All The Gear I Ended My Appalachian Trail Hike With | What Worked and What Didn't...

so I just hiked from Georgia to Maine on the Appalachian Trail and this is everything that I carried it's still packed in this backpack and I want to show you all the gear that I ended up with it's a little bit different than the gear I started with I made quite a few changes here and there and I'm really happy with it the base weight is about 14 pounds and I do have quite a few Comfort items in there so this setup worked perfectly for me but when I do hop back on the at and finish the last 200 miles I'm probably gonna switch quite a few things up so I figured I'd do a gear video now and just show you what I ended up with and I also want to share a little bit about what worked and what didn't so the backpack that I've had the whole time is the Hyperlite Mountain gear Unbound 40 liter pack I thought it was the perfect size for me it fit all my gear it was very comfortable and I had absolutely no complaints so speaking of complaints the first piece of gear on the outside of the pack is my garment and reach mini it does not work anymore if you've seen the last Vlog of my through hike it was quite a story but this is something I need to replace there has been a new version of this that has come out since I bought it so I might go for that one and this water bottle pocket I had a one liter smart water bottle and I also carried my water filter which is the katadyne B free love this water filter I have the one liter storage bag attached to it and I thought that was a good amount of water storage I didn't need anything more than that when I did carry a 0.6 liter bag uh that was not enough so the one liter was The Sweet Spot I did replace the actual filter itself about like three or four times because I really enjoyed the fast water flow so whenever it did get a little clogged up and slowed down I just splurged and replaced it because that was something that was important to me is just filtering water super quick this is the first shoulder strap pocket this is my phone pouch so my phone was in here it's zippered closed it was waterproof enough um definitely experienced a lot of rain and the last part of my through hike but my phone was gonna get wet regardless because I would keep taking it out to Vlog or take pictures or to check the GPS to see how much further I had or where the water sources were so it is waterproof but my phone was always wet when it was raining because I just kept unzippering it to use it on this hip belt I have my cooler cloth attached to it my pee rag carried it the whole time Kula cloth is definitely like the OG brand for p-rags I think I've tried knockoff versions of this that I just got off Amazon and they are not as good uh they've fallen off my backpack they don't clip as well so if you're interested I would definitely go for the brand name cooler cloth they're only like twenty dollars but it's worth it on the other shoulder strap I have my water bottle pouch and inside I have this water bottle it's collapsible it has the straw I really enjoyed drinking with the straw and putting all my mixed drinks in this and it was just so convenient I drank so much water the only thing about this is that it was kind of hard to clean um there's a lot of different like nooks and crannies of this but when I would get to a hotel I would take it all apart and I would clean it sometimes I would take like a cute tip and get into some crevices but I have noticed mold grow on it I've had to replace the bite valve on it a few times but I wouldn't change this it was so convenient to have spin the backpack around a little more this side I had my bandana this was just to blow my nose mostly sometimes wipe my sweat maybe sometimes wipe my phone down but always had this hanging down off my backpack for whatever I needed spinning the backpack around this big thing right here these are my tent poles so I did switch to a freestanding tent halfway through the through hike so I did have to start carrying tent poles they are a little heavy but I really enjoyed that freestanding tent towards the end in this pocket I also have my tripod I have switched tripods a couple times this is definitely my smallest and most lightweight tripod but it's also the flimsiest like the legs just don't stick out and it honestly got so frustrating to use that I stopped using it towards the end and would either just hold my phone to Vlog or prop my phone against a rock or a tree or something but this got kind of useless at the end and I probably won't take it back out with me in this pocket I also have my visor which came in handy so much when it started raining every day because it really just propped my rain jacket Hood up and away from my face and yeah I just created a little bubble for my face to stay dry anything else and I did carry a full-size thing of bug spray because the bugs got really bad once I entered New England and I think that's it now coming along the front side of my backpack I have my at hang tag that I carried the whole hike got it at Amicalola I was through hiker number 932 starting out this big pocket in the front has my Old Navy flip-flops these kind of annoyed me in the beginning when I was wearing socks with my flip-flops because my feet kept sliding around but then I realized if I just had bare feet and wore my flip-flops they were fine for walking around camp and walking around town so I liked having these I didn't need a super fancy expensive pair of ultralight sandals the two dollar Old Navy ones work just fine my tent Stakes because I did switch to a freestanding tent I think I only carried four I really only needed three but I carried an extra one so yeah my tent might have been heavy but I only needed three tent Stakes this was very important this was my rain jacket my zpex furtis rain jacket very comfortable very thin definitely didn't keep me dry especially in all the downpours but what I've learned through backpacking and lots of through hiking is that no rain jacket will actually keep you dry I also have expensive heavy duty Gore-Tex rain jackets and I would still carry this one I also have a bug mat I did wear this a couple times and it actually wasn't that bad but I never really liked the idea of putting it on because I thought it would be annoying to hike with but there are a few breaks that I took up in Maine that I just put the head net on while I was chilling on a mountain and it was fine it was helpful but I don't know I kind of always dreaded putting this on so I never really did also I have my rain pants these are also z-packs vertis rain pants um they were fine I would usually just wear them to keep the bugs off my legs when I stopped and got to Camp I hiked with them a couple times and it was a little too cold for shorts but a little too warm for my hiking pants they're so easy to put on and take off even with my shoes so they're super nice they don't weigh much at all there's one rain mint one two rain mitts these were fine I hiked with them a couple times but my favorite times for wearing the rain mitts is when I had to pack up my tent in the morning and it was wet because sometimes it'd be covered in mud a lot of times it'd be covered in snails and sometimes I just didn't want to touch my dirty gross tent first thing in the morning with my clean hands so I put the rain mitts on pack everything up and then just throw them back in my pack something else they're so [Music] gross these are still in there soaking wet they're so muddy they were like stuck together Darn Tough socks foreign so bad and this is a little bag for my head net I guess I don't really need it it just kind of came with it and that's gonna be everything for my pack and what's on the outside of it now I'll open it up real quick if you've been following along with me this year you're probably familiar with element it's the electrolyte drink mix that I've been using all year to stay hydrated I used this a ton on the Appalachian Trail this year and now I'm just using it in my day-to-day life because it's summer it's hot and humid it's sweaty outside and I use it to replace all the electrolytes that I lose when I'm sweating the primary electrolyte you lose when you sweat is sodium and one of these packets has 1 000 milligrams of sodium to help replenish that element is my favorite brand when it comes to electrolyte drink mixes because there's no artificial ingredients there's no coloring there's no sugar that's the big thing there's no gluten so it's just a really clean product if you haven't done this yet you can use the link in the description of this video to get a free sample pack with eight of their flavors for free with any purchase on their website that link is drinkelement.com New Hampshire that deal is actually also valid for returning customers so if you have ordered element in the past and you want to restock you can also go to drinkelement.com New Hampshire and get a free sample pack with any purchase if you've been curious about element and you want to try the flavors Now's the Time go to that link and thank you element for sponsoring this video going in my backpack the thing I always kept right on top is my Food Bag this is the large food bag from Hilltop packs there's no food in it right now but I do have a couple of food related items that I always kept inside of it the first thing is my spoon I decided to try a spoon this year instead of the spork just to kind of test it out there are pros and cons this spoon is kind of made of silicone so I thought it was really good for scraping every last bite out of my pot when I do did cook right in it and I did cook oatmeal in my pot a lot and ramen sometimes mashed potatoes and this is just nice and smooth and it wasn't like metal on metal trying to get everything out of my pot and I was able to clean it pretty well with just the spoon and then I also I can't find it right now I don't know where it went but I had that blue kitchen rag that after I had got everything out of my pot with this spoon I just kind of gave it a quick wipe and then it was clean enough also in here I kept my stove which is the jetboil stash this is the rock sack from zpax to hang my food with this is the Paracord or the line whatever it's called that I also had to hang my food in the trees and then a mini Bic lighter next I have another bag from Hilltop packs this is a small one custom printed with New Hampshire on it this was all of my toy villageries first aid and electronics so this pretty much stayed exactly the same my whole hike I have the 20 000 milliamp battery pack this always seemed to be enough battery for me I use my phone a lot I charge it a lot and it did get low a few times but I always just went into town when I got low and that was never a problem this toiletry bag kind of looks gross it's pretty old in it I have the baby powder toothbrush toothpaste this is just a bag of Q-tips I probably stole that from like a hostel or somewhere to be honest um a razor a Swiss Army knife my hair brush this was the prescription eye cream from when I had an eye infection this was uh flossers and an extra contacts matches and an extra lighter this was some like Tylenol Etc and just some like pain relieving pills and Camp soak that was I think the right amount of toiletries slash first aid for me nothing crazy this bag is all of my charging cords I did have a lot of them I think there's five charging cords in total for all my electronics and then the wall brick thing to plug the charger into now we have my stove which is the jetboil stash and then attached to the top is the fuel canister I always just took the really little ones and then also this is the Blue Rag that I was trying to find this is what I would just clean my pot with after I ate everything and worked great now I have a couple luxury items I guess I carried a loofah the entire time this was so good in towns to just scrub all the dirt off of me just loaded up with soap and I just felt super clean so it was worth carrying the loofah just for how clean I felt after I would take a shower I also started carrying an entire roll of leukotape to cover all of my blisters I also was able to patch some holes in my quilts and it was just really useful to have this is actually a whole entire backpack that I carried I carried this towards the end to use for slack packing and it really did come in handy a few times not sure if I would ever carry this for the whole entire through hike but I did know I was gonna do a bit of sock packing in New Hampshire and I was hoping I'd be able to slack pack in Maine so it only weighs like two ounces so I thought it would be fun to carry it why not this is my tent the one person Nemo tent it's like the dragonfly I believe really really liked it um it is a lot heavier than the zpax Plex solo which I started the hike with but I think I've done a whole video on why I went from that tent to this tent and all the pros and cons but absolutely no regrets buying this on a whim One Night in my tent on the through hike it was perfect I am gonna do this really quick because I'm really embarrassed my sleeping pad is the Therm-a-Rest Neo air X light the new version like the NXT the one that's supposed to I think weigh a little less or be quieter or warmer or something but it got incredibly moldy and I haven't cleaned it or have done anything to make it better and I should have taken better care of that but I didn't I honestly think that it was a lot better than the normal Neo air X light it was definitely quieter and I really enjoyed sleeping on it because I do toss and turn a lot and it didn't make that much noise I did hear that Nemo is coming out with new sleeping pads very soon I am really hoping they come out before I go back on the trail in September because I will most definitely want to buy that and test it out so not sure if I'm gonna replace that sleeping bag with another Therm-a-Rest or wait until the Nemo ones come out we'll see but I don't know if that mold is coming out of that sleeping pad to be honest the last thing in here is my compression sack I've really enjoyed having this compression sack it wasn't waterproof like a lot of pack liners or compactor bags that people use to put their stuff in that they want to keep dry but this worked for me I never had any problems with my gear getting wet when it rained and it rained a lot so I am happy with it in this compression sack I have my puffy jacket the Enlightened Equipment Torrid this is also something that I'm replacing um I'm getting something new for when I go back out on the trail in September so stay tuned for that this has been the only puffy jacket that I've ever used my whole backpacking life so I'm excited to try something new this is also my town outfit it's technically like my sleep outfit but a lot of times I would just sleep in my hiking clothes I didn't really ever change unless I was really gross or really wet so little chicken leg shorts Mountain Hardwear super lightweight long sleeve it's so lightweight and thin that it's almost see-through so I always wore my jacket on top of that or I'd wear my buff kind of as a shirt under it so a little outfit my pillow is the Nemo filo Elite pretty early on in the hike someone recommended that I put my pillow in between my knees for a better night's sleep and that absolutely changed the game so this pillow was always in between my knees and I'd use this with extra clothes and gear for my pillow under my head and I really liked that system next I have some micro grid fleece gloves that I carried the whole time down booties that I honestly didn't really wear as much as I did the first through hike but I kept them anyways just in case my feet got cold I carried hiking pants although I didn't wear them very often I was always kind of afraid to get rid of them especially as I got further north and I was hiking mountains above tree line I just didn't know how cold or windy the conditions were gonna get so I always kept these as a piece of mine that I wouldn't get cold up there in the big New England mountains they were also really great for towns because there's tons of pockets to put my wallet and stuff in if I was walking around town they are heavy but I guess it's a little bit of a luxury item I definitely don't think I needed them but it was a good piece of mind to not get cold and this is probably the last thing it is my sleeping bag slash quilts this is the 20 degree zip around sleeping bag from Z packs I thought it was the perfect temperature rating the 20 degrees in the beginning of the hike I did have a winter sleeping pad so I think that helped with keeping me warm and then when spring came and it got a little warmer I did switch to the normal X light sleeping pad but I thought this was great it was really comfortable it was really lightweight the only thing I wasn't super thrilled about was that every morning when I woke up in the sleeping bag there'd be feathers I don't want to say a lot of feathers but there would be feathers spread around my tent so it was losing some down daily on the hike I don't think it made a big difference but it was a little bit of a bummer the zipper also snagged on itself at one point and created a pretty big hole but this leukotape has been on the whole for a while and it's held up well I do think it's a really good sleeping bag and I don't think I'm gonna replace it I think when I go back out on the trail this fall I'll probably still carry this bag so that was all the gear that I carried on my back in my backpack but there's also some gear that I didn't want to miss out on in this video including the outfit that I wore while I was hiking most of the time I have this green Survivor buff that I always wore as a headband kept my hair out of my face kept the sweat off my face and just really versatile also this was super important to me this is in Gingy toe liner socks so I wore these under my darn tough socks and it was just a great combination this is what I always hike in and for me it really helps with blisters I have my Old Navy running shorts with the built-in liner worked out really well they held up perfectly for a pair of five dollar shorts one second he's probably going to say something about the smell it smells like dirty hiking here this is my son hoodie The Outdoor Research Astro man I absolutely loved hiking in it it was so comfortable it protected me from the Sun it wasn't too hot that's always been my fear with long sleeve hiking shirts I always thought they'd be too hot but this was just so comfortable and then it would also kind of keep the bugs off of my ears my head my arms and I just felt really protected and good wearing it the only thing is it did not hold up well when it came to like the coloring and the pilling so I am replacing this but I'm getting the same brand same model everything for when I go back out and then just a super basic simple Old Navy sports bra so the last day of my hike when I got into Rangeley and my trail Runners were completely destroyed so I threw them away in Rangeley and these would have been the ones I switched to they're the Saucony Peregrine 13s I've been wearing the same exact Trail Runners since the beginning of my 2021 through hike I went to a gear shop talk to someone that worked there try on a bunch of hairs and I think that's the best way to pick a trail Runner it's so different for everyone I never want someone to pick out a pair of shoes just because I wear them I really want you to go out and try them all so yeah shoes are personal this is what I wear they might work for you but they also might not and that same thing kind of applies for all hiking gear as well lastly I want to go in everything that was in my fanny pack this is a fanny pack from Hyperlite Mountain gear and I really enjoyed it I went with a backpack that doesn't have hip belt Pockets instead I wanted everything just in my fanny pack because it was so much easier for me there is a pocket on this side of the fanny pack and that's where I kept my toilet paper so it was always so easily accessible there's only like two squares of toilet paper left I also have some single wet wipes and individual packets so I use those occasionally but we're just curious toilet paper and the main compartment of the fanny pack that's where I kept my snacks that I was eating throughout the day it's also where I kept my wallet which is the Chums wallet and it's still what I use in my day-to-day life and then in this zippered pocket on the front a couple little things that I might need some hand sanitizer my sunscreen my lip balm this is just an extra um valve for my water bottle that I guess I carried in case my one I was using got mold because that happens and then also my petzl Bindi headlamp so again that's everything that I ended at the Appalachian Trail with this year all the links for all of this gear will be in the description of this video as well as that link for your free sample pack from element with any purchase so you can find a lot of information in that description I will be switching up some gear for when I head back out on the trail this fall so I will make an updated gear list video and I also have a couple more Appalachian Trail videos in the works so subscribe so you don't miss those and I will see you in the next video bye uh I'm filming oh that sucks [Music] need to shut up oh I only have a couple things left oh my God yeah can you please be quiet I only have a couple things left okay so this is the sun hoodie why are you staring at me this is my sun hoodie The Outdoor Research Astro man for the tenth time this is my son hoodie

Channel: Taylor the Nahamsha Hiker

Views: 31,394

Keywords: Appalachian trail, Nahamsha hiker, New hampshire hiker, Nahampsha, Taylor appalachian trail, Appalachian trail 2023

Id: HiuM33eDH2s

Length: 26min 28sec (1588 seconds)

Published: Wed Jul 26 2023