The Gear I Use
This is the gear I’ll be using on the Pacific Crest Trail starting around May 15th, all together a 6.6lb base weight. The trail is 2,650 miles from Mexico to Canada, across the state of California, Oregon, and Washington. I am starting a bit later than typical to avoid snow and colder temperatures, allowing me to carry less gear, and hike a bit faster more comfortably. At this point I have hiked a fair amount and am very comfortable with what I use. So lets take a quick peek!
2021 Pacific Crest Trail Gear List
Packing
- 11.4oz – Backpack – Pa’lante V2
- 1oz – Pack Liner – Trash bag
- 0.5oz – Ziploc – For small items
Sleeping
- 17oz – Quilt – Enlightened Equipment Enigma 30*F
- 1oz – Sleeping Pad – GossamerGear Thinlight 1/8″ // Torso length
- 5.6oz – Shelter – Zpacks 7×9 Tarp
- 1.2oz – Groundsheet – Polycro
- 1.8oz – Stakes – MSR Carbon Core x8
Water / Eating
- 2.4oz – Water Bottles – Cheap 1L x4
- 1oz – Food Bowl – Peanut Butter Jar
- 0.8oz – Food bag – Sea to Summit 15L Stuff Sack
- 0.2oz – Spoon – Plastic // Cut down
- 2.4oz – Water Filter –Aquamira // Repackaged
Clothing (Carried)
- 1.4oz – Socks – Darn Tough
- 5.8oz – Rain Jacket – Enlightened Equipment Visp
- 1.9oz – Wind Pants – Dance Pants
- 5.8oz – Jacket – KUIU Peloton 97
- 1oz – Beanie – Zpacks Fleece
- 0.8oz – Sunglasses – Ombraz w Micro Fiber Case
Miscellaneous
- 0.8oz – Knife – Swiss Army Classic
- 0.45oz – Trowel – Deuce of Spades
- 0.3oz – ID & Credit Card – In Ziploc
- 0.4oz – Lighter – Mini Bic
- 0.2oz – Toothpaste – Travel Sized
- 2g – Toothbrush – Bamboo // Cut down
- 0.2oz – Compass – Suunto Tiny Clip On
- 0.3oz – Leukotape – For Blisters
- 0.4oz – Chafe Cream – Body Glide
- 0.1oz – Lip Balm – Tiny
- 1oz – Sunscreen – 30SPF
- 0oz – Dental Floss – Plastic Toothpick
- 0.3oz – Ibuprofen
- 0oz – Safety Pin
Electronics
- 0.6oz – Flashlight – Rovyvon Aurora A5x
- 5.3oz – Cell Phone – Google Pixel
- 12.8oz – External Battery – Ravpower PD Pioneer 20,000mAh 60w
- 2.9oz – Wall Charger – Ravpower PD Pioneer 30w 2-Port
- 0.4oz – Headphones – Skull Candy // Cheap
- 0.8oz – USB Cords – 3′ / 10″
Camera
- 10.4oz – Camera – Sony ZV-1
- 1.4oz – Tripod – Pedco Ultrapod
- 0.1oz – Memory Card – 128gb // Spare
- 0.1oz – Micro Fiber Cloth
Total baseweight of pack (the weight without food, water, or fuel)
6.6 lbs
Clothing (Worn)
- Shorts – New Balance 5″
- Shirt – Columbia Silver Ridge Lite
- Socks – Darn Tough
- Shoes – Merrell Trail Glove 6
- Hat – Ciele Athletics
- Watch – Casio
Occasionally during this hike I will also need a bear can in the sierra, and a bug head net. Nothing else should change.
Thanks for following along!
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Did you miss not having a puffy jacket? Also, how do you deal with wind chill while sleeping under a tarp?
Your articles and videos are a great inspiration and thank you so much for sharing!
I personally did not miss having a puffy, but that also goes with how I hike. I am either in my quilt sleeping or I am moving and hiking so the fleece added to that warmth and was more than sufficient. If you like spending more time hanging around camp than I do or if you take long breaks, a puffy is probably a more appropriate choice for you. As for my tarp, during the entire PCT I only used it 4 times. 3 of those times were for wind where I pinned it lower to the ground. Most days however I would pick spots that are naturally good spots, and cowboy camp. Trees above, bushes or rocks surrounding, not exposed, avoiding valleys water or tops of mountains. I never felt a desire for a shelter larger or more robust than my tarp. Campsite selection is key
What is the material of the button down shirt? And underwear? No underwear?
What iis polycryo? I it the same as space blanket plastic or packaging plastic? The link is sold out.
Doesn’t your bamboo toothbrush get gross after 3 days? Mine did.
So, no bandaid, antibiotic ointment, tp, soap, no 2nd pair of socks, underwear, scrubie, gear repair tape, no tic / bug problems sleeping without tent mesh, no deet or incaridin and no mosquito problems, no ice axe, spikes, tums, diareah pill, no mole skin, mirror.. I’m on my way to your level but man there’s got to be some pain involved. Lol
Is the 30w charger any faster than 2.4 volt. I got anker USBc and its only 5 min faster to charge my phone.
Good luck with editing the rest of the videos. Can’t wait to watch them all, over and over.
The shirt is polyester of some sort. Very lightweight, airy, and comfortable.
No underwear as my shorts have a liner built into them.
Polycryo is a thin insulating film used typically to cover windows. But in backpacking I use it as a ground sheet. I place the polycryo down on the ground, then my sleeping pad on top, etc. Since my shelter (a tarp) does not have a floor, the polycryo acts as my floor keeping me dry and clean.
My bamboo toothbrush has not gotten gross yet!
I do have a second pair of socks. But you are correct that I did not carry any of those other items you mention. And there also was no pain involved, instead I was very comfortable walking with my very lightweight pack! Many of those items could be improvised, many of those items aren’t needed with certain skills, many of those items could be gotten in a town should I find I do need them, or many I wouldn’t need at all given my extensive research before leaving for the trip, and knowing the conditions I will face.
You previously mentioned the KUIU was 5.8 oz, but it’s listed as 8.8 here- typo?
A typo! Sorry, it is 5.8 ounces
How did you get the V2 down to 11.4oz?
I cut all sorts of stuff off of it! I think next time I will just leave the doodads be, but hey some one has gotta try. I removed the hipbelt, I shortened straps, I cut off clips, etc. Don’t think I would recommend.
Thanks. Very informative.
A breakdown of what you eat would be helpful also.
What it is , how much it weighs. How many calories.
Happy Trails.
Love your videos and wisdom. Your pack weight is quite low, even with the camera, phone and backup power. I do however see a hiking pole in the videos, but not in the pack list. I must have missed something. Apologies.
I only carry the hiking pole for snow, so it isn’t something I normally have had on any past hike. Usually I just found a broken one in town and used that for a section, then ditched it as soon as I could in a next town.
Do you think you could hike 30 mile days in your 50’s?
It would be more difficult of course but yes, knowing a few people in their 50s who do so I think so. My dad for instance in his 50s is in the best shape of his life! But that came with a lot of effort, more so than for those younger.
Why do you carry a lighter if you’re not carrying a stove? What is the purpose of the safety pin? No TP?
The lighter is for an emergency should I need a fire for warmth. One time when I wasn’t carrying one I got into a really bad potentially hypothermic situation and since then it just feels stupid to not have something so small and potentially life saving. The safety pin is for blisters.
Hey Jupiter, I’ve been getting so much useful info from you in all your videos. Im not a long distance hiker but it’s given me lots of ideas for slimming down. I thought because I’ve learned so much from you, it’d be good to share with you one bit of info that I know of. Fire required for hypothermia often happens in less than optimal conditions ie wet or snowing, when lighting a fire can be really hard. I know you’re experienced but having some emergency tinder for the cost of a handful of grams is worth its weight in gold. Mini infernos from pathfinder are great, I never carry the whole tin, just 1 or 2 in a ziploc, they give a substantial burn time enough to dry out small sticks and other tinder you may’ve found.
I get the long sleeve polyester shirt for the sun on the PCT. Would you wear the same shirt on the AT considering the heat, humidity, and bugs?
If you look back at old photos, I wore the same exact shirt for most of my AT thru hike as well. So yes! long sleeves are great for bugs, the button up is great for ventilation
How do you pack your bear can? How well does your back pack support the extra weight?
When hiking the PNT, what pack did you carry?
I have a video coming out within the next month about how to use a bear can with an ultralight backpack, I recommend checking that out soon! On the PNT I used an even smaller pack, the palante joey. And as for the extra weight, a bear can weighs as much as one liter of water, so the weight is less a concern and more so dealing with the bulk or size of the can.
I really enjoyed your series on the PCT! I have followed you for a long time and appreciate your appreciation of the trail and nature and people.
Your colors, especially blue skies, are different/better from probably every other video. You use a Sony ZV1 like me, but my blues and greens are different from yours. What settings and/or color editing do you use?
It is the way I color grade my videos, I make them look the way these places made me feel. A bit surreal in some ways
just watched your last video on Youtube! got super emotional at the end as well! what a crazy journey, and can’t thank you enough for bringing us along!!!
我是一位中国的徒步爱好者，在YouTube上看到您的视频，对我非常有帮助，感谢分享的这一切，也祝您在路上安全抵达终点。加油。
Your videos are beautiful and you are so inspiring, thank you for providing so much useful information! I hope to hike the PCT in a few years after I get more hiking experience.
Hi Jupiter, your poop kit seems quite minimal. Do you not use any TP or bidet? How does that work?
Also no soap or disinfectant?
I mostly use natural materials. Spawned from early days in backpacking, I would just forget to pack TP and got pretty good at finding alternatives. When it comes to leave no trace, it is recommended people pack out their TP and throw it out. While using natural plants and things I do not have to do such a thing, and I am being LNT conscious.. As for hand sanitizer, it doesn’t kill norovirus, or giardia! So I kind of think most people use it thinking it helps to avoid those, and really it does not. I do wash my hands often with just water, it is the friction that removes most germs and things.