Here is what we would take if we walked the Bibbulmun Track solo assuming a spring walk. This gear list could also be a good starting point for your own trip.
Total weight in list: 4799g
Worn weight: 1010g
Individual base weight:Â 3769g
Sleeping
| Item | Product | Weight (g) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tent | Zpacks Plex Solo Tent | 435 | 0.75oz/yd² instead of 0.50oz/yd² for extra durability (adds about 40g we guessed). Make sure your poles go to 132cm. If you are over 6ft take a look at the Altaplex. |
| Quilt | Enlightened Equipment Enigma -1°C/30F | 463 | Weight is for 950fp regular width and length with 10d fabrics. |
| Sleeping mat | Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XLite NXT | 350 | Noise hasn’t bothered us. Can use earplugs if too crinkly. Uberlite is not durable enough. |
| Groundsheet | Polycro | 25 | For protecting sleeping mat when sleeping in shelters. Cut to size of sleeping mat. |
| Tent stakes | Easton Nano 15cm and Shepard’s Hook Ti stakes | 62 | 2 DAC J Stakes for apex tie outs (10g each), 4 Easton Nanos for corners (8g each), 2 Shepard’s Hooks for head room tie outs (5g each). |
| Total | 1335 |
Kitchen
| Item | Product | Weight (g) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Water bottles | 1L Balance bottle | 72 | Carry 2. Nice shape (Smart water equivalent in Australia). Swapped out lids for push pull tops. |
| Spoon | Toaks titanium long handle | 10 | Short. |
| Scent proof food bag | OPSAC 20×12 | 34 | Food bag for reducing scent profile. |
| Rehydration container | Peanut butter container | 48 | |
| Total | 164 |
First Aid
| Item | Product | Weight (g) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pocket knife | Swiss Army Knife Classic | 21 | Knife, scissors, tweezers. Better scissors than classic. |
| Snake bandage | AeroForm | 94 | |
| Breathable tape | Fixomull Stretch | 2 | |
| Duct/electrical tape | 3 | For repairs and blisters. | |
| Repair tape | DCF tape and tenacious tape. | 3 | |
| Antihistamines | 2 | x6 for mosquito bites etc. | |
| Ibuprofen | 2 | x6 for pain relief and inflammation. | |
| Caffeine tablet | No-Doz | 2 | x4. |
| Anti-diarrhoea Tablets | Immodium | 2 | x4. |
| Hikers wool | Not much | For blisters. | |
| Safety pin | 2 | For blisters. | |
| Sewing needle and thread | 3 | 3 needles. For repairs and popping blisters. | |
| Toothbrush | Generic | 2 | Cut short. |
| Superglue | 4 | For large cuts and repairs. | |
| Alcohol pad | 3 | x4 for cuts and mat repair. | |
| Tear Aid type A patch | 1 | For mat repair. | |
| Glue dots | 1 | x3 for mat repair. | |
| Cord | Zpacks 1.3mm | 3 | 1.3mm, reflective. |
| Matches | Redheads (short) | 10 | 1 pack. |
| Ear plugs | Not much | To help with sleep. Two sets, one as spare. | |
| Sleepmask | 6 | To help with sleep. | |
| Hairlackies | 4 | Spare for tying stuff. | |
| Tic Tox | 20 | For tick removal. | |
| Total | 190 |
Consumables
| Item | Product | Weight (g) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunscreen | 40 | In 20ml tub. Resupply in every town. | |
| Lip Balm | Carmex Squeeze Tube | 14 | SPF15 and stops lips/under nose cracking. |
| Water purification tablets | Aquatabs | 6 | 40 x 5 L tabs. |
| Anti-chafe | Gurney Goo | 20 | In 15g tube. |
| Hand sanitizer | 24 | In 20ml tub. Resupply in every town. | |
| Toothpaste drops | Lush toothpaste drops | 10 | Lots of flavours. |
| Toilet paper | 10 | ||
| Total | 124 |
Electronics
| Item | Product | Weight (g) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Powerbank | Nitecore NB10000 | 150 | King of the power banks currently. Two outputs is very useful. |
| Wall plug | HEYMIX 20W Dual Port | 45 | 20w, AU plug. |
| iPhone cable | Generic | 5 | USB C – Lightning. Short 10cm length. |
| Microusb cable | Generic | 14 | 7g each. Carried two for redundancy (USB A and USB C). For inReach Mini and NU25. |
| USB C cable | Generic | 10 | For fast charging powerbank. |
| Phone | iPhone 13 Pro | 279 | Waterproof case. Good battery life and efficiency, excellent camera with zoom and macro lens. |
| Headphones | AirPods Pro 2 | 55 | With case. |
| Satellite device/safety beacon | Garmin inReach Mini 2 | 100 | For safety, texting, weather forecast. |
| Headtorch | Nitecore NU25 | 33 | 360 Lm max. Homemade cord headband. |
| Total | 691 |
Clothing Carried
| Item | Product | Weight (g) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wind jacket | Montbell Tachyon Jacket | 41 | Adds heaps of versatility and warmth. One of our favourite items. For sleeping if everything else is soaked. |
| Wind pants | Montbell UL Stretch Wind Pants | 70 | Adds heaps of versatility and warmth. For sleeping in every night. |
| Rain jacket | GORE R7 Shakedry | 121 | Great jacket. Shakedry works really well and has a chest pocket. Durable enough for on trail hiking. |
| Rain pants | Montbell Versalite Pants | 104 | For warmth in wet weather. Not super durable but good enough. Water seeps through eventually. |
| Synthetic jacket | Enlightened Equipment Torrid | 215 | Since the Bibbulmun isn’t too cold and can get a decent amount of rain we think a synthetic is a better choice than fleece + down jacket. Jacket instead of pullover for better venting. |
| Buff | Outdoor Research Echo Ubertube | 20 | Very thin and breathable. Keep ears warm under hat walking and sleeping. |
| Warmth gloves | Zpacks Possum Gloves | 33 | Only touch screen compatible possum gloves we’ve seen. |
| Rain gloves | Zpacks Vertice Rain Mitts | 28 | Seam taped so no dodgy seam sealing job (unlike MLD, Borah etc). |
| Spare undies | ExOfficio Briefs | 23 | |
| Spare socks | Icebreaker Lifestyle | 39 | |
| Total | 694 |
Miscellaneous
| Item | Product | Weight (g) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hiking pack | Wilderness Threadworks Obi 38L total | 500 | Ultra 200 (constructed the right way with excellent seam taping). Spacer mesh hip belt. More than enough space for longest food carry. |
| Water bottle holder | Justin’sUL | 27 | 2 x 1L bottle holders for shoulder straps. Mesh not super durable but otherwise fantastic product. |
| Dry bag | Zpacks DCF Large Food Bag (14L) | 43 | 14L. Fits very nicely at the bottom of ~40-50L packs. Big enough for sleeping bag, clothes etc. 1.6oz/yd² for extra durability as the 1.0 oz/yd² will degrade after a couple of months of use. |
| Zip lock bags | 1 | For compartmentalising and keeping things dry. | |
| Debit cards | 10 | ||
| Total | 581 |
Clothing Worn
| Item | Product | Weight (g) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Long sleeve shirt | Outdoor Research Echo Quarter Zip | 104 | Good collar. Zip for ventilation. Super breathable. Thumb holes. |
| Running shorts | Nike Second Sunrise | 127 | Good length for sun protection. Three zipped pockets. |
| Underwear | ExOfficio Briefs | 31 | |
| Hat | Outdoor Research Sun Runner | 80 | Stylish. Also use cape as towel for drying things. |
| Trekking poles | Naturehike ST10 Ultralight Telescopic Poles | 312 | 130cm. Carbon. Telescopic. Flip lock. Super light. Carbon is strong, but I have broken the straps. |
| Sunglasses | Julbo Shield M | 27 | Cat 2-4 photochromic sunglasses. Love them. |
| Socks | Injinji Liner Crew | 34 | |
| Shoes | Nike Pegasus Trail 5 | 255 | |
| Gaiters | Dirty Girl Gaiters | 40 | Great for keeping dirt and stones out of your shoes. Increases lifetime of socks. |
| Total | 1010 |
The above gear list is simply a guide, and will likely change depending on individual preference. Below, we outline a few main changes you could make depending on your comfort levels.
Sleeping
One easy way to save weight would be to take a tarp and plan on sleeping in shelters when they aren’t full (which should be nearly all the time). The biggest downside of this set up would be if there are lots of mosquitoes, something we did experience in the last few days of our walk. To overcome this, you could take a head net for bug protection, but we were glad to have the extra space of the tent when there was significant bug pressure. Alternatively, you could add a water resistant bivy but then you are at pretty much the same weight as the tent. This would offer more flexibility, but not as much privacy as a tent.
Insulation
If you are walking from late spring to early summer you could cut down on insulation (lighter sleeping bag, mat, fewer clothes), but this depends on how cold you get and your personal risk tolerance.
Pack size
You could also get away with a smaller and lighter pack if you are dialed or prefer fewer features (e.g. Zimmerbuilt Quickstep 30L, KS Ultralight KS3 ~300g).
Cooking
We didn’t add a stove to the list to encourage people to try no cook (because we like it so much!) however if you are keen to take a stove we would take an MLD 850mL Ti Mug with a Trail Designs Caldera Cone and Kojin Alcohol Stove (we like the Trail Designs metho stove setup the best).
If there is some part of our gear choices you are unsure about, or wonder why we chose X instead of Y, drop us an email! The Bibbulmun is a great track to test out ultralight gear as the risks are relatively low. Towns are frequent, temperatures are mild, you expect to see people every day, and the track quality is very high.
