The Gear We Use

Hiking Gear

The stuff we carry that keeps us dry(ish), warm and cozy while we hike.

• Backpacks- Hyperlite Mountain Gear Junction 55L

• Tent/Shelter- Hyperlite Ultamid 2, NEMO Dagger 3p, Hyperlite Unbound 2

• Sleeping bag/Quilt- Feathered Friends Tanager, Enlightened Equipment Enigma 20° & 30°, REI Magma 17° Men's, REI Magma 20° Women's

• Sleeping pad- Thermarest Neoair Xlite, Big Agnes Q-Core SLX

• Rain Gear- Frogg Toggs Xtreme lite, Arcteryx Beta LT, Black Diamond Stormline Stretch (now Fineline Stretch)

• Wind Gear- Black Diamond Distance Wind Shell, Enlightened Equipment Copperfield Wind Pants

• Sun Shirts- Outdoor Research Echo sun hoodie, Patagonia Capilene Cool Daily Hoodie, Cotopaxi Sombra Hoodie

• Fleece- Senchi Designs A90 (new model available), Arc'teryx Delta

• Down Jackets- REI Women's Magma 850 Down Jacket, Patagonia half-zip down jacket (discontinued)

• Shoes- Topo Athletic Mountain Racer 3, Altra Lone Peak 9+

• Socks- Wright socks, Darn Toughs quarter crew medium weight, Injinji liners

• Water Filters and Bladders- Katadyn BeFree, Sawyer Squeeze

• Cook Kit (stove, pot, etc.)- Vargo BOT 700, Snow Peak LiteMax, Sea to Summit spork

• Headlamp- Petzl Bindi

• Umbrella- Snow Peak Ultralight Umbrella,

• Trekking Poles- Cascade Mountain Tech carbon fiber poles, Black Diamond Alpine Carbon

• Snow Shoes- MSR Lightning Ascents

Lightweight Thru-hiking Gear

Here's the slimmed down list that contains only the gear we use on our long distance hikes. We're not ultralight, but we're definitely lightweight. Depending on the expected trail conditions, the only tweak I usually make to my system is swapping a rain shell for a wind shell if we're going to be in the desert. And I'll expand or reduce my total water carrying capacity and switch filters as well. I expect my base weight to fall somewhere between 11 and 13 pounds.

• Backpacks- Hyperlite Mountain Gear Junction 55L

• Tent/Shelter- Hyperlite Ultamid 2, Hyperlite Unbound 2

• Sleeping bag/Quilt- Feathered Friends Tanager, Enlightened Equipment Enigma 20° & 30°,

• Sleeping pad- Thermarest Neoair Xlite

• Rain Gear- Frogg Toggs Xtreme lite, Arcteryx Beta LT, Black Diamond Stormline Stretch (now Fineline Stretch)

• Wind Gear- Black Diamond Distance Wind Shell, Enlightened Equipment Copperfield Wind Pants

• Sun Shirts- Outdoor Research Echo sun hoodie, Patagonia Capilene Cool Daily Hoodie, Cotopaxi Sombra Hoodie

• Fleece- Senchi Designs A90 (new model available)

• Down Jackets- REI Women's Magma 850 Down Jacket, Patagonia half-zip down jacket (discontinued)

• Shoes- Topo Athletic Mountain Racer 3, Altra Lone Peak 9+

• Socks- Wright socks, Darn Toughs quarter crew medium weight, Injinji liners

• Water Filters and Bladders- Katadyn BeFree, Sawyer Squeeze

• Cook Kit (stove, pot, etc.)- Vargo BOT 700, Snow Peak LiteMax, Sea to Summit spork

• Headlamp- Petzl Bindi

• Umbrella- Snow Peak Ultralight Umbrella,

• Trekking Poles- Cascade Mountain Tech carbon fiber poles, Black Diamond Alpine Carbon