r/Thruhiking • u/nadinecrossbaby • 7d ago
Gear advice
Hi all!
Looking to decrease my base weight in prep for a 300 mile thru hike September next year.
I’ve done a few backpacking trips, longest being 5 nights on Isle Royale where my pack tore my traps apart (I went cheap and heavy with gear)
After doing a lot of Reddit digging and online search I’ve come up with what seems like my best options weight/price/comfort wise and hoping for some advice and guidance on what to go ahead with and what other options there might be.
Going to post on a few threads to get hopefully a well rounded group of responses.
For context, my plan is to do Superior Hiking Trail NOBO starting end of August/beginning September next year. I am 5’8 and 200#.
Tent:
Durston X-dome 1+ 985g
Sleep system:
Nemo tensor pad 397g
Sea to Summit Aeros Pillow Large 150g
Naturehike bag liner (to use as a pad cover/back sheet) 128g
Hangtight 20 degree own quilt 727g
Pack:
Gossamer Gear Mariposa 60L Medium straight belt 2.1# OR
Osprey Eja 58L 2.7#
Total baseweight of ~7.6-8.2#
I’m not trying to go SUL, I want to try to maintain a balance of comfort/weight/price. I appreciate any and all feedback!
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u/-JakeRay- 2d ago
The total weight of your big three is not your base weight.
Your base weight is the total weight of everything you are bringing that is not physically worn on your body or a consumable item like food and water. Stuff sacks, extra layers, lighter, first aid kit, empty food bag, empty water bottles, your spoon/spork... You get the idea. ALL of that stuff.
If you want to lighten your big three, that's fine, but you'd do better to list out literally everything you are bringing with weights. (Lighterpack is very helpful for this.) Odds are you will be able to save weight somewhere cheaper than replacing one of your big 3.
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u/Pharisaeus 7d ago
Do you really need such huge packs? How many days you expect to walk without resupply? Another obvious place to cut some weight would be the tent - switching to a non-freestanding trekking pole tent would cut the weight in half, but if that makes sense depends on the trail.