Everything you want to bring on a hiking trip has to fit on your back.
If you have never been on an extended backpacking trip in the woods its hard to visualize how much gear you need to bring along. It's also very easy to bring to much. When you try on an over-packed bag it often doesn't feel so bad, until you start your trip. It sure feels a lot heavier once you've walked a mile into the woods.
A couple years ago I decided to replace my old hiking pack with a newer pack. I'm glad I did. I bought the Osprey Atmos 65. It's a fairly large pack with good storage access and a really great suspension system where it sits on your back. Basically a stretchy web distributes the weight along your back emilinating any uncomfortable bumps and helping with ventilation.
This is now my go to pack for all my trips. It doesn't hold as much as my old external frame pack but that forces me to really think about how much I pack and only pack the essentials. Also once all the straps are properly tightened your load really feels secure and nothing is shifting around behind you as you duck and weave around stuff.
Due to the nature of the suspension system, this pack really works best with no more than 35 pounds in it. Due to the nature of my 42 year old knees I'm glad I'm forced to limit myself. I made the mistake of over-packed 4 years ago and every step was a struggle.
Here's what's in my pack:
What do you think I should add or eliminate?
-Not pictured, food and clothes-
Here's the rundown of everything pictured. There are some things missing that I should have. Do you see anything missing that you think I should have? What would you add or remove?
- Eureka tent (larger than some options but the extra space is appreciated on a rainy day with 2 kids and a dog)
- Groundcloth (tyvek is a cheaper and rip resistant groundcloth for a tent)
- hiking poles ( useful on uneven surfaces and crossing streams)
- Coleman stove ( hot food for dinner )
- Extra stove fuel.
- Pot for boiling water
- Spoon
- Water bottle ( with volume markings )
- Water purification drops ( I use these instead of a filter)
- Headlamp flashlight. ( Dimmable and hands free. Very lightweight )
- Kindling ( mostly to make lighting a fire easier.
- First aid supplies
- Emergency fire starting supplies
- Magnesium and flint firestarter
- Inflatable air mattress
- Sleeping bag ( I have a compressing bag for it but I store it like this to keep it fluffy and warm)
- Deck of waterproof cards (again, rainy days)
- Air horn ( scares animals and an emergency signal)
- Bear spray ( pepper spray for bears and creepy people)
- Dr Bronner's all purpose soap
- Rope ( for hanging food from bears. I like the easy to see color)
- Sewing kit
- Rain cover for my pack
What do you think of this list? Are there any items you have questions about? I try to answer all comments.