This is the gear that we took on the Pacific Crest Trail as a couple in 2022. At the end of the post, we discuss what did and didn’t work so well, and changes we would make in the future.
Total weight in list: 9442.5g
Worn weight: 2514g
Individual base weight: 3464g (+1134g for bear canister in the Sierras)
Sleeping
| Item | Product | Weight (g) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Two Person Tent | Zpacks Duplex | 600 | 0.75oz/yd² for durability. Good size for us. |
| Twin Quilt | Enlightened Equiptment 2 person quilt | 850 | |
| Sleeping mat | 2 x Nemo Switchback or Therm-a-Rest Z Lite SOL | 360 | 6 panels each, replaced halfway through the hike. |
| Tent stakes | 6 x DAC J-Stake and 2 x Shepard’s Hook Ti stakes | 74 | J Stakes for critical tie outs (10.5g each) and Shepard's hooks for guy lines (5.5g each). |
| Stake sack | Tarptent stake sack | 0.5 | |
| Total | 1884.5 |
Kitchen
| Item | Product | Weight (g) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Water bottles | 6 x 1L Balance bottle | 270 | 45g each. Carry 3 each in the desert, 2 each afterwards. Nice shape. Swapped out lids for push pull tops. |
| Spoon | 2 x Sea to Summit tea spoon | 14 | One each. |
| Scent proof food bag | 2 x Turkey Bag | 60 | One each. More durable than OPSAC and easier to replace. |
| Rehydration container | 2 x Talenti Ice Cream Container | 100 | One each. A good size and easy to replace in town (plus, you get to eat some good ice cream). |
| Extra water storage | 2 x 1L Platypus SoftBottle | 50 | Collapsible. Carried 1 each. |
| Water filter | Platypus Quickdraw | 63 | Replaced once, but should have replaced twice. |
| Total | 557 |
Miscellaneous
| Item | Product | Weight (g) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hiking pack | 2 x Wilderness Threadworks Obi Ultra 40L | 994 | Ultra 200 fabric. Solid back pocket for durability. 497g each. Maddie swapped to a Nashville Cutaway mid-way through the trek to try a vest style pack. |
| Bear canister | 2 x BV500 (11.5L) | 2268 | One each for the Sierras. Rented from Triple Crown Outfitters. |
| Water bottle holder | 4 x Justin’sUL | 54 | 2 x 1L bottle holders for shoulder straps on each pack. Mesh not super durable but otherwise fantastic product. |
| Bug net | 2 x Sea to Summit Nano Head Net | 22 | 11g each and pemethrin treated. Used daily in Oregon! |
| Bidet | CuloClean | 12 | For going to the bathroom. More hygienic and less wasteful compared to toilet paper. We liked it a lot. |
| Umbrella | Timmermade Battleshield | 45 | A bit tricky to set up and only worth it if it is really hot. We used the selfie stick from our camera to turn it into an umbrella. Probably would take a normal umbrella for the desert next time and ditch it once we hit the Sierras. |
| Cards | 12 | ||
| Emergency cash | 6 | ||
| Dry bag | Zpacks DCF Large Food Bag (14L), Zpacks 8L DCF bag | 62 | 14L for quilt and down jackets, 8L bag for day clothes. |
| Passports | 79 | One each. | |
| Total | 1286-3554 |
Clothes carried (Maddie)
| Item | Product | Weight (g) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wind jacket | Montbell Tachyon Jacket | 41 | Adds heaps of versatility and warmth. One of my favourite items. For sleeping if everything else is soaked. |
| Wind pants | Montbell UL Stretch Wind Pants | 70 | Adds heaps of versatility and warmth. Sleep in every night. |
| Rain jacket | GORE R7 Shakedry | 121 | Great jacket. Shakedry works really well and glad it has two zip pockets. Not super durable but held up well. It has one hole but from a barbed wire fence. |
| Rain pants | Zpacks Vertice Rain Pants | 80 | For warmth in wet weather. Not super durable. |
| Fleece | Macpac Nitro | 119 | Great active layer. 90g/m² version but more like 60g/m² towards the end! |
| Down jacket | Timmermade SUL 1.5 | 197 | 3.2oz fill with hood. |
| Buff | Outdoor Research Echo Ubertube | 20 | Very thin and breathable. Keep ears warm under hat walking and sleeping. |
| Possum gloves | Zpacks Possum Gloves | 40 | Not conductive. Warm but not very durable. |
| Wind gloves | Montbell U.L. Shell Gloves | 9 | 12D. Touchscreen compatible. |
| Plastic gloves | Polyethylene Disposable Gloves | 2 | Waterproof layer for hands to complement Montbell Shell Gloves. One spare set. |
| Spare undies | ExOfficio Bikini Briefs | 23 | |
| Spare socks | Injinji Liner Crew | 33 | |
| Total | 755 |
Clothes carried (Tom)
| Item | Product | Weight (g) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wind jacket | Montbell Tachyon Jacket | 46 | Adds heaps of versatility and warmth. One of my favourite items. For sleeping if everything else is soaked. |
| Wind pants | Montbell UL Stretch Wind Pants | 70 | Adds heaps of versatility and warmth. Sleep in every night. |
| Rain jacket | Kathmandu Zeolite Shakedry | 190 | Durable shakedry jacket but the pocket is annoying (it is inside and inaccessible). |
| Rain skirt | Zpacks Rain Kilt | 57 | Waterproof layer for legs but doesn’t add warmth. Would take rain pants next time. |
| Fleece | Macpac Nitro | 141 | Great active layer. 90g/m² version but more like 60g/m² towards the end! |
| Down jacket | Timmermade SUL 1.5 | 200 | 3.4oz fill with hood. |
| Tights | Nike Pro | 75 | Prevents chaffing. |
| Buff | Outdoor Research Echo Ubertube | 20 | Very thin and breathable. Keep ears warm under hat walking and sleeping. |
| Possum gloves | Zpacks Possum Gloves | 35 | Conductive. Warm but not very durable. |
| Wind gloves | Montbell U.L. Shell Gloves | 9 | 12D. Touchscreen compatible. |
| Plastic gloves | Polyethylene Disposable Gloves | 2 | Waterproof layer for hands to complement Montbell Shell Gloves. One spare set. |
| Spare undies | ExOfficio Briefs | 30 | |
| Spare socks | Injinji Liner Crew | 33 | |
| Total | 908 |
Electronics
| Item | Product | Weight (g) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Powerbank | Nitecore NB10000 | 150 | King of the power banks currently. Two outputs is very useful. |
| Plug | 2 x Anker Nano 20W | 60 | USB-C output. Carried two as only one port. |
| iPhone cable | 2 x Generic | 10 | 5g each. Carried two for redundancy (USB A and USB C). Short 10cm length. |
| Microusb cable | 2 x Generic | 14 | Carried two. |
| USB C cable | Generic | 10 | For fast charging powerbank. |
| Phone (Tom) | iPhone 12 Mini | 190 | Waterproof case. Good battery life, battery efficiency, screen size and camera. |
| Phone (Maddie) | 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. For listening to music together. |
| Satellite device/safety beacon | Garmin inReach Mini 2 | 100 | For safety, texting, weather forecast. |
| Headtorch | 2 x Nitecore NU25 | 66 | One each. 360 Lm max. Homemade cord headband. |
| Total | 934 |
Camera
| Item | Product | Weight (g) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 360 camera | Insta360 One | 228 | 150g camera with glass lens protector (63g) and case (15g). |
| Selfie Stick | Telsin 1.16m | 102 | Carbon and collapsible. |
| Tripod | Pedco Ultrapod | 52 | |
| Strong zip lock bag | Generic | 10 | Waterproof for storage. |
| Total | 392 |
First Aid
| Item | Product | Weight (g) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pocket knife | Swiss Army Knife Classic | 21 | Knife, scissors, tweezers. Wegner has better scissors. |
| Breathable tape | Fixomull Stretch | 4 | |
| Duct/electrical tape | 6 | For repairs and blisters. | |
| Repair tape | DCF and tenacious | 5 | |
| Antihistamines | 4 | x10 for mosquito bites etc. | |
| Ibuprofen | 4 | x10 for pain relief and inflammation. | |
| Caffeine tablet | No-Doz | 3 | x6. |
| Hikers wool | Not much | For blisters. | |
| Safety pin | 2 | For blisters. | |
| Sewing needle and thread | 3 | 3 needles. For repairs and popping blisters. | |
| Toothbrush | 4 | Cut short. One each. | |
| Superglue | 4 | For large cuts and repairs. | |
| Alcohol pad | 1 | x2 for cuts. | |
| Cord | Zpacks 1.3mm | 3 | 1.3mm. |
| Matches | Redheads (short) | 10 | 1 pack. |
| Menstrual cup | 20 | ||
| Ear plugs | Not much | Sleeping. Two spare sets. | |
| Sleepmask | 6 | Improves sleep. | |
| Comb | 6 | ||
| Hairlackies | 4 | Spare for tying stuff. | |
| Total | 110 |
Consumables
| Item | Product | Weight (g) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunscreen | 47 | In 30ml tub. Resupply in every town. | |
| Lip Balm | Carmex Squeeze Tube | 14 | SPF15 and stops lips/under nose cracking. |
| Water purification tablets | Aquatabs | 22 | 15 packs of 10 (5L tabs). |
| Anti-chafe | Gurney Goo | 20 | In 15g tube. Replaced with extra Carmex once we ran out. |
| Hand sanitizer | 29 | In 30ml tub. Resupply in every town. | |
| Toothpaste | 10 | In travel tube. Resupply when needed. Would take toothpaste drops next time. | |
| Total | 102 |
Clothes worn (Maddie)
| 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 | 2XU 5 inch Men’s running shorts | 100 | Good length for sun protection. I like the men’s shorts because they have a zip pocket. |
| Sports bra | Nike sports bra | 111 | |
| Underwear | ExOfficio Bikini Briefs | 31 | |
| Hat | Sunday Afternoon Adventure Hat | 73 | A bit blowy in the wind but provides good protection. |
| Trekking poles | Helinox FL120 | 145 | 120cm. A bit too short for setting up the Duplex. Alloy so won’t snap but have bent one once. |
| Sunglasses | Julbo Shield M | 27 | Cat 2-4 photochromic sunglasses. Love them. |
| Socks | Injinji Liner Crew | 33 | |
| Shoes | Nike Pegasus Trail 5Hoka Speedgoat 6 | 550 | Velcro tab with super glue for gaiters. Replaced approx. every 500 miles. My favourite were the Hoka Speedgoats. |
| Gaiters | Dirty Girl Gaiters | 40 | Great for keeping dirt and stones out of your shoes. Increases lifetime of socks. |
| Total | 1214 |
Clothes worn (Tom)
| Item | Product | Weight (g) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Long sleeve shirt | Outdoor Research Echo Quarter Zip | 107 | Good collar. Zip for ventilation. Super breathable. Thumb holes. |
| Running shorts | Nike Second Sunrise | 127 | Favorite shorts. Three zipped pockets. |
| Underwear | ExOfficio Briefs | 31 | |
| Hat | Sunday Afternoon Ultra Adventure Hat and La Sportiva Zenith | 73 | Sunday afternoon was a bit blowy in the wind but provided better protection than the La Sportiva legionnaires hat. |
| Trekking poles | Naturehike ST10 Ultralight Telescopic Poles | 307 | Ali version of CP3. 125cm. |
| Sunglasses | Julbo Trek | 32 | Cat 2-4 photochromic sunglasses. Nice but would be better if they went darker. Had to replace lens that fell out. |
| Socks | Injinji Liner Crew | 33 | |
| Shoes | Nike Vomero 15, Nike Pegasus Trail 5, Hoka Speedgoat 6, Hoka Tecton X, Brooks Catamount | 550 | Velcro tab with super glue for gaitors. Replaced approx. every 500 miles. |
| Gaiters | Dirty Girl Gaiters | 40 | Great for keeping dirt and stones out of your shoes. Increases lifetime of socks. |
| Total | 1300 |
Gear analysis
Given the wide variety of conditions and temperatures that can be experienced on the PCT, we think we found a good balance between comfort and weight. As with any thru hike, there are aspects of our gear that weren’t as successful as we hoped, and we would change for next time.
What worked well
A clear win for this trip were our foam mats. After thousands of kilometres having on and off issues with inflatable mats, we finally decided to give foam mats a go. Despite our initial reservations regarding warmth and comfort, we ended up really liking them. Perhaps the best part about foams mats was the ability to use them during the day! For regular three season hiking, we can’t see ourselves going back to inflatable mats.
Additionally, much like on the Bibbulmun Track, we were huge fans of our wind jackets and wind pants. For a penalty of 120g/4.2oz, the wind gear acts as an excellent layer for adding ‘just that extra bit of warmth’ and we find the pants very comfortable to sleep in.
Another great success was transitioning from using toilet paper to a bidet. Whilst initially skeptical, after a few weeks of use we were sold. It was more hygienic and meant we didn’t have to carry out toilet paper!
What didn't work well
The main aspect of our gear that could have been improved was our rain gear. We used the PCT to test out some rain skirts and we didn’t like them very much in the conditions we were in. Whilst they were great for keeping our shorts dry, we found that we just weren’t warm enough in high altitude alpine regions when it rained. Maddie swapped to rain pants midway through the trip for this reason. Conversely, in hot and humid weather we think rain skirts would be a great option.
Timmermade Battleshield
On this trip we decided to test out the Timmermade Battle Shield. It is essentially a piece of reflective fabric that can be fashioned into an umbrella (of sorts) with your trekking poles. At 45g/1.59oz it is small and light, and is great for having the option to make some shade if you need it. We found this particularly useful for the desert, and walking through burn zones in northern California.
We found it worked best when you could attach a pole to hold it up (otherwise your arms fatigue quite quickly). We used the selfie stick for our 360 camera for this purpose, attaching it to the Battle Shield using our Pedco Ultrapod.
We think the Battle Shield is a great concept and we were glad we brought it with us for the trip. With some redesigning and improvements we think the trekking pole + reflective fabric combo could become a good alternative to sun umbrellas.
360 Camera
One of our biggest regrets we have from past hikes (namely, the Greater Patagonian Trail), is the lack of quality photos to remember our trip by. As such, we decided to have a bit of fun on the PCT and took a 360 camera with us. We hoped the 360 footage would better represent the incredible views that never look quite as good on the phone as they did in real life.
At just under 400g (~14oz), we carried the Insta360 One X2 (with lens protector and case), a selfie stick and a mini tripod. Not an essential piece of gear, but we had a lot of fun and have some truly fantastic footage to look back on.
Since finishing the trail, we have gone through our 360 footage and created an interactive virtual reality map of the PCT. In these photos and videos, you can scroll around the footage as if you were there yourself. It’s like Google Street View but for hiking!
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2 Responses
Hey,
Just looking through your PCT gear list. Thanks for sharing.
You don’t have a stove listed, did you take one?
No worries 😊 Correct we didn’t take a stove. We just spent lots of money on pizza in town!