We shall not fail or falter; we shall not weaken or tire… Give us the tools and we will finish the job.
Sir Winston Churchill, radio broadcast February 9, 1941
Here is the gear for my 2018 PCT thru-hike. Extended comments about particular items are at the end. I found a great deal of variation on equipment choices among hikers. Many small gear vendors are in healthy competition, with frequent innovations and design updates.
Category |
Item |
Notes |
Weight in grams |
Weight in oz |
worn/carried |
|
|
|
|
|
camp shirt |
Icebreaker Aero merino long sleeve crew |
148 |
5.2 |
|
pants |
RailRiders Eco-Mesh Pant |
310 |
10.9 |
|
trailrunner shoes |
Altra Lone Peak 3.5 (size 11.5) |
610 |
21.5 |
|
hiking gaiters |
Dirty Girl |
34 |
1.2 |
|
hiking socks |
Darn Tough CoolMax micro crew |
60 |
2.1 |
|
bandana |
cotton/poly bandana |
30 |
1.1 |
|
trekking poles |
Black Diamond Ultra Distance Z-pole with carbide tips minus straps, 120cm |
263 |
9.3 |
|
sun glasses |
cheap generic, because often lost |
20 |
0.7 |
|
hat |
Sunday Afternoons Adventure flap hat |
70 |
2.5 |
|
|
|
|
|
Total worn/carried |
|
|
1545 |
54.5 |
|
|
|
|
|
~ |
~ |
~ |
~ |
3.4pounds |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
pack |
pack |
Zpacks Arc Haul backpack (nylon) |
711 |
25.1 |
|
pack liner |
trash compactor bag |
60 |
2.1 |
|
cell phone holder |
Zpacks shoulder pouch nylon |
19 |
0.7 |
|
phone |
Android phone: MotoX (camera, GPS, etc) with Otter case |
178 |
6.3 |
|
|
|
|
0.0 |
Cook/water |
water bottles |
2 x 1.25 liter soda bottles |
84 |
3.0 |
|
even more water |
1 liter Platypus |
30 |
1.1 |
|
cook stove |
none (no-cook this trip) |
0 |
0.0 |
|
butane lighter |
Scripto Tiny Lite |
12 |
0.4 |
|
cook pot |
none (no-cook this trip) |
0 |
0.0 |
|
pot cozy |
homemade with Reflectix |
25 |
0.9 |
|
spoon |
lexan |
9 |
0.3 |
|
water purifier |
Sawyer Squeeze |
81 |
2.9 |
|
water purification backup |
10 MSR Aquatabs |
1 |
0.0 |
|
food bag |
ZPacks Roll Top Blast |
40 |
1.4 |
|
rope |
ZPacks 1.5 mm Z-Line Cord |
21 |
0.7 |
|
|
|
|
0.0 |
Shelter |
tarp/tent |
ZPacks Hexamid solo tent w/screen |
269 |
9.5 |
|
tent stakes |
6 Tite Lite titanium stakes |
37 |
1.3 |
|
|
|
|
0.0 |
Sleeping |
sleeping bag |
ZPacks 20F |
650 |
22.9 |
|
sleeping pad |
Gossamer Gear NightLight_Torso |
101 |
3.6 |
|
ground cloth |
Polycryo medium size |
42 |
1.5 |
|
|
|
|
0.0 |
Clothes |
camp shirt |
Icebreaker merino short sleeve |
139 |
4.9 |
|
camp shorts |
GoLite men’s nylon shorts |
132 |
4.7 |
|
warm top |
Western Mountaineering down vest |
125 |
4.4 |
|
warm hat |
LLBean Trail Model fleece hat |
36 |
1.3 |
|
neck gaiter |
microfleece |
46 |
1.6 |
|
rain jacket |
Marmot Mica medium |
210 |
7.4 |
|
wind shirt |
Montbell Tachyon anorak |
63 |
2.2 |
|
fleece gloves |
35 |
1.2 |
|
|
rain mitts |
ZPacks cuben fiber mitts |
28 |
1.0 |
|
compression socks |
Truform below knee stockings 20-30 mmHg |
64 |
2.3 |
|
spare socks |
SmartWool mid-calf merino |
91 |
3.2 |
|
|
|
|
0.0 |
Misc |
head net |
"Sea to Summit" mosquito net, doubles as clothes bag |
23 |
0.8 |
|
first aid kit |
Band-aids, molefoam, aspirin, loperamide, sudafed, super glue, … |
61 |
2.2 |
|
sewing kit |
home assembled |
20 |
0.7 |
|
tooth care |
dehydrated dots of toothpaste, toothbrush with trimmed handle, gum brush, floss |
17 |
0.6 |
|
soap |
Dr Bonner liquid in 0.5oz dropper bottle |
24 |
0.8 |
|
wipes |
8 dried wipes in zip bag |
24 |
0.8 |
|
toiletry bag |
no-see-um mesh bag 5"x6" |
4 |
0.1 |
|
magnifying glass |
credit card size fresnel lens |
2 |
0.1 |
|
wallet with id |
all-Ett sport sailcloth wallet (5g) plus cards |
36 |
1.3 |
|
repair kit |
duct tape, foil tape, filter backwash adapter, spare trekking pole tip, etc |
25 |
0.9 |
|
backup fire starter |
Bic mini lighter |
14 |
0.5 |
|
pen |
ballpoint refill cartridge + spare |
1 |
0.0 |
|
flashlight |
Petzl e+Lite |
27 |
1.0 |
|
backup compass |
Suunto Clipper compass |
4 |
0.1 |
|
maps |
Halfmile maps, on double-sided 8.5×11 glossy laser paper, current trail section |
55 |
1.9 |
|
solar panel |
Lixada “10W “ usb output |
72 |
2.5 |
|
usb charger |
for phone and battery pack, MotoX dual-USB charger wall wart |
123 |
4.3 |
|
usb cable |
9inch microUSB cable |
13 |
0.5 |
|
usb cable 2 |
36inch right-angle microUSB cable |
23 |
0.8 |
|
recharger pack |
Anker Astro E1 6700mAh |
123 |
4.3 |
|
headphone |
Apple Earpod |
11 |
0.4 |
|
itinerary+guide |
only carry pages needed for that week |
10 |
0.4 |
|
insect repellent |
100% DEET repackaged in 0.5oz dropper bottle |
23 |
0.8 |
|
sun screen |
liquid, repacked in 0.5oz dropper bottle |
24 |
0.8 |
|
toilet paper |
partial roll 2-ply, remove cardboard tube, in zip bag |
20 |
0.7 |
|
knife |
Victoronix Swiss Army Classic |
20 |
0.7 |
|
accessory bag |
no-see-um mesh bag 7"x9" |
8 |
0.3 |
|
|
|
|
|
Total base weight |
|
|
4146 |
146.2 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
9.1pounds |
|
|
|
|
|
Sometimes carried: |
|
|
|
|
|
bear canister BV500 |
|
1160 |
40.9 |
|
sleeping bag liner, Sea to Summit Thermolite |
|
392 |
13.8 |
|
Yaktrax Walkers shoe traction |
Not Recommended |
112 |
4.0 |
|
Zpacks bathtub groundsheet |
|
91 |
3.2 |
Comments:
- ELECTRONS: My first solar panel (from Sunkingdom) seemed to stop working well (50% efficiency compared to new) so I replaced mid-way during the trip with a different panel from Lixada. I already had the replacement panel ready at home, because I have encountered solar panel failures on previous hikes. The panel connects via usb cable to a charger that rests in the outer pocket. Two side-buckle clips fasten the panel to the top of the pack, and allow for rapid removal. Panel and charger disappear into my pack during wet weather. A lighter-weight charger would be nice.
- CLOTHES: My day clothing was long sleeve to protect against sun exposure, even in the hot southern section, unlike the vast majority of hikers. On my next hike perhaps shorts will be used more often. Merino shirts did not stand up to abrasion from the backpack, so I had to replace my long sleeve shirt in Oregon.
- FEET: I only used two pair of shoes for the entire hike– the thru-hiker average is about 4 pair. Two pair were purchased before the hike, one red and one blue, and I mixed colors, with left shoe red and right shoe blue, just as a silly jest.
- PACK: The Arc Haul backpack is like the ZPacks popular Arc Blast, except ripstop nylon instead of cuben fiber (Dyneema). I used the Arc Blast on previous trips, but the fabric tended to delaminate near the roll-top opening. The “flexed arc” feature tended to twist out of shape on this particular pack.
- TRACTION: I used Yaktrax in the Sierras, and would not recommend these to anyone, as the rubber straps frequently broke. Get microspikes instead, though a bit heavier. I did not carry an ice axe, and did not encounter a situation where I really needed one, but I can now see that if weather conditions were different, and I was the first one to break a trail after fresh snow, then an ice axe would have become necessary.
