A lot of people ask me about gear. I’m in the lightweight range (around 8 kgs base weight), which I attain by combining regular and ultralight items in my pack. I have a few luxury items that I compensate for with multi-use items and ditching others completely. For example: I don’t take rain pants on my hikes, because I choose to hike mostly in warm climates with low precipitation. I carry a personal locator beacon on trails where I will be far from civilisation, but I usually ditch it on shorter trails where I know there will be many other hikers. The biggest mistake I’ve seen people make with gear is carrying multiple items of the same function, such as several t-shirts or excess toiletries.
This is the gear that I carried on the GR20, and typically what I would take on most long summer hikes.
clothing
Lowa Innox GTW Mid W’s boots – with custom made insoles for my flat feet
La Sportiva Akasha trail runners
2x Injinji toe sock liners
2x Darn Tough micro crew outer socks
2x merino panties by Icebreaker and Patagonia
1x Mons Royale sports bra
Icebreaker long sleeve – doubles as base layer, pyjamas and sun protection
Icebreaker CoolLite t-shirt
Houdini ultralight shorts
Patagonia trucker hat
Salomon lightweight hiking pants – these are pretty water and wind resistant
Montane down jacket – packable
The North Face shell jacket
sleep system
ZPacks Duplex tent & 8 ultralight stakes
Cumulus light line 400 sleeping bag rated +2C
Thermarest NeoAir XLite sleeping pad, size R (comes with repair patches)
Rab silk sleeping bag liner
SeatoSummit Aeros pillow, ultralight regular
cookery
MSR Pocket Rocket Stove
Ultralight aluminium pot w/ lid
SeatoSummit ultralight titanium spork
Lightweight insulated cup – for oatmeal, tea/coffee, doubles as home for the MSR stove
Gas cannister
Matches
Katadyn BeFree ultralight 1L water filter
2 regular plastic water bottles of 0,75L
Electronics
iPhone 7 + charger
ANKER power bank, 10 000 mAp
Headlamp
Lightweight small tripod for smartphones
Toiletries
Contact lenses & glasses
Sunglasses
Toilet paper roll - I used to ration squares. Don’t do that.
Lifeventure trekking towel
Sleeping mask, the kind you get on airplanes
Earplugs
Small sunscreen spray bottle
Travel sized toothpaste + half a toothbrush
Chapstick with 30 SPF
Travel size shampoo & conditioner (I don’t usually carry this if I’m sending resupplies)
Magnesium pills, boosts muscle function & performance
Miscellaneous
Osprey Aura 65L backpack
Leki Cressida trekking poles – some gorilla tape taped around each if I need it
2x dry bags from SeatoSummit, one for sleeping bag and one for electronics. Cheaper choice would be two regular plastic bags, but they might tear
SeatoSummit pack cover
Cicerone guidebook – ripped out pages I didn’t need. Usually use Guthooks map app
Book - The Glass Castle this time. Think small ones like The Catcher in the Rye, Men Explain Things to Me, Disgrace etc
Loose blank A4 pages & pen – for journal writing. I might take a lightweight proper journal for long trails