On the whole, I was happy with all of my gear choices on this trip. I went through four pairs of shoes, which was expected, but I otherwise needed no new gear on the walk–everything I brought with me sustained me through my 65 days. In this post, I won’t cover absolutely everything, but I will highlight the most important stuff, calling particular attention to the items that I recommend especially strongly. I’ll start with clothing and then zoom out to other gear.
Socks: Point6 Hiking Tech Socks
If there is one piece of gear to which I have complete and total brand loyalty, it’s Point6 socks. I’ve been wearing them exclusively for years now and I credit them with keeping my feet in great shape. I actually buy a much smaller size–the smallest they offer, for feet 4-6 in size–and they fit perfectly. I brought three pairs on this trip and they all survived, though admittedly without too much life left. Everyone should wear Point6.
Underwear: Terramar Boxer Briefs
I’m also a big believer in Terramar and have been wearing their shirts and underwear on all of my walks for nearly a decade now. I don’t think I’ve ever had a pair of their boxers actually wear out–they hold up remarkably well on the trail.
Primary Shirt: Nike Techknit Ultra Long Sleeve
I’ve always been a short-sleeve guy for hiking shirts. Until this trip. After the first week or two, I fell into the habit of wearing this long-sleeve and I quickly became a full convert. With so many hours exposed to the sun, it made sense to have some extra protection, and the sleeves provided that. I didn’t overheat at all; the fabric is highly breathable. That said, when temps started to dip, it also provided a decent layer of warmth. It is excellent at wicking moisture.
Secondary Shirts: Terramar Helix T-Shirt
While they may have been surpassed on this trip by the Nike Techknit, these remain my short-sleeve shirt of choice.
Pants: REI Sahara Convertible Pants
Similar to the shirts, I started this trip as a strident shorts-wearer and yet shifted completely over to pants. This was a huge surprise to me; I’ve always felt in the past like pants make my legs uncomfortably warm while walking. These REI pants, however, were amazing. Even when temps broke 100, I was perfectly content to have these on, and they offered excellent protection. I will absolutely wear these again for the through-hike.
Warmth: Nike Dri-Fit Hoodie
With temps in the 90-100 range for much of this walk, I didn’t need to be equipped for arctic conditions (until that last morning in Denver!). As such, I mostly wore this while sitting in air-conditioned interiors. Nonetheless, I liked having it a lot–the material is excellent, wicking moisture well on the rare conditions it was employed to that end, and it packs relatively compactly
Shoes: Scarpa Neutron, Montrail Variant XSR, Brooks Glycerin
I’m a long-time Columbia Montrail believer, wearing those on most long-distance hikes. As always, the Montrail Variant XSRs worked great. They were my closing pair on this trip. This was my first experience with Scarpas and I had two pairs of the Neutrons. I was struck by how much cushion they offered and the wide toe box. The Brooks were similarly cushy. Given the distances I was walking each day, I think I needed that extra comfort more on this walk than on others. In any case, I would be happy to wear any of these shoes again
Sleeping Container: Outdoor Research Advanced Bivy
In pursuit of lightness, I opted not to bring a full tent, instead going with a bivy sack. The Outdoor Research’s advanced bivy is state-of-the-art, definitely the most expensive item I purchased for this trip. It lived up to expectations. The fabric is strong and resilient; the water resistance was tested thoroughly and held up completely. It was just big enough to allow me to fit my sleeping pad and my backpack inside. It did keep things very warm; it was a bit of a sweat box during the first couple of attempted hours of sleep, but that’s only because temps were so high. As the days passed, it became much more comfortable. The warmth meant that I actually almost never used my sleeping bag, instead relying more on a silk sleepsheet. I’m sure I’ll need the bag on the next trip
Backpack: Osprey Talon 44
This was an older model, something I bought a number of years ago when it was massively marked down on Outlet, but it worked fine for this trip. I didn’t love the fit as much as I normally do with Ospreys, which I pretty much use exclusively at this point, but it settled in over the first few weeks. The size was right for this trip, but I didn’t think the support system was optimal for the weight. I’ll likely go a bit bigger for the spring
Again, though, I’m happy as could be with these gear selections. And if any of these companies want to help equip me for the next ~5000 miles, you know where to find me!
