Three Season List – Finally Finished School

[Christian Denniston]

Looking for comments/thoughts/suggestions on my gear list. There is nothing I am particularly concerned about but I have never shared my list and figured I may as well. I just finished college this week (Bachelors of Art Education) and I am planning on getting out a lot this summer. The list is meant to be a general three season list. I would like to get below 10 pounds but I am finding myself hesitant to remove/reduce certain items ie Kupilka. My priority is simplicity with cost and weight not far behind.

Anyways, let me know what you think.

Initial information


1 ) Solo camping the majority of the time. On occasion I hike with a buddy but we carry our own gear.


2 ) Most of my trips are around Ohio (Zaleski, Shawnee, WNF) and don’t involve anything extreme. I will be in Vermont this summer for a month or more and will hike on the LT for at least a week (I’ve already done the 100 northernmost miles). I may decide to hike the entire LT but I’m not decided on that just yet. I would love to hear suggestions for backpacking trips in VT, NH, or ME.


3 ) I hike in all weather and don’t shy away from rain in the forecast. However, this list isn’t meant for winter and I don’t expect any high winds. 


4 ) Most trips are 1-4 nights. Very rarely longer than that.

A couple things I am thinking about:


Aqua Mira Vs. Sawyer Mini



Upgrading to lighter weight quilt (Although I am happy with the 30F rating)



Dreaming about a Cuben Duomid with a Solo Inner but the funds aren’t there.



Thermawrap Vs. MB UL Down Inner Parka (I miss having a hood)

Zlite Vs. Cut Down Ridgerest (Previously I experienced condensation under my quilt at my feet when using a cut down pad, I don’t know why)

Groundsheet? I don’t have one listed but I find myself usually bringing one.

GEAR LIST
***Removed for updates***

[Ben C]

Looks like a really good kit to me.

I prefer the Sawyer squeeze over the drops. You can get water faster so you need to carry less water all the time. Its also more effective on the types of bugs you are more likely to see in your area.

Polycro works great as a groundsheet. Buy the window shrink film at Lowe's. Its the same thing. Its light, tough, and cheap. Cut it as big as you want.

I probably wouldn't change the quilt. It vents easily.

As to a poofy, consider the backcountry.com Hadron. Its a slim fit, you can get it with a hood, a its often priced right. It is a fairly slim cut.

Big items for cutting weight for me would be the pack and shelter. Have you tried a frameless pack? You can get a zpack zero at about 8 ounces. This works great for me on 1-4 day trips. It would save about 1.5 pounds. Some people complain a frameless is not comfortable, but I have no problems in that weight range.

A cuben flat tarp or trailstar could cut a pound off or more. If you cut off 2.5 pounds with a lighter tarp and pack, you'll be at about 8 pounds. You'll be pretty light, even with 4 days of food. At those weights, I don't typically need a hipbelt.

But I think you have a perfectly good setup for your purposes already.

[David Drake]

Hi Christian.
Sounds like you just finished at OU–I got an MFA there back in 2001, hiked Zaleski a few times. Wish I had done it with a lighter pack.

Overall, nice list. Might be time for a new pack, better suited to the weight of the rest of your gear and your typical trip length.

You could save *maybe* 5 oz going with EE's lightest 30* quilt, and they have just about the best combination of lightweight, quality, and cost. If you can sell the RevX, maybe it's worth it. But I'd look at pad, pack and shelter first.

Does the Duomid really weigh 29 oz? I though it was lighter.

I didn't realize the Zlite was 14 oz–given the r-value and (reputed) low level of comfort, you might want to try something else.

Not quite sure why you have a dirty water bag when you use Aqua Mira–what's your procedure?

+1 on Ben's suggestion for the polycro/window film groundsheet above. Mine is trimmed fairly small–1.5 oz. Amazingly durable, given how thin and light it is.

[Christian Denniston]

Thank you for the suggestions. Both of you are right that the big three is where the weight is.

I should specify in the list that the Duomid weight of 29oz is for both the Duomid Tarp and Duo Inner. I didn’t realize it wasn’t listed as such.

As far as a cuben tarp goes I have a silnylon flat tarp that I am “testing” to see how I like it before possibly investing in a cuben tarp. So far I like it but it isn’t as quick to set up as the Duomid and doesn’t provide quite as much protection. My goal is to upgrade to cuben at some point when the money is there.

For sleeping pads I also own a cut down Ridgerest (8 oz) and at Small Prolite (11oz) but whenever I use those I wake up with a lot of condensation under my lower legs, any clue as to why this is? I have tried a Neoair for one night and I couldn’t get comfortable, I move around a lot in my sleep and found it hard to reposition myself on the Neoair.

When treating water I use a 2 Liter platypus to treat dirty water and then I transfer the clean water to two smart water bottles. The idea is no cross contamination? The idea of instantly treating my water with a Sawyer Squeeze is appealing.

Backpacks are a problem for me. I have tried ULA, GG, Osprey, Golite, Boreas and haven’t been happy with any of them in the long run. I bought the REI Flash recently because I had a gift card and the price was right. In the future I think I will pick up a Murmur or Zpacks Zero since the majority of my trips are shorter. My girlfriend has an older GG Mariposa which weighs 17oz without the hipbelt so I can take that and drop a pound.

I think I have some plycro around somewhere. I will add that to the list permanently. Although, polycro has given me some real troubles when sleeping in a bivy. If the ground is the least bit sloped I would wake up with my legs hanging outside my shelter haha.

Thanks again!

[David Drake]

As I said, your list is already pretty good (who could blame you for wanting a net inner with the bugs in the Midwest?) And a different pack will easily get you below the magic 10# mark.

I have a Neoair as well, which has always seemed too narrow (and I'm not a big guy). I bought a Synmat UL 7 (small) which I haven't tried in the field yet, but testing it at home, it's much better than the Neoair. The Synmat small is also a foot longer than the Prolite small (have one of those, too). And at 14.4 oz, barely heavier than your Zlite. Just a thought.

[Steven Hall]

Just seconding the previous posters suggestion of the stoic Hadron…I've got the 1/4 button up with the hood and its a great warm jacket that is fairly light and you can find them for $60-70 on gear trade or other sites pretty often. I found a great deal on one awhile back although the color I got isn't something I'd wear any wear but he wilderness!

[Mitchell Ebbott]

Christian, would you mind restoring the original gear list you had in your first post? I know you're making changes, but removing it obscures the statements of later commenters. If you leave your original as-is and post an update further down, the thread becomes a much more useful resource for others looking to refine their own lists.

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