How To Buy Appalachian Trail Gear Like a Pro
Pros pick items that make their backpacks lighter but also that makes their trips special. They pick items that can be use in several ways, i.e. duct tape can fix a lot of gear issues so you don’t need a lot of fix it kits but in a pinch, it can also be used to tape down a bandage. Pros also make budget wise chooses as any money spent on gear is money that is not spent on the trail. Lets face it most hikers have a day job between hikes. A few like Richard Dean Anderson, actor from MacGyver, do but most of us just make it and have to make sacrifices to do something like the Appalachian Trail.
There are several ways to buy all the gear that you need for the Appalachian Trail and make it to the trail head and start your Appalachian Trail thru hike. Hit up your garage and find all your old hiking gear, if you have it. Hit Walmart and grab everything. Hit REI and get help and get everything. Hit Amazon and order everything and get it in a week. Hit the highend hiking sites and get it shipped. Watch a few video’s and get what worked for the Youtubers that you are watching. Print off a list from the internet and do a bit of everything. Watch a thousand video’s and get a list together and buy it from a store and sites. But there is a better way to do this that will save you both time, money, and make you more successful on the trail.
First, you need a list of the minimum amount of things that you have to have on your hike. It does not sound like much but it is important to start with a list because it is like going to the grocery store hungry and without a list. You spend way to much and can’t always make a meal out of everything you get. So, you have to go back to the store the next day. You have to throw out food because you over bought or I make jam because I buy to many berries and fruits. You are eat dinner for breakfast because you don’t want to waste food. Or like me, eat tacos for a week because you don’t want all the meat and sides to go bad, i.e. it is possible but not cheap.
Second, you need to choose a low high budget. A low high budget is the highest amount that you are willing to pay and a low budget is what you actually want to pay. And talking about price, a sleeping bag can run from $48 Coleman Montauk at Walmart to just under $1,500 for a Snowy Owl ES -60 Degree Expedition Down Sleeping Bag. You can find even cheaper or possibly more expense but both of these are not what you need for this thru hike. The Walmart one is heavy and not warm enough for the trail and the most expense one is also heavy and way to warm for this trail. You need something in the middle. But knowing your budget is important, you get to choices on what your willing to give up and what you are not willing to give up.
Third, how much weight do you want in your backpack. Most web sites say under 20% of your weight and that still depends on you fitness level. The more weight you have, the less chance you have of completing a thru hike. Why? Because weight is your enemy. A heavy backpack can slow you down, get you hurt, and or just make the trip miserable to the point that you want to go home. The lighter your pack, the faster you are going and you save money with less days on the trail as if you are carrying less weight and you might travel several extra mile per day. The heavier your pack is, the more you will need to slow down and rest more plus you have hurting joints and a bad back at the end of the day. You might even leave the trail due to an injury or lack of enjoyment. You will also have a lot more nero or zero Days on trail to feel better. (Nero a low miles trail day and Zero is no miles on trail.)
Fourth, putting it all together. To get your perfect gear list and pack weight.
Last, adding the extras in to have an enjoyable time on trail.
The List
First, you need a list of what is the minimum amount of things that you need for your trip. You also need to check the trail regulations and rule for items that you are required to carry or are highly advisable due to the area. For example, there is a 5 mile area on the Appalachian Trail that you must have a Bear canister on you to stay overnight. It is at the beginning of the trail but it is do able in a day. Most people blow past this as there is a stop at the end of the 5 mile area that has a shop and a place to camp.
Your starting list is going to be:
The Big 3 which is your backpack, shelter, sleep system, hiking footwear, clothing including rain gear, a cook system, water filtration, something to carry water in, a food storage system, trekking poles (for most people), navigation tools, first aid kit, tool kit, and hygiene items. Everything else is gravy.
I will go into this in more detail in a later post as these are important items to breakdown and this is more about budgeting the a gear list. But everyone need to get this list of things. Each item is a choose between comfort and weight. This is what we are looking at in this post.
Budget
Finding a budget is the hardest part of this. Most of us don’t have unlimited funds. If people did, then there would not be room on the trail for everyone that wanted to go each year. What is the lowest amount that you are willing to part with for gear? What is the highest amount? People have completed the hike with spending very very little and other spending a first last and security deposit on an apartment. But it can cost you comfort plus the price of not having the right gear or having to heavy of gear which can easily take you off trail or make it so you have to spend a lot more on gear at the shops which are just off trail or in town.
The cheapest way to go is usually Walmart, Temu, and other discount stores. The issue is that some items are great and some bad quality but most to heavy for most backpackers and you will have to replace them or live with a heavy pack. So, it does not really helpful because your paying not only for the item that you bought but have to save for future replacement item.
The shops on trail and in town are wonderful but generally, they are more expensive with less variety of products. They are literally there to make a profit but also to get you back on the trail with the things that you need plus a lot of the things that you did not even know you wanted. Their items are generally quality. Plus most of the sales persons have done all or parts of the trail themselves. So, they have an idea and information on what you need to stay on the trail.
The low end is about $1,000 and the high end is several thousands of dollars. But the before 2025, I would say that you could get everything for about $1,500 but $2,000 is more realistic for the perfect pack. Unless you are going lightweight with everything then you are going into several thousand.
Cheap Shopping Tricks
If you have more time then money or are just a bargain shopper, like me; a few ways that you can get great gear and lower the cost are checking on Facebook Market Place or Ebay for gear. A lot of people buy gear and then never use it. Or they upgrade gear because it was not right for the trip that they wanted to take. But knowing what you are looking for before you start is important. It helps you look it up and wait for it to come available. But it is a great way to get cheaper gear. Just make sure that you look at it to ensure that it is in good condition and something is not wrong with it but never do a water filter system that has been used. Personal, I don’t do sleeping gear as it can go bad if not stored properly.
Consignment sport shops and thrift shops are also places to look. More for clothes at the thrift shops. But know the brands that you are looking for. Many people get Christmas stuff that is the wrong size and it is sitting in the thrift shops with tags still on them, i.e. a friend of mine wanted to buy slippers for their Aunt. He asked his mother what size she was, his mother asked another female family member who asked another female family member, etc. The poor women got size 9 slippers as each family member added 1/2 a size for comfort, she was a size 7. But this is good for you as a lot of great coats and fleeces and other clothing can be found there and some with tags on them. You have to go several times or travel around your area to different ones. The classer the neighborhood, the better stuff you find.
Also, check what shop is having sales. Many of them have the Black Friday Sale or other special holiday or events. It means you have to wait longer but it also means that you can get more for less money.
Note: you might not get the perfect brand name but as long as the price vs weight are right then it is worth your time to shop and wait for the perfect or close to perfect item.
Weight
This is the last thing that people think about when buying gear is the weight. But this should be the first thing. I know because this is one of the things that killed my hike. I was watching weight but not as closely as I should have. I left a small box of things on a shake down at the trail head. It would have been so much easier had I started with that thought and not what I thought that I needed.
You have to think about how much weight that you want to carry. You can do the 20% for your body weight but it does not make since if you are 200 pounds are carrying 40 pounds or 100 pounds and looking at a 20 pound pack. Your base weight regardless of your weight should be as low as you can get it but still have everything that you need. The lighter the pack, the faster you are on the trail. The heavier the pack, the slower plus the more issues you will have with your body and fatigue.
Your base weight is everything that goes into your pack but food and water, i.e. water is about when you will get to your next water sorce and food runs about 1.5 to 2 pounds per day on the trail until the next resupply. It does not count the clothes that you will be wearing. If you go ultralight, most people can get their base weight to around 10 pounds. But this cost more and you have few comforts, i.e. no extras, which is great for short trips but really sucks for 4 to 6 months out of your life. Those comforts are not a big deal at first but your trip is not as fun as it should be when you have nothing extra. It is like going to Fair or the Boardwalk and not having the money for a wristband but only a few tickets and trying to choose which of the few rides that you will be going on. Doable but not as fun.
Your base weight should be between 10 and 20 pounds but don’t forget that you will be adding food and water which will add an additional amount of weight to your pack. Remember, the lower your base weight, the more chance that you have to complete the trail, the fast you will go, and the happier you will be at the end of the day. Note: you also need to be happy at camp which is the extra weight that you need to give yourself.
If you are the show me type, then I would walk around a track for 2 miles without a pack. The next time, I would get a backpack (it does not need to be hiking one) and fill it with 10 pounds of clothing and other things and do 2 miles around the track again. The next time, add 5 more pound until you get to 30 pounds. You can start to see the difference of the weight and how you might want to go as light as you can. It does not have to be 2 miles but even around the block will get you to see the how you will feel with extra weight. But I would don’t go past 30 pounds. It will be different with a good hiking backpack but you might see where you are comfortable with weight.
After you find the weight that you are confrontable with then we need to put it all together.
Putting it Together
First thing to buy is a oz scale that has the capacity of at least 5 pounds which you can find Walmart or Target or Amazon for usually under 20 dollars. You want to weight everything before it go into the backpack including the backpack. Keep an excel sheet to keep track of or https://lighterpack.com is a free website that you can track weight information.
The weight of in item and the cost of an item can both correlate and non correlated depending on the brand, size, and/or quality. A lightweight item generally cost a lot more than a standard weight item. This is where knowing your dream weight is a wonderful thing.
Then you want to do your research on your gear options (more details in a later posts). For example, are you going to do a tent, tarp, or hammock as your shelter? Let’s say tent. Then are you going to do a one or two man tent. Are you going to use a tent with poles or that uses trekking poles? Lots of questions…lol
You want to have three options for each of your items or at least the major one. The lightweight but higher cost, the medium cost but higher weight, and the cheapest one that you can live with that does not weight what will feel like a ton on your back.
For example, your cook system. The Jet Boil was the in thing for a while. The Flash 1L is about $145 and weighs about 13.1 oz without fuel and the small fuel is 8.11 oz. Personally, I don’t like the fuel canaster. The pocket rocket which is about $60 and 2.6 oz but you need a pot Toaks Titanium 750ml which is $26 and 3.6 oz. Total being $86 and 6.2 oz plus the fuel at 8.11 oz. Or I am doing a Pill Bottle Alcohol Stones Stove for $34 and 2.5 ounces and Toaks Pot which total $60 and 6.1 oz plus the alcohol fuel which general come about 16 oz but I am sure I can split that with someone. Then if you don’t want a hot meal, a peanut butter jar makes a good cold soak jar. Not sure about the weight but almost free as you get to eat the peanut butter out of it first.
So, your looking at Jet Boil for $145 and 13.1 oz or Pocket rocket plus pot at $86 and 6.2 oz or Pill Bottle plus pot at $60 and 6.1 oz. I picked the pill bottle because it was light but also, I don’t want to carry a fuel canaster. I don’t like not knowing how much fuel I might or might not have. I really was not looking at the price on this. Wow. It was the cheapest and the smallest. (Note: they sale the pill bottle alcohol Stone Stove on their web site or on Etsy. Not paying me and I have not tried it yet.)
Now you have three choice for you cook system: Jet Boil and the Pocket Rocket plus pot and the Pill Bottle plus pot. You have the cost and the weights. Now you do this with each item, i.e. backpack, sleep system, tent, etc. You will now have cost vs weight list per item. With this list you can make a plan on where you are going to spend your money while keeping cost and weight down.
For example, I really wanted a lightweight backpack but it did not fit me correctly and I had to return it. But I have a pack that I picked up some where that is about 2 pounds. I am going with that one. I have a strange body type so it hard to find clothes that fit me correctly and backpacks unless they are in the children area are about the same issue. I want to upgrade that at trail days. Or not. But this brings down my budget by using my garage. But I did upgrade my pot to a Toaks Titanium 750ml which was a few oz lighter then the one that I have in the garage. They have a smaller one but I would rather boil water for both coffee and food at the same time.
Now a great way to look at everything at a glace is by throwing it into excel, if your mind works that way. If not, or even if it does and you want a fun project, go to the local dollar store. Get a project board, i.e. that board that we used in science class with three areas that stands up on the table, and some post its notes, and colorful markers. Put each item on a post it with its weight and cost. Start with all the cheapest things first in the middle of the board. Add up the total cost.
Are you under or over budget? If you are over, then you might need to rethink your budget. Not having the right gear can make it a quick trip home especially if you don’t have the right equipment or the money to upgrade when you are on the trail. Or you might need to think about upcoming sales or thrift stores or buying used items. If you are under, that wonderful because now you get to go back and swap out things out for the cheap items for the ones that you really wanted in the first place. I.e. you wanted the Jet Boil but the cheaper Pill Bottle Stone Stove were your starting point. Swap them out until you have all the things that you wanted and are still under budget. Now, you have your dream backpack gear on budget.
The next step is adding all those items weight up (Don’t forget that there are 16 oz in a pound) by hand or better the lighterpack app and coming up with a total weight. Next, are you over your wanted base weight? If not, your done. If so, you need to do a second review of your items and look to swap out heavier items for lighter weight items. For example, the Jet Boil, very popular, but it weights and cost over double the Pill Bottle Stone Stove. Time to switch it out for the Pocket Rocket or Pill Bottle Stone Stove. Go through and switch out until you find your weight goal. When your done, you have your perfect weight backpack.
Then back to checking on the cost of all the changes. If under budget, then you are good to go. If not, you need review everything for both weight and cost. Does your budget need to go up? Do you need a new weight goal? This is were you have to compromise. Is your budget or your weight goal more important? Don’t forget, the lighter the pack, generally the less days you will be on trail. So, you can find a bit of money in that pot. Or you might need to search for when sales are coming up. Almost all shops have a black Friday Sale, even if it is only 10%. But 10% of a $2000 budget is $200 which is the cost of a nice puffy jacket. Also, check out items that might be going on clearance. Or some stores have the same item, i.e. tent, good quality but a heavy material.
Summary
After you have the bare minimum, you want to look at the things that you might want to have with you. Like a pillow. I personal just use my clothes bag but everyone is different. Sometimes that does not work if you have to hang up wet stuff. When adding on these things, you will want to look back at your budget and weight again before purchasing.
It is best to go out a few times to test your gear but a lot of hikers don’t. Luckily Neel Gap is just about 30 miles in and have a shop right on trail to get everything that you might need and they have the ability to ship everything you don’t home.
In addition, no matter how much you buy, something is not going to work for you, it will break, you will leave it behind, etc. For example, I bought a tent and the zipper broke about a week into the trip. But that did not matter as much as I did not like the tent. It was like a tunnel that you had to crawl into and you could not sit up in it. Totally sucked the day that it poured and I choose to stay in camp and not leave. I thought that it was better to skip hiking in that bad weather of weather. But it was claustrophobic, uncomfortable to get into, and I was not enjoying myself at all. Changing clothes or just enjoying life for a moment was not fun. So, I got a Big Agues at the first stop at Neel Gap which cost more because it was a trail shop but life became so much better.
One of the most important things, don’t buy anything that you don’t put through you weight test and budget. 10 little things that you can’t live without at 4 oz each is 2.5 pounds which is a second tent or sleeping bag. This is what gets most hikers. But you will also be in town and along the trail. Those extra things can be added later. They might cost a bit more on the trail but overall, in the end it will cost you less with less weight. The less you start with the better off you are. Plus the longer that you are on the trail, the less you really want or need all those cool looking things. You brain changes.
But buy like a pro. Do your homework and keep your weight down. I will be talking about items in detail in my next post.