PCT Gear Review
Gear at the Start
After researching numerous articles, I built out my gear for the Pacific Crest Trail. Since I had done a good amount of backpacking in the PNW, I already had a few crucial pieces of equipment. I also figured using what I already had would help me keep my costs down and thought I could make up for the extra weight with grit and determination. After all, I was in pretty good shape!
When I checked my bag at the airport, it weighed nearly 40 pounds with everything (base weight + food, but still no water). I knew my pack was heavy, but figured I could still get the job done.
Pretty quickly, I realized I was carrying too much weight. When I reached the first Post Office at Mt Laguna on Day 3, I sent nearly 10lbs of stuff back home. Here’s what I realized I didn’t need:
Bear Can
Chair
Extra shirt, shorts, and underwear (with the Patagonia baggies, there’s a liner so you don’t need underwear)
Puffer Jacket - I brought 2 jackets because I wasn’t sure which one I’d prefer wearing…
686 Pants - I didn’t like hiking in them or sleeping in them
AirPods (They were draining my battery; I kept my backup wired headphones)
Cloth Frisbee (called Maya Flya)
After I got rid of all my ancillary items, I thought about my Big 4 and wished I had purchased lighter gear from the start. I realized I could drop an additional 5 lbs from my base weight if I swapped out my backpack and sleeping bag. Carrying the 0º F-rated sleeping bag really made me mad. In the desert, there was no reason to have such a warm and heavy sleeping bag. Most nights in the desert, I was too hot and ended up sleeping on top of my sleeping bag. I loathed carrying that sleeping bag around…
In the Sierras, I was glad I had the Osprey Atmos. You are required to carry a bear canister in that area all the way through Yosemite (about 260 miles), and my bear can fit inside the Atmos. After the Sierras, I knew I didn’t need such a large and heavy backpack, but I carried it another 300-400 miles. Stupid…
At the halfway point (~mile 1300), I road tripped up to Trail Days with some friends and explored the new options for gear. I was hesitant to spend the money, but eventually I committed. I was going slow due and my body was breaking down due to be overcumbered. If I wanted to finish the trail in time, I knew I had to make some changes.
Gear Changes / Add-ons
Before Trail Days, I added a few pieces of equipment at the various towns I stopped in.
Here’s what I added and where I got them:
Pants - OR Research Pants with Knee Zip off (Idylwild) $80 - great tech, I usually just wore them to sleep or in town, but they were extremely useful when it got cold
Microfleece Hoodie, Lightheart Gear (Kennedy Meadows) $90 - this, paired with my insulated jacket, kept me very warm
Foldable Sleeping Mat (Wal-Mart at Tehachapi) $30 - just being able to lie down anywhere was a game-changer
Also allowed me to do yoga and cowboy camp more easily - I would put this mat down and then my Nemo Tensor and have camp setup
Bandana (FREE at Kennedy Meadows South) - useful for wiping the sweat from your face
Jolly Gear Triple Crown Shirt (ordered online as a birthday present for myself - Sierra City) - this shirt is amazing, you will see many other hikers wear them, the sooner you get one, the better. It’s also through-hiker guaranteed, so if it rips while you're on trail, they will send you a new one, no questions asked (but mine never ripped or really even faded)
At Trail Days, I spent nearly $600 on a new backpack and quilt. Thankfully, a lot of the gear is discounted at Trail Days, so I saved a few hundred dollars getting the gear there.
Here’s what I switched:
Osprey Atmos 65L (4.5 lbs) → Hyperlite Junction 55L (2 lbs)
Mountain Hardware Bishop Pass 0º F (3 lbs) → Enlightened Equipment Revelation Quilt 20º F (1 lb)
Wal-Mart Sleeping Mat (1 lb) → Nemo Switchback (0.6 lbs)
These changes dropped my Base Weight by an additional 6 pounds.
After I got rid of all unnecessary items, I felt light as a feather, but knew I could still drop more weight… At this point, there was much else to get rid of, but when you carry everything on your back every day, you consider all options.
Items I also got rid of near the end:
Kindle - towards the end of the trail, I wasn’t reading as much. At night, I would just watch TV shows I had downloaded in town on my phone.
Xero Sandals → Hotel Slippers
That only got rid of 1.5-2 pounds, but every ounce counted. I laugh now because at the beginning of the trail, I had mocked that saying: “Every ounce counts.” But it’s true. At the start, I figured I would be out there for nearly 5 months, so I wanted every nicety I could have to make my hike enjoyable. But I was wrong, all that extra weight just made my hike more miserable. If you plan on going on a long hike, you’ll find that the most enjoyable thing is actually the hiking itself, and when you make that easier yourself, the joy you get comes more easily as well.
Gear at the End
Conclusion
The trail changes your concept of what is doable. It also changes the way you think about problems. The trail is not easy by any means, but you have full control over the extra hardship you face, so it becomes your job to make your life as easy as possible. Invest in good tech, and it will pay you back tenfold.
Final Tips:
Clothing Recommendations
one outfit for hiking
Shirt - Jolly Gear Triple Crown Shirt- you’re going to wear the same shirt every day for 5 months, so might as well look cool in it -
one outfit for the cold (will double as your sleep outfit)
Micro Fleece - Light Heart Gear Microfleece, Melezana Micro Fleece, or Alpha 90
Gloves - you won’t need them in the beginning, but towards the end (depending on timing), you’ll want 2 pairs:
Wool Liner gloves for hiking in the cold
Waterproof gloves or mitts for hiking in the rain / really cold weather
Headphones
Don’t use AirPods - the battery is short, so you constantly have to switch them out and charge them, which drains your power bank and phone battery
I recommend the DEWALT Heavy Duty Neckband Bluetooth Earbuds - at $40, I wasn’t too concerned about them getting ruined by the elements, and the sound is pretty good - also, the battery lasts nearly 20 hours
Sleep Pad
I recommend using an air pad for comfort. My Nemo Tensor lasted almost all of the trail, but got a hole near Bend, OR. For the last month, I slept on my Nemo Switchback, which was fine, but I got much better sleep when I had my air pad. I guess the last thing you have to adapt is your mind.
