

Ok I'll have to get a lexan spoon when I get down to Damascus in a few weeks, thanks for the heads up about the melting, I would have eventually figured it out but I appreciate it. Sunscreen and hand sanitizer I hadn't even thought of nor toothbrush or toothpaste. Once again appreciate the insight and reminders.

My torture test will be basically taking it on multiple weekend hikes and have someone use my pocket rocket and I'll use the woodburner and just put heavy wear and tear on them and then decide which one I'll take. I have a couple of pocket rockets I have picked up from friends and I have a woodburner genius that I'll be sourcing my first Woodburner from. I also have a few of my own designs that I plan on making over Xmas when I have access to my welder and dremel.

[SlowLightTrek]

Whatever shelter system you go with you will definately want some kind of bug netting when it gets warm.

[pyroman53]

Did I miss it? Seems like you'll need some sorta jacket.

[mtnkngxt]

Ive got a Columbia Bugaboo its a rian shell/coldweather outer with a fleece goretex liner

[Dakota Dan]

I would like to see recent Thru-hikers "End Gear List".

I've been searching the WWW, talking to people, reading mags and books trying to find or put together "gear list" of what hikers FINISHED with, I think this will help me most in putting together or adjusting my gear I start with.

[Appalachian Tater]

Here's my list from 2006 with a few updates noted. Nalgenes are the light soft plastic ones made for travel, etc., not the hard kind.

GEAR

PACK
Granite Gear Nimbus Ozone with Lid
trash bag pack liner (started with Sea to Summit pack liner)
trash bag pack cover (used Cloudveil pack cover to hold it on)

SLEEPING
stuff sack for bag (all stuff sacks were OR Hydrolite)
rectangular silk bag liner
Thermarest Prolite 4, short (thinner Prolite 3 would have been fine)
clothing stuff sack for pillow
bandanna for pillowcase

for warm weather (Harpers Ferry to Glencliff):
X Marmot Trails bag (no rating) (was cold a few nights) (Now have Marmot Atom bag)

for cold weather:
Marmot Helium bag (15 Degrees) (wished it had a full zipper, was hot some nights)

SHELTER
Henry Shires’ TarpTent Rainbow model, with attached floor
stakes
stuff sack

HIKING POLES
Leki Makalu Titanium UltraLite

WATER
2 liter Platypus with hose, mouthvalve, and stopcock
1 liter wide-mouth Aquafina or Seagrams tonic water bottle -(for mixing lemonade or extra water) (Now use another Platypus)
Katadyn water filter
Iodine and vitamin C tablets as back up - 1 week supply

KITCHEN
Lexan spoon
MSR Titan Kettle
homemade white trash vienna sausage can stove
aluminum flashing wind screen
Nalgene denatured alcohol fuel bottle 8 oz
small Bic lighter
small scrubbie - 2” x 3” approx.
Nalgene with Dr. Bronner’s soap 2 oz
two OR Hydrolite stuff sacks for food- one for daytime grazing and midnight snacks, larger for breakfast and dinner
Nalgene powdered drink mix bottle 8 oz
tiny carabiner - for bear bagging
Kelty triptease cord, 50 ft - for bear bagging

CLOTHES
OR Hydrolite stuff sack
Trailrunners
Superfeet blue insoles
LL Bean Cresta wool socks, 3 pair
liner socks from Wal-mart, 3 pair
$1 beach flip flops for camp and showers
nylon shorts with liner (for town, sometimes for hiking)
short sleeve tee shirt (for town)
Marmot PreCip rain jacket
Smartwool watch cap

sometimes wore straw hat or baseball cap for sun, bugs, or rain

in warm weather:
short sleeve tee shirt
Mountain Hardwear shorts with belt
Capilene midweight boxers

in cold weather:
X fleece jacket (would use down, fleece is too bulky and heavy) (now have Patagonia down sweater)
long-sleeve athletic shirt with zip neck
thin wool sweater with button neck
zip-off long hiking pants with belt
Capilene midweight longjohn bottoms
glove liners - no gloves

HYGIENE
OR Hydrolite stuff sack
lip balm
medication & MVI
ear plugs
toothbrush
toothpaste
dental floss
tweezers
fingernail clippers & file (on knife)
disposable razor
toilet paper
alcohol gel
baby butt wipes soaked in alcohol

MISCELLANEOUS
large cellulose sponge to wipe sweat - bandanna is useless
knife with small blade, nail file, and scissors
Glad freeezer bags, quart and gallon - used for food, medication, guide, wallet - just about everything was in freezer bags
sometimes picked up a paperback book to read at night
Swatch without band
ALDHA Companion guidebook sections (also online)
Petzl Zipka Plus headlight
pen
Cat Crap and handkerchief for glasses
Ben’s 100% DEET
sunscreen, 2 oz
homemade Tyvek wallet with phone and account numbers
cards: credit, debit, drivers license, metrocard
cash
house key

EMERGENCY KIT
stuff sack
ibuprophen
some medications such as immodium, benadryl
needles
heavy thread
duct tape
super glue, 3 tubes
waterproof matches, spare mini lighter
X spare glasses in pill bottle case (useless weight and volume)

X: would either not carry or would substitute another item