Thursday, August 22, 2013

Gear lists

Making gear lists has been enormously helpful for prioritizing my gear purchases and DIY projects, and has helped me keep track of what I use and don't need anymore.  I used to make them for every trip, but lately, I haven't bothered much with them, except for when I have a specific problem I'm working through.  For example, I'm currently researching new top quilt designs, so just updated my gearlists to help decide what specs to make the new quilt.
My gear at the time I took JJ's lightweight backpacking class in 2011.
I've never posted a gearlist on my blog.  But I love reading other people's and find them quite telling.  I see them as ways to learn about someone, and to get a feel of the perspective that they offer.  They are also helpful for getting new ideas.  So it is in this spirit that I share my summer, fall/spring, and winter gear lists for weekend backpacking in the southeast.  I've also started a new page to provide an easy reference to my blog posts on gear.

Want to make your own gear list?

     Backpacking Light has a variety of templates.

     Stick recently posted a form you can download.
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3 comments:

  1. JERMMAugust 22, 2013 at 8:24 AM

    I don't think I've ever posted a gear list either and not sure why I haven't. My gear tends to vary depending on time of year and trip length, but the basics never change unless I'm trying out a new piece of gear. But I always use a gear check list. Over the summer I've been teaching a series of backpacking classes, I talk about gear lists and using them, what surprises me is how uninterested most people are and they think having and using one is no big deal. Guessing they're the ones who always forget an important piece of gear.

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  2. Joan WestAugust 22, 2013 at 9:37 AM

    Gear lists really are such useful tools. That's fascinating that the folks that take your classes don't always use them- quite surprised given how helpful they are.

    I've got so many different lists and they are always changing too- I think that's one of the reasons I never posted one. The other thing I didn't mention is that my master gear list also includes the date of purchase and cost of each item. Makes me feel better when I see how many years of use I've gotten out of expensive items. Though never pleased how quickly I hike through socks and shoes.

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  3. JERMMAugust 22, 2013 at 10:04 PM

    hahaha...I don't want to know how much I've spent :-)

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