Gear for the PCT 2018 - Desert Protection

Description

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

Columbia Silver Ridge Lite - http://amzn.to/2pyYkkH

UV BUFF - http://amzn.to/2GdnTBf

OR Sun Gloves - http://amzn.to/2HWvb9Y

Tifosi Sunglasses - http://amzn.to/2HUlf0w

JT Sun Stick - http://amzn.to/2IJFz6e

Sun Umbrella - http://amzn.to/2G5kPUo

Silver Shadow Review - https://youtu.be/TqFB0ZpWvIQ

PCT 2018 Big 3 - https://youtu.be/dmxUCozeCdg

PCT 2018 Clothes - https://youtu.be/FWoadnU5YUQ

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

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*** Gear Used to Shoot this Video! ***

- Camera -

Canon EOS 77D - http://amzn.to/2zf5OQ9

- Lense -

Canon EF 24mm IS USM - http://amzn.to/2zeJuWU

- Sound -

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

- TriPod -

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

------Intro & Animation By: BlackStrap Media------

https://blackstrapmedia.com

------- Music By: Mike Boren --------

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Tags: UL Backpacking Gear,UL Hiking Gear,PCT Thru Hike,Pacific Crest Trail,PCT,UL Hiking,UL Backpacking,Hiker Trash,Desert Hiking,CDT,Pinhoti Trail,Pinhoti Trail Thru Hike,PCT Gear List,LOng Distance Hiking,Thru Hike Gear List

Video Transcription

hey guys it's Darwin so now that I am done with my thru-hike of the pin holy trail it's time to get back to talking about gear forward the PCT especially since I have like two weeks left until I hit the trail so today we are talking about the first 700 miles of the PCT and specifically gear that I'll be carrying to help protect me from the Sun [Music]

all right so as most of you know I am no stranger to the desert I've been living in the southwest for about three years now from New Mexico to Arizona to now residing in Southern California here in Joshua Tree so I do a lot of desert hiking now in those three years I figured out things that work for me things that don't work for me and things that I just need every single time I go out into a harsh environment like the desert now the first 700 miles of the PCT is pretty much all desert so there's definitely gear that I will need in that first 700 miles to make sure that I'm comfortable I'm not getting overheated and not getting harsh exposure from the Sun so first up is my favorite hiking shirt in the world and I wear it when I'm not in the desert and that is the Columbia Silver Ridge light now you guys will see this shirt in a ton of my videos it made my top 10 favorite gear of 2017 list essentially what it is is it's a long-sleeve shirt that is made of a UPF material now I believe they call it Omni shade but you can break it down to its UPF 40 it has back Vince in it so it helps wick away sweat and keep a nice float or I'm not sweating to death when I'm in the Sun it is a long sleeve shirt so I can roll the sleeves down to help protect my ink or roll them up whenever I'm not really worried about it and it's just overall a great hiking shirt now to be fair this is a piece of gear that I'll be wearing all the way to Canada but my Columbia Silver Ridge light shirt only comes in at six point eight ounces for a medium so kind of heavy for a hiking shirt but with all the features of it it being the one shirt that I have to wear for the entire trail great some protection it breathes really good it is definitely going to be my shirt for the first seven hundred miles and for all of the PCT next up is a piece of gear that I was debating for a while switching out you guys know I love my buff I have had my one dark-green original buff for years and years and years it's been with me on every trail I talk about it a lot one of my favorite pieces of gear but it is getting wore out now what I typically do when I'm hiking in the desert is if my ears start getting hot and burnt from the Sun or the back of my neck I'll take my buff and I'll pull it up over my head to help give me a little bit more protection so I figured I'm already doing that anyways I better start looking at a UV buff so I finally picked it up and I got a you bee protection buff now the great thing is it looks exactly like my old buff so I don't have to get too sad when I don't have my other one now the UV buffs are made out of a cool max material so it is UPF I don't exactly know what the UPF rating of that is couldn't find that on buffs website but they say that it blocks out 95% of UV rays so this is definitely a lot better than my older buff that was just a piece of fabric now what I will typically do with this is because I am still wearing a mesh back hat I'll take this and tuck it up under my hat to create some protection all the way around my head to help give me shade and protect my ears and my neck from the rays of the Sun the UV buff weighs in at 1.5 ounces and it's a buff I don't really know what else to say about it it's coming with me alright the next piece of gear is one that I've debated for about two years on picking up and I finally decided to do it since I'll be living in the desert for 700 miles and that is some gloves so the thing that I found over the last three years of hiking in the desert is because I do use trekking poles and my hands are constantly out like this at the end of the day or when I get home the tops of my hands and my fingers and my wrists are always burnt to a crisp now working with my hands a lot obviously you know it just hurts it hurts getting sunburned anywhere but it definitely hurts on the top of your hand and on your wrist so I finally decided to pick up a pair of these UV resistant hiking gloves now the ones that I picked up are made by Outdoor Research and they are the spectrum active ice fingerless Sun gloves Outdoor Research that is way too long of a aim for a product come up with something a little snazzier than that anyways you'll notice that they are fingerless because whenever you are hiking with trekking poles really all you need to protect is the top you're hanging your wrist and then the tops of your fingers and your thumb so they're really good for that and the cool thing is they're made out of this material called active ice which has some sort of chemical in it that actually cools your skin whenever you get hot so when my palms are sweating the air will actually hit that active ice it and it will cool down my hand and act like little air conditioners it's the other reason why they made the bottom of it a little longer to where it goes on your wrist because as some of you might know if you're hot outside and you take ice or water and you put it on your wrist it can definitely help bring down your core temperature so the great thing about these is they're like little air conditioners while I'm hiking they have some grip in the hand to help me grab onto my trekking poles a little bit better to where my hands aren't getting sweaty and they're slipping around and giving me blisters and the most important thing is they are made out of a UPF 50 plus material so they're definitely gonna keep that Sun and those harsh rays off of my fingers my thumb my wrist and the top of my hand now they are insanely light in the entire pair only weighs 0.7 ounces so 0.7 ounces you can kind of wad them up put them wherever I can put them in my pocket so they're definitely coming with me and those first 700 miles and who knows they might stay with me all the way till Canada the next piece of gear that I'll be carrying in that first 700 miles of the PCT is one that every desert hiker knows is a must-have when you're spending a lot of miles in the desert and that is a Sun umbrella so you're not familiar with Sun umbrellas essentially what it is is it's an umbrella but the outside of it is coated in kind of like a silvery mylar material that whenever you're holding it and hiking it actually bounces the Rays back towards the Sun now sometimes when you're in the desert you can't always find little shady spots like this sometimes you're just out in the elements and the Sun can really put a beatin down on you so the great thing about carrying a Sun is pretty much anytime during the day you can create your own shape now about a year ago I did a full review on this Sun umbrella if you guys want to check that out I'll put a link up here in the corner but this is the six moons design silver shadow now little disclaimer whether it's six moons design or z packs or the old go light umbrellas they're all pretty much made by the same company just every company puts their own name on it

I believe the companies called like light flex so you can find them on Amazon as well and it's pretty light mine weighs in at 8 ounces and I'm pretty sure that's pretty universal I think all of these umbrellas especially because they're made by the same people all the way in at 8 ounces so not too shabby for something that helps you create your own shade when you're in the desert

alright the next two pieces of gear are pieces of gear that I get tons of questions about and I for some reason always seem to neglect when I'm hiking in the desert but again because I'll be hiking for 700 miles I'm definitely bringing with me the first piece of gear is a pair of sunglasses for some reason I just never carry sunglasses I'm one of those people that just deals with the Sun glare I usually wear a hat so I have a little bit of protection from it but I squint a lot and it's not good to squint so I finally decided to pick up a pair of sunglasses these are a pair of tifosi sunglasses I can't really tell you what model they are they look pretty snazzy um but I actually took these took them to my eye doctor and had them make prescription lenses for them so these are polarized lenses being out in the desert that long I want to make sure that my retinas are not getting burnt out of my skull so these will be coming with me along with a little carrying case that I can put my other glasses in when I'm wearing these and the pair of glasses and the little bag only weighs one point three ounces so definitely worth protecting my eyes and I'm sure I'll be taking these all the way to Canada with me as long as I don't break them or horrific ly scratch the crap out of them alright and then the last piece of gear is something that I never ever bring and it's finally time use my ways and that is sunscreen so as most of you might know from last year on my section hike of the cotton divide trail I didn't use any sunscreen I went out in shorts and my legs got burnt like crazy really the only thing that ever gets burnt on me when I'm hiking in the desert are my legs if I go out and I'm super white which I'm not this year and my ears and my nose so I will be carrying a small thing of SPF 50 sunscreen this is the Joshua Tree Sun stick so it is all natural it's got a lot of zinc in it but I'm mainly gonna be carrying it to put on my nose on my ears and on my tattoos I have a lot of tattoos on my legs and on my arms and I want to make sure that I protect that ink because you know tattoos are expensive and I like them so I'm going to be protecting those I'm gonna be finally finally finally bringing some sunscreen I like this stuff quite a bit it's funny enough it is Joshua Tree sunscreen I got it here in Joshua Tree but it's handcrafted in Michigan thanks Michigan alright guys so that's it that's all the extra gear that I'll be caring for that first 700 miles of the PCT in the desert I'm still not gonna bring pants I just I don't like hiking in pants I hiked a little bit in pants out on the CDT last April couldn't stand it so I will be hiking in shorts however I have a pretty good base tan right now so the Sun shouldn't affect me too much plus I do have my sunscreen if I do want to put it on my knees or on my tattoos or something and then I also have my tights and windpants just in case I do need some sort of covering on my legs I will have those what is some gear that you always carry with you when you hike in the desert are you planning on through hiking in the PCT what some gear that you're thinking about bringing in that first 700 miles 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 oven posting a lot of new photos lately of some of the things that snows and I have going on throughout the week plus some pictures from some past Ike's if you found any value in this video go ahead and hit that like button subscribe to my channel if you haven't already as always guys thanks for watching [Music]

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