I'm relatively new to backpacking and brand new to lightweight backpacking. I did a decent amount of backpacking with my dad until 7th or 8th grade when I decided to focus more on team sports. Since college, I've stuck to day hikes because I was somewhat intimidated by the cost of getting new gear and the learning curve. However, I finally decided to take the plunge and have been planning a 2 month AT section hike with my wife that I'll start in a couple of weeks. Reading through threads on these forums has been a huge help and I signed up for an annual membership.

My gear for that trip is pretty much set. However, I plan on making this a regular hobby going forward and would appreciate thoughts on what I could add to my gear collection so I have things to put on my birthday/Christmas/etc wishlists. Looking for ideas not just to replace what's in my current kit, but good ideas to make my kit more versatile for different types of trips. I'm moving to Australia soon, so will have opportunities for trips in many types of environments.

Shelter and sleeping
Tarptent Double Rainbow - 42 oz
Enlightened Revolution 20F quilt - 22 oz
Thermarest Prolite Reg - 16 oz

Pack and organization
ULA Circuit - 38.6 oz
Sea to Summit 35L dry sack (food bag for 2) - 1.6 oz
Sea to Summit 8L dry sack (for clothes) - 0.8 oz

Worn clothing
Icebreaker 150 LS - 5.5oz
Mountain Hardware Mesa convertible pants - 16 oz
Icebreaker Hike Lite mini socks - 2.13 oz
Exofficio underwear - 3 oz
Merrill Moab Ventilator lowcut shoes - 31 oz
Black Diamond Trail Back alum poles - 20 oz
Plain ol baseball cap - 3 oz

Clothes in bag
Patagonia Capilene bottoms - 7.5 oz
Nike drifit tshirt - 5 oz
GoLite Demaree Canyon down jacket - 14 oz
Icebreaker Hike Lite Mini socks - 2.13 oz
Icebreaker Hike Lite Mid crew socks (sleeping) - 2.75 oz
Exofficio underwear - 3 oz
Marmot Aegis rain jacket - 13.4 oz
Loki All n One balaclava - 2 oz
REI pack towel - 0.75 oz
GoLite thinsulate gloves - 3 oz

Cooking (my wife carries much of this since I have the tent)
Supercat stove - 1 oz
Homemade windscreen - 1 oz
Alcohol - 9 oz
Snowpeak Ti Cook n Save 2L pot - 8.6 oz (seems heavy, but we couldn't find another option we liked for a pot big enough to cook for both of us)
Sea to Summit Delta Bowl - 2.8 oz
Chinese soup spoon - 0.75 oz (I love the volume these things hold)
3 Platypus 1L softbottles - 2.7 oz
AquaMira drops - 3 oz
Matches in a ziploc - 0.4 oz

Misc
Mt Laurel ECO Line bear bag set (50' line, carabiner, cuben fiber rock sack) - 1.4oz
Petzl Tactikka Plus headlamp - 2.5 oz
Leatherman Micra - 1.75 oz
Toothbrush - 0.5 oz
Toothpaste - 1 oz
Nikon Coolpix AW 100 and charger - 10 oz
Dr. Bronner's - 5 oz

Depending on how much shared stuff my wife carries and other miscellaneous extras like TP, my base weight is between 13 and 14.5 lbs.

Other gear I'm not bringing on this trip but could be used for other trips:
Icebreaker Pursuit 260 LS - 9 oz
Generic microfleece - 9 oz

My current thoughts on next things to add:
40F quilt for summer trips
Lighter down jacket
Maybe down vest for summer trips
Lighter hiking poles

I am new to this as well and you look in better shape than me, but my first thoughts are:

Tent: There are lighter tent options out there, but a lot of this is preference. Zpacks Hexamid Twin would save you 22 ounces.

Rain Jacket: Heavy. I can't hike in any rain jacket, so mine is mainly for standing still or if it gets really cold. I have jacket from LukesUltraLite that is silnylon and weighs ~4.5oz. Lots of other options out there. Helium, DriDucks, etc.

Wind Jacket: Adds weight, but is great for adding a bit of warmth over a tee while hiking, light rain protection, keeping bugs off, etc. Houdini is one, but again lots of options out there.

Redacted: I was in the wrong forum!

Edited by mdilthey on 03/14/2013 19:04:21 MDT.

What about one of these pots?You can get them a lot lot of places for very cheap.

Edited by annapurna on 03/14/2013 19:12:08 MDT.

I might get one of those grease pots for solo camping. My wife insists on at least a 1.5L pot when making food for two.

Edited by Canam on 03/14/2013 19:24:42 MDT.

O.K.,it's what I use on the rare occasion that I am sharing a cook pot with someone,we usually bring our own cook set up and bring a .6 liter pot each.

I don't have this pot but I have seen it reported as under 7oz for 2quarts and $10:
http://www.opencountrycampware.com/products/CAMPING-EQUIPMENT/Pots-and-Kettles/2-Quart-Non-Stick-Kettle/session_975eae0fcf14/

I modified a set of Aluminum flicklock trekking poles from walmart to a total weight of ~14oz and cost ~$40 see:
http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=50320

Can Am,

Since you say you are pretty new to backpacking -- that is a pretty good list.

I say just go out and hike. You'll find out what works and doesn't work for you. Then you will be better able to tweak things.

Link, you so totally rock! That was perfect.

No You Rock Gary!

Give your pot and stove system a good test. Changing pot volume or diameter can make a big difference using an alcohol stove.

The Stanco grease pot is cheap and useable. The handle can be replaced with a picture hanger ring. Add a bail if you don't want to use a pot lifter.

One advantage to stepping up from the Stanco is the availability of non-sick pots, which really helps for actually cooking in the pot vs simple boiling.

From there, you can always find lighter components, but I agree with the other reply that advises just getting on the trail. You have a great start and tweaking needs experience.

Get a 1.3L evernew with folding handle for a 2P pot. You will love it. The grease pot isnt worth the hassle. Take it from someone who went there.

His wife insists on a 1.5 liter or I would have suggested the Evernew 1.3 after the grease pot choice.I love my grease pot,but we use it for boiling water and not cooking and have never had a problem with it,it's light and super cheap.