Hikers are always interested in gear lists and rather than include and discuss this in the adventure posts themselves I have separated it out.
Some of the gear I take is standard for almost every trip, whilst some gear is season specific and some trip specific. I am very thorough in my trip research and typically build up a gear list weeks before I go leaving me enough time to replace or replenish anything missing, empty or broken, so here goes.
In total I carried approximately a 19.7kg backpack for the 9 days, broken down as:
- Backpacking gear: 9.05kg
- Camera gear: 4.85kg
- CPAP gear: 2.8kg
- Food and water: 3kg
Camera Gear
Obviously I take a lot of extra gear on top of the regular backpacking gear for photography, for this trip it was the lightest gear set, still about 4.85kg in weight.
Camera: Sony RX100V
A fantastic, lightweight point and shoot with almost all the features of a larger DSLR/mirrorless without the interchangeable lenses.
Gimbal: Zhiyun Crane M 3-Axis Stabilizer Gimbal
Ideal lightweight gimbal, works with phone, GoPro and RX100
Tripod: Manfrotto Element Small Carbon Fibre
I could have taken a small Jobi but decided to take this, better for timelapses.
Camera: GoPro Hero 5 Black
I always take a GoPro in case weather is bad I can still get some video and also underwater stuff. The Sony camera isn't weather sealed.
Drone: DJI Mavic Air
Small, lightweight compact drone, ideal for adventure. I also use PolarPro ND filters to drop the shutter speed to 1/50th second to achieve better footage.
Batteries: Lots and lots. GoPro5 x 4, Sony RX100 x 5, DJI Mavic Air x 3, Anker PowerCore 20100 x 2
Miscellaneous: Flow Mow Rotating Timer, great for time lapses.
Backpacking Gear
Once again I was focusing on lightweight gear to give me the lowest base weight, with the exception of the rucksack as I knew that had to be a load shifter due to all the extra camera and CPAP gear. Without the CPAP and the camera gear I had a respectable base weight of 9.05kg. Obviously without the camera gear I would have chosen a lighter backpack.
Rucksack: Arcteryx Bora Mens 64L Tall
A great rucksack, good winter load carrier, waterproof so no need for a pack cover. Has a unique moving hipbelt makes it super easy when going up and down terrain.
Tent: Hilleberg Enan
An amazing tent, made by a Swedish company, this tent has been to so many places around the world with me and is my 1 person 3.5 season go to tent. I would not use it on windy mountain summits or in heavy snow.
Sleeping Mat: Thermarest NeoAir XLite Medium
I have tried many and this one is my 3 season go to mat. In Winter I use the XTherm. Yes I blow it up, no fan or gadgets, just good old puff.
Sleeping Quilt: Enlightened Equipment Revelation
Yes I use quilts, I find them more flexible than bags in terms of temperature control. I only use bags in VERY cold temperatures. The one I used for Sweden was the -1C, 950 fill, extra wide, long.
Stove: MSR Pocket Rocket 2
An ultralight canister stove ideal for everything except very cold trips.
Cook Set: Evernew Titanium Ultralight Cookware Solo Set
As it says, titanium, ultralight, can nest 2 small cannisters inside so great for 7-10 day trips.
Eating Utensil: Sea to Summit Alpha Light Alloy Long Spork
A simple very long spork, ideal for getting in those dehydrated meal bags.
Emergency: Garmin InReach Mini
An amazing little device that allows you almost anywhere in the world to text anyone (uses the Iridium satellite network) and use an SOS feature to call for rescue in a true emergency. It does require a separate plan similar to a cellphone so it is a regular monthly cost even if you aren't using it. This item is probably worthy of a review at a later date.
First Aid Kit: I make these up myself as they tend to differ depending on the season, location and geography of where I am going. I find the purchased ones just contain a lot of items you don't need and are missing crucial items, like Imodium. Due to the hard trail and boulder hopping this time it mainly consistent of the usual stuff plus a lot of foot care items.
Repair Kit: Just some cordage, a patch kit for the sleeping mat and tenacious tape to make any tent or pack repairs needed.
Toiletries: Just kept it simple, toothbrush, toothpaste, wet wipes, chapstick, sun lotion, insect repellent, toilet roll, spade and hand sanitiser.
Water Purifier: MSR Trailshot. The water is pretty clear and clean but better to be safe.
Clothing: Nothing special, just standard hiking merino wool top, hiking trousers and Innov8 Roclite 325 boots which took a beating.
Spare Clothing: I take a surprisingly lack of clothing, for this trip in addition to what I was wearing I just took Mountain Hardware Ghost Whisperer jacket, spare Darn Tough socks and underwear. A must Sealskinz waterproof socks for those river crossings especially if you are not going to take off your boots for them. No need for spare shirts or trousers or anything else, just wash them in a river.
CPAP Gear
Those of you who have read certain previous posts know that I have to use a CPAP machine at night due to sleep apnea. So this makes hiking more interesting in that I have to carry a portable machine and enough batteries to last the trip. I ration my sleep on the machine and try and top up the batteries in the day sunlight by using a solar charger. It doesn't add much but it can add 2 or 3 hours a day of battery usage.
If you are interested in the complete CPAP gear I take on a hike than I have done a previous post on this topic.
That's it, if you have any specific questions then use any of the social media platforms to ask or email.