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My Hiking/ Backpacking Gear Loadout 2024

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Lifestyle

2024 Winter Backpacking / Hiking Gear Loadout (Australia) — Summary

Backpack (overnight / multi-day)

  • Whipper over 60 (Australian brand; hand-made in the Blue Mountains)
  • Ultralight ~940 g with Dyneema construction
  • Key features:
    • Large front pocket with a lid (more weather-protected than mesh)
    • Load lifters to keep weight close to the body
    • Comfort-focused strap/contour design around the neck/back

Sleep system (winter warmth)

  • NEMO (N Gear) Warar quilt
    • Rated to -8°C
    • ~890 g, about 655 g down fill
  • Cedar Summit Etherlite XT insulated mat (large)
  • Two pillows instead of one:
    • Sea-to-Summit AOS ultralight pillow + a premium pillow
  • Speaker note: having two pillows makes a “world of difference” in comfort/sleep.

Tent

  • Durston X-Mid 1 (polyester version)
  • Chosen because the inner bug net and outer fly are separate, so during morning pack-up in rain the bug net can stay drier.
  • No trekking poles:
    • Uses Durston collapsable bows instead
  • Peg issue:
    • Stock pegs bend too easily
    • Swapped for four aluminum V-shaped pegs (more durable)

Cooking & water setup

Cooking gear

  • Alon titanium fry pan
  • Plastic chopping board

Water vessels / filtration

  • Carry:
    • 1L NEMO bottle
    • 600 ml titanium nesting cup (speaker prefers 750 ml, but this works)
  • Testing two filtration approaches:
    • LIFEStraw Peak Series collapsible squeeze 1L bottle (filter integrated in lid)
    • LIFEStraw Peak Series solar filter + 2L water bladder (K+N)
  • Also carries a syringe to backflush the filters

Cooking / fire pouch

  • Stove: Optimus Croc
  • Cutting/utility: Cedar Summit folding knife (benchmade bugout mentioned) ~50 g
  • Fire-start options:
    • Small Big Lighter (Survival Supplies Australia) with Gorilla tape wrapped around
      • Works as a fire starter even if wet
    • Stormproof matches in a container
  • Repair and carry items:
    • 10 m hank of 2 mm Dyneema cord
    • Pan grippers (for the fry pan handle)
    • Microfiber tower/towel (for wiping dishes)
    • Scour pads (cleaning pots/pans)
    • Gorilla tape roll
    • Needle & thread vial
    • Cedar Summit repair kit (including mattress repair)

First-aid (customized for Australia / snake risk)

The speaker emphasizes not going “too minimal” due to remote/off-track hiking and snakes.

Includes:

  • Emergency space blanket
  • Nonstick wound pads
  • Gauze swabs
  • Band-Aids + steri-strips
  • Iodine swabs
  • Cotton wool
  • Leukotape / tape (mentioned as “lucco tape”)
  • Dettol / tea-tree-like antiseptic (“teetroit oil” described as natural antiseptic for bites/cuts/stings)
  • Beeswax lip balm
  • Toothpaste + toothbrush (fit inside kit; not cut down)
  • First-aid scissors
  • Meds: paracetamol, ibuprofen, Volaron (in a small tin)
  • Mirror (for hard-to-reach areas)
  • Snake bandage (called “an absolute must”)
  • Compression bandage
  • “Dunny roll”

Versatile textiles & “always carry” items

  • Shemagh (always carried)
    • Use cases:
      • Head scarf
      • Towel
      • First aid sling
      • Water filtering cloth
      • Laying around the fire / putting food on to keep sand/dirt out
  • Bandana (Pendleton)
    • Used while hiking to wipe sweat and keep it out of eyes

Clothing & rain gear

  • Warm layer:
    • Patagonia High Loft down jacket (long-time favorite)
    • For very cold/snow: Salii fleece jacket as extra warmth
  • Pants:
    • Fjällräven zip-off trousers (can zip into shorts)
  • Tops:
    • Wet conditions: OD / Over Marino wool t-shirt (stays warm when wet)
    • Dry conditions: “Industry” athletic tee (50% cotton / 50% polyester) for relaxed fit
    • Sleepwear: Icebreaker merino long sleeve
    • Leggings: Icebreaker merino leggings
  • Rain:
    • Alton anorak rain jacket (speaker undecided vs regular zip jacket)
    • Rain pants: Mac Pack Naomi rain pants
    • Polyester beanie: Industry
    • Stretch gloves: Mac Pack
  • Footwear & socks:
    • Shoes: Hoka / Hoka An aappa Breeze
      • Speaker unsure; thick sole catches on rocks and may increase ankle-roll risk
      • Good tread
    • Socks: “Drying / Bing…” socks with inner liner socks to help prevent blisters
  • Sun/rain hat (Australian icon):
    • KÜBORA The Cooler Bar (band replaced by speaker)

Electronics / camera & navigation (for YouTube filming)

  • Stored in an ultralight Whipper pouch
  • Power / lighting / audio:
    • 10,000 mAh power bank (Signet)
    • Ledlenser MH8 head torch
    • Camera night light: Aperture light
    • Neo cold shoe mount for external light + microphone
    • Charging cables + headphones
  • Main camera setup:
    • Canon EOS R6 Mark I + 24–105mm f/4 R-series lens
    • Rode VideoMic mounted on top
    • 4 spare batteries + in-camera battery
    • Nitecore battery charger
    • Peak Design carbon fiber travel tripod
    • Peak Design capture clip to attach camera to backpack strap while hiking
  • Action / extra filming:
    • GoPro 11 on a bite mount
    • Foam wind sock to reduce GoPro wind noise
    • Chest mount + extra GoPro batteries
  • Drone content:
    • Mentions GoPro chest mount mainly for fishing-related drone filming
  • Satellite comms & GPS:
    • DJI A2S with 3 extra batteries
    • Garmin GPSmap 66i used as:
      • SOS device
      • Satellite communicator (messages partner back home)
      • Navigation device

Base weight notes (how heavy it gets)

  • ~8 kg for hiking gear alone (camera gear excluded)
  • Adding camera gear pushes toward:
    • ~11 kg (camera/tripod/extra batteries/GoPro)
    • ~13–13.5 kg when adding the drone too
  • If weather is good, speaker considers:
    • Leaving wet weather gear at home
    • Possibly swapping sling bag for a lighter one
    • Targeting ~7 kg total

Notable Locations, Products, and Speaker Callouts

Locations / production

  • Blue Mountains, Australia (Whipper backpack hand-made)

Brands / products mentioned

  • Whipper
  • NEMO (N Gear) Warar quilt
  • Cedar Summit Etherlite XT
  • Sea-to-Summit AOS pillows
  • Durston X-Mid 1
  • LIFEStraw Peak Series
  • KN/2L bladder
  • Optimus Croc stove
  • Alon titanium fry pan
  • Patagonia High Loft
  • Icebreaker merino
  • Fjällräven zip-off trousers
  • Mac Pack rain pants/gloves; Industry beanie/socks/tees (as mentioned)
  • KÜBORA “The Cooler Bar” hat
  • Canon EOS R6 Mark I, Rode VideoMic, Peak Design tripod/capture clip
  • GoPro 11, Garmin GPSmap 66i, DJI A2S

Speaker

  • No specific name provided in the subtitles (appears to be the channel creator).

Original video