Date: 2022-04-21
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AT Gear ListWhat do you carry on your back to walk snail-like for 2194 miles and camp out most nights for 6 months? The answer is as little as possible, with a few luxury items to boost morale.Last year, I tried and tested most of the clothing and gear I am taking on the AT on two long hikes of the Pennine Way and the Coast to Coast walk. And that leads to my top tip if you ever fancy backpacking a long trail. Online reviews and youtube videos can teach you a lot, but not as much as testing your gear out on a 2 or 3 day hiking expedition. What suits the majority of hikers might not work for you. The warmth and comfort you need to stay positive might be a tad higher than the young fit person who can walk 20+ miles every day. And the hiking shoes that lots of people love may just be plain wrong for your feet.My fully packed rucksack/backpack weighs 9.5kg before food and water. Not ultralight by any means, but lightweight with just enough comfort for me. Here¢s my full gear list.Rucksack/BackpackSierra Designs Flex Capacitor 40-60 litre. Lightweight with a wide hip belt, adjustable volume and a Y shaped internal suspension frame that keeps weight on your shoulders and waist and ensures airflow on the back. More expensive ultralight frameless backpacks are available but I prefer the carrying comfort and storage options of this pack. My 3 part rain protection system is: pack cover outside; heavy duty black bin bag inside; and separate waterproof sacks for clothing, sleeping bag, electronics etc.On my feet Altra Olympus trail shoes. Don¢t be tempted to use your ¢trusty walking boots¢ for a long distance hike. After 2 or 3 days of 15 miles plus a day your feet will swell and your old boots will likely give you painful blisters. I wore Altra Lone Peak¢s with their ¢zero drop¢ and ¢big toe box¢ - half a size up from my usual size -.and they worked perfectly on the Pennine Way and the Coast to Coast. My feet were fine with no blisters. For the AT, I¢ve gone with the Altra Olympus as they have more cushioning than the Lone Peak¢s and I find them easier on my knees, particularly for extended rock, road or gravel path walking. Darn Tough socks. I¢ll be taking 3 pairs of Darn Tough midweight ¢socks. My shoes are super quick to dry but they aren¢t waterproof so I regularly change my socks and put the damp ones on the back of my pack to dry. One pair is for sleeping in if it¢s cold enough and only for walking use in emergency during very wet weather. Crocs. I¢ve been undecided between bulky comfy crocs and some ultra light and packable sandals. Comfort has won out for this trip and I¢m going with the Crocs.Top tip for keeping feet happy is to take your shoes and socks off and take the insoles out of your shoes every break, even if it¢s just for 10-15 minutes. Your feet will thank you. On my legs Patagonia Nine Trails shorts, which have mesh liners. These are super comfy to walk in and they have good odour control, which is important as I¢m only taking one pair!Alpkit Koulin Trail tights, which I¢ll wear under my shorts on colder days or if I want to protect my legs from tall grass, biting insects etcDecathlon MT500 trekking trousers. I¢ve had these for years. Less than £30 and they are lightweight, stretchy and fantastically quick to dry. I¢m taking one pair of Rab Forge Boxers to wear under these.  Having a second walking option is a luxury but I like having trousers for days. I want to completely protect my legs (e.g. from sun, insects), and for looking a bit more human when travelling and in trail towns.I¢m taking a Rain Kilt, which is lighter and less sweaty than rain trousers. TopsI¢ve got a 5 layer system that works for me. Never needed to wear all of these layers at once, but I like the flexibility these choices give me.Patagonia capilene t-shirt. These are expensive but the one I am taking has survived 3 years of hiking and it¢s still in shape and it doesn¢t smell. Result!Rab Capacitor light mid layer. This is a light and stretchy technical ¢waffle¢ mid layer that¢s great for cold mornings and/or altitude and I love the thumb loops. On very cold days it¢s a warm base layer.Rab Vital windshell jacket. This is paper thin, ultralight, good value for money at £25 and it gives great protection from the wind. I often wear it over just my t-shirt, for example when wind is chilly or temperature drops at altitude but I¢m working hard hiking uphill and a mid layer would be too hot. Over the light rab mid layer and the t-shirt, I¢m good to hike in wind chill temperatures close to freezing (as long as it¢s not raining or snowing as this jacket is water resistant but not waterproof). Decathlon warm midlayer. I added this warmer synthetic fleece to my kit recently to put on when I stop for a break or when it¢s very cold (i.e. near or below freezing). On UK walks, I¢ve relied on a down puffy jacket as an extra warm layer and for breaks. But on the AT, I want to be sure to keep my puffer dry and warm for camp in the evening. If I get this synthetic top wet whilst hiking I¢ll still have the dry puffer for camp and this synthetic top should dry quickly to hike in the next day. Mountain Equipment Lhotse rain jacket. No jacket is fully waterproof through a whole day of torrential rain but some jackets are much more waterproof than others!! This jacket was expensive (over £300) and is relatively heavy for long distance thru hiking but for my peace of mind I like having a jacket that feels bomb proof in heavy rain and wind.Decathlon merino scarf (a buff), a merino trekking headband and merino gloves. The buff is great for keeping heat in the body on windy/cold days and the headband is mainly to stop my earpods falling out of my ears!! Cheap as chips too.As a little luxury, I¢m taking a Columbia hiking shirt. I like a cool shirt with long sleeves and collar for super hot days or when there¢s loads of midges or other bitey things. Paired with the hiking trousers it¢s useful for travelling and for town.Headwear A light and foldable wide brimmed floppy sun hat with a chin cord that I¢ve worn on all the long trails I¢ve hiked. It looks ridiculous but only cost a tenner from Millets and it does the job on the sunniest and windiest days. Also, works well under my rain jacket hood to keep rain off my glasses. Winner! Smartwool 150 merino beanie for cold days, nights and when exposed at altitude.SleepwearMillets North Ridge merino long johns - cheap and warmPatagonia long sleeve capilene t shirt Plus, one of the pairs of Darn Tough socks if it¢s cold enough to need themCamping Lanshan 1 tent with 8 pegs and a compression bag. It¢s cheap, weighs less than a kilo and it¢s big enough to sleep in! I¢ll probably invest in a Lanshan 2 Pro before my wife joins me for a few weeks in August and perhaps use that for my last 3 months on trail.Thermarest ZLite Sol sleeping pad. Slept on this enough to know that it works for me as a side sleeper. It¢s cheap and I can¢t be arsed with blowing up an expensive ultralight air pad after a long day hiking, or listening to it rustle below me all night!ZPacks 20F (-6) down sleeping quilt.  I spent over £300 on this quilt with a sewn toe box from Zpacks in the USA. It¢s packed with lots of down, it¢s super light for the warmth rating and most importantly it¢s toasty at night. Has its own waterproof stuff sack to keep it dry.Decathlon Forclaz MT100 puffer down jacket. Great value down puffy for less than £50 that puts the Patagonia, Rab, North Face et al competition to shame on quality/price. All it lacks is the logo, otherwise it¢s a great piece of kit. Worn mine for more than 3 years now in camp and on chilly evenings and it¢s one of my favourite bits of kit. Go buy one! CookingAlpkit 650ml MytiMug titanium cook potMini gas stove (unbranded, tiny and cost about a tenner)Long titanium spork - to reach the bottom of dehydrated food pouchesSea to Summit collapsible mug for morning coffee and afternoon teaSea to Summit 14ltr waterproof food bag (plus throw rope for bear bag hanging)Sawyer Mini water filter for filtering water from springs and streams on the trail2ltr Cnoc water bladder (fits the sawyer filter) for collecting spring/river water1 ltr and a 0.5ltr water bottles for carrying clean drinking water.Other gearFirst Aid Kit; prescription meds, paracetamol, naproxen, imodium, rennie, wound wipes/dressings, blister tape, plasters, eye drops, sting cream, vaseline and a bandage.Loo Kit: trowel, loo paper, mini bidet (!), composting wipesWash Bag: towel, comb, victorinox nail clippers, toothbrush and paste, anti bac gelElectronics: IPhone13 mini, Kindle, PowerBank, Earpods, Headtorch, 2x charging leadsBug head net for when midges are out in forceSwiss army knife, includes tweezers (for ticks) and scissors.Compass and Guide Book, for back up navigation if phone dies¢¦Spares and repairs: rope, paracord, carabiner, washers, duct tape, seam sealerAnd finally my 0.5kg extra luxury item, a Helinox Zero chair. Hideously expensive at £99 (now £124!) but oh so comfortable and relaxing to sit in, particularly for an older person with creaking joints.  Everyone laughs that I carry it and all are jealous when they see me sitting in it making coffee or reading my kindle.This all adds up to about 9.5kg as my base weight.  I¢ll also be carrying enough food for 3 or 4 days plus 1.5kg/ltrs of water. So my total pack weight will be something like 12.5kg or 25lbs. I can carry this comfortably and, for me, this is the right balance between going lightweight and being comfortable. As the weather warms up, I will send some of my warmer layers up the trail in a US Postal service ¢bounce box¢ or swap out some items, such as my heavy ME rain jacket for a lighter weight Patagonia Torrentshell.AT hikers pack their fears and soon send unused clothes and gear home. That¢s probably going to be true for me too. I¢ll update this list as the weeks and months pass on the trail. But this is the stuff coming on the plane to the USA with me!