SUL long distance gear list

[Jordan Calicott]

Gear List for a long distance 5 day hike (low temps in the low 60’s, many insects):

1) Gossamer Gear G6 (3.5 oz)
2) Granite Gear Airbag #1 for clothing (0.375 oz)
3) Micro Zip-lock Bag for miscellaneous (< 0.1 oz)
4) Marmot Atom bag (16 oz)
5) Gossamer Gear Thinlight Pad (1.9 oz)
6) Titanium Goat Basic Bivy (5.5 oz)
7) 1-Mil Thick Painters Drop Cloth (1.8 oz)
8) Nike L/S Shirt (5.5 oz)
9) Nike Dri-fit Running Socks (0.9 oz)
10) 100% Cotton Bandanna (0.9 oz)
11) Foster’s Beer Can Cookpot (0.8 oz)
12) Backpackinglight Ti Esbit Stove (0.4 oz)
13) Light My Fire Spork (0.3 oz)
14) Aluminum Foil Lid for Pot (0.1 oz)
15) Aluminum Foil Windscreen (0.4 oz)
16) Platypus 1L Collapsible Bottle (1 oz)
17) 30 Katadyn MP Tablets (0.3 oz)
18) Leatherman Micra Multi-tool (1.75 oz)
19) 4′ Duct Tape (0.25 oz)
20) Homemade Minor Wounds Kit (0.5 oz)
21) Alcohol Hand Gel in small dropper bottle (0.375 oz)
22) 100% DEET in small dropper bottle (0.5 oz)
23) Dr Bronners in small dropper bottle (0.25 oz)
24) Strike-on-Box Matches (0.3 oz)
25) Micro Photon LED Light (0.2 oz)
26) Emergency Whistle (0.1 oz)
27) Travel Toothbrush (0.25 oz)
28) Charmin Ultra Travel Roll (0.75 oz)
29) Emergency Rain Poncho (5 oz)

* For sleeping bag protection, I put my bag inside my bivy sack then stuff both into the bottom of my pack
* For inclement weather I use the drop cloth as a waterproof shelter (roll up inside it)…works quite well, keeps me dry
* I use a handheld water bottle for drinking, the Platypus for purifying

Total Base Pack Weight: 49.07 oz (3 lbs)

[Christopher Plesko]

What are you wearing? No weight of your hand held water bottle since it’s carried? Curious what your skin out weight looks like too.

I could see a gear list like this in select places but here summer temps can get quite cold, especially any of the places I’d be hiking/biking. (Colorado)

I don’t think I could go without some sort of minimal insulating travel layer with me (tights?, fleece top?) but if temps are as you say then perhaps it’s totally possible with your sleeping bag being your safety net.

[Jordan Calicott]

Here in Arkansas, the high each day in the summer is usually in the mid- to upper-90’s and the nighttime lows are in the mid-60’s and sometimes in the low-70’s so I don’t really need to carry insulating clothing. The only “warm” piece of clothing I do carry is the Nike L/S shirt.

Here is a list of my clothing worn & items carried:

1) Patagonia Capilene S/S Shirt (4.5 oz)
2) New Balance Running Shorts (2 oz)
3) Mountain Hardwear Convertible Pack Pants (16 oz)
4) Nike Dri-Fit Running Socks (0.9 oz)
5) Mizuno Wave Ascend Trail Running Shoes (23 oz)
6) Timex Helix Compass/Watch (2.5 oz)
7) Amphipod Handheld Water Bottle (3 oz)

Total Skin-Out Weight: 51.9 oz + 44.07 (base weight)= 95.97 oz (5.9 lbs)

Consumables Carried:

1) 1.75 lbs/day of food
2) 1L average water carried @ 2.2 lbs
3) 5 Esbit Tablets @ 2.5 oz

Total Weight of All Gear & Consumables: 16.85 lbs

[Eric Noble]

Is your goal to see how low you can go, or is this the norm for you? What are you using to dig cat holes with? I assume you know how much hand gel and soap you need. I need about three times what you do, but I wash socks and underwear after two days and hand gel is part of my fire kit. Rather than carrying DEET, I carry a head net. It weighs the same but it’s multi use. I’m curious about what is in your Homemade Minor Wounds Kit. My first aid kit weighs 3.2 oz. There is a very wide variance in what people are comfortable with when it comes to first aid and survival stuff. I always bring a hooded wind shirt, it’s good for warmth, weather and insects. My emergency rain poncho weighs 2.1 oz. How do the Nike socks work for you? Those are really light. I am partial to Smartwool Utralight Cycling socks. I thought they were light at 1.4 oz. I would also bring a backup light.

In short, I would be adding weight except for the DEET and the rain poncho. I live in Colorado and often have scouts or family with me so direct comparisons are a challenge.

[Christopher Plesko]

Colorado is so much different. I live here too and I could never ever go without bringing at least light insulation top/bottom. But it can drop below freezing at altitude quickly.

[Eric Noble]

Yeah, it sure is. I agree completely. The closest I have come to Arkansas with my current kit is Costa Rica. I still had my wind shirt and Smartwool Zip-T. I carry a ThermaWrap vest year round here. It is amazing how cold it can get when a thunderstorm blots out the sun, tries to blow you over, and dumps rain and hail on you. For me that’s cold no matter where you are. In my response to Jordan I was trying to put myself in his head. Maybe I shouldn’t do that. Perhaps an interesting thought for Jordan is that with the extra clothing he might be able to drop the sleeping bag. I like having enough clothing so I can keep moving regardless of the weather. If I have to hunker down in my quilt then things are really bad.

p.s. I am a mountain biker as well, though not at your level. It has been very interesting following your posts.

[Jordan Calicott]

Eric,
yes this is my normal gear list. For insect repellent, I have an eyedropper bottle (like you can buy at Target or Walmart by the checkout) filled with 100% DEET. To apply it I just drop a couple drops on my arms or legs and rub it all over. This enables me to go longer with this small amount of DEET. I might buy a mosquito headnet because it drives my crazy when bugs are trying to get into my eyes! For the soap, I also have an eyedropper bottle filled with Dr. Bronner’s, which is highly concentrated so I don’t need very much. All I really need to use it for is washing my socks, use it as toothpaste/shampoo and to wash my hands after applying DEET (I don’t have to wash my cookpot cause all I use it for is boiling water). My Minor wounds kit consists of 2 insect sting relief wipes, 2 Antiseptic towelettes, 3 Band-Aids, 2 Butterfly Bandages, 4 Motrin IB tablets, small square of Moleskin and some Triple Antibiotic ointment (I also carry a bandanna that can be used for first-aid). What emergency poncho do you have? I was thinking about purchasing a wind shirt for a warm piece of clothing.
The Nike Running Soxks are great. They are very lightweight, thin, comfortable, quick-drying and very breathable. I use them for hiking, mountain biking, running, etc.
I forgot to put add another LED light to my list above. I have one red LED light that I will carry with the white LED light.
Here in Arkansas, when a surprise storm comes up, it does get quite chilly but it never really drops below 70 degrees, so there is really no need for extra layers in the summer. When fall comes however, I will need an extra insulating layer as the temperature will drop during the night.

I also love to mountain bike with friends. There are many great mountain biking trails here in Arkansas. If you are ever going through, stop at Daisy State Park or Devil’s Den State Park. Both have great trails that are for the experienced mountain biker. (see http://www.adventurestateparks.com)

[Michael Wands]

Jordan,

Spent a lot of time in Arkansas in my youth – backpacking & canoeing. Had a girlfriend in Dierks near Daisy State Park. Oh, the memories.

Just an observation – if you were to lose the bulk of the Marmot bag and the Thinlight pad and substitute a liner of some sort (for 60 deg. nights), you could almost carry everything in a fanny pack!

Really like the drop cloth shelter. There was a time when a groundcloth/poncho setup was very “in vogue”. We seem to have gotten away from the simplicity of just wrapping yourself up to stay warm and dry.

[Jordan Calicott]

Michael,
I do own a Cocoon Silk Mummy liner that weighs 4.7 ounces which I could use to replace the Marmot Atom and that would save me 11 ounces and with my warm clothing worn while sleeping and my bivy sack, I should be able to remain comfortable in temperatures down in the 60’s. This setup would then drop by skin-out weight to 16 lbs (down from 16.85 lbs)
I chose to use a drop cloth as my “shelter” because it is very simple (no knots to tie, no stakes to bend, etc.), is fully waterproof and will keep me dry and user friendly because all you have to do is roll up into it (no skill required). It is the perfect shelter…almost, except that it is not breathable but I can live with that!

Just curious, did you live in Dierks? It’s a stones throw away from the Caney Creek Wilderness, a great backpacking area on the Athens-Big Fork trail

[Eric Noble]

Jordan, if that list is working for you, then let me just say congratulations! That is one “dialed in” list. As one who is struggling to stay below 10 pounds, I hesitated to comment on your list. I have much to learn.

I love my head net. It is a pre-filter, and a stuff sack besides it’s intended purpose. It can be hard to see through if the light hits it wrong, but that is rarely a problem.

I haven’t done it yet but I am looking for Opsite or Tegaderm to replace the bandages in my kit. It is very light and very versatile. It might replace the Band-Aids, Butterfly Bandages, and Moleskin in your kit. I got this advice from somewhere else and haven’t tried it yet, for what it is worth.

The emergency poncho I carry is from Coughlans, I believe. I threw out the packaging because it weighed more than the poncho. I think it cost less than a dollar. It’s kind of a light weight garbage bag with a hood and arm holes. It is not very long. I don’t care if my legs or arms get wet so it works for me. I am 6’4″ so the length is relative. It obviously would not fair well if you were bushwhacking.

I have a Patagonia Houdini and a Montbell wind shirt. I always have one with me. The comfort range they provide is unmatched.

I carry three Photon LED lights. One white, one red and one turquoise. If I need a lot of light I can combine the red and turquoise and get white (more or less).

I don’t know how I missed it the first time, but you don’t have a compass on your list. And what do you use to dig cat holes?

Thanks for the biking trails tips! I would love to explore Arkansas.

[Michael Wands]

Jordan,

I grew up in Texarkana. Met the lady from Dierks in a little bar in Watson, OK.

I have spent a lot of time on the Ouachita Trail from Oklahoma up to Queen Wilhelmena SP. I have encoutered some Black Bears on this route. I don’t know have far bears range from their home territoy, but I notice that your gear list doesn’t have any bear protection. How are you protecting your M&M’s at night??

[Jordan Calicott]

Eric,
I use a Timex Helix watch which has a digital compass & altimeter. To dig cat holes, I have to find either a sharp rock or stick with which to dig a hole deep enough to… you know

Michael,
You grew up in Texarkana? Wow, small world… my parents grew up there & I lived there for a couple months after I was born then my family moved to Little Rock.
I have actually never had trouble with black bears. All I do at night is put my food by my fire pit, well away from my sleeping area. The day a black bear eats my food, I will buy a bear bag and use that.

[Eric Noble]

Sorry I missed the compass/watch on your skin out list. How have you liked the watch? Would you say the alarm is loud? I am hard of hearing and need a good alarm.

No hat, sunglasses or sunscreen? When you roll up in your ground cloth is condensation ever a problem? I’m quite paranoid about my quilt getting wet. I guess if it is never below 60° F then hypothermia is less of a worry.

[Einstein X]

Wow……. SUL AND longdistance!

I made a wish-list of stuff i want to buy and can get my basics just SUL, but with a two day maximum, otherwise the food penalty is too high.

The main think i miss in your list is TP, do you carry any?

Eins

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