Backpacking Gear for the Pacific Crest Trail

The Women’s Arc Zip is a completely customizable backpack. I added on 2 hip belts, a water bottle holder for one shoulder strap and a zip + mesh holder for the other shoulder strap (to hold my bear spray). I’ve also added on a couple bells and whistles like the emergency whistle and the hiking pole holsters. I got the women’s smaller straps and a short torso size. It weights 23.9oz or 1.8 lbs. My last pack was a 70L Osprey that weighed over 5 lbs.

The Durston X-Mid Pro 2+ really is a palace as advertised. It is super spacious for a tent that only weighs only 19.2oz or 1.8 lbs (with the stakes, ground sheet and bag) making it one of the roomiest, lightest tents on the market. You don’t have to compromise on comfort as a result. It is a hiking pole tent too, which is how it saves on weight, so it takes a little practice to learn how to pitch it correctly. Still, once you get the hang of it, it’s super straightforward!

The AlpinLite is one of the warmest, lightest weight sleeping bags (at 1.13 lbs) out there that is mummy shaped but also roomier in the arms, which I wanted because I’m a side sleeper who tosses and turns quite a bit. I was also able to get it in a pretty small size (5’6″), which I like because I’m very short and that way I’m not losing heat in the bag but I still have room to throw my clothes in the bottom so they are warm and toasty come morning. I opted for down versus synthetic because I just find down to be super cozy and I’m not worried about it getting wet. I opted for a mummy versus a quilt because I run very cold at night and again, like to feel cozy and the mummy shape that fully zips offers that. A lot of ultralight backpackers will sing the praises of quilts but they seemed like they’d be drafty and because I camp in high elevation, colder environments in the summer, I need more warmth. The AlpinLite is rated to 20 F (-6 C).

The NeoAir XTherm is the go-to by many thru-hikers for a sleeping pad. It’s a no brainer because it weighs less than a pound, rolls up to nothing and is easy to inflate and deflate. I coated mine with some Plasti-Grip Spray to make it so I don’t slip off of it, because it is pretty slippery.

Yeah, maybe it makes me a princess, but I bring the Sea to Summit Aeros Premium Pillow and it’s worth every penny of the great sleep and neck support I get. You could just sleep on your puffy or a dry bag of your clothes, but that sounds clumpy, no? It weighs 0.2 lbs and folds to nothing.

How you manage your food and water on the trail can be quite a personal choice, and here’s mine. For cooking, I am using a Jetboil. While it’s not the lightest weight stove you can bring, it boils water in less than a minute and uses up very little fuel, which saves you time, money and energy and weight later on. On a 1 week backpacking trip, I used only 1/4 of a tiny 100mL container of fuel!

I then will rehydrate my food in a Toaks 750mL pot. I could technically just cook directly in the Jetboil, but then all my boiled water would taste like whatever I had cooked. I also have a Toaks long handled spork (helpful for the deeper dehydrated food packs) and a set of a collapsable Sea to Summit cup and bowl. Together, these items weigh 1.4lbs.

I have a Swiss Army knife multi-tool that among other things, is useful for cutting bandages or opening food packages.

I carry a customized first aid kit, with bandages of all shapes and sizes, leuko tape, ace bandage, pepcid, advil, antibiotics, needle, antiseptic, antibiotic cream, and more.

I always pack bear spray, which is to be used as a last resort during a bear or cougar attack. Make sure to watch some videos online on how to properly use it in case you ever have to.

In order to charge a headlamp, phone, kindle, watch and headphones, I need a lot of juice, which I’m getting in a 20,000 mAh power bank. You could probably get away with a lighter 10,000 mAh but it’s nice to not have to worry about it. This is a splurge item for me.

My headlamp is a Nitecore NU25 MCT UL, which is ultralight and quite powerful.

I carry a satellite messenger called a Garmin InReach. It’s my ‘panic button’ tool and also allows me to communicate with family while without cell service. It has maps and weather forecasting too!

I have a few drybags I use for my sleeping bag and clothes. There’s nothing worse than wet stuff, and it’s dangerous too.

I carry about 1.8lbs of various toiletries and personal items, such as: my glasses, my contact lenses (a week’s worth at a time), a toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, sunscreen, hand sanitizer, bug spray and various toilettes / wipes. In order to abide by Leave No Trace principles, you must pack out what you pack in, and that includes toilet paper. I bring a combination of tissues and wet wipes that I then put in a little garbage bag and throw away when I’m off the trail. I bring wipes like Pact Wipes which use a little bit of water to rehydrate as well as the tradition ones in small packs.

For keeping things tidy, I carry a swedish towel to wipe down the tent, a Kula cloth for feminine hygiene purposes, some Dr. Bronner’s soap for all types of cleaning needs, and a trowel for digging cat holes. I also have a tiny sea to summit towel.

Definitely a dealer’s choice here, but this is the clothing that I love. All the clothes that I don’t wear on a given day weigh about 4.15lbs.

These are the layers and things I need for either camp/sleeping, rain, or cold days.