John Abela - HikeLighter.Com - 2017 Primary Gearlist

  •   Category Price Weight
  • Core Gear $513.00
    2.4 lb
  • Worn $1022.00
    3.86 lb
  • Garments, Carried $231.00
    0.72 lb
  • Sleeping $567.00
    2.49 lb
  • Total $2333.00 9.47
    lb
    • oz
    • lb
    • g
    • kg
  • Worn 4.54 lb
  • Base Weight 4.94 lb

My name is John Abela and you can find me online at hikelighter.com, patreon, facebook, twitter, youtube and instagram. I am a long distance hiker, trail designer, gear designer, gear r&d / t&e'er, and author of numerous outdoor industry insider white papers.

About This Gearlist:

This gear list is probably going to be my go-to setup for most of the 2017 summer hiking season. A few things might get changed-out here and there on different trips, but this should be my main gear list.

This is a 100% synthetic insulation setup. This is also a no-cook set up so no 'consumables' (like fuel) - and tp/wipes are inconsequential and differ from hike to hike so they are not listed either.

All items that have a yellow star next to them are products from companies that sponsor me, all of which I have purchased - I rarely accept any full production gear for free, even from my sponsors. Any product with a description of NDA are pieces of gear that I am testing for different companies and am not at liberty to disclose.

Core Gear: I tend to throw most of my items into this category, instead of making a bunch of smaller categories. Note that I tend to only hike with a single trekking pole/staff, usually in my right hand. I do use, on most hikes, a waist belt, the UD Groove Stereo, and keep my iphone (if it goes with me) and water in it, along with a wind jacket and wind pants if I take them off. I have difficulty reaching back and pulling water bottles out of backpacks, so the waist belt allows me easy access to my water. For water bottles, sometimes I use 20oz running bottles and sometimes I use a large smartwater bottle. Lastly, I do not use any stuff sacks, for anything. A few things that need to go into ziplocks (such as wipes) go into ziplocks, but zero stuff sacks. I just let everything gets stuffed/shoved and compressed.

Worn: Sometimes I switch between using shorts and long pants, all depends on the trip/hike. I usually base that decision on the undergrowth of the trail and bugs. For medical purposes, I tend to be full body covered, with as much sun protective garments as I can wear. Even in the hottest of conditions (F100+/C37+) a setup of the right garments in the right set of layering, in full body coverage, can make you feel/be cooler than you would without being full body covered. My usual top layering goes: MH Tank -> Solumbra Active T-shirt -> MB Thermawrap -> Wind Jacket. When it comes to socks, after years of being a fan/user of Wigwam socks, I have made the transition to using Injinji socks, I wear one pair and have one spare pair. At most breaks along the day, I will swap them out. I use a safety pin to keep the second pair attached to my backpack. I wear a compass and whistle around my neck.

Garments, Carried: The vast majority of these items are stuffed into the outside mesh pocket of my backpack, or inside of my UD Groove, for quick access. The exception to that is thermals, which I usually keep at/near the top of my backpack.

Sleeping: After years of loathing anything at all to do with a bivouac, I am trying to commit myself to using one for most of the 2017 hiking season. I do use a large sleeping pad. Yep, total overkill. But, so be it. Consider it my one 'comfort' item... I hate rolling off the side of sleeping pads. This year I am trying out an idea of mine, in regards to the MLD FKT quilt, in that I had them make me a 'reversed insulation' quilt. Oh, and the StS Aeros Pillow... OMG! Totally worth the 2.47 ounces!

Electronics: On many (most) hikes throughout the year I do not carry any electronics (beyond a headlamp/torch) because I just do not care all that much about taking pictures/videos of my hikes. I do sometimes take a Kindle Oasis if I am wanting to spend time sitting around on breaks, lunch, in camp, whatever. I also sometimes take a big pair of noise cancelling headphones, especially if I will be beach hiking, in order to help deal with the endless hours of the ocean waves slamming. Lighterpack just does not have a good way of dealing with this kind of situation so I have put them into a screenshot so folks can see how those numbers would play out, when/if I take them.

Setup Cost: The last time I calculated the total price for this setup (I really do wish lighterpack would add this as a pre-calculated total) is a whopping/insane: $2694 ($3885 with the electronics)