This TRT gear description is specific to TRT trail. For general information on gear, look here. We hiked with an average pack weight of 10Kg dry (excluding food & water). Some days an additional 3 liters = 3Kg of water plus close to 1Kg of food. There are gear benefits to hiking in a group, some of the gear can be spread across the group – like stoves and tents etc.
Full gear list Gear list TRT (PDF)
Pack
Clearly we each needed a pack. For 13 days and 3 resupply points ~40 liter packs would help stop us from carrying things we did not need.
- Osprey 38 (2015)
- REI Ultralight 45 (newer version available)
- Osprey 38 (2017)
Sleep
Although we’d probably have trees to hammock camp if we wanted, we decided to camp in tents. A quilt is still a great option in a tent.
- Jacks R Better quilt
- REI down quilts x2 (sadly no longer sold)
- REI 3 season bag.
- Therm-a-rest Z-Lite Sol Mattress
- Sea to Summit Ultralight pillow
Shelter
Desiring the option for Jack to end his hike early, 2 tents were needed. This also allowed us to spread the weight. Although a 3 man tent should be significant lighter than a 2 and a 1 man combined, this is rarely the case. Given the amount of hard granite and shallow top soil, free standing tents were selected.
Cook
Breakfast, lunch and dinner would be dehydrated food on the trail. A JetBoil is a lightweight, energy efficient water boiler. A titanium foil wind break stops any heat escaping. As a back-up, the tiny titanium Esbit ultralight adds just 11.5gms. Packing out all trash can become a messy business. Using the dehydrated foods foil bag to eat from saves weight but all those bags with bits of mussy food get pretty unpleasant. Eating out of a hard pot rather than a squishy bag also makes food time a little more civilized.
- JetBoil Flash Stove
- Esbit Ultralight (back-up stove)
- GSI 1.1l cook pot
- GSI mug
- GSI scraper
- Fozzils folding bowls x2
- Snow peak mugs x2
- Long titanium Valtcan sporks
- Cozy x2 (homemade)
- Wash towel.
Hydration
For hydration, a Platypus system was used. See Hydration Systems.
- 2×3 liter Platypus bladders & drinking pipes
- 1x Platypus GravityWorks clean/dirty system
- 1 spare 3 liter Platypus bladder (dirty – save trips)
- 3x modified 1 liter Platypus bladder + carabiner
- 3x Sawyer Fast fill adapters / connections
- 1 spare Platypus GravityWorkfilter.
Handy Kit
Splitting kit into 2 helps with packing and ensures that the stuff you need on the trail is handier than what is needed when setting up camp. These items are likely to be in the pockets around my pack rather than the main compartment. Some will simply hang off carabiners. The list includes phone, wallet, first aid kit
- knife
- suncream
- shades
- hat
- map
- compass
- gloves
- lip balm
- bear bell
- water-proof
- poop-set
- Anker 15W dual solar charger
- water/camp shoes
- night hat
- small towel
- head torch
- Tyvek sit sheet.
Kit
The remaining kit can go into the main compartment of the pack and probably only come out when setting up camp. This includes personal wash kit, medical kit and..
- tinder
- various para cord
- trash bag
- bear bag
- mosquito repellent
- spork
- USB charger
- playing cards
- pee bottle
- MPOWERD Inflatable Solar Light
- spare batteries
- Mountainsmith Slingback Chair
- water-proof matches
- hip flask.
Clothing
Always layer, avoid cotton. For base layers, two sets are all that’s needed, even on a 13 day hike. One set is being worn and the other can be cleaned. Mid layers will depend on the climate and duration. For 13 days 2 items of different levels of insulation works well. Either or both can be worn. For the bottom half, one shorts and one full length worked well – and made swimming more convenient. Finally a good quality down jacket and wind/water-proof.
Hold/Wear
Last but not least – and to serve as a final reminder before setting out, there is the stuff you will wear and carry. Clothing is a repeat of the items above. Add walking poles and shoes/boots.
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