Gear for PCT 2024

For those that want to go straight to my gear list for my upcoming 5 month hike across America, scroll on down. Here’s also a link to my lighterpack (a very useful tool that I’d recommend to any hiker to dial in their equipment). My partner will be carrying a few things which will lighten my load including our shelter, ‘tronics and maybe some of my diabetes supplies. What a gent. 

For those that want to know more about the hows and whys of choosing certain gear, read on...

Every gram counts when you’re walking long distance. 

Every gram needs to be considered. You’ll thank yourself when you’re out there. To reach decisions on all of your gear, it’s likely that you will deliberate and discuss at length for each item, and with good reason. 

You’ll be carrying every single thing that you need on your back for many days/weeks/months and that weight will ripple down into every muscle, tendon and joint of your body. If not for its entirety or majority, you will feel the weight and its impact at some point on your walk. So everything you want to take needs to be questioned and thought through. You have to literally weigh up the usefulness to weight ratio for every item you think you need. Get some accurate scales!

When considering your gear you need to be sure of your decisions, because at some point on the trail you will question your choices and will probably discard/send stuff home if you haven’t already considered every item thoroughly.

I get it, it’s a luxury to be able to take off dirty clothes/shoes at the end of the day and slip into something a little more comfortable… 

Although, comfort comes at a cost (weight). Which begs the question, do you really need to take that camp chair or the extra pair of sandals?

Not that I’m an ultralight purist, but I do have lots of experience covering lots of miles and it’s important to trial out your gear on shorter trips, to know what’s necessary for you and what you deem as your luxury items, and then question if those luxury items enrich your experience when you’re on the trail for an extended period of time. 

For me I really wanted to bring a hand crocheted hat lovingly handmade by my friend on the PCT. It was cosy, warm, personal, colourful and had meaning for me, a token from a loved one at home. It was also 85grams and very bulky. Before the hat arrived in the post, Laurie had ordered us some boring, tiny black fleece beanies, mass produced and no doubt manufactured in China, weighing in at 21g.

Now my heart tells me to obviously take the personal hat, but my head tells me to be practical and take the fleecey black. And herein lies the dilemmas you’re faced with when dialing in your gear…

What’s comfortable when you’re not walking is going to add to the pressure on your body when you are walking. So ask yourself, would you rather be more comfortable walking, if that’s your main objective on the trip, or more comfortable in camp at the end of the day? 

There’s a saying amongst thru hikers that you ‘pack your fears’. For me, I hate being cold at night and the thought of shivering and not being able to sleep means I dread that repeat reality so in the past I’ve tended to carry an extra layer in the form of gilet or fleece if I’m at elevation or camping in shoulder seasons. The only way to work these things out is through experience. Go on a shakedown overnight hike, or for as long as you can manage to test ALL the kit. Tweak from there. 

Also, there’s no denying that ultra light kit is spenny, so if you’re keen to get going but put off by the cost implications, still go! Go with the kit that you can get your hands on - what you already have or can borrow from friends or family or rent from companies. Learn from these experiences and invest in the gear at your own pace. With the knowledge that lightweight gear really is a sound investment if long distance hiking is something you love and will use for many trips. 

We’ve hiked with a tarp before which is a good way to cut down on weight, but for the upcoming trip decided to pivot towards a tent, and the lightest, with still durability on the market as far as we can see is zpacks duplex which will be cosy to say the least. But it will offer us more warmth and protection from elements/critters which we deemed important for the PCT. Consider what terrain and weather systems you’re likely to be faced with on your trail of choice, and whether privacy is important to you. Not to mention the convenience of erecting a tent over tying knots for precise tension on a tarp. There’s different shelters for different needs! 

As vegans, we don’t want to purchase down products so even though they're bulker and heavier, our sleeping bags and puffy coats are synthetic. The plus side to this is if they get wet then they do dry much quicker than the down equivalents, and obviously it’s a bonus that no animals were harmed in the process. These gear choices are totally up to the individual, but for us ethics come into the question. Some people choose to go for the down-fill option but buy them second hand, so that’s something you could consider. 

Meal wise, cold soaking is becoming more popular amongst the hiking community. It's convenient; in that you just have to pour your food into a pot, add water, continue hiking for half an hour, and then the meal's ready when you next stop. We've done long distance entirely with cold soaking before, supplemented with hot meals when we get to town and it's been great. However I know for some people, a hot meal is absolutely necessary, so it's something to consider. We're not big coffee drinkers, and when hiking the only drink we want is water so having a stove isn't crucial for us. It saves a lot of weight too, not taking a cooking pot, stove or camping gas.

What to wear? Trousers or shorts or a skirt or skorts, or what about a dress? A long sleeve top or shirt, with or without a collar, with or without pockets, or a short sleeve shirt? I’m hoping to wear the same outfit for the entire trail - how does one choose one single top to every day for 5+ months? It’s tricky. Allow time to make these kinds of decisions. 

As a type one diabetic there are certain meds that are imperative for me to pack; insulin, needles, test strips etc. So even though there are non negotiable items when it comes to hiking with medication, I have had to really consider how many spares I need of things as contingency. Only you can figure this out for yourself, but there are usually online communities for various conditions where you could reach out to see what others do and recommend. For me, I usually carry some spares, and leave some extra spares with friends or family that can post/deliver to me in case of an emergency. I also try to be extra careful and mindful with my med supplies when out on trail so that things don't break. I'll write up a dedicated post about hiking with type 1 diabetes in the near future.

There’s definitely a fine line between being prepared for the unknown and carrying excess stuff for those ‘just in case’ moments. With practice, it will become apparent how often you use each thing in your pack and those things that you never use but might just save your skin when you’re out there. There’s risk and reward, and pros and cons to every choice. Take caution, of course, but within reason. Final tip; try and find multiple purposes for things where possible. For example - we wanted to buy a thin roll pad to use for sitting on for breaks and stretching out and for using under the air mattress as an added layer of warmth and protection from puncture - all good multi-purpose reasons. However, after a lot of deliberation we decided to not order the roll mats (or was it that the decision taken away from us when we realised they were out of stock?) and instead take a sheet of tyvek which we already had, which could be used as all of these things listed above, plus it doubles up as a picnic blanket and as a sign for hitching from trail into town…

Weigh up all the pros and cons of every item and hike your own hike! 

Let me know if you have any other thoughts/wisdom on dialing down gear weight :)

Happy Hiking! <3

GEAR LIST

Big three: 

Shelter - Zpaks duplex 

Sleeping quilt - Enlightened Equipment Apex 20degree

Pack - Gossamer Gear G420

Sleeping: 

Pillow - sea to summit Aeros ultralight

Mattress - Thermarest Neoair Xlite 

Tyvek ground sheet 

Wearables: 

Shoes - Xero scrambler low

Hiking top - Arcteryx taema long slv

Shorts - Under armour

Fleece - Senchi designs alpha crewneck halfzip

Puffy - Alpkit, to be changed for Enlightened Equipment Torrent at some point on trail

Cap - Ciele Go cap

Socks - Injinji 

Sports bra and underwear - Patagonia active mesh 

Rain coat - Ronhill Fortify

Wind Trousers - dance pants 

Clothes for sleeping: 

Bed socks - OM core sleep sock

Leggings - old fleecy tights

Top - Montane Dart long sleeve

Accessories

Mini Socoche - handmade by Lars

Hiking poles - Fizan compact 4

Umbrella - Six moons mini

Gloves - Decathlon liners 

Fleece Beanie - Decathlon  

Snood - Buff 

Sunglasses - Goodr  

Electronics:

Phone - Asus zenphone 

Head phones - Apple cord 

Camera - Ricoh II + charger

Power bank - nitecore carbo 2000

Head torch - nitecore nu25

Food and drink:

Cold soaking plastic pot 

Titanium spoon - alpkit

Water filter - Sawyer squeeze

Platypus bladder 2L

Smart water bottles 1L x2

Equipment to be bounced for certain sections: 

Bear can - tbc

Ice axe - tbc

Waterproof socks - tbc 

Crampons - tbc

Diabetes: 

Frio Wallet small for pens 

Novorapid flex pen + vials

Levemir flex pen + vials

Freestyle Libre 2 reader + sensors

4mm insulin needles

Spare flex pen

Freestyle Optium test strips 

Glucomen Areo + strips 

Glucose powder and dextrose tablets

Misc: 

The Deuce #2 UL Trowel

Multitool 

Menstrual cup - Mooncup

Reusable pad - Kula cloth 

Flannel - Sea to summit airlite towel 

Small towel - unknown gym brand

Pee rag

Sun cream 

Tooth brush and paste 

First Aid - ibuprofen, leuko tape, tic remover, plasters, alcohol wipes 

Multivitamins 

Foot balm - homemade