In a pinch, bear canisters can be used as a container to weigh items that don’t fit on your scale.
In a pinch, bear canisters can be used as a container to weigh items that don’t fit on your scale.

Greenhorn Gear: A Newbie’s Thru-Hiking Gear List

I’m new to hiking but I know that you need gear to hike the Appalachian Trail. So I had to figure out what is and isn’t worth the weight for me.  It is my hope that sharing this information will be a helpful starting point for other aspiring or committed thru-hikers. I also want to commemorate my first gear list to see how drastically this all changes after ~2,200 miles!

(If you just want the gear list, head to the Gear List tab on my author profile.)

HOW I RESEARCHED GEAR

If you read my first post, you know that my NOBO AT hike in 2023 will be my first real foray into backpacking and camping. Subsequently, my knowledge of gear relies primarily on reviews from The Trek, YouTube videos and shakedown hikes. The Trek’s Best of 2022 article series was the starting point for most of my gear.

Reflecting on my choices, I know that I highly value the opinions of recent thru-hikers when compared to other sources. I cross-referenced the Best of 2022 articles with The Trek’s 2021 Hiker Survey. Seeing the same gear repeatedly across different posts and videos also played a heavy hand in what gear I tested first. (I’m talking about everyone and their extended family seeming to have a Sawyer Squeeze peeking out of their bag.)

David Firari gives a detailed report on his gear list, find it all here.

미디어 언급

Streams, waterfalls, and rivers can quench your thirst in the wild, but they may carry dirt and impurities.

Dinal Jain
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미디어 언급

The baby wrap method has been tested in only this one trial, but it cut malaria cases by a greater margin that the vaccines have in some studies.

Stephanie Nolen
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In future, I’ll use gravity when I can, and squeeze when I have to.

Richard, aka "LowRange
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