Tuna Helper's Ultralight PCT Gear List - 6.75 lbs

A piece of gear that did't make the cut...
When I left the Mexican border on my speed hike, my base weight - the weight of everything excluding food, water and what I was wearing - was about 6.75 lbs. That weight included, the backpack, a shelter, sleeping pad, ground cloth, sleeping bag (quilt), knife, water treatment, water bottles (empty weight), toiletries, maps, GPS, camera, mp3 player, my phone, electronics chargers, extra batteries, an extra pair of socks, beanie, a rain poncho and a few other odds and ends. When in list form, it seems like a quite a number of things, however compare that to what people "need" to live and it's pretty much bare minimum. I could have cut my weight down to around 5.3 lbs without some of the 'luxury' items like the mp3 player (which was also my journal voice recorder), smartphone, GPS and camera. However, for me, they were worth their weight. Plus there would be no journal or photos for this blog if I had left the camera and mp3 player behind! Most people, when on the trail for long enough, begin to realize that it doesn't take nearly as much stuff to survive as they first thought. Simplicity is a thru-hikers best friend.

With a low base-weight my pack was usually around 25 lbs when leaving from a 3-4 day resupply. The weight varied depending on the length between resupplies and the availability of water. My longest stretch without resupplying was from Kennedy Meadows to Tuolumne Meadows - 6 days through the high Sierra Nevada Mountains - and upon starting this stretch, my pack was around 35 lbs.

The following table is my gear list from my 2015 hike. The actual contents of my backpack varied as I hiked along, but this is more or less what I began my hike with. The spreadsheet file is available for download HERE.

                                                                                                                                                        
Item Weight (grams) Weight (oz) Description
Pack 417 14.709 Mount Laurel Designs – Exodus (wasabi color, highly trimmed) (LOVE IT)
Shoulder Pouch 30.7 1.083 2x For Camera and GPS and snacks, 2x mini safety pin
Watch 17.5 0.617 No Straps, has countdown timer
GPS 127 4.480 Garmin Etrex 30 W/ 2 AA Lithium batteries
Camera 193 6.808 Canon S100 w/ canon battery
Camera Pouch 3.4 0.120 Bubble wrap – homemade
Extra Camera battery 19 0.670 knockoff battery from Amazon
Camera Battery Charger 62 2.187 Canon
Extra Memory Card 2 0.071 32gb micro inside SD adapter (extra audio books for music player or storage for camera)
Quilt 528 18.624 Enlightened – Enigma Elite 900 Hyperdry 20 Degree Long (6'6”) (LOVE IT)
Quilt Stuff Sack 8 0.282 Cuben Fiber – Zpack medium
Sleep Pad 140 4.938 19.25” x 29” closed cell Nightlight pad from Gossamer Gear
Ground tarp 42 1.481 Polycryo from Gossamer Gear 
Tarp 222 7.831 Mount Laurel Designs --Pro Poncho Cuben w/ Coords and stuff sack (3g) (261g total with stakes) (LOVE IT)
Stakes 39 1.376 x6 @ 6gm - titanium 6" stakes, with cuben fiber pouch
Extra Water Capacity 37 1.305 2L Platypus
Water Bottle 102 3.598 2x 51gm - 1.5L Smartwater – removed label and tamper rings
Spoon 7.5 0.265 Lexan
Knife 15 0.529 Mini Swiss Army – only blade and scissors, broke off both plastic sides and nail file, no tooth pick, tweezers in repair kit
Water Treatment 55 1.940 Aqua Mira w/ drop cap, 2x ½ oz bottles in snack ziplock
Flashlight 21 0.741 Fenix E01 w/ AAA Lithium battery
Pen 3 0.106 Bic Shortened
Toiletries 28 0.988 Mini tooth brush, tooth paste, floss, ziplock
Meds 54 1.905 Neosporin 1oz, pills – imodium, ibuprophen, giardia one dose, allergy, mega pain killer, pepto chews, antacids, ¼ oz tincure of benzoin in quart ziplock
Repair Kit 19.9 0.702 2x Needles, super glue, 2x saftey pins, nylon thread, knife tweezers, syringe tip (best for blisters), mini lighter (half full) in tiny plastic bag
Phone 171 6.032 Galaxy S5 Active – no covers
Phone Charger 27 0.952 6” usb and square mini wall plug
Sunglasses 24.5 0.864 Polarized Native sunglasses, micro fiber cloth in snack ziplock
Wallet 19 0.670 Drivers Licsense, credit card, $200 (assorted bills), PCT permit, important info sheet in small custom plastic bag
MP3 Player 60 2.116 Olympus WS-710m voice recorder, 32gb micro sd, ear buds, AAA lithium battery in snack ziplock
Lip Balm 9 0.317
Pain Numbing Rub 25 0.882 Wintergreen topical alalgesic ~20ml in squeeze tube
Sunscreen 27 0.952 Spf 50 ~20ml in squeeze tube
AAA battery 12 0.423 Kirkland
AAA lithium 7.5 0.265 Energizer
AA battery 25 0.882 Kirkland
AA lithium 15 0.529 Energizer
Hat 121 4.268 Fedora w/ sweat band, sun flap (half hankerchief) (x3 safety pins) and flashlight attachement (twist tie and safety pin)
Jacket 144 5.079 Montbell Ex Light Jacket, down, full zip, Medium
Shorts 126 4.444 Golite Mens Large running shorts
Shirt 245 8.642 Mountain Hardware L Canyon Longsleeve Shirt
Socks 106 3.739 2x @ 53gm - Smartwool Light Hiker Crew Sock
Wind pant 78 2.751 Montbell Dynamo Wind Pant Medium with snack ziplock stuff bag (1g) – Warm layer
Beanie 24.7 0.871 Fleece zpack beanie
Fleece Mittens 31 1.093 Z-packs fleece once size mittens (kmed)
Glove Liners 4 0.141 Subway plastic gloves (kmed)
Gaiters 42 1.481 Dirty Girl Gaiters XL
Shoes 736 25.961 368g each - Altra Instinct 2 -- size 14
Thigh Chafe Guards 27 0.952 Bandelettes Unisex black size A, one pair (Amazon for $16)
Calf Compression Socks 50 1.764 Smartwool PhD Calf Sleeve Large – 20-30mmHG (nighttime recovery, warm layer) large
Thigh Compression Sleeves 72 2.540 CEP IV Quad Sleeve Dynamic + Large
Microspikes 335 11.817 Katoolah Microspikes (northern OR/WA)
Maps 35 1.235 Small section of maps and data book and record logs w/ gallon zip lock
Total weight, including ALL that I am wearing
Total: Grams 4791.7
Total: Ounces 169.02
Total: Pounds 10.55
Main kit – minus worn clothes
Total: Grams 3065.7
Total: Pounds 6.75
Luxury Item Weight
Total: Grams 671.9 Camera and accessories Phone and accessories, GPS and extra batteries
Total: Pounds 1.48
Weight without Luxury Items
Total: Grams 2393.8 Most minimal weight possible…only achievend by not carrying luxury items.
Total: Pounds 5.27

                                                                                                                                                        
The one piece of gear that I highly recommend is the Olympus WS-710M combination voice recorder/mp3 player. There are actually many different versions in the product line - the key feature is being able to accept a 32 GB microSD card. Many of the variety of versions can be found on Ebay or Amazon for $25-70.

Olympus WS-710M Voice Recorder
To some, this may be a luxury item, but weighing in at 60g (including the AAA battery and ear buds) it not only can take the place of a heavy paper journal, but also doubles as your source of music and audio books. It runs on a single AAA battery, unlike most modern portable electronic devices that run on rechargeable batteries, meaning you don't have to carry a charger, saving you more weight. Also, the fact that you can replace the battery after its LONG 30+ hours of playback time, instead of having to ration the usage until the next opportunity to charge it makes it much more useful. Furthermore, it is much easier and convenient to record your trail journal by voice rather than spending the time writing it all out. Heck you can do what I did and hike while recording the previous day's journal! On top of all this good, it has 8gb of internal memory and can expand up to 40gb total with a 32gb micro SD card (yes they work, even if the manual only says 16gb), making it on par with iPods etc. It even comes with a built in FM radio and doesn't require any special software to upload your music - just drag and drop. It seriously does it all and is a long distance hikers wet dream. 



My favorite ultralight companies: 
(links are also on the right-side panel)
(I am not being payed to promote these companies, they simply make durable, lightweight gear that I have tested and is worthy of praise.) 

Enlightened Equipment: http://www.enlightenedequipment.com/
I own two of their quilts and their weight and warmth can't be beat! A down quilt is lighter than a down sleeping bag, so don't get stuck with the mindset that you need a sleeping bag. A quilt is more of a hybrid between a sleeping bag and a blanket. You don't need to sleep on your bed at home in a sleeping bag, so you don't need one outdoors either!

Mountain Laurel Designs: https://www.mountainlaureldesigns.com/
I own three of the same MLD backpacks and one of their nifty poncho-tarps. The weight of these backpacks is incredible. After a little trimming, my pack weighs under 1 lbs! and that's with an XL sized backpack (based on person size not carry capacity). They have many shelter choices too besides the minimalist poncho-tarp, which is great for trails like the PCT with little rain and where cowboy camping is usually an option.

Gossamer Gear: http://gossamergear.com/
I primarily buy sleep pads and ground tarps from Gossamer Gear, but do own one of their shelters too. They offer a variety of items and are worth checking out. Many people highly recommend their packs.

I primarily buy accessory type stuff (stuff sacks, gloves, beanies) from them, but they also offer a wide range of cuben fiber packs and shelters and have more recently added sleeping bags/quilts. Because they mainly use cuben fiber, their prices tend to be pretty high. Cuben fiber IS lighter than ripstop nylon, however I like knowing that I don't have to worry about durability as much when using the ripstop.
I own around 5 articles of clothing from Montbell, mostly outerlayers like jackets and windpants. You can't really go wrong with either their synthetic or down versions, however two elite thruhikers I know prefer the synthetics. I prefer them as well, unless on a speed hike where weight difference really matters. They are a Japanese company, so their sizing is a little skewed. I'm 6'5" and skinny (185 lbs) and wear a Montbell medium jacket and it fits me better than any other gear I own - good torso length and the sleeves are long enough! I typically wear a large, but that size tends to be a bit baggy in most other garments.

This "best of" list is nowhere near complete, but for me, with the above five companies, I can pretty much cover all my basic backpacking gear needs with the items being top notch and very lightweight. More and more small ultralight gear companies are coming into the market, so I have no doubts there is other good lightweight gear being produced out there! Other companies that I know of, but have not bought from are:

Luke's Ultralite - http://lukesultralite.com/
Underground Quilts - http://undergroundquilts.com/




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