Gear strewn about West Chickenbone campsite
A two-week backpacking adventure like the one I took to Isle Royale National Park last year requires a great deal of preparation. It requires a great deal of equipment too. In fact, over 30 pounds of gear, to be exact.
Below is the gear list for my Isle Royale trip. The list is a combination of a checklist I created before leaving on the trip and my memory of those things, for one reason or another, omitted from the checklist. Given for each item are the name, color, size and weight (in ounces), where applicable. Links are provided for many of the items, where possible.
Item links are to an online retailer, if still available from the manufacturer. Often the item is no longer available, since my frugality extends compels me to update my gear only when absolutely necessary (usually due to wearing out or damage). Where the item is no longer available, I provided a link to a similar item, typically from the same manufacturer, where possible. If I wrote a review on the item previously, then the link is to the review article instead. All review articles should provide a link to at least one online retailer.
If you are interested in any of the products and cannot find an online retailer providing them, do not hesitate to mention it in the comments below and I will do my best to find it for you. Any suggestions for substitute items (especially if they are significantly lighter weight), would be greatly appreciated.
| Category | Gear Item | Color | Size | Weight (oz) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Backpack | Golite Pinnacle | Grease | Medium | 27 |
| Sea to Summit Pack Liner | Lime | Medium | 4 | |
| Equinox Stingray Pack Cover | Green | Large | 4 | |
| Shelter | Golite Cave (w/ stuff sack) | Forest | 1 person | 15 |
| Golite Nest (w/ stuff sack) | Desert/Night | 2 person | 19 | |
| 12 Titanium stakes (w/ stuff sack) | na | na | 3 | |
| Integral Designs Sil-Tarp (w/ stuff sack) | Grey | 5×8 ft | 7 | |
| Sleeping | Western Mountaineering Highlite | Purple | 6 ft | 17 |
| Stuff sack | Blue | 8.5×11.5 in | 1 | |
| Texsport Pack Lite Sleeping Pad | Blue | 20×72 in | 7 | |
| Thermarest Prolite | Orange | Small | 14.5 | |
| Kitchen | Pepsi-G stove (homemade) | na | na | 0.25 |
| Snow Peak Titanium Single Cup 1 | na | na | 1.5 | |
| MSR Titan Titanium Kettle | na | na | 4.5 | |
| Windscreen (homemade) | Silver | na | 0.5 | |
| 2 Titanium Stakes | na | na | 1 | |
| Platypus Collapsible Bottle | na | 0.5L | 1 | |
| Pouring Spout | Red | na | 0.5 | |
| Small Airline Water Bottle | na | na | 0.5 | |
| Waterproof Safety Matches | na | na | 0.5 | |
| Paper towels & Mr. Sponge | na | na | 1 | |
| Golite Stuff Sack | Green | X-Small | 0.25 | |
| Equinox Ultralight Stuff Sack (w/ garbage bag & carbiner) | Black | 10×21 in | 2.5 | |
| Permaware Lexan spork | Orange | na | 0.5 | |
| Water | Sawyer Inline Filter | na | na | 3 |
| Surgical Hose w/ Angle Connector | na | na | 1.5 | |
| Platypus BigZip Reservoir (w/ hanging string) | na | 3L | 2 | |
| Platypus Drinking Tube (w/ cap) | na | 42 in. | 2 | |
| Platypus Collapsible Bottle | na | 3L | 2 | |
| Aquamira | na | na | 3 | |
| Sil-Net Water Bucket (homemade) | na | na | 1 | |
| Backpackers Pantry Pack Bowl | na | na | 1.5 | |
| Assorted Resealable Plastic Bags | na | na | 1 | |
| Gatorade Bottle | na | 32 oz. | 2 | |
| Platypus Collapsible Bottle | na | 1L | 1 | |
| Spare Clothing | Sea to Summit Stuff Sack | Green | Small | 0.5 |
| Lined shorts | Green | Small | 5 | |
| Montbell U.L. Down Jacket | Gray | Medium | 7 | |
| North Face Diad Rain Jacket | Molten Red | Medium | 7.5 | |
| Golite Pertex Tumalo Rain Pants | Black | Small | 7 | |
| Cabela’s Gore-Tex Socks | Green | 8 | 3 | |
| LIFA 5000 Long Underwear Tops | Navy | Small | 4.5 | |
| LIFA 5000 Long Underwear Bottoms | Navy | Small | 4.5 | |
| Smartwool Hiking Socks | Green/Tan | Medium | 2.5 | |
| Polypropylene Liner Socks | White | Medium | 1 | |
| Nylon Underwear | Black | Medium | 2.5 | |
| Golite Trunk Pant | Night | Small | 6.5 | |
| Duofold Ironman Triathlon Shirt | Blue | Medium | 4.5 | |
| OR WS Gripper Gloves | Black | Small | 2.5 | |
| OR Neve Hat | Black | Small | 2.5 | |
| Fleece Socks | Gray | Small | 2.5 | |
| Crocs Cayman | Tan | 8 | 12 | |
| Hiking Clothes | Smartwool Hiking Socks | Green/Tan | Medium | 2.5 |
| Polypropylene Liner Socks | White | Medium | 1 | |
| Nylon Underwear | Black | Medium | 2.5 | |
| Golite Trunk Pant | Desert | Small | 6 | |
| EMS Superwick Hiking Shirt | Lichen | Small | 6.5 | |
| Golite Bark Shell Jacket | Desert | Small | 7 | |
| EMS Gore-Tex Hat | Tan | Small | 3 | |
| Integral Designs eVent Shortie Gaiters | Olive | Medium | 2.5 | |
| Garmont XCR Flash Hiking Boots | Green/Tan | 8.5 | 38.5 | |
| Miscellaneous | Golite Stuff Sack | Purple | X-Small | 0.5 |
| All Terrain AquaSport SPF 30 sunscreen | na | na | 1 | |
| SAV Readers Folding reading glasses & case | na | na | 0.75 | |
| Silva Model S15 Ranger Compass | na | na | 2.5 | |
| Petzel e+Lite w/ batteries | na | na | 0.5 | |
| Victorinox Classic Jackknife | Red | na | 1 | |
| Repel Lemon Eucalyptus Bug Repellent in old Cutters container | na | na | 1 | |
| Emergency whistle(w/ lanyard) | Orange | na | 0.125 | |
| Smith sunglasses, 2 lens sets (1 in plastic bags), cloth case | na | na | 1 | |
| Photon light, batteries, extra batteries for e+Lite in black plastic film cannister | na | na | 0.25 | |
| Dermatone Lip Balm | 0.125 | |||
| Zip-O-Gage thermometer w/ key ring | na | na | 0.125 | |
| Foot powder in clear film canister and plastic bag | na | na | 1 | |
| Key ring (w car key) & orange flagging, extra orange flagging, lens cleaning paper, plastic wallet bag | na | na | 0.5 | |
| Personal Stuff | Golite Stuff Sack | Green | X-Small | 0.5 |
| Resealable Plastic Bag w/ Toilet Paper | na | na | 3 | |
| Hand sanitizer (in contact lens cleaner bottle) | na | na | 1.5 | |
| MSR Packtowel Ultralite | Apricot | Medium | 1 | |
| MSR Packtowel Ultralite | Blue | Small | 0.5 | |
| Toilet Articles | Mesh Stuff Sack | na | na | 1.5 |
| Cut-off Toothbrush | Orange | na | na | |
| Insect Repellant Soap | na | na | na | |
| Shampoo Bar | na | na | na | |
| Dental Floss | na | na | na | |
| Small Facial Sponge | na | na | na | |
| Deodorant Powder in Clear Film Canister | na | na | na | |
| Third of comb | na | na | na | |
| Small snaptop Nalgene of toothpowder | na | na | na | |
| Reading/Writing | More Than Human paperback by Theodore Sturgeon | na | na | 4 |
| Small Notebook | Green | 4.5×3.25 in | 2 | |
| Rite-in-the-Rain Notebook | Yellow | na | 0.75 | |
| Pencils, pens and loose-leaf paper | na | na | 4 | |
| Copies of pages from DuFresne book | na | na | 3 | |
| National Geographic Isle Royale map | na | na | 4 | |
| Optics | Leica Ultravid 8×20 Binoculars (w/ case) | Black | na | 10.5 |
| Olympus E-420 DSLR camera (w/ battery, strap, disk) | Black | na | 17.5 | |
| Olympus Digital 25 mm pancake lens | na | na | 4 | |
| Olympus Digital 40-150 mm lens w/ hood | Black | na | 10 | |
| LowePro TLZ Mini camera case (w/ strap) | Green/Black | na | 8 | |
| Maximal Power BLS Battery | Black | na | 2 | |
| ScanDisk Extreme 3 CompactFlash 16 GB | na | na | 1 | |
| Assorted Lens Caps | Black | na | 1 | |
| Sea to Summit Dry Bag | Blue | 2L | 0.8 | |
| Gitzo GT0541 Tripod | Black | na | 26.5 | |
| Gitzo GH2781TQR Traveler Ball Head (w/ stuff sack) | Black | na | 14 | |
| Electronics | Garmin eTrex HCx GPS | Gold | na | 5 |
| ACR Microfix PLB | Green | na | 10 | |
| SONY PCM-10 Recorder | Red | na | 6.5 | |
| RadioShack Optima Radio (w/ headphones/antenna) | Tan | na | 5.5 | |
| Sea to Summit Stuff Sack | Blue | X-Small | 0.5 | |
| Laundry | Nylon Rope | Black | 50 ft | 3.5 |
| Laundry stuff (Sport Wash, laundry detergent, assorted containers) | na | na | 2 | |
| Miscellaneous | 2 Lightweight Hiking Poles (w/ duct tape) | Tan | na | 8 |
| OR Deluxe Spring Ring Headnet | Black | na | 2 | |
| Survival Bandana | Orange | 19.5×20 in | 1 | |
| Assorted Plastic Bags | na | na | 1 | |
| First Aid | Equinox Stuff Sack | Red | 5×8 in | 0.5 |
| Fully stocked First Aid | na | na | 6 | |
| Resealable Plastic Bag (w/ small Ace bandage, string, safety pins, rubber bands) | na | na | 2 | |
| Emergency space blanket | Silver | na | 2 | |
| Sil Fix Kit | na | na | 0.5 | |
| Plastic match case (w/ 5 birthday candles, strike anywhere matches) | Orange | na | 1 | |
| Waterproof first aid tape | White | na | 0.25 | |
| Nylon thread, needle, plastic film case | na | na | 0.125 | |
| Water filter straw | Blue | na | 0.25 | |
| 2 AA, 2 AAA Lithium Batteries | na | na | 2.5 | |
| Heatmax Super Hot Hands Warmer | na | na | 2 | |
| Flat Candle | na | na | 0.5 | |
| Total | 492.18 |
No wonder it was so hard carrying the backpack at over 30 pounds. With food included, my pack must have been in the mid-forty pounds range. Unfortunately, I did not take advantage of the weighing scale around the back from the store before leaving Rock Harbor on my first day. Then again, maybe it was for the best not knowing at the beginning of my trip.
Affiliate Disclaimer: Some links within this blog post may send you to a retailer website. If you chose to purchase any product on that site at that time, this author receives a small commission. These commissions provide compensation for the author’s time and effort necessary to provide the content at the Bushwhacking Fool.
