Bushwalking Gear Lists
The following is just a copy of my gear checklist, which varies according to the type of activity. Some items are always placed in the pack eg food, water, and Personal Locator Beacon while many items are optional and rarely, if ever, taken eg Plastic Trowel, Tent. It's a good idea to make up your own checklist, weigh the items and then try to refine or minimise the list to reduce pack weight. Remember the old saying: "Count every ounce, every ounce counts".
Generally you should avoid outdoor shops like the Bubonic Plague; they'll sell you anything and everything, often at greatly inflated prices, whether you need it or not! Ask other bush walkers for advice and take your time i.e. don't rush into spending your hard earned cash on inappropriate gear.
OVERNIGHT WALKS
For a weekend trip you should be able to get the weight of your pack to under nine kilograms. If you share gear with a friend or partner
eg fly, cooking gear, first aid etc the weight can be much less. Many of my friends carry less than eight kilograms (plus water) over a weekend by
using lightweight gear. There's plenty of information on the internet and other walkers are always keen to share their knowledge. Check out my Links
page for starters. I strongly encourage you have a go at making your own lightweight gear as it can all be done on a simple domestic sewing
machine. Nearly all my gear has been sewn on an old (1950's) Italian Necchi machine which my mother picked up at a garage sale for eight dollars.
Your machine only needs a good straight stitch; not even a zig-zag stitch is necessary. Look up Ray Jardine on my "Links" page for excellent
do-it-yourself kits.
;
| SHELTER | SLEEPING | COOKING | FIRST AID etc | Tent/Fly, Pegs/Poles, Groundsheet, Pack liner | Sleeping bag, Silk inner sheet, Foam mat/Thermarest, Thermals, Beanie/Balaclava, Spare socks | Billy, billy grips, Knife, Spoon, Mug, plate* Stove/Fuel*, Matches/Lighter, small piece of soap, piece of scourer | First Aid Kit, Toilet Paper, Sunscreen, Insect Repellent*, Map(s), Compass, GPS*, PLB, Torch/Batteries, |
|---|---|---|---|
| WEAR/TAKE | FOOD! | CANYONING | OPTIONAL ITEMS* |
| Hat, Raincoat, Shorts, Shirt, Socks, Volleys/joggers, Gaiters, Wool Jumper/Polar Fleece, Sunglasses, Cosies, Hanky, Money | Water Bottle,Wine Bladder, Breakfast, Morning Tea, Lunch, Afternoon Tea, Dinner, Happy Hour etc | Carabiners, Descender, Harness/tape, Wetsuit*, Helmet, Gloves, Ropes, Prussik loops, Lilo | Camera, Cotton gloves, Mobile Phone, handline, Binoculars, Vitamin C tablets, Plastic trowel |
DAY WALKS
REPAIRS: to packs, tents, sleeping bags, gaiters etc : Big Al's Repairs (Katoomba) phone: 0427823201
GEAR NOTES:
Pack For day walks a 30litre good quality pack with a drawstring closure on the main compartment is adequate. Avoid zip closures as they have a tendency to fail at the most inconvenient/critical times. There are many good brands eg's Macpac, Wilderness Equipment, Berghaus, and a pack is one item you should buy from a reputable outdoor shop. For a weekend pack you should be able to get away with 50litres or smaller, especially if you go lightweight. Again I would encourage you to sew your own lightweight pack or purchase a lighweight brand such as ULA or Gossamer. This is one item where you can make BIG weight savings. My Summit Gear 55litre canvas pack weighs 1.4kg(fairly light) as compared to my Ray Jardine pack of 300grams! Which pack would you prefer to carry? Obviously the Jardine pack is made of lighter materials, not as rugged and needs a bit of extra care but I've had no trouble with it over the past three years. It's not a pack I'd take on a canyon trip but even Tom Williams' "High Tops" packs will eventuallly succumb to getting dragged over sandstone. For canyons you need a 30-50litre pack (depending on whether you share carrying the ropes) made of heavy canvas or 1000 denier cordura. I'd go for DancingFool (ph.0427823301) or Summit Gear (almost 'bombproof'). At a pinch any reputable brand will do.
Tents are heavy. Even the Macpac Microlight, which is a great one person tent, weighs in at just under 2kg. A Ray Jardine (sew it yourself) silnylon two person fly on the other hand weighs less than 500g and has a heck lot more room. With a fly you don't need to carry poles unless you are above the treeline in alpine areas. A fly is more versatile and perfectly adequate for most areas in Australia, the exception being winter walking on the main range in the Snowy Mountains and walking in Tasmania where the atrocious winds demand a sewn in floor. If you must/want to use a tent ("What about the snakes and creepy-crawlies?") purchase a reliable brand eg Macpac, Wilderness Equipment, etc. Henry Shires' "Tarptents" have a good reputation and are relatively light. His 'Rainbow' model (1-2 person, 3+ season) weighs just under a kilogram. Pole failure is a common problem with modern tents;avoid tents with a complex pole setup or under high pre-stress. Tents using DAC brand aluminium poles should also be avoided as it is nearly impossible to obtain replacement poles or pole sections and DAC aftersales service is abyssmal(i.e. non-existent!). Try to stick with well known'local' brands (Macpac,Wilderness Equipment etc) as overseas postage can be very costly. e.g. DAC Featherlite 231mm x 8.84mm pole section = $9.35, Postage from TentPole Technologies in Vancouver, Canada = $12.45. Easton poles are also difficult to obtain in Australia but are available online from QUEST OUTFITTERS, a company I've found to be very helpful and reliable. An Easton pole section of similar dimensions to the above DAC pole secton costs $3.00 (US).
PegsTitanium pegs are light, strong, and expensive (around $20 for 6 pegs as at December, 2010). Aluminium alloy pegs are pretty good, light, and not as expensive as Titanium (the exception being those made out of Easton aluminium tubing). Plain steel wire pegs, while somewhat heavier, are perfectly acceptable and are stronger than aluminium. I prefer steel pegs when car camping. .
Groundsheet A two-metre length of builder's plastic, obtainable from a hardware store, makes a cheap, strong groundsheet.Tyvek, a type of vapour barrier wrap used in housing construction, is sturdy and makes a for a very light groundsheet. These days, to save weight, I use a large, light-duty garden bag split down the sides and place a small length of builders plastic under my thermarest to protect it from punctures. The garden bag can be substituted with a painter's plastic drop sheet as long as you have something sturdier underneath your thermarest or air mattress. Lightweight space blankets do not make reliable groundsheets as they disintegrate fairly easily. Some ponchos are designed as a dual-purpose groundsheet.
Packliner A large, medium weight, garbage bag is adequate unless the trip involves swimming with your pack eg's Morong Deep, canyon trips, in which case you might use a couple of garbage bags (one inside the other) or a Sealine type waterproof bag (expensive and not always reliable).
Sleeping bag The lightest warmth-for-weight bag is one with filled with premium goose down. But who wants to be carrying a 1.6kg, minus 10 degree bag around other than in winter conditions? Most well known manufacturers now produce lightweight down bags for 2-3 season use eg Macpac Snowflake. I use a homemade Ray Jardine designed synthetic quilt for most of the year. It's conservatively rated at +5degrees, weighs 800g, is easy to care for and it has kept me warm down to minus 2 degrees when used in combination with my silk innersheet (I am a warm sleeper though). If I get a bit cold I slip on my jumper. On the downside it is bulkier than a down bag of equivalent warmth. On the upside if it gets wet it retains most of it's warmth once it's wrung out. A wet down bag is useless. In winter or in alpine areas at any time of the year play it safe and take your winter bag.
Sleeping mat Closed cell foam mats are effective insulators, light weight, bulky and offer little or no padding from the hard ground. Despite this many people are happy to use them. NOT ME! I prefer my three-quarter length, lightweight(500g)Thermarest for one reason: comfort! It is also far more compact than a closed cell mat. The choice is yours. If you puncture your Thermarest and you don't carry a repair kit (who does?) you are "up the creek without a paddle." That said, in twenty years I've only had it happen once, in Cedar Creek on a CMW trip and that was due to a native rodent taking a bite at the edge. A piece of gaffer tape only partially slowed the leak. The newer down filled air mats come out on 'top of the pile' for comfort but are heavier and, like any air mat, is susceptible to punctures.
Thermal underwear comes in a variety of fabrics. I've been very happy with my polypropylene thermals but they do tend to 'pong' of body odour after a few days without washing. Polyester thermals apparently are better in this regard. Many of my friends rave about the Icebreaker brand of Fine Merino wool thermals which don't suffer from the 'pong' factor but are quite expensive.
Beanie or balaclava made of wool or fleece keeps your head warm in cold weather and adds to your sleeping comfort at night. The warmest and by far the lightest type I know of is a Ray Jardine synthetic fill 'Bomber' hat but it sure looks weird on your head; like a giant egg shell!
Spare socks should be wool or wool blend eg Holeproof Explorer, for safety sake. I got caught out once with cotton/elastane blend socks in the Victorian highlands. It was a very hot day but we copped heavy snow that night around the campfire and my toes suffered terribly for a couple of hours or so after getting into my sleeping bag. I'll never take cotton socks on a walk again.
Billy An aluminium billy is light and doesn't tend to burn your food as easily as stainless steel (heavy) or titanium (light and expensive). Make sure the billy is large enough to boil at least a litre of water in case you need to sterilise your drinking water for the day. Trangia type aluminium billy grips are handy but some people just use a stick to lift the billy off the fire and tilt it. The old steel sprondonicles (billy lifters) are considered too heavy these days. My billy is also my plate.
Knife, Spoon, Mug, Plate Keep it small and light. Forget the large Bowie, sheath, and multi-gadget varieties! I like the French Opinel brand as they are very light, easy to sharpen and inexpensive. The spoon can be metal or one of the more durable plastic types. A couple of walking friends of mine use plastic spoons from McDonalds but they look too fragile for my liking. You don't need a fork. Use a plastic plate if you don't like eating directly out of the billy. If you cook fried food take an aluminium plate or cake pan to serve as a frypan as well as a plate. Use a plastic mug as stainless steel is too heavy and tends to burn your lips.
Stove I prefer to cook over a fire but a small lightweight stove can be handy in wet weather or above the treeline in alpine areas. There's a plethora of web sites where gear freaks discuss the pros and cons of various types and brands of stove. 'Zen Stoves' is a very informative and relatively unbiased user web site although they do admit to a bias towards meths (alcohol) stoves. The 'Bushwalking Australia' website has a lot of information on stoves. Also check out my 'Links' page for instructions on how to make your own super-lightweight methylated spirits stove (11grams) out of a drink can. Each stove type has it's pros and cons. I prefer the meths type (bit slow) for their light weight (49gms,including windshield and pot stand), simplicity and reliability in all but snow conditions. Meths and Esbit stoves are easily the lightest systems for up to about 14 days of cooking. After this the smaller of the gas canister type stoves eg MSR Pocket Rocket (85g + fuel) begin to take the weight advantage in areas where you are not allowed to use a wood stove eg The Overland Track.
First Aid Kit This can all be stored in a small drawstring bag or hard plastic container such as a kid's lunchbox. The list below is adapted from the NSW Confederation of Bushwalking Clubs website plus some exta items I carry:
4 Pain killing tablets + emergency aluminium foil blanket
1 10cm x 2.3m heavy duty crepe bandage (E.g. Handycrepe)
1 8x10cm waterproof island dressing (E.g. Cutilin Plus)
1 Triangular bandage (E.g. Surgipack)
1 Accident Action List
1 Medical Evacuation Form
2 Antihistamine tablets
Immodium capsules (for diarrhoea)
2 Bandaid elastic fabric strips or patches (E.g. Handyplast) or roll of bandage.
2 Antiseptic swabs (E.g. Betadine Swab Aids)
2 Safety pins - 1 large + 1 medium
2 Small sachets of salt (E.g. McDonalds)
1 5x7cm non-adherent wound dressing pad (E.g. Telfa)
1 slant tweezers S/S or gold tipped (E.g. Manicare)
1 2.5cm x 5m waterproof tape (E.g. Leukoplast)
1 medium size needle + thread (dental floss is good)kept in a plastic film canister.
1 pair of small Scissors
1 Pair of latex gloves (E.g. Ansell)
1 Whistle (plastic) for signaling.
1 junked CD or computer hard drive disc(more durable)to use for signaling mirror
Matches in a plastic bag or waterproof container
Toothbrush and toothpaste
Spare torch batteries
Small LED torch (spare)
Compass, PLB, GPS Just get the very basic Silva 7NL compass. I take a PLB (Personal Locator Beacon) on all my walks, even if someone else in the party is also carrying one. A GPS (Global Positioning System) can be handy in remote, featureless areas if unsure of your position but I find them too slow for basic navigation (try walking with a group all relying on their GPS units to navigate: very,very slow and you'll be waiting around a lot).
Torch, batteries I carry a small LED headlight for hands and mouth-free cooking as well as a very small single LED torch in my 1stAid kit. You can purchase a cheap 9LED aluminium torch for $5.00 from places like K-Mart and turn it into a head torch by sewing a simple headband, joining the ends with Velcro and elastic. Attach the torch with a rubber band placed over the headband. Although LED torches give a very long battery life spare batteries should ensure you don't get caught out.
Hat: many types are available. I find felt and leather hats are too hot for bushwalking. A lightweight, floppy, ventilated, broad brim cotton hat that can be shoved inside your pack is ideal. Cricket hats are pretty good and, unlike hats sold in the yuppie outdoor shops, don't cost the earth.
Raincoat Many brands are available. You'll hear a lot of mumbo-jumbo talk when it comes to wet-weather gear, especially claims revolving around breathability fabrics such as Goretex and it's variants. Good ventilation design is far more important and effective in minimising perspiration in a waterproof raincoat. Look for features such as a two-way full length front zip with a storm flap cover secured with velcro or press studs, long underarm ventilation zips, flap-covered mesh ventilation areas near the back neck area etc. The coat wrists should be able to stay wide open for arm ventilation or be firmly closed up with velcro tabs during wind-blown downpours. Avoid elasticated wrist closures. Look for a drawcord waist on longer coats. Check out the fitting of the peaked hood which again should be highly adjustable so that you can leave it wide open or close it right up without it restricting your vision or neck movement. If you have a domestic sewing machine and are prepared to learn how to use it you can sew your own highly effective rainwear out of lightweight silnylon or ripstop nylon at a fraction of the cost of highly over-rated, heavy 'breathable' gear. Check out websites such as Quest Outfitters for patterns and fabrics. Some walkers prefer to use ponchos because of the good ventilation but the lightweight ones tend to blow all over the place in high winds. Waterproof pants are essential in snow country especially if you only have a short jacket-length coat.
Footwear I use Dunlop Volleys almost exclusively, one size larger than my normal shoe size as the canvas uppers shrink. Some people prefer their normal shoe size and when the Volleys begin to shrink they cut a slit down the back of the heel as far as the capital 'D'. Ian Rannard of the Sydney Bush Walkers showed me this trick on one of his Christmas walks in the northern snowies when my heels were suffering terribly from shrunken volleys; worked a treat! Volleys are relatively inexpensive, the canvas uppers don't last long and there is not enough cushioning in the sole. I find them comfortable when fitted with an extra inner sole. They never need 'breaking in'(no blisters) and the grip of their sole is legendary. There is no better shoe when it comes to creeks, canyons and sandstone country. The uppers can be repaired using scraps of cordura or canvas and a 'Speedy Stitcher' (saddler's awl available from shoe repair outlets and ebay). Volleys do not suit everyone's feet. Lightweight running shoes and, to a lesser extent, lightweight(non-leather) boots are popular . Only Dunlop Volleys should be used when canyoning, although some brave individuals place their trust in wet suit booties etc.
GaitersFor many years I never wore them but now I appreciate the protection they provide to the lower legs from scrub, sticks, sword grass, possible snake bite and submerged rocks in creeks. The nylon/cordura type are relatively inexpensive but can be hot and sweaty in summer. The canvas type are usually more expensive, heavier, better designed and far less sweaty. If you sew your own (not difficult) then go for canvas.
Jumper Wool is warmer, heavier, harder to care for, not as durable and more expensive than fleece. On the other hand fleece often gets small holes due to embers and sparks from the campfire. Fleece also dries much faster than wool when wet.
Water bottle/bladder There's a huge variety in the outdoor shops to please the wealthiest of gear freaks but an ordinary plastic soft drink, juice or cordial bottle is more than adequate. An empty (and well rinsed) wine cask bladder is excellent for collecting water when you get to camp. Some people carry a spare bladder to use as a pillow or as insurance against the other wine bladder getting punctured.