AZT Gear
For those of you curious about the Gear I will be taking with me on my 2022 Arizona Trail thru hike keep on reading. Keep in mind, just because this gear works for me doesn’t mean it’s the right gear for you. When choosing gear for this adventure I took into consideration the fact that I am starting fairly early in the season (early March) and it could get cold on some nights.
Sleep System
I am a cold sleeper and wanted to make sure that I had the proper sleep system for temperatures down into the mid teens, just in case. With that said here is my sleep system for this trip:
For my sleeping pad I chose the Thermarest Women’s Neoair Xlite because of it’s warmth to weight ratio. It has an R value of 5.4 and only weighs 12 oz. It is not the most comfortable sleeping pad I have slept on, but it is good enough for comfort. The benefits of it’s weight and it’s R value outweigh the fact that it’s not the top on my list for comfortable sleeping pads. I can still get a good nights sleep on it, it’s just not as luxurious of a sleep as some others I’ve tried.
Underneath that sleeping pad I will be using a 1/8”, 40” long, foam pad that was purchased from Mountain Laurel Designs. It weighs 1.7 oz’s, and has an R value of 0.4, and adds a tiny bit of warmth to my already high R valued Xlite. This also helps protect my Xlite from any poky’s on the Arizona ground.
I will be using an Enlightened Equipment Enigma 20 degree quilt, size short, with a regular width. I also opted for the baffle when purchasing this quilt last year. It is a really comfortable quilt for me and weighs 20 oz’s. I will be using one of the pad attachments for it.
Along with the quilt I will be using a homemade Climashield Apex liner, to extend the warmth of my sleep system. Like I said, I am a cold sleeper and a 20 degree quilt really only keeps me warm down to about 35 to 40 degrees. This has been the case for any sleeping bag I’ve ever used. This Climashield liner adds an extra 15 degrees or so of temperature rating for me, so now my 20 degree quilt will actually keep me warm down to about 20 degrees. This liner weighs 10.5 oz’s.
I will be sleeping in some Possum Down socks to help keep my feet warm. These socks weigh 1.8 oz’s.
Tent
I will be bringing my Tarptent Protrail Li on this thru hike. It comes in weighing 16.5 oz’s. It is a roomy tarptent, fairly easy to set up, and super roomy for a 1 person tarptent. Part of me wants to use a free standing tent, but I don’t feel like carrying the extra weight, lol! This tent requires me to use 5 stakes to get the pitch just right. Tarptent says it sets up with 4 stakes, but I find that it really takes at least 5 to get it taught enough for my liking. I’ll be using 5 MSR mini groundhog stakes weighing in at 1.69 oz’s for those 5. I’ll also be bringing 3 Easton stakes and two homemade tie outs that I can use in really windy weather. Those weigh 0.92 oz’s.
Backpack
My backpack of choice right now is the Waymark Gear Lite. I bought this in 2020 and it’s been a great packs. It has plenty of room, has a roll top closure system and has great water bottle pouches. This weighs 32 oz with 2 shoulder strap pouches and a Dyneema pack liner. To go with the pack I’ve recently added the Packs Front Utility Pack (FUPA) to my kit. It holds my camera, lens filter, and microphone. This weighs 4.8 oz’s.
Base Layers and other Warm Gear
Moving on to my base layers and other warm layers. I will be using an IceBreaker 200 weight merino wool base layer top, with hood (which they don’t sell anymore) and a 200 weight merino wool base layer bottom of the same brand. I have been super happy with both items over the years, so why not stick with it? The two of these combined weighs 11.87 oz’s. I will also be bringing some glove liners that I got from my ski gloves a while back. Those weigh 0.95 oz’s. For those extra cold mornings where I have to hike in the cold I’ll be sporting some homemade Climasheild mittens. Those also weigh 0.95 oz’s.
For warmer layers I’ll be using a homemade Primaloft vest that I’ve been using since 2013! It comes in weighing 2.9 oz’s. I’ve added a Feathered Friends Women’s hooded Eos to my kit this year, which I’m very excited about! It is much warmer than the Patagonia Micropuff I had been using. It weighs 9.5 oz’s. To top all of this warm stuff off I’ll be carrying a few extra buffs, weighing about 2.2 oz’s for them both.
Rain Gear
Let’s talk about rain gear. I’m not expecting it to rain a ton on the AZT, but there is still always the potential. There’s also the potential for snow. I also like to carry rain gear as an added layer of warmth, if need be. I will be using an Arctery’x rain jacket. I don’t know the model, as I’ve had it for about 6 years. But it is a pretty bomber rain jacket, but not ultralight. Honestly, I did not feel like spending more money on a lighter rain jacket, so I’m sticking with this one. It comes in weighing 9.45 oz’s. For rain pants I’ll be sporting some Vaude cycling 3/4 length rain pants. They weigh 4.27 oz’s.
Food Storage, Stove, tools, etc.
For storing food I’ll be using a 14L SeaToSummit stuff sack along with a smellproof bag. Those, together weigh 2.47 oz’s. I’m choosing to use a smellproof bag because I’m thinking there may not be a lot of places to do bear bag hang along my Arizona Trail thru hike.
My cook kit will consist of an Esbit titanium stove and a Toaks 550 mL pot with a Vargo aluminum wind screen. All of that (with their storage sacks) weighs 4.94 oz’s. I’ll also be using a very small Nalgene container to hold unused, blown-out Nesbit tablets. That weighs 0.78 oz’s. I will be using a full Bic lighter (because my hands and fingers HATE using the mini ones!), and that comes in weighing 0.67 oz’s. I’ll also be packing a Spyderco H1 knife, which weighs 0.6 oz’s.
For water treatment I will be using a Sawyer Squeeze with the pouch, plunger, and little scooper that I created by cutting a pouch in half. Those come in weighing 6.35 oz’s. I may opt out of carrying the plunger and use the coupling adapter to be able to just use a water bottle to back flush the filter in the field. I’ll also be carrying 4 1L bottles (smart water or the like).
Camera Gear
I will be using my trusty Canon M50 with a 22mm lens. I’ll be switching it up and using a Boya BY-M100 microphone instead of the Rode Video Micro. This setup weighs 18.17 oz’s. I’ll also be using an Altar Mini Tripod with an arca swiss attachment, which weighs 5.47 oz’s. I tried the ultrapod that it seems every other backpacker uses and I hated it, lol! Hence, why I’ve found this other one that I had never heard of. But, I love this one! I have a bag of cables and an SD card reader, that weighs 4.09 oz’s. There’s also a bag of two extra batteries, extra lens cap, and extra SD cards. That weighs 3.77 oz’s. There’s also a lens brush that weighs 0.25 oz’s. I may also do a little videoing with my iPhone 13 mini, and that weighs 7.2 oz’s with it’s case.
Random Bags Of Stuff
Let’s look at my ditty bag. It holds bandaids/bandages, ibuprofen, Neosporin, tooth brush, tooth paste, hand sanitizer, and sunscreen. All those items come in weighing 9.74 oz’s. The bottle of sunscreen is the big culprit in the extra weight :(
Moving on to my random bag of electronics, etc. This bag holds a camera battery charger, headlamp, wall charger (for town) sleeping pad repair kit, dyneema repair tape, gorilla tape, ear plugs, and an Anker 20,000 mAh battery bank. All of this weighs 25.93 oz’s.
Misc
I am considering bringing a small massage ball. That weighs 0.99 oz. I’ll also be packing an IT band wrap, which weighs 0.88 oz’s. I sometimes have IT band issues, so it’s important that I bring this. For this specific trip I will also be bringing a Sun Umbrella from Gossamer Gear. That weighs 6.8 oz’s.
What I’m Wearing
I’ll be wearing the REI hiking skirt, which REI no longer sells on their website. I wear a Columbia Silver Ridge Lite shirt. I love these shirts and have been wearing them for a few years now. It is long sleeve and protects me from the sun without making me feel hot. I’ll be sporting Darn Tough socks and Hoka One One Speedboat 4 trail runners. I’ll also be wearing a Sunday Afternoon Vantage Point Trucker Hat. I love this hat because it’s super breathable, doesn’t heat my head up, and provides shade for my precious eyes. I also wear some Smith sunglasses.