Gear I Would CHANGE on the PCT

Description

** Stuff/Gear I Mention in this Video **

BV450 & BV500 Bear Can - https://amzn.to/2REisNZ

Bearikade Bear Can - https://www.wild-ideas.net/the-weekender/

Ti Shepherd Hook Stakes - https://amzn.to/2JPoiJO

Ti V-Stakes - https://amzn.to/2RMESNd

Carbon Core Stakes - https://amzn.to/2yUBI2M

Groundhog Stakes - https://amzn.to/2JKywuE

Wigwam Sock Liners - https://amzn.to/2pofnWa

Sun Umbrella - https://amzn.to/2OxgpcD

Zpacks Arc Blast - http://zpacks.com/backpacks/arc_blast.shtml

Zpacks Nero - http://zpacks.com/backpacks/nero.shtml

Waymark Thru 40 Pack - https://www.waymarkgearco.com/thru-series-packs/

Pre PCT Thru-Hike Gear List - https://youtu.be/aaQqPbu1Fa0

Post PCT Thru-Hike Gear List - https://youtu.be/zfqxFjJ8Eb8

Pinhoti Trail Thru-Hike Gear List - https://youtu.be/EsCCh6nGwlM

AT Gear List - https://darwinonthetrail.com/2016/05/03/darwins-2016-at-gear-list/

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Tags: UL Hiking Gear,UL Backpacking,PCT,Pacific Crest Trail,PCT Thru Hike,PCT Gear List,UL Gear List,BV450,BV500,Zpacks,Zpacks Nero,Zpacks Arc Blast,Waymark Thru 40,Post Thru Hike,Hiker Trash,Backpacking,Hiking,Adventure,Long Distance Hiking,UL Backpacking Gear

Video Transcription

if I will read through hiking the PCT what gear would I change well if you fall along with my through hike the PCT this year you know that the gear that I started with is not exactly all of the gear that I finished with and towards the last 500 miles I did pick up some new gear just to try out on the trail now whether it was what I started with or what I finished with overall I was pretty damn happy with what I carried from Mexico to Canada but one of my favorite things about hiking and backpacking is when I get back from a trip I like to analyze look at my trip look at my gear and figure out I was gonna go out and rehydrate again what gear would I do differently so today I figured we would talk about some of the gear that if I was going to go back out and rethrick the PCT but I would definitely change from the get-go the first piece of gear that I want to talk about today is one that I actually get quite a handful of questions about and that is my vert canister now the bear canister that I used for my hike is the bv 450 which is a 7 point 2 litre bear storage container

now obviously the 450 worked just fine and I finished the trail and it didn't hinder my hike in any way however if I was gonna be going back out and re hiking the PCT I think that I would upgrade to its big brother the BV 500 now the BV 500 is eleven point five liters so quite a bit more room and it only weighs eight ounces more than this guy overall eight ounces is not that much to be able to have more room to jam more food in it now granted I did not use this for my entire hike and I really only used it for about a week and a half or two weeks in the Sierra but the times that I was resupplying and I was in a grocery store I had to think very strategically about what type of food I was going to get because of what I could actually fit in here now typically I made at work but there were times that I wish that I could have

more food because when I was in the Sierra I was burning more calories by going up to higher elevations by postholing in snow and you know sometimes you just want to pig out and eat a bunch of more calories on the trail and I was kind of limited with the bv 450 so aside from the 500 there are other canisters out there like the barricade which is some carbon-fiber ultralight bear can but for being just a bear can and the price they're asking for it it's a little bit overkill for me but I guess if you were gonna hike the PCT and then go out and do a bunch of sections where you needed a bear canister it might be worth the investment but for me if I was gonna read through heck the PCT I would definitely upgrade this guy to the bv 500 the next piece of gear that I would definitely change from the start of the trail were these steaks that I carried now the steak that I typically carry on every trip and the PCT was no exception is a Sheppard hook titanium steak I like them because they're lightweight they're fairly cheap for what they are and typically they have really good hold power but out on the PCT especially in the first 700 miles you're dealing with a lot of sandy loose soil so these don't exactly hold that great a lot of times I was having to stack rocks on top of them just to keep my you know my my guidelines from pulling out because of the tension because of wind and they worked and you know stacking rocks is not that big of a deal however if I was gonna go back out there I think I would upgrade my Shepherd hooks to something like a titanium V stake or a carbon core steak or a groundhog steak something with a little bit more bite and a little bit more hold power so I didn't have to worry about stacking rocks and unstack and rocks the next morning it would just be worth it for me to upgrade these and going forward if I know that I'm gonna be through hiking or just section hiking or even backpacking in any type of environment that has that sandy loose dirt I'll definitely be swapping these out for something with a little bit more meat the next piece of gear that I would swap out from the get-go is well it's not really a piece of gear it's more of apparel and that is a pair of sock liners now I know in the past and videos I have said I would never ever thru-hike without sock liners I'll never go back and never go hiking without these guys but to be fair in the past year I've actually done quite a bit of hiking without sock liners just to try something different and in the first 700 miles of the PCT I didn't have these guys I ended up picking them up in Bishop California because like I should have known it was gonna happen I did get a lot of boosters and hotspots in the first 700 miles of the trail now sock liners are not for everybody but for me they've always worked they've always helped my feet keep free of blisters and keep free of those hot spots that just well become annoying and awful so if I was gonna be read-through hiking the PCT I would definitely start from Mexico with sock liners and take them all the way to Canada next up is a piece of gear that well I don't even have here because I ended up already getting rid of it and that is my son umbrella in past videos I have said that I love some umbrellas when I'm in the desert because I can create my own shade especially when there is none but the first 700 miles the PCT really wasn't that bad I actually ended up finding quite a bit of shade and the Sun umbrella just became a thing that I carried a lot and didn't really use having a long-sleeve Sun shirt and Sun glows and tucking the buff up into my hat and wearing sunscreen was more than enough to keep the Sun off of my skin and the times that I did use my Sun umbrella I actually snapped it I got a big gust of wind when I was coming in to Julian California and it snapped my stay on the inside of my umbrella now ended up fixing that with a piece of duct tape and then I just carried it for about 600 miles without really using it again so if I was gonna go out and read - start with the Sun umbrella because to me it just ended up being a worthless piece of gear and then the last piece of gear that I would definitely swap out from the beginning of the trail is my pack now the pack that I started the trail and a pack that I love is the Z packs arc blast 55 litre I've used it on a ton of different hikes and there's nothing wrong with the pack however 55 litres ended up just being overkill for me with the kit that I have I just don't need that much room and the only reason I decided to start the trail with my arc blast was because I knew that I would need the extra room in the extra storage for when I got into the CRF for my bear canister for my ice axe my crampons and my winter gear but if I was going to be read-through hiking the PCT I think I would start the trail with a smaller pack like my Z packs Nero which is a 38 litre or the pack that I ended up swapping to for the last 500 miles which is the way Mark through 40 because these packs were more than enough for the PCT so if I was gonna hike again I would start with the smaller leader pack I would pick up my arc blast in the Sierra with all of my winter gear and when I got to probably South Lake Tahoe I would send that pack and all my winter gear home and pick up my small pack again to finish out in the trail aside from those five pieces of gear I don't think there's anything else I would change again I was pretty happy with what I carried you know the great thing about backpacking and hiking though is it's constantly a learning experience and we're constantly figuring out what we can use what's gonna make our hike more efficient what's gonna bring our base weight down a little bit it's always a learning experience and if I was gonna go react the trail those are really the only things that I would swap out so what is some gear that you recently took out on a trip and now you would totally change it leave me something in the comment box below and let me know your thoughts if you haven't had a chance yet go over and check me out on Instagram I've been posting a ton of new photos lately of some of the things that snows and I have going on throughout the week plus some pictures from my PCT through hike 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 you