My Favorite Backpacking Gear of 2019 (Top 10)

hey guys it's Starla here with my top ten favorite pieces of backpacking gear from 2019 yep I'm still inside because it really hasn't improved since last week along with the snow and the wind and it being crazy cold it started raining so it's just a nasty wintry mix and I really don't feel like getting out on the trail with my nice camera to sit in the rain so hopefully next week this stuff will clear up I can get back out in my natural habitat because throwing inside is not a really my forte all right I realized we still have three weeks left of 2019 but I don't plan on getting any new gear in those three weeks so today I've compiled a list of my top ten favorite pieces of gear from this year now some of this gear is new some of the gear I've had for quite some time but all of it has been great for me this year for my thru-hike of the Arizona Trail my Scotland T geo challenge my mini thru-hike of the Timberland trail a bunch of different bike packing trips and some section hikes back out on the Arizona Trail all of this gear has held tried and true which is why it makes my list for 2019 now every year that I do one of these videos there's always a shoe on my list and this year is no exception number 10 is the ultra temp 1.5 now I started out the year in the Olympus coming off of the PCT and using it on the Arizona Trail but this was a shoe that I always wanted to try so I picked it up before going over to Scotland and I fell in love with it it has a really nice cushion and ride to it that big ol awesome toe box and for the most part the shoe holds up pretty great so going forward this has become my favorite hiking shoe which is why it makes my list for 2019 number 9 is a piece of gear that I actually picked up last year and then kind of put to the side and recently started using again which is the katadyn be free filter so if you guys have been watching my channel for the last couple years you know that typically I'm a big Sawyer fan I've tried the Sawyer squeeze which is typically my go to the Sawyer mini which I don't really talk much about and last year what made my list was the Sawyer micro well after getting it out on the Arizona Trail it bailed on me esra bleah and come to think of it every single Sawyer model I've ever used has eventually failed in one way or another well this guy hasn't I picked it up last year and hiked the last 500 miles of the PCT with it I started using it again this year in Scotland and I've been using it ever since and has yet to fail once on the trail so because it's super lightweight it hasn't failed me one time it's really easy to clean in the backcountry and it has the best flow rate of any filter I've ever used the katadyn be free makes my list this year number eight is a piece of gear that I picked up back at PCT days in August and I've been using it religiously on the trail ever since and that is the ology cork massage ball so for the past two years I've really been trying to step up my recovery game when it comes to the trail I've suffered from a few injuries over my last couple hikes and it's something that I'm trying to get under control well with the help of this little guy I can easily throw it inside of my pack and at the end of a long day of hiking I can get it out I can roll my leg out I can roll my shoulder out I can roll my feet out and help speed up recovery it's made from a hundred percent up cycled Cork it's super small it only weighs point seven ounces and I mean again it's small I can easily throw it in my pack and when I get to camp there's no excuse not to grab it not to do a little recovery to make sure that I'm gonna make it to the end of my hike so because this thing has definitely helped step up my recovery game it makes my list for 2019 number seven is a piece of gear that's pretty new to me but it helps solve a problem that I've had for the past two years and that's looking for the perfect tent stake and that would be the Easton Nano aluminum stake so over the past two years I have tried just about every stake on the market from the old standard titanium Sheppard hook stake that constantly bent on me and wouldn't hold in sandy ground to the the Z packs sonic steak which is basically a groundhog I kept bending these as you can see I kept snapping the heads off of them to the titanium V steak which I have bent the crap out of these as well and the steak that I started using a lot this year which is a carbon core steak that Z packs makes which I broke a ton of these I either snapped them or drove the little head up into the shaft I have beat the crap out of steaks in the past two years and this guy to my surprise has kind of fixed all of the problems that I've had with those other steaks so about two months ago I bought a new tent from tarp tent and they just sent these along for free with the tent I kind of threw him to the side didn't think much of them and one day I took him out on and overnight and was pleasantly surprised by a how good they held in the ground be that I cannot bend or break these things and see see it only weighs point 2 ounces which is the exact same as the carbon core steak and the titanium Sheppard hook steak so because I'm pretty sure that I found my perfect steak and it's fixed a problem that I've had for two years this makes my list for this year number six is a piece of gear that I picked up about halfway into my Arizona Trail thru-hike and that is the way mark zip fanny pack so I have tried multiple different fanny packs over the years and I was never really a big fan they were all kind of boxy they would bounce up and down when I was hiking and you know didn't treat my groin area too well so I wasn't a big fan well when I was on the Arizona Trail I was needing a little bit of extra storage for an extra lens and my camera so because I liked their packs so much I decided to pick up one of waymarks fanny packs and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I actually liked this I think why I like this over some of the other ones is because if you look at it it has an ergonomic design of v-cut so it tends to ride a little bit smoother on your waist this one doesn't bounce up and down a lot it's nice because it has this power in the back to put my phone in plenty of room to put an extra lens and a certain camera if I want to use it and just about anything else I need to quickly grab while I'm hiking throughout the day so ever since I picked it up I have used it on every hike that I've done is a fanny pack and when I'm not hiking I actually take it off and use it as well let's be fair a purse I sling it over my shoulder and use it when I'm in town so because this thing has changed the way I feel about fanny packs it makes my list of favorite gear for 2019 number five is a piece of gear that I've actually had since 2017 and for some reason I've never done a gear review on it and that's the Z packs virtus rain jacket now I've had a ton of different rain jackets over the years and this guy is by far my favorite why is it my favorite well number one it is super lightweight the second reason it's my favorite is because it takes a really long time to wet out and it's super breathable so some of the rain jackets I've had in the past kind of feel like you're wearing a trash bag about halfway through your day of hiking not this one it breathes really well it has zipped pit vents which is awesome because if I'm hiking and it's warm and it's still raining I can get a little bit more ventilation and the number one reason this has become my favorite jacket and why it makes my list this year is because of its fit one issue that I've always had with jackets is I'm a taller guy and I need a longer cut well z packs decided to make this a longer cut in the back so when I'm wearing it it doesn't ride up on me and my backside doesn't get wet when it's raining this thing has been awesome for the past two years that I've used it and it was especially awesome when I was over in Scotland for my tee geo challenge because of all that because it's my favourite rain jacket and because for some reason I've never done a gear review of it it makes my list of favorite gear for this year number four is a piece of gear that I've been getting a ton of questions about over the last couple months because people have seen it in my videos or seen it in some of my photos and that is the PD capture clip so this thing is the little thing you always see on my shoulder strap that my camera is mounted to basically what it is it's like a gun holster for your camera so when you're hiking down the trail your camera is strapped right up to your shoulder strap when you're ready to take your shot you can grab the camera take the shot slap it back on and you're good to go so I was searching for something to put my bigger camera that I recently upgraded to on the trail and my fanny pack wasn't big enough for it I didn't want to put it in my pack because I didn't wanna have to stop every time I want to take a shot and get out of my pack so this thing really filled that need that I was looking for so because of all that the PD capture clip makes my list this year number three is a piece of gear that I picked up a few months ago and I've basically been living in it ever since and that's the Appalachian gear company alpaca hoodie so if you've been watching my videos over the past couple months you've probably seen this thing a bunch and that's because I've been living in it for basically the last three months on trail and off trail it is super comfortable it keeps me warm on those chilly mornings on the trail it's antimicrobial so if I stink for a long time which usually I do it kind of helps cover that up a little bit it's naturally wicking which means if it gets wet it dries out quick and just like the jacket it has a longer cut so for me it is so comfortable and feels so good when I'm wearing it on the trail I've been searching quite some time for a good hoodie that wasn't too short didn't ride up on me had a great fit was antimicrobial and dried quickly I found this guy out of PCT days I've been in love with it ever since so again it makes my list for 2019 number two is the Z pax hexa med pocket tarp with doors for quite some time I had been wanting a new tarp something that I could take out that was super lightweight that was super minimal that I could use when it wasn't really buggy when it wasn't really harsh weather and finally Z pax re-released an old classic that they've had for quite some time I picked it up before go out to do the Timberline trail I've used it on a bunch of bike packing trips and a couple small section hikes back out on the Arizona Trail and it is awesome it has that bathtub it has two doors so I get a little bit of privacy it uses one pole to set it up it's crazy lightweight and because I finally found my perfect minimalist shelter for those really lightweight hikes that I want to do this guy makes my list for this year okay so we've made it to my number one favorite piece of backpacking gear of 2019 and I think this one is gonna surprise a lot of people and that is the Snow Peak 700 titanium mug nope it's not a new piece of gear it's not something that I picked up in the last couple years the last few years I've had this mug for about six years and I've used it ever since my hike of the 80 in 2015 now for the past couple years I started cold soaking and I didn't really use this much but when I went over to Scotland back in May I decided I wanted to switch things up and cook so I reached for my trusty old Snow Peak 700 and it made me fall back in love with cooking on the trail and I think why this is one of my favourite pieces of gear why still have it to this day is because every time that I use it it brings back tons of memories from every cup of coffee that I've drank every meal that I've eaten on all the trails that I've done from the 82 sections of the CDT to being out on the Arizona Trail now Scotland this thing brings back a lot of memories and it's just it's great so because it made me love cooking on the trail again because it constantly brings back all those memories from all of the miles that I've used it on the trail the Snow Peak 700 titanium mug is my favorite piece of backpacking gear from 2019 alright guys so that concludes my list of favorite gear of 2019 now remember just because it's my favourite gear does not mean it's gonna be your favourite gear and it doesn't make it the best gear it's all subjective you should use what gear works best for you what's tried-and-true and never let you down every time you take it out on the trail now speaking of favorite gear what some of your favorite gear from 2019 what's something that worked out great on a weekend backpacking trip or a section hike or even a thru-hike leave me something down below and let me know your thoughts if you found any value in this video go ahead and hit that like button subscribe to my channel if you haven't already and as always guys thanks for watching [Music]

Channel: Darwin onthetrail

Views: 347,870

Keywords: UL Hiking, UL Backpacking, UL Hiking Gear, PCT, Pacific Crest Trail, AZT, Arizona Trail, AT, Appalachian Trail, Thru Hike Gear List, Zpacks Hexamid, Waymark Gear Co., Favorite Backpacking Gear, Backpacking, Hiking, Adventure, LOng Distance Hiking, Hiker Trash

Id: r0LoMLRpWg4

Length: 14min 14sec (854 seconds)

Published: Thu Dec 05 2019