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| Mt Rainier, Washington from Mist Park |
Beginning Backpacking Gear
Several times I have heard people say that getting into backpacking is hard because they do not know where to start. My first trip to a very well known outdoor store left me scratching my head and afraid of the process. The well meaning salesman was a volunteer rescue guy who had seen too many ill prepared people in dangerous circumstances. Consequently he warned us that we had done too much reading and not enough hiking to buy certain gear. We left discouraged. Three months later we did an eleven day amazing circumnavigation of Mt Rainier in Washington State. We did it on the cheap, safely and with very light packs.....in a moment I will tell you how.
First, let me say this.
- We decided to travel about 10 miles a day, with an elevation gain and loss average of 3800 feet.
- This is an all day hike for us so it was important our packs were light.
- We decided to carry all of our food for the entire trip (no food drops).
- We were committed to keeping our pack weight at an lightweight level.
These are important points because it meant we needed big pack capacity and light gear. It is important to consider how you intend to hike: fast vs slow, all day vs half day etc. It affects the kind of gear you will invest in. Gear can be thought of in several groups. Mine is divided into clothing, shoes, emergency, personal, kitchen, food, water system, sleeping, tent and pack.
Another important thing to think about is your commitment to being Lightweight or Ultralight. These terms refer to your base-weight or the weight of your gear excluding only food, water and fuel as well as the clothing you are wearing. Ultra lightweight is a base-weight of 10 pounds or less. Lightweight is less than 20 pounds base-weight.
Clothing
This is where we saved a lot of money. Thrift stores are loaded with the right clothing. So are garage sales. I bought only my socks, underwear and hat from a store (they were relatively inexpensive). Here is what I carried / wore:
2 polyester short sleeve t-shirts (i.e. dri-fit clima-dry etc)2 polyester long sleeve t-shirts (i.e. dri-fit clima-dry etc)
1 long polyester bottoms (tights)
1 long sleeve fleece shirt
2 polyester underwear
2 pair merino wool socks
1 pair of nylon hiking pants with the zip off legs
1 small fleece hat
running gloves
a cotton bandanna
a down vest
a waterproof rain jacket
I want to share a link to Eric the Black’s breakdown on clothing systems to be used as a guide. Keep in mind that I get most of my clothing second hand so this is just for frame of reference.
Shoes
Important personal choice but I went with Merrell boots with flip-flops tied to the back of my pack. I heard a saying that I believe to be true....each pound on your feet is like five on your back. That said you need support that works for your foot over the long haul.
Emergency
I make up my own first aid kit based on length of trip and number of us on the trip. Mainly I use a standard kit augmented by ibuprofen, tums, extra mole skin, baby powder, wet wipes in a zip lock, butterfly bandaids and med tape.
Personal
This can get you in trouble. Here is where you put things like a compass and a mirror. It is also where you put a pint of whiskey! I take a small coil of parachute cord and a small bag with a carabiner on it. I put a rock in the bag at night and hook a rope to the carabiner. Then I throw the bag over a high branch, allowing me to hook my gear to the carabiner and raise all my stuff that has a smell at night in a distant tree. I carry a homemade tarp 6’x8’ made of 1.1 sil nylon. I carry chap stick, a small camera, small pad of paper, pen, maps, compass, very small mirror, reading glasses, toilet paper, small plastic spade, bug repellant, headlamp and extra batteries and a GPS. Toothbrush matches, ipod, camera, soap and a whistle round out my personal bag
Kitchen
I carry a small pan and lid in a cozy I built. In the Pan is a handle, 2 cups, 2 old butter bowls, 2 sporks, a fold up knife, a scrub pad, bottle of soap, a baggie with baggies of spices in it, a small spatula and a pop can stove with pan cage and wind shield. I also carry isopropyl alcohol in an old water bottle, well marked of course (alcohol is figured at 1.5 oz per meal per day plus one days worth.
Food
This will get personal as to choices. Some will say any calories are good calories. I like to make all my meals (see making food) but I can see why others buy the ‘backpacking dried food’. It is reasonably priced, readily available, nutritious and reportedly tasty. You can make your own food, however for about thirty cents on the dollar. Ours is very nutritious, tasty, easy enough to make and cheap.
Water System
I carry an MSR Hyper Flow pump at 7.4 ounces and two cheap 1 quart water bottles from the supermarket. I like the tall skinny bottles as it allows for tent poles or maps to share my side pockets. I also carry a small bottle of iodine in case my pump system fails. Remember water weighs about 2 pounds per quart and you need to figure this in your carrying weight.
The Big Three
The last three components make up the ‘big three’. That is sleeping, tent and backpack. It is easy to pile up weight here you cannot lose because each component is an investment. It gets expensive to replace gear with lighter gear later. One of my favorite articles on the Big Three is by Eric the Black on his web site.
Sleeping
The sleeping component needs to be well thought out. Down bags are generally lighter and compact much better than synthetics but can be more expensive. More importantly, down insulation needs to stay dry. It looses all of its value if it gets wet. I travel with mine in its rough sack and then in a small garbage bag in case of rain or some unforeseen accident.
The sleeping pad can be much lighter than mine for much less money. It comes down to tolerance. I cannot sleep comfortably on the thin pads they are so inexpensive. They do work however in insulating your body from the ground.
I bought new Lafuma bags rated at 30 pounds. on ebay and really got a nice deal at around 100$. They are 40 degree down bags and weigh 30 oz. I bought Big Agnes insulated Air Core Mummy pads (2”) for about 75$ that weigh 20 oz. This has worked well for us.
I recently picked up two Thermarest pads at the goodwill for $2.99 each. They weigh about 14 oz and cost $20 new. I also picked up two North Face synthetic bags for $5 each at a garage sale. I do not know the rating but they weigh about 44 oz apiece.This gear gives me options for the future as well as loaner gear for friends.
Tent
Considerations for choosing a tent include weather, how open to the elements you want to be, how much weight you will allow for and cost. Many tents are available that hold two people and weigh in at 5-8 pounds. For a light pack this is out of the question. Many people use a simple tarp tent set up weighing a pound or so.
I managed to pick up a Big Agnes Seedhouse SL2 for around $200 on ebay. It was new and weighs 54 oz with stakes. It is a two person tent with a bathtub style floor. That is the floor goes up the sides 6” all around. No bugs or slugs can get in when it is zipped up. It also has a rain fly which makes it a 2 layer tent. When you are inside the sides are not all wet because the part you touch is net. This is the tent my wife and Mother-in-law slept in around Mt Rainier.
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| Homemade Henry Shire tarptent for two in the foreground. |
I made a two man tent for the trip that a friend and I slept in that trip. I ordered the fabric and zippers online and sewed it on a regular sewing machine. The whole tent cost me less than 100$ and weighs 28 oz. with a piece of Tyvek for a floor. The tent This is very light but comes with sacrifice. The first is that the floor is not attached so while it is somewhat contained, it is not critter proof. The second is that it gets wet inside. As a single layer tent, all condensation goes to the ceiling. Finally, it is not as warm. The tent is designed so air flows through it cutting down on condensation. The breeze can be chilly. Let me share the site that walked me through the tent making process. I first made the one man tent. Then I made the Henry’s Tarptent.
Pack
Finally you get to chose pack. We chose Granite Gear Vapor Trail for myself and Granite Gear Vapor Trail Ki (women's )for my wife. My pack is a single compartment pack with a 3600 cubic inch capacity, is built to carry 30 pounds and weighs 2 pounds. My pack was well over 40 pounds around Mt Rainier and I had no problem. Jennifer's is about the same but with 2 small zipper pockets that add 2 ounces. They are built slightly different to accommodate a woman's build. One consideration for this type of pack is that there are no dividing pockets for gear. This is done to keep the weight down. I made several small bags to compartmentalize gear using the same type sil nylon I used for the tent, some shoe laces and pull string buttons I bought with my tent material. These are very easy to sew and can be made in about 5 minutes each at a cost of fifty cents tops. Now if you need something out of your pack, say a long sleeve shirt mid day, you end up pulling your pack apart to get it. It is worth the savings in weight to me.
Whatever gear you choose, remember, everything you intent to put on your back weighs something. If you can cut the weight do it but do it with safety in mind.
