Backpacking Gear list

Julie and I are planning a backpacking trip into Cedar Mesa for spring 2025 with some friends and family, and folks are interested in our equipment list. Here goes!

Big Agnes tents in Patagonia

You can’t make a backpacking list without expressing opinions and preferences. Mine have worked for me, but there’s no substitute for experience and just trying stuff out. When I mention brands it means they have worked for me, or I’ve heard good things from others. There are a lot of choices out there.

The Backpack

I’ve had a Granite Gear Crown VC 60 with a Lineloc lid for about 14 years now. I purchased it for our Philmont expedition with the boys in 2012. The Lineloc cords are showing their age and some have failed; I’ve had to patch up with para cord. Still I think this pack will work for me for at least another 5 years. With the lid it weighs just under 2.75 lbs. The lid also doubles as a day pack (over-the-shoulder or fanny pack).

I haven’t carried a outside pack rain cover for a long time, instead opting for internal liners to keep the stuff that must stay dry… dry. In Patagonia with the wind these outside covers were mostly useless – we saw so many flying around! My internal liner is from Asolo but I don’t think they make them any more.

My pack has a small amount of organization built in, especially with the lid liner (which I don’t have to take with me). Some folks opt for a lighter weight (ultralight) solution that’s more a high-tech material strapped on a frame, such as the Hyperlite Windrider. Our son Matthew has a pack more like this. Very much a preference thing.

Shelter and Sleeping

We’ve been committed Big Agnes fans for a while, with me all in on the tent, sleeping bag, and sleeping pad. Here’s my gear:

• Big Agnes Copper Spur UL2 two-person backpacking tent. One thing I love about Big Agnes: stuff breaks, and they will fix it for what basically amounts to covering their costs. We’ve had one of the zippers replaced on the door, and the tent poles rehabilitated after high-wind breakage in Patagonia.
• Big Agnes Spike Lake 15˚ bag, which I don’t think they make any more.
• Big Agnes Air Core Ultra sleeping pad.

Cooking and Eating

Julie and I tend to just boil water and not “cook”. If we were doing longer treks that might get boring, but we value easy cleanup. So our cook system consists of a basic Jetboil combo fuel / stove / pot setup.

I carry an insulated plastic mug with a lid, a metal spork, and some freezer bags for waste and cooking.

We use Starbucks Via instant coffee, standard flavored instant oatmeals for breakfast (maybe throwing in some dried fruit mix-ins), protein bars and sometimes ramen or cheese/bread for lunch, and dehydrated meals for dinner. You can find these at REI and Walmart, or sometimes discounted at the usual places (I saw some at our local Sierra that seemed to be priced very well).

Lots of snacks are carried. Nuts, trail mix, peanut M&Ms.

If needed we’ll carry a simple pump filter for water treatment. We always have some chemical purification in our essentials kit. Inside my backpack I’ll carry a 2.5L bladder, and at least an extra 1 liter bottle or two. If we will be filtering some challenging water I will probably bring a water sack and some cheesecloth for prelim filtering.

Clothing

I keep it simple: one pair of pants that I wear the entire trip, with rain pants and a rain jacket for the bad weather. I’m loving my Kühl stretchy green Renegade Recon hiking pants. I always have my Uniqlo heattech long underwear set with me, and for my upper body usually two short-sleeve t-shirts, a pullover hoodie or half-zip, underwear (maybe 1 pair per two days), and Darn Tough socks. I might bring a pair of running shorts if the weather will support it and I’ll want them for hanging around camp. Usually not.

I have an inexpensive down jacket that works great for me, and a golfing fleece beanie. For in camp I bring river sandals.

Be prepared to wear the same clothes, pretty much every day, for the duration of the trip. This suggestion is for week-long or shorter trips. But maybe for any duration? I haven’t done more than 10 days.

Essentials Kit

This is a mix of survival and repair equipment.

• Small first aid kit
• Silva compass with mirror
• Mini bic lighter
• Stormproof matches
• Duct tape wrapped around a pencil
• 20 ft of para cord
• Chemical water purification (drops or tablets)

Miscellaneous Stuff

Other things that I generally carry:

• Cut off piece of foam to sit on during breaks, weighs about 1 oz
• Pillow case that I stuff my puffy coat and some other clothes into a night for sleeping, weighs about 2 oz
• Light towel, weighs about 6 oz
• Rick Steves packing cube, weighs about 2 oz
• Cotton bandana
• Kobo e-Reader
• Veektomx battery brick w/USB-C
• Nitecore NU25 UL headlamp. These are amazing! Recharges with USB-C.
• Toothbrush and toothpaste