How I Pack My Gear

Description

---- Check Out More Info on the Gear in this Video! ----

Osprey Atmos 65 - http://amzn.to/2psy50N

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

EE Revelation 20 Quilt - http://enlightenedequipment.com/revelation/

Big Agnes Copper Spur UL2 - http://amzn.to/2psHq99SMD

Skyscape Trekker -

http://sixmoondesigns.com/collections/tents/products/skyscape-trekker

ThermaRest Neo Air X lite - http://amzn.to/2nOaOkA

ZPacks Cuben Stuff Sacks - http://zpacks.com/accessories/dry_bags.shtml

Sea to Summit Spork - http://amzn.to/2nqpICn

SnowPeak 700 Ti Mug - http://amzn.to/2ocjLHW

Sawyer Squeeze Water Filter - http://amzn.to/2oN683m

ZPacks Blast Food Bag -http://zpacks.com/accessories/bear_bag.shtml

SMD Silver Shadow - http://amzn.to/2oN3RW6

ThermaRest Z Seat (ass pad) - http://amzn.to/2nVVNOM

Black Diamond Spot Headlamp - http://amzn.to/2oNhiFD

GoPro Session 5 - http://amzn.to/2oco7yL

Joby GorillaPod Mini - http://amzn.to/2oc6pM2

PowerAdd Slim 2 Charger - http://amzn.to/2oPVicC

StickPic - http://www.thestickpic.com

iPod Shuffle - http://amzn.to/2nqtwn6

OR Helium 2 Rain Jacket - http://amzn.to/2oN6WoU

Mt. Hardware Ghost Whisperer Down Jacket - http://amzn.to/2nVVH9P

OR Trancsendent Down Beenie - http://amzn.to/2oNgjVB

Nike Pro Combat T-Shirt - http://amzn.to/2oNgekR

Kuhl Renegade Hiking Pants -www.kuhl.com/kuhl/mens/pants/renegade-pant/

Nike Pro Combat Thermal Tights - http://amzn.to/2nW7N2u

Darn Tough Socks - http://amzn.to/2oj9ESc

Exofficio Briefs - http://amzn.to/2nVR7Z3

Columbia SilverRidge Lite LS Shirt - http://amzn.to/2ocpLAv

Buff - http://amzn.to/2oc9yLM

Dirty Girl Gaiters - dirtygirlgaiters.com

Black Diamond Alpine Carbon Ergo Cork - http://amzn.to/2ockxF1

Gear Used to Shoot this Video! (CHECK OUT REVIEWS AND DETAILS)

- Camera -

Canon EOS T6i - http://amzn.to/2kACQOU

- Sound -

TakStar Shotgun Mic - http://amzn.to/2kMsAnM

- TriPod -

Targus 360 Trigger Tripod - http://amzn.to/2kMsU5Y

------- Music By: Thunder/Dreamer --------

Help me make More/Better Videos:

Donate: https://darwinonthetrail.com/supporters/

Contact information:

Website: www.darwinonthetrail.com

Instagram: Darwin_Onthetrail

facebook: www.facebook.com/darwinonthetrail

Tags: Appalachian Trail,AT,Thru-Hike,AT Thru-Hike,Pacific Crest Trail,PCT,PCT Thru-Hike,Backpacking,Hiking,Long Distance Hiking,Long Distance Trail,Gear,Packs,Osprey,Atmos 65,Zpacks,Arc Blast,UL Backpacking

Video Transcription

hey guys it's Darwin here today with a brand new video talking about my different backpacking setups and how I pack my pack [Music]

today's video is actually a collaboration video between me and some other cats here on YouTube and we've pretty much wanted to break down how we efficiently pack our backpacks whenever we're doing a backpacking trip so not necessarily on what the gear is on the inside but how we efficiently pack it in there so I wanted to share with you my two different pack setups not only the packs that I carried on the 80 in 2015 and 2016 but also my new pack set up for what I'll be carrying in 2018 on the PCT and where I currently use when backpacking here in New Mexico alright guys so first up let's talk about the pack that I cherish for 2015 and 2016 on my 80 through hike this is my Osprey at most 65 now I've got a handful with videos where I break down exactly all over years of concerted effect but I've never really shown how I efficiently pack it so I know where things are and I know it's going to be nice and comfortable on my back so first off let's talk about the front or the harness so up here on the front as you can see on my shoulder straps the only two things that I carry my gopro session and i also carry my small Gerber pocket knifes right there on the front strap as well aside from that the only other thing is on the front are my few hip belt pouches which on this side I usually carry my phone and my page from like my able guide for the 80 and in this side I just carry my snacks so that's really all that's on the front side of my pack now if we go over here to the side you'll notice that I keep my water bottles so I'm a big advocate of carrying a smart water bottle because they're light they're nice to use I carry two liters at a time so one on both sides they fit really nice here down in my side tub so we'll go ahead and pull those up now looking at the front of the pack what I carry in here is if I undo my lid here and we look at just the front of the pack you notice I have this kind of big mesh pocket now what I keep inside of here are my tent holes and stakes my simple insects are right there on the front so I can get to them really nice and easy and if they're wet after I break down camp in the morning so on the outside of my pack so I don't have to worry about them getting things wet on the inside and then sitting right next to that on both sides or my camp cheese again if they're a little wet that's okay they'll dry on the outside of my pack in my right shoe I actually keep my rain fly as well so for my packs I keep my rain fly right there so it's easy to get to you and also I know that it's going to dry out on the outside of my pack if I'm not using it throughout the day aside from that I have two side pockets here on the Atmos 65 in this one it's kind of a big pocket and it takes up a lot of room as you can see right there but all I really carry in this is my bear bag kit so that is my rock bag and my paracord and that's all I care in there if I would have done it differently I probably would have picked a pack that didn't have these side pockets because I really didn't use them but it was nice to put a couple small things in there so bear bag kit on that side and then on this side I keeps my water filter so right there in a big ziplock bag I have my water filter and I also have my gravity feed system so I can get to it really easy throughout the day so if we look at the top brain here you'll notice there is a big zip pocket back here it's kind of close to my head and the first thing you'll notice it's in there are shit tickets so toilet paper I want to make sure that I get to those as quick as possible because you never know when you have to go next up in there is my bug net so a bug net in case I got to throw it on my face real quick for mosquitoes or black flies especially in New England next up is my headlamp

headlamp so I can grab that quick if I'm hiking later in the day or if I need to see real quick only other thing I keep up there just because it's efficient to have right there is my spork so my long handles for so pretty much all I keep in my top brain are things that I just need to get to quick throughout the day or camp as soon as I get there I keep those up there a lot of people tend to drop this and take that off their pack I like to have it just to keep a couple things in there

I need to get to quick now under the brain are on the inside of the brain I have this mesh pocket now in that mesh pocket I pretty much just keep toiletries like my toothbrush my toothpaste I keep my first-aid kit pretty much anything I need to get to quick I have some Darwin on the trail stickers in there in case I want to put them at a shelter or in a shelter log I have my little rechargeable battery again my first-aid kit and my electronics bag so I keep all my cables to charge my GoPro to charge my phone when I keep everything in there and that's pretty much it that's all that I keep in that top mesh pocket just a handful of toiletries and again things that I can get to easy throughout the day if I just flip that lid open now looking at the main compartment of the pack how I've set my pack up is kind of in a three part system so instead of stacking things on top of each other I put them side to side so if we open up my tops inch of the bed the first thing you're going to see and notice it's in there is my rain jacket I want to make sure I get to my rain jacket quick especially if it starts raining I want to be able to grab that as quick as possible

most times I wear this are there some other times that I've even just kind of strapped it onto the outside of my pack but most time it's the first thing that I can grab whenever I open my pack next up is my food bag there's a lot of arguments on where to keep your food bag a lot of people say don't keep it on top you should keep it in the middle I won count on my food bag on top because if I run into a town and need to resupply real quick I can grab it really fast and because I had this nice big cinch then it allows me to kind of give it more room if I have a fuller food bag and if I'm going to have lunch throughout the day it's something I can get to really quick now next up if you guys can see this and I don't know how good the camera is going to be able to get in on it but you'll notice that there is my tent right there in the middle over here is my cook system with my pad under it my clothes and then I just have my ass pad right here so first up is my ass pad just keep that in there again I can grab it really quick and efficiently next up is my clothes bag so I keep it in a waterproof dry bag and right there on the side all of my clothes and my down jacket really easy and quick to get to next step right down the middle is my tent if you've watched any of my gear breakdown videos you'll know that snuggles carried the footprints of the tent but I carried the tent and the fly so I have both my tent and my fly in there and then next to that is my sleeping pad and my cook system so this is just something I kind of figured out by hiking I used to separate in but my cup fits right over my sleeping pad and here's my my rolled up sleeping pad and my pillow and then I have I cook with my cook system so I just kind of fit that right on there and it just sits down on set so again I didn't stack anything on top of each other because I wanted to make sure that when I open my pack I can efficiently get to things as quickly as possible so if I need to grab my gentle quick boom I can grab my tip I need to grab my clothes bag real quick boom I can grab that everything is really nice stash sideways and loaded for efficiency and then the last thing in my pack and what I load up in there is because it's an osprey pack it does have this little sleeping bag compartment so down on the bottom here I keep my down clothes so my down quilt my down booties and my stretch for my sleeping pad are all in there and a nice waterproof roll top bag on the bottom lowest amount of weight at the bottom heaviest amount kind of in the center of the back that is the most efficient way that I figured out how to pack this pack and it worked really great for me both 2015 and 2016 I had the same setup on my back and it worked great okay so next up is my pack that I'll be carrying in 2018 on the PCT and what I currently use when doing any type of backpacking around New Mexico or pretty much anywhere it's pretty much my new setup so this is a V text art blast cuben fiber bag and it's a top-load bag so that means it doesn't have any zippers any extra pockets or pouches it's pretty much just a really simplified roll top dry bag with stress huh I've been super happy with it and it's a really great set so just like on my other pack you'll notice that I have my pocket knife right out here on the strap so I can get to that really good and quick and then instead of two pouches on the hip belt I actually only have one really big massive pouch and in there I keep my phone I keep my GoPro and snacks because that thing is massive good thing about maybe adding a couple other features to it they do make a little pocket sets up here on the strap so I'm thinking about maybe getting one of those for my GoPro I haven't decided yet but for now two setups working great very similar to my pack that I carry on the 80 I keep my water bottles here on the side now instead of a smart water bottle I actually use a Powerade bottle they're a little bit fatter and they fit in the pockets a little bit better but still about the same size so one on both sides of the pack there and then you'll notice this this is a solar umbrella so I keep that on the outside of the pack because I do a lot of hiking in the desert especially the first 700 miles of the PCT I'll need that to get some shade it doesn't weigh much so I just kind of keep that right here on the outside under the compression stress and then if we look at the front of the pack you'll notice right away something that I don't typically carry and that is a closed foam cell thermos v-lite pad the reason I carry this and it's on this set up now is for most of the hiking that I do around here in the desert of New Mexico and for the first 700 miles on the PCT I don't like to carry an inflatable pad there's a lot of goat heads and thorns from cactus that can pop pads so for at least the first 700 miles of the PCT I'll be carrying this pad which is a little bit inconvenient for me to be on the outside like this and you know it's not exactly

most comfortable things that sleep on but it is more efficient so I'll be carrying this for the first 700 miles and then I'll be ditching this at Kennedy Meadows and then on the inside of the pack here I have my inflatable pad so just keep in mind and as a disclaimer I'm not going to be carrying both pads all the time I just kind of want to show you what this looks like as this set up for those first 700 miles again it's a one big compartment pack so it's a roll top so the only other feature on it is this nice big mesh pocket here on the front and then in there I essentially keep things that I don't mind getting wet so first up in a ziplock bag again are my ship tickets so right there so I can grab them quick I don't have to open up my pack if I gotta go they're right there they're convenient I can get to them next up is my water filter so again just like on the 80 that's my sawyer water filter and gravity system and a ziploc bag sitting right on the outside I keep an extra Sawyer soft bag or extra water store and then last but not least in there I have my my ass pad again so if I need to grab that really quick if I'm stopping to eat lunch or taking a rest throughout the day on my hike I can grab that right out of the front mesh pocket so aside from that that is it on the outside of the pack on the inside go ahead and take a look at that it has this one main strap here so you'll notice right away that I'm rolling this out pretty big it's a massive compartment now the reason this is a great pack for me is right now it has my food bag in it but there's certain sections of the PCT where you have to carry a bear canister so I have more than enough room to carry a big massive bear canister in the top of this and still have room for my gear so I really really like that feature about this pack so on those sections the first thing that I would be pulling out of here is my bear canister but since I don't have a bear canister right now it's not in there so the first thing that is in there just like my other pack set up is my rain jacket so there's my rain jacket first thing if I need to grab it next up is going to be my food bag again so very similar to how I set my gear and how I packed my Osprey pack for the 80 so if we can see on the inside of the pack there once you see that I have my cashews sitting right in front of my cook system right under that is my ditty bag so all the stuff that's been my top pouch and my little mesh pocket like my toiletries a headlamp all that stuff is in this little bag so everything is nice and contained in there I can grab it I can't to kind of get all my little diddies hence why it's called a ditty bag and get all that stuff pretty quick right under that is my clothes bag so again same exact clothes bag I'll pretty much be using the same setup that I used on the 80 with a couple exceptions right under that sitting right next to each other are my sleeping pad and my tent now this is my fixed moon design one person tent I don't have any tent poles for it because I do to use my trekking poles to set it up so it in the trekking pole champ so that's pretty much it that is my stakes my tent and my ground tarp all in there and sitting right next to my sleeping pad again I won't have this for the first seven hundred miles but it is in there now and the last thing in that little top pack is my quilt so everything layered straight down in a really big massive compartment I really really love this pack it's been great and it's definitely gonna work for me awesome out on the PCT it's been working for me good on my trips around New Mexico so I'm pretty excited to take that out and carry that on the PCT same tag so again like I said in the beginning this is a collaboration video between me and a couple other cats here on youtube if you want to check out their videos of how they pack to their backpacking gear I'll put the links up here or you can check in the description box below and I'll put a link to each one of their channels so definitely go and check those videos out if you haven't got to change it go over and check me out on Instagram I've been posting a lot of new photos live the things that snuggle denied you throughout the week and previews of the new videos that I do every Thursday go ahead and like or dislike this video subscribe to my channel if you haven't already and as always guys thanks for watching

[Music]

you

[Music]

About the Author

Darwin Onthetrail

Darwin Onthetrail

At the end of 2014 my wife Snuggles & I decided to quit our jobs, sell 95% of the things we own, & leave our home town for good in search of adventure, culture, & the true meaning of happiness. We bought a van, traveled all over the country & hiked the entire Appalachian Trail (2189.2 miles). We are still seeking adventure in new places, meeting new people, trying new food & drink, & discovering all that we can.

This Channel has developed into a main hub for aspiring hikers & current hikers to gain info on a wide variety of Trail Topics. With a series of Trip Videos, Q&A, Tip Videos, & Gear Reviews, I aim to get you out on the trail and hiking more!

Hike On,
Darwin

More articles from this author