Hi, thank you for taking an interest in what gear I am using! With a list of multiple projects I wish to complete I will be having a lot of different gear and tools I use to complete each task. None of these brands have paid me and these are my honest takes and feedback for each of these pieces of gear. Each project will call for different things so my list might be changing and what I am using for one project may not be used for another. Any recommendations for specific gear are appreciated! I would like to hear your thoughts and experience using the gear that I use as well.
Before going into my list of gear I will start off by saying that I have many different brands and for my travels. The gear I use, I like very much and I wouldnt write about it if I didnt like it. I focus on highquality gear that has helped me with a lot. The pictures I have on this page are my personal gear. If the pictures of my gear look as though they are worn heavily it is because they are. Much of the gear on this list comes from different areas and I have aquired over a long time.
I am a strong believer that good footwear is one of the most important pieces of gear you can have. I will always pay more to know that I have high quality footwear that will last a long time and allow me to complete the task at hand. My current favorite kind of footwear for all my hikes are scarpa spins I started the appalachian trail with heavier boots and though they worked well the scarpas are my favorite. The scarpas are light weight highly durable, very comfortable, and rarely slipped even on wet and loose surfaces.
My backpack of choice that I used for the appalachian trail was the Hyperlite 3400 junction that is about 55 liters extremely lightweight and waterproof. I even felt that there was no frame of the backpack and I thought that would maybe be uncomfortable but it turns out I enjoy the no frame and lightweight that this backpack provides more than any other pack I have hiked with in the past.
Sawyer Squeeze filter that I carried in the bag that I bought. It had extra tools when I bought it but I only kept a few for keeping the weight light altough. I frequently used a smart water bottle that was great to collect trickles as the bags that came with the filter sometimes required a faster stream to open the bag enough to start filling it,
Jet Boil Mini-Mo For food I am using many dehydrated meals for breakfast and dinner (I will get into what I do for the meals later). I am using the Jet Boil Mini-mo to Heat my water to reconstitute many of my meals as well as heating water for my morning coffee.
My coat for warm gear when not hiking I use the REI brand Magma 850 down filled coat and is very comfortable for relaxing in and very warm when not constantly moving. It packs very conviently small to save space in the pack. I often paired this with a Light Columbia windbreaker that I often would wear during the chillier and more windy days of hiking it is not as warm but that didn’t matter as much because I would heat up from movement at night when worn together I was always kept a perfect tempurature.
My tent of choice for long solo hiking is the REI Quarter Dome it packs in super well to my pack and comes in to just under 2 pounds. Super easy set up with the all in one poles and easy tent stake adjustments.
The sleeping bag I use is a slumberjack rated for 35 degrees and packs into a stuff sack to save space in my backpack. I have used this bag for years. It has worked for temperatures colder than its stated rating. I also doubled it with a sea to summit bag liner that allowed for comfortable sleeping in even colder temps. During the summer months of the AT I sent my main bag home to save weight and space in my back and kept just the liner. Eventually as fall neared and I got further north I got my winter gear back in Manchester Vermont.
Leki khumbu lite trekking poles. I used to never use trekking poles but I think they are great and lightweight and can be used for so much more even than just hiking when on some of those really long back packing trips.
My sleep pad of choice is the Nemo Tensor sleeping pad it is light weight and small to fit into the pack without complications and the fill up system is super easy. although cold mornings it can be difficult to roll it up to fit into its bag that it comes with but it beats sleeping on the cold ground! to save weight and space I sent the pade back in the summer months to save weight and space and the nights were so warm I didn’t need the insulation from the ground as much as before. although I did miss the air mattress feel when The ground was harder in some areas.
the clothes I used came from a goodwill the shirts were an athletic material and the shorts were modified to be even shorter. I did pack a cotton long sleeve because it was my choice for sleeping clothes because I like the feeling of cotton. I most likely will upgrade my hiking clothes in the future but most of my clothes get pretty gross so I didnt want to use nicer athletic clothing to get them trail dirty.