If you ever want to hear a thru-hiker ramble on for an hour or two, just ask about their gear. Not to overexaggerate, because I’m not, but our gear is our life out here. We literally may live-or-die (okay that is a bit of an exaggeration) by our gear. Mainly though, what gear we choose will define how comfortable we are on the trail, and extreme discomfort can make or break our motivation to stay on and finish the trail.

The main things I thought about when initially compiling my gear list were: quality, weight, cost, and quantity (not all are mutually exclusive, for example, higher quality tends to be lighter and more expensive when it comes to backpacking gear).
As I hiked the first 1,100+ miles of the AT, I quickly got rid of many of the items I had. The reasons I got rid of many items were due to a variety of reasons:

• Some items broke
• I found them too heavy and not worth the weight
• It got too warm
• I just was not using them/another item could serve the same purpose

This post was originally written here, at TheTrek

Updated Gear List

So, let’s get to it. As with all backpackers, my gear set has greatly evolved since I first got onto the trail. When I first set off, I wrote this post, outlining the gear I was taking with me. It went as follows:

I am now writing this post at the halfway mark, after summiting Katahdin, on my way to completing my SOBO trip from Harpers Ferry to Springer Mtn, GA. So, I have gone through my gear list, and striked through anything I have gotten rid of, and bolded gear I have added along with any explanations I want to include for you.

Big 4

• Backpack
  • Osprey M/L Eja 58L
• Shelter
  • TarpTent Double Rainbow
  • Polycryo Footprint
  • MSR Mini Ground Hog Stakes (x6)
• Sleeping Quilt/Bag
  • Hammock Gear Premium Burrow 30 (I do plan to replace this with my S2S Flame 20 Sleeping Bag when I get down to TN and it gets colder)
  • Sea 2 Summit Sleeping Bag Liner it was too warm I no longer needed it
  • Sea to Summit Aeros Premium Pillow
• Sleeping Pad
  • Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XLite NXT Sleeping Pad

Clothing + Footwear

• Tops
  • REI Co-op Sahara Button Up Got tired of sweating in a long synthetic sleeve shirt that smelled bad quickly, hence I went to a short sleeve wool
  • Icebreaker Merino T-Shirt 
• Rain, Wind, and Insulated jackets
  • LightHeart Rain Jacket Honestly this is practically useless, its not waterproof. I plan to write a review at some point. I just haven’t gotten rid of it because… honestly I don’t know why… because it feels wrong not to have a rain jacket but I am not going to buy another rain jacket cause that will probably wet out as well. Truthfully I want to just go for a poncho
  • Enlightened Equipment Women’s Torrid Jacket
  • Decathlon Quechua MH100 Hiking Fleece  Fleeces are good for warmth WHILE ONE IS HIKING. Puffy’s are good for warmth when one is not moving. Since it is warm enough here that I do not need a jacket while hiking, I found I could send my fleece home. That being said, I do plan to get my fleece back when I get down to TN and it gets colder
• Bottoms
  • ExOfficio BugsAway Vianna Pants  These were great until the summer heat really kicked in and I began getting heat rash. I plan to pick them back up at the end of my hike. I especially loved the built in bug repellant.
  • Marmot Women’s PreCip Eco Full-Zip Rain Pants I never used these, even when it rained. Not worth putting them on.
  • Replaced with: Running Shorts (x2)
• Feet
  • Altra Olympus 4 So far these have remained my favorite shoes, but the general consensus on the trail is that newer versions of Altras (for example, the Olympus 5 or the Lone Peak 7’s) fall apart a lot easier. So I’ve linked you to the Olympus 4’s, my favorite because they have a thicker sole with vibrum (vibrum helps with gripping slippery surfaces)
• • SOLE Performance Medium Wide Insoles (You can get for 10% off with the code ROVER10)
  • Camp shoes: Cheap Amazon Water Clogs replaced with Crocs I found in a hiker box
  • Darn Tough Socks (x3) (now it is x2)
  • Dirty Girl Gaiters bought with the PCT in mind; found them not really necessary on the AT
• Gloves
  • Coolibar UPF50 Fingerless Sun Gloves found that they were not necessary while hiking through “The Green Tunnel”. Look forward to using them for the PCT or similar
  • REI Co-op Merino Wool Liner Gloves 2.0 too warm
• Hats
  • Sunday Afternoons Ultra Adventure Hat even though I am in “The Green Tunnel”, I have experienced enough times on the trail where I need and appreciate having this hat that I will not be sending it home. I love this hat.
  • Decathalon Forclaz Trek 500 Hiking Beanie  too warm
• Underwear
  • Mesh underwear from Target (x2) now it is x1 because my running shorts have built in underwear #judgeallyouwantbutitworks
  • Sports Bras (x1)
• Base layerstoo warm
  • REI 185 leggings
  • tasc Merino Wool long sleeve base layer
• Other
  • Buff

Electronics

• Garmin GPSMAP 66i
  • I would prefer the Garmin inReach Mini 2 for its lighter weight. But I have loved the built in abilities of the 66i
• Dual wall plug
• Charging cords
• Headlamp
• Solar Panels not necessary while hiking through “The Green Tunnel”
• Portable Charger (x1) (now it is x2 because I listen to music and audiobooks while I hike which drains my phones battery fast)
• Garmin Instinct Solar Smartwatch

Entertainment

• Bluetooth Headphones replaced with wire headphones because they draw less battery life from my phone
• Kindle Paperwhite turns out that after hiking 25 miles/day all I want to do at the end of the night is sleep, and I have no time or energy for reading. This would be sad except that I listen to audiobooks all day while I hike, so I am getting my book fix in that way.

Kitchen

• Soto Amicus Stove Set
  • added: FlipFuel transfer device (which allows me to take fuel from one can and put it in another, saving me money and the hassel of always buying new fuel cannisters!! You can get for 20% off with the code Rover20)
• Wind Stopper this broke night 2, not replaced
• Spork this broke night 2, and has been replaced with a titanium long spoon
• Flint & Steel  replaced with a small lighter
• Sea To Summit Citronella Wilderness Wash honestly, you may find it gross, but when thru-hiking, you really don’t use soap. Instead, you find workarounds, like cooking your food in freezer zip locks bags 🙂
• Flint & Steel  replaced with a small lighter
• Homemade Pot Cozy
• Smart Water water bottle (x2) (now it is x3 since I sent home my water bladder)
• Water Bladder honestly it’s too much work to wash it all the time, and when you use a bladder, it’s near impossible to truly know how much water you have left
• Sawyer Squeeze Water Filter
  • Sawyer Water filter bag + accessories replaced with the smart water bottles that fit the sawyer filter

Other

• Cotopaxi Fanny Pack
• Cascade Mountain Tech (CMT) Carbon Fiber Trekking Poles these broke in VT.
• How they broke: I was hiking along, right before My Killington, and I tripped and slightly kicked my pole. It wasn’t a forceful kick and if I’m honest, I’d done that a lot on the trail. But guess this trip+kick was the last straw because CRACK. CMT was willing to uphold their warranty and replace what broke, but they took too long to mail and I had to buy myself a new set. I’ve been very VERY happy with my Leki’s (their tips are lasting much longer than the CMT too)
• CMT poles have been replaced with Leki Lhasa Trekking Poles which I LOVE
• Pros and cons of the Leki’s over the CMT poles.
• First and foremost: The Leki’s feel steady. I have never doubted their strength (even though I Trip and accidentally kick these too). In comparison with the CMT, other pros include: better Wrist strap adiustment; easier height adjustment (don’t feel like they’re getting stuck); tips laying MUCH longer despite having dealt with harder (more bare rock) terrain.
• Some cons in comparison with the CMT include: they do not have a lower, second grip for me to use when I want to quickly adjust my grip on a steep climb; they did not come with rubber tips, if I wanted them I would have to buy them separately.
• BearVault (BV450)  replaced with a food bag and rope to do a bear hang 
• Bug Net Head
• Osprey outer layer waterproof backpack cover similar to my rain jacket, this wets out asap and thus is practically pointless but I hold onto it still
• Leatherman Squirt Knife
• Pepper Spray
• Trowel
• Pee Rag
• CuloClean Portable Bidet
• Sunglasses + Crystal Light as a Case
• Glasses + Crystal Light as a Case
• Toiletries
  • Tooth brush
  • Toothpaste
    • I also packed a bag of baking soda as toothpaste extra
  • Lightweight travel hair brush
  • Tick Tweezers I figure that normal tweezers work just as well and I did not want to carry double
  • Hard bar of soap face wash
  • Chapstick
  • Mouth Guard
  • Powder Face Sunscreen
• First aid kit
  • incl. a EpiPen, Motrin, Benadryl, Day/NyQuil (pill)
  • KT Tape I now swear by RockTape KT Tape
• Emergency kit
  • Duck Tape (wrapped around hiking poles)
  • Mini-sewing kit

As a result of all the items I have gotten rid of, I have cut over 10lbs of gear weight. This is HUGGEEEEE.

I still strive to cut more if possible, but also as I hike into late fall, I undoubtedly will have to get some of the weight back as I upgrade my quilt to a warmer sleeping bag, and take back my thermals and fleece.