John Muir Trail Gear Guide Video: The Gear
Hey guys! We spent so much time doing research on our gear for the JMT, so we figured it would be helpful if we put together a video detailing our gear list, why we brought it, and our thoughts on it post trail! This is part one of a four part series covering gear, clothes, food, and accessories! Here the Part 1 video:
The video is long but there is so much detail to each piece, but below is the cliff notes! Each piece of gear is linked (the title of each item is the link) as well as has quick bullet points covering features and our thoughts on each the pieces of gear mentioned in this video:
Hyperlite 2400 Windrider, in 35mm film
Massive exterior storage
hydration bladder pocket
accessory straps for storing clothing on the outside
comfortable from day one
1.87 lbs
incredibly durable
water proof Dyneema construction
comfortable, adjustable waist-belt with pockets
not overly structured
Owen with his REI fanny pack
MAK with her Patagonia mini fanny pack
Patagonia Lightweight Travel Mini Hip Pack:
Owen’s REI Fanny Pack | MAK’s Mini Fanny Pack
3.5 oz
easy-access storage for my phone, chapstick, multitool, and a snack
small, never in the way
easily adjustable
comfortable to wear all day
Tech bag is located on the top of our pack
Big Agnes Waterproof Tech Bag:
*provided by the fine folks at Big Agnes*
2.08 oz
waterproof
great additional barrier between water and our dry goods
held our extra clothing, charging cords, Anchor battery bank, camera gear such as my film and batteries
slept with it under my pillow for extra volume
Sissy in her Sierra Designs Nitro Quilt
slot to hold the bag to your face
keeps you comfortable as you move around at night
pockets for your hands
great for those who move in their sleep or like to sleep with your knees bent
packs down to a small
1 lb 9 oz
Favorite “sleeping bag” we’ve ever had
warm 20 degree rating
part blanket part sleeping bag
made of 800 Fill Power Fluro-carbon free DriDown & ripstop nylon
the top is completely open like a blanket
Big Agnes Compression Sack Small/Medium:
*provided by the fine folks at Big Agnes*
1.5oz
compresses the backcountry quilts down smaller than the ones the come with
easy to use
freed up tons of space in our packs
Therm-a-rest Z Lite Sol at camp, 35 mm film
Therm-a-Rest Z Lite Sol:
14 oz at full size
customizable length
warm and quiet to sleep on
no way to get punctured
doubles as a seat or a yoga mat in the backcountry
no set up or inflation required
Big Agnes AXL Air Pillow:
*provided by the fine folks at Big Agnes*
1.6oz
packs to be the size of a granola bar
easy to inflate and deflate
comfortable and soft on the skin
perfect when paired with a little something extra to prop my head up a little higher
Our little homes (Big Agnes Fly Creek Tents) at Thousand Island Lake
Big Agnes Fly Creek HV UL2:
*Owen & I used the UL2 | Sissy used the UL1*
2lbs 5 ozs
held up after years of use
packs small
takes us 1 min 44 seconds to set up
breathable without the rainfly
rainfly for dew or bad weather
, and takes just a few moments to set up! We prefer to sleep with the rainfly off because the mesh top keeps bugs out but lets the beautiful night sky in. In times of bad weather or heavy dews, we sleep with the fly on and always stay nice and dry. The rainfly is also great at giving you an extra layer of insulation if the nights are expected to be cold! Our love for this tent is concreted after now having done a longer trail with it in addition to our many single overnight trips with it!
MAK sitting back during siesta, 35mm film
MSR Wind Pro II & Fuel:
6.6 oz. stove | 8 oz. fuel
wind resistant remote canister stove
simple to use, easy to set up
efficient on fuel consumption
perfect for preparing food/water for three
comes with two different varieties and sizes of windscreens
used just over 8 oz of fuel for coffee and dinner prep every day for 15 days
Evernew Titanium Non-Stick 1.9 liter:
9.8 oz
nonestick
1.9 liters of water capacity
easy to clean
large enough to allow all three of us to eat at the same time
MSR Windpro perfectly fit inside the pot
MSR Hand-Held Igniter:
.5 oz.
Easy & flameless
super tiny
Sea to Summit Alpha Spork:
.5 oz.
long time favorite spork
it moves food to your mouth with great ergonomic design according to Owen
longer handle version might be better served for backpacker meals
MAK enjoying coffee during siesta
GSI Outdoors Backpacker Mug:
3.5 oz
well insulated
cup insert is also a measuring cups
easy to clean
loved this little cup for our siestas
Owen filling our water bottles with the Sawyer Squeeze, 35mm film
Sawyer Squeeze:
*provided by the fine folks at Sawyer Products*
3.2 ounces
crazy fast and easy to fill our water bladders
light weight for the entire system
glad we got two of the full size filters for the volume of water that we were drinking and filtering
the accessory bladders were good to have with us because we needed to pack extra water through a few sections of trail
had one o-ring fail on us but the other filter was more than capable of taking care of us the rest of the trail
Platypus 1L:
1.2 oz empty each
light and easy to store in the outside pockets of our packs
got different designs so one could be dedicated to electrolytes or vitamin Nuun tablets
perfect for fast filling
really happy we decided on these instead of a hydration bladder with a hose
Microspikes in 35mm film
Kahtoola MICROspikes:
1.1 lbs
best in icier conditions of morning and night when crossing snow
easy to put on
made us feel like Spiderman when we had them on
durable
didn’t need them as much as we thought due to slushy mid-day conditions, but perfect when the conditions were right
Zeal Optics Sunglasses:
most designs are really light weight
comfortable when worn all day
great lens colors and really durable
when conditions are snowy like this year, will likely shoot for a darker lens next time
snow blindness and eye fatigue requires eye protection on trail
Dirty Girl Gaiters:
.5 oz
velcro didn’t stick to the shoes well and were worn off in about a day
only wore them one day
pointless when shoes were wet all day every day as it was
MAK heading up a pass with the help of her trekking poles
Black Diamond Alpine Trekking Poles:
1lb
fast and easy to set up
comfortable in the hands
take pressure off of your back when climbing
adding the arms to the hiking process took a load off the rest of the body
perfect for helping stay stable in steep and unpredictable terrain
PETZL TIKKINA Headlamp:
2.9 oz
150 lumens
long time favorite headlamps
simple, low profile
long battery life 220 hours on low
easily adjustable
necessary for early mornings packing up and alpine starts
Sunrise Meadow, 35mm film pano
Alright my friends! That covers the gear we carried. Next week we will be releasing the clothing installment of this series. Have a great week, and if you read all the way to this part, you’re a champion!
<3 MAK
NOTE: Some of the links provided in this blog post are affiliate links. If you end up purchasing some of these pieces of gear we get a very small portion of the sales. Thank you all as always for supporting us and our life on the road, it gives us the opportunity to share so extensively with you all! - MAK & Owen
