Bushwalk Australia

So i'm trying to put together a decent setup for hiking in a group and solo when I'm up to it. Trying to keep it lightweight so I can enjoy my trips and versatile so I can go anywhere. The starred items I already have and the others are what I've been thinking of getting over the next few months though its definitely not 100%. I have done quite a few day hikes with friends and with the club here in Melbourne and i'll be doing a couple of pack carry trips with the club very soon (I'll hire or borrow from friends what gear I don't have). Does what I've listed seem alright and is the weight ok? Once I have a bit more experience I want to do the OLT and then North America or Canada or maybe Nepal.. gotta have dreams

Base weight:
Osprey Aether 60 Backpack: 2.23kg
MSR Hubba Hubba Tent: 1.980kg
Thermarest Neoair Mat (r): 0.350kg
Marmot Plasma 30 Sleeping bag: 0.644kg
Total: 5.204kg

Sleeping:
Feathered Friends Geoduck Pillow: 0.170kg
Total: 0.170kg

Cooking, Eating & Water:
Fire-Maple FMS-100: 0.199kg
MSR Alpinist 2 System: 0.657kg
Fire-Maple Titanium Spork: 0.022kg
Sawyer Squeeze Water Filter: 0.085kg

Total: 0.963kg

Clothing:
Patagonia Nano Puff Hoody: 0.396kg
Patagonia Super Cell Jacket: 0.369kg
Icebreaker Leggings 200: 0.190kg
Icebreaker Oasis Crew LS: 0.190kg
Patagonia T-Shirt: 0.150kg
Wigwam Comfort Hiker Socks x2: 0.090kg
Wigwam Gobi Liner Socks x2: 0.090kg

Total: 1.655kg

TOTAL BACKPACK WEIGHT: 7.992kg

**Edited and removed a few items of clothes and corrected weight**

Looks pretty good. 9kg is pretty impressive for round #1
Don't forget most importantly - first aid gear !! and your camera.
I'm no sleeping bag liner fan and don't use them. Some people love them though. Good for keeping the bag clean I guess but dry thermals do that too and is more versitile than a liner.

Not sure what your walking clothes are but you might not need so many spare shirts, The IB would be the pick of them.
You probably don't need so many sets of socks. Just take a walking pair and a dry camp set. Chances are if one pair gets wet your boots will be wet for the trip anyway, Dry socks in wet boots only last so long before they are all wet.

Do you have any rain shell pants. They can be vital for alpine walking in the wind / rain.

Definitely taking some first aid gear and my camera, shell pants I'm still shopping around for. To be honest I don't like the idea of the liner either but I want to protect the bag :/

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2

Knife? Whistle? Lighting?

kyubi wrote:Fire-Maple FMS-100T: 0.199kg*
MSR Alpinist 2 System: 0.657kg <-(will probably change this now that I have the FMS-100T rather than the MSR microrocket)

Just curious as to why you feel you have to change this because of the 100T? this was one of my cook set contenders although I went for the GSI pinnacle dualist instead. (I have the same stove)

Regarding the liner I agree with forest, thermals are more versatile and IMO comfier. It protects the bag and you can add as much as needed for colder conditions e.g. down jacket/pant.

Strider wrote:Knife? Whistle? Lighting?

Yep I have all of the above, forgot to add them to the list.

Stibb, still considering that set the only difference being the stove won't fit inside anymore I guess.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2

fleeces can be worn in a greater range of weather conditions than synthetc puffy jackets.. the puffy's can get clammy if you're walking in them, fleeces breathe better and you can throw a raincoat over them as a windbreaker if you need it

wayno wrote:fleeces can be worn in a greater range of weather conditions than synthetc puffy jackets.. the puffy's can get clammy if you're walking in them, fleeces breathe better and you can throw a raincoat over them as a windbreaker if you need it

Point taken, I actually bought the puffy for my upcoming Japan holiday where it will be snowing.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2

kyubi wrote:Stibb, still considering that set the only difference being the stove won't fit inside anymore I guess.

Good point and I just remember that was why I didn't buy it LOL. I think the stove will fit in the Pinnacle Dualist but can say for sure when I get my hands on it (it's on the way).

For socks yeah just take several liners, and one external pair (2 if you're going away for more than 3 days). Don't forget to add the weight of water (2 kg), your camera, papers, keys etc... A headlight or a torch are a must of course, the GPS, maps, pressure bandage for snake bites, maybe some rope, trowel, towel, soap etc... Just do some easy overnights first, and you'll realize what was missing. Are you sure a 60L pack is gonna be enough ? It must be right at the limit, you couldn't fit a 20L daypack in there, which could be useful in cases where you set up camp, and explore the area as a day-walk the next morning.

Hallu wrote:you couldn't fit a 20L daypack in there, which could be useful in cases where you set up camp, and explore the area as a day-walk the next morning.

A separate daypack is just extra weight. Leave unneeded gear in the tent and take the 60L pack containing only what you need on the day walk.

That depends on the person. I don't like carrying a big bag containing only water and food at the bottom, it makes it unbalanced.

A couple of thoughts on your list.

Ditch the Thermolite liner - there is conflicting thoughts on whether they perform as claimed or not - personally I don't think they work as claimed and are relatively heavy. Far better with a silk inner which works to keep you bag clean and is good when conditions are a bit too warm for the sleeping bag. I would start with the Marmot Plasma 30 bag and later add a warmer bag to your armoury once you find out how things are working for you - there are lots of permutations. I now use a quilt down to freezing and add in a WM Highlite (480g) when colder conditions are expected.

The cooking setup is way too heavy. Try to get it under 1kg. Do you need two large pots. For solo use 1 find a pot around 700ml - 1 litre is enough. If you want a second pot use a 500ml mug with lid which also serves as your mug. Depending on what you cook you can most probably just use a spoon (the STS 7075 aluminium is the lightest I've found). Is that the correct weight for the Sawyer Squeeze? A Steripen set up with 3 litres of storage, spare batteries and a treatment container comes in under 250g.

Consider cheap polypro tights rather than Icebreaker for the legs. You will often want to wear them for sleeping and merino can be a bit damp if worn during the day as well as at night.

Hallu wrote: Are you sure a 60L pack is gonna be enough ? It must be right at the limit, you couldn't fit a 20L daypack in there, which could be useful in cases where you set up camp, and explore the area as a day-walk the next morning.

we have 120l between us (55 & 65L I think it is). Plenty enough for multiday trips. We also have simple daypacks squeezed in there. There are many lightweight daypacks to choose from that wouldn't take much room at all that can even be used as dry bags (eg OR, Exped, StS). very handy imo. When not in use during the day we just keep all little odd things in them to avoid chaos in the tent.

Very good gear list for a starting point.

I agree, ditch the liner but keep the plasma 30. Get a vapour barrier liner (SOL emergency bivy or Western Mountaineering hotsac) for an emergency liner if it gets too cold. Only weighs 80-120g and will give you more warmth than the sea to summit. Only disadvantage is you won't want to use it much above freezing.

I would also personally get the aether 85 for a backpack - virtually no weight gain, compresses down nicely if you don't need all the space but gives you versatility to carry extra if the occasion arises.

Agree also with the comment you can go lighter on your pots - the MSR quick solo pot i have (not the cookset version) and should be all you need.

But again, that is really a great starting gear list and the above is nitpicking - nothing critical at all.

First two items ;
Aether 60 and Hubba Hubba
Not sure what the real weight is now but my Aether 60 (the original version) years ago was about 1,5kg .
I switched to a ULA Circuit , very similar comfort if not better and just over 1 kg.
As for the tent , why a two person tent if you are going solo ?
You can get tents for around 1 kg that will offer the same protection and more than enough room for 1..
Changing those two items would save you about 2kg...

Hallu wrote:That depends on the person. I don't like carrying a big bag containing only water and food at the bottom, it makes it unbalanced.

And the location. In Tassie you can add warm clothes, first aid kit and rain gear to that list.

LOO PAPER

Cheers for all the comments and advice everyone, can't wait to start putting it all together and get out there!
Unfortunately for better or worse i'm stuck with the 60l for now (xmas present from my gf) so I have to make it work, at the end of the day if I plan a trip that requires more space I'll bite the bullet and buy another. I may still go for a one man tent, the idea though was to have the option of taking the gf along on local trips (that being said I already have a 2.8kg tent we could take and share the load). I haven't yet figured out what I'll even be cooking but I have been considering just using a single small lightweight pot as mentioned. Did the figures again on the cookware and I must have changed something without recalculating because the total weight is only 963g so significantly less and already under 1kg. As some of you have said there are still a few things I haven't listed at all there like a knife, rope, first aid, torch, ect.. I'll add those to the list next and check the weight.