Hiking Gear Lists
SeekingLost’s Hiking Gear Lists
Some folks like the gear more than the actual backpacking. Not me, I would rather be outside hiking, paddling, fishing, peak bagging or whatever… anything but thinking about my gear. Still, it’s an essential part of backcountry travel, choosing the hiking gear that is the perfect blend of weight, function, budget and personal preference. We can learn a lot by seeing what kind of gear others are using, what they use it for, and how it works for them. For that reason, I am sharing my gear lists from my previous thru hikes and long distance routes so you can see what I used.
Lighterpack Gear List
The easiest way to share my current gear list with you is to share my LighterPack gear list link: SeekingLost’s Hiking Gear List
I’ve embedded the lightpack gear list at the bottom of this page, but the text color is contrasting with the background. It would be easier to just visit the lighterpack gear list link above to see the full, written list of all my thru-hiking gear, with weight of each item and a link to buy each item.
DISCLAIMER: Seeking Lost may earn an affiliate commission if you purchase something through the links on this page.
Thru-Hiking Gear List Videos
If you prefer a more visual representation, have a look below at my hiking gear list videos on youtube. These videos are detailed breakdowns of every item in my backpack, right down to the toothpicks and Band-Aids. As a photographer and filmmaker, I am not, and never will be, an ultralight hiker. My current thru hiking gear list is around 12 pounds, before my camera gear. This is a good level of comfort for me, and a reasonable weight for my abilities.
incredible stuff you are doing. great notes and documentation, including the vids.
I have hiked the Supers in AZ, but not to the extent you have. Also hiked near Tucson and in Huachuca mtns. I am retired Military and would ask: do you carry weapon besides bear spray.
there are some goofy people out there. i am more concerned about them than wildlife.
thanks for the great hiking info
keep up the great work.
January 15, 2016 at 4:15 pm
Thanks man I appreciate the comments. I’m glad others are finding my info useful. As far as carrying a weapon goes, nope I don’t. And I don’t carry bear spray very often either. Definitely if I were in Grizzly country and maybe in black bear territory, depends on what I’m doing and where. I don’t blame you for being cautious out there in the Supes though, I’ve heard some stories too. Most other places I’ve been though, I don’t worry much about the people I run into out there. Most people I meet in the backcountry are just out there doing the same thing as me.
January 23, 2016 at 1:23 pm
Really enjoyed your videos…..it shows how experienced you are. Thank you for sharing the amazing pics. We’ll keep watching!
July 7, 2018 at 7:42 pm
How well did the TarpTent Notch work out? any thoughts? Thanks Tom
March 14, 2019 at 10:30 am
I was using a Tarptent Moment (and still own it) before the Notch and was already a Tarptent fan. I had concerns about wind stability with trekking pole support, but it held up well for me. I didn’t really have too many nights with high wind surprisingly. My tent always stayed dry in the rain. Having dual vesitubles is AWESOME. I could load one side up with gear and the other I can exit from with ease. I like the fact that the tent only has 4 stakes. It’s a pain trying to get stakes in the ground in hard/rocky terrain for example. Sucks to have 6, 8, 10 etc stakes and trying to get all them in the ground. Fewer stakes, fewer problems. It’s smaller than my moment but with dual vesitubles, a lot of that gear ends up out there anyways. When raining I can bring in a few extra items, it can then be a little cramped, but not bad. I’m pretty happy with it’s performance on the CDT and I will be using it on any future long hikes. I try to use my hammock on shorter ones š
March 15, 2019 at 7:23 pm
what stove did you use? It’s not listed in the gear, but is listed in the weight…
July 9, 2019 at 3:10 pm
I didn’t use a stove on the CDT actually. I put my OLD (2012ish) gear list at the bottom of this page, when I consolidated my old Gear List page with this new CDT Gear List page. I should probably just remove the old list altogether at this point, I can see how that would be confusing the way it sits now.
July 14, 2019 at 9:49 pm
I was able to make the hipbelt of the Osprey Exos fit better after I lost 20+ lbs on the AT by cutting a vertical slit in the netting material at the inside of the hip belt and inserting a folded over piece of a thin yoga sticky mat. A fellow hiker went to WalMart and was planning to glue part of the sticky mat to the inside of his belt. That didn’t sound very durable to me, so I slid mine inside the belt and never had to sew the slit shut. I gained the weight back but it still feels more comfortable with that extra padding. Best to cut the slit at the wider end closest to the pack and roll the sticky mat into a cone shape so it wedges into the correct shape. There were 3 layers of mat in the space when I was done.
July 11, 2020 at 5:24 pm