#058 Evolution Of A Lightweight Backpacker - The Gear List with Gear Weight
This is my gear list for my 2022 A.T. Section Hike.
This is the last of the Winter Wednesday Gear Series. The goal of the series was to show step by step how I cut my forty-two lb. pack in half; from an eight-day Appalachian Trail hike in Maine’s 100 Mile Wilderness in 2010 to twenty-one lb. pack, for my first week of my A.T. hike through Virginia this coming spring.
If my math is correct, the backpack should weigh 22+/- lbs. fully loaded. This number includes food for seven days. There are a few things I think I can live without that might still pull from the pack.
My base weight (weight before food & water is added) is around thirteen lbs.
Five days worth of food is usually enough for a stretch this size but due to a health diagnosis I received earlier this year, one I will talk about in later posts, one that is causing me to hike earlier in the year to take advantage of cooler temps, I’ll carry seven days’ worth in anticipation of fewer daily miles.
Now that the load is so small and light, it’s possible that my Arc’Teryx Axios 50 Backpack, which always goes on the Appalachian Trail hikes with me, might be replaced this year for my REI Flash 45, which is nearly sixteen ounces lighter, even after I’ve made weight-dropping modifications to the Arc’Teryx.
Here’s my gear list broken down, with weight of each item.
Sleeping System 131.7oz / 8lb 2oz
40.0oz - Arc’Teryx Axios 50 Backpack
27.0oz - Ozark Trails Down Sleeping Bag
44.7oz - Big Agnes Copper Spur UL1 Tent & Footprint
18.0oz - Nemo Tensor Sleeping Pad
02.0oz - Sea to Summit Pillow
Cooking System 12.9oz / 0lb 12.9oz
8.0oz - Esbit Stove & Cookpot
3.0oz - oz Esbit Fuel Tabs (one week’s worth, resupply along trail)
0.7oz - Lighter
0.4oz - Cup
0.4oz - Bowl
0.2oz - Spork packed in dinner bag
0.2oz - Spork packed in snack bag
Hydration System 6.5oz / 0lb 6.5oz
1.9oz -Sawyer Water Filter
0.9oz - Sawyer Bladders 1
0.9oz - Sawyer Bladders 2
1.4oz - Smart Water Bottle 1 (empty)
1.4oz - Smart Water Bottle 2 (empty)
Food (first 7-day’s worth, then resupply along trail) 68.7oz / 4lb 3oz
16.0oz Oatmeal & dried fruit
0.6oz - Coffee
1.5oz - Emergen-C
16.0oz -Tortillas
0.6oz - Peanut butter
16.0oz - Trail mix & snacks
0.6oz - Electrolyte packets
18.0oz - Tuna & chicken packets
Clothing 48.0oz / 3lb 0oz
In backpack:
3.0oz Wool socks 1
3.0oz Wool socks 2
6.7oz - Long sleeve sleeping shirt
5.8oz - Long sleeping bottoms
7.0oz - Windbreaker
10.2oz - Camp Shoes
6.0oz - T-shirt (to wear in town or hostel while washing other clothes
6.7oz - Shorts (to wear in town or hostel while washing other clothes
Warn, not in pack: boots, socks, shorts, shirt, hat
Toiletry Kit 4.5oz / 0lb 4.5oz
0.2oz - Tooth Brush
1.0oz - Tooth Paste
0.1oz - Floss
1.2oz - Hand Sanitizer
1.0oz - Toilet Paper
1.0oz - Individual Wipes
Emergency Kit 5.2oz / 0lb 5.2oz
1.7oz - Medical Tape
0.1oz - Band Aids
0.5oz - Neosporin
0.1oz - Benadryl
0.6oz - Patch Kit (for sleeping pad, pillow, tent)
1.2oz - Spare AAA Batteries x3
1.0oz - Spare Lighter
Miscellaneous 75.5oz / 4lb 10oz
2.0oz Therm-a-rest Foam Sitting Pad
3.0oz Headlamp with 3 Batteries
5.0oz - External Charger
4.3oz - Camera
1.3oz - Reading Material
1.1oz - Writing Pad
0.7oz - Reading glasses
1.1oz - Glasses Case
0.7oz - Ink pens
1.3oz - Sanitizer
1.5oz - Map
7.2oz Cell Phone
4.1oz Poncho
10.2oz Camp Shoes
32oz - Water (I always start my hikes with 32oz of water)
Thanks for checking out my Winter Wednesday Gear Series. I hope you picked up a few tips that help you lighten your load. If you have any suggestions I’d like to hear them..