In the '70's I used a compass, Svea stove and life was good!

Another excellent video, and agree with all of it except for using your phone as a sole navigation tool. Every year in the Boreal forests of Canada we have to find, and lead out, back country hikers who were using only a GPS or their phone for navigation. In the 14 years I've been on team, I've had to recover only 2 bodies, but that is 2 bodies too many. In both cases they got lost, and in their equipment was a GPS with dead batteries, no paper map, notes of any kind, or even a compass. Please, if you are going to venture out off the beaten path, learn to use a non-battery operated navigation guide. A map and compass as a backup to your electronics can save your life. This may not be applicable to the well marked trails in populated areas you venture through regularly, but one day you may go off grid where the nearest town is 100 miles away, and the only phone that works is a sat phone. So I strongly recommend everyone learn and keep up your skills with a map and compass.

1:19 pillow 3:12 smaller stove 4:43 gravity feed system 6:43 travel guide app 8:27 camera

I bought a Kelty frame pack in 1979. I through hiked the A.T. in 1981. 25 years later I re-hiked the A.T. with the same damn pack. If it ain't broke don't fix it.

These videos are just teasing me. 10 more years till I can do the AT. Gotta get the kids through college first. I'll be 50 but binge watching these vids till then

I did my thru-hike in 1988 and wish I had just about everything that hikers used today. Here is a list that I can think of off the top of my head. Keep in mind that the internet didn't exist and everything I bought had to be from a hiking store or a local sporting goods place in my home town. Also I was 18 and had to save my money for two years from summer jobs, so if it was expensive, I didn't buy it. 1. Water filtration. Ceramic filters and life straws didn't exist, or at least were not it common usage at the time. We had iodine pills. That was it. God awful tasting water. 2. Nalgene bottle. We used Vietnam era surplus canteens. Do you know how much just the damn canteen weighs? Poly carb soda bottle were just starting to be common, so when we found liter coke bottles, the canteens got 86'ed. 3. freeze dried foods. Mtn house was not available, we were eating dehydrated stuff from the grocery stores and those god awful MRE's. 4. Body glide anti-chafing. didn't have or couldn't find at home or at hiking stores along the way. 5. Trek poles. My trek pole was a wood mop handle I made a few nights before the trip. 6. light hiking back packs. Again, I used Vietnam era ALICE pack with a metal frame. AS we found better stuff along the way, we bought it and got rid the old stuff. 7. blow up mattresses. I think we had canvas rafts, but not designed to sleep on. Regular old sleeping bags that tended to get wet and heavy. 8. Cell phone. We had a large bag or quarters to use, yes, a pay phone. Always had paperguides and a compass. Alos, we used a film camera. Very heavy. 9. Light weight led flashlights. No LED s in 1988. Had a genuine Vietnam angle head flash light with gasp, D cells. Bucket list is to hike it again but with top notch equipment now that I can afford it.

Great video! One tip I've picked up over the years is to pack the cut-off bottom of a cheap water bottle to use as a scoop in crappy water sources. It doesn't add much weight and makes filling those water bags so much easier!

I use a phone as a supplementary to my map, I never only use my phone. Phones are great for finding your location. I turn on my phone check my coordinates and then use my map from there, every now and then I use my phone to re-affirm that I have not strayed too far of course but i never use my phone as my main navigation tool.

Thanks for your input and the excellent camera work. It's much more enjoyable watching a sharp, crisp video.

Dude thank you so much for how you lay everything out and your thoroughness. It is greatly appreciated! Cheers!

Great video, thanks for sharing. It's interesting, I just thru-hiked the AT this year. I started with that exact pillow, and sent it home when I got to Franklin because an air pillow just didn't feel comfortable for me. I went the rest of the way pillow-less, and just sort of adjusted to not using one. I also started with a gravity filtration system and began considering switching to the Sawyer in Damascus. I eventually made the switch in Waynesboro, VA because I felt the different components with the tubing and such made it such a cumbersome process that I was avoiding drinking enough water to avoid having to filter. The plus side to the gravity system I found was when you arrive at camp at the end of the day, in one shot being able to filter enough water for the evening and even to get you going in the morning. Always interesting to hear different perspectives since everyone has different preferences.

My sea-to-sumit Aeros pillow is my favorite piece of gear

Darwin, I'm doing my first week long section hike ever in NE mid-sept and will def. get the gravity bag, hose and adapter. I clicked on your link below and found all 3 on Amazon for about $50. I foresee doing 2-3 section hikes per year and am really going to enjoy this apparatus. Thank you for the suggestion. - LightWalker

Here's a great tip for the PILLOW - use a Buff as a PILLOW CASE :) works awesome ;)

I am so excited to watch you and share in this journey with you! I am in Ga, pretty close to the start of the trail and it is a dream of mine to also hike the AT. I have been following you on Boho Berry for quite some time and was so excited when you announced that you were going to do this! Thank so much for sharing with us! :)

I've been enjoying your videos. It's been fun to see how your videos have progressed over time. Since I live close to the Appalachian Trail, I've been reviewing your suggestions and putting them to the test. Keep up the good work!

I admire and appreciate the thought given. Thank you.

Haven’t done any thru hikes yet, but many multi day backpacking trips. The pillow was a game changer and my jet boil hasn’t seen use in years. Kind of unnecessary but I absolutely love my Helinox camp chair. Sure, it’s a pound but it’s amazing at the end of a long day. Thanks for this video, love your stuff!

Brilliant list, this is exactly the kind of information and advice I've been looking for with my hiking . Dominic

Hello from the UK mate. Just wanna say I found your vids very helpful and informative for planning my own hike. I'm 5 days in to hiking Lands End to John O'Groats 1200 miles. Your vids helped me learn how to pack and what to take etc. Cheers again. James

I'm hiking the PCT in 2018 too!!! See ya out there! -Pocahontas

Nice list. A couple that are more for the PNW : Patagonia Houdini jacket : super light but effective for keeping heat in and wind break and Nano Puff for size and warmth.

Most helpful thru hike videos I have found on YT - thanks Darwin, appreciate all your great work!

Really interesting these vlogs of yours, thanks for the great insights and tips dude, happy tripping to you and snuggles man, happy journeys from Ireland 🇮🇪

Back in the 90's, I used one of those bladders from a box of wine. Starting a trip hung over is no fun, but having a pillow is awesome and makes your friends jealous.

I'm searching for supplies for a summer trip, and the tips are great, but I gotta say, those eyes are mesmerizing. What a fantastic pair of blues!

I love that pillow, really comfortable when you get the right pressure. I like mine just over half inflated. I'm starting to look like a sea to summit fan boy but here in Aus they are just so much cheaper than anything of comparative quality.

I can really relate after years in Asia. The same thing has happened to me. I have always heard that it takes twice as long to re-acculturate as you were gone. I'd quadruple that. Your experiences made you very different from people who haven't had those experiences. Life became fulfilling and urgent in a way they can't understand. I think you have found a wonderful way to deal with it. I'm a newbie to long- term backpacking after all these years and I am grateful for your info. I will be going to TIbet in May, so your advice is really important.

Wow, that was great, I already had the Guthook but I didn't know about the Life360 which is what I was looking for so my family and friends could track my progress. I wanted a pillow as well but I was holding back... now I'm getting one! Thank you!

I'm extremely impressed with the sound and picture on your camera.

I'm thru-running the Bruce Trail in Ontario (in segments) and where I agree with you most on your list is with the App vs map. The trail has changed about 15 miles worth, the only way to be sure you are on the updated trail sometimes is by following App instructions. Add ons to your list are battery charger, salt pills (im running, not hiking, salt is primo importo), white hat vs black hat (weather appropriate head gear), water bottle holder on my back pack straps to help in redistributing the weight more evenly, and #1 for me is a change of clothes for overnights (a hard lesson learned). Good vid. Keep it up Dar!

Guthook's has been such an amazing tool for the pct this year. You don't need service for your phones gps to work. On rare occasion it had glitched out, I carried paper maps and a compass to be safe but never used it. Especially in the sierras, depending on snow levels next year you'll be using the app a good bit to navigate so make sure to have a battery pack big enough for your needs, good luck next year!

I haven't thru-hiked yet, but I am enjoying watching your video's to educate myself before trying. Thank you.

The inflatable pillow is a must for me, with it I sleep as well on the trail as at home. Hated the spork, I'm now using a plastic table sized spoon and love it. I'm going to look for a spoon with a longer handle that has the reach for the size of the dehydrated food bags.

You have talked me out of getting a JetBoil and talked me into getting one of those pillows. Great video.

I love my hiking pillow!!!! So small and totally worth it!

1) Sea to Summit Air pillow. On the trail, you will sleep so much better, 2) small canister stove, 3) gravity feed system for water collection, 4) Get Hook Guide APP for phone, 5) have a great HD camera.

Very nice video. Well spoken, good explanation's. Thank you for this video, will be looking for more of YOURS!

Great video. I have always prioritized camera gear. Canon G7 on the AT in 2008, Canon Rebel in 2010, 6D with 24-105L in 2015. Now I'm looking to downsize to a Micro 4/3 system or similar. For the AT I wish the current NG map booklets existed then, showing 200+ miles of trail each. I carried every damn map at 20 miles of trail each.

Interesting choices! Ansel Adams once remarked that the best camera one could use was the largest one that could be carried. We just take a wide mouth "dirty bottle" to sink in stream prior to filling up the squeeze bottle, but the gravity idea is something we'd like to try. We still carry plastic maps because charging phones on overcast days has proven more of a hassle then we have patience for. My wife loves her MSN International stove - we simply carry the white gas. Our hiking/backpacking is along the PCT, the Rocky mountains and the Himalayas.

I have been using Trangia system and stove since forever and it is soooo big compared to all other stoves. I like the stability and that it is super wind-proof but outside of sweden and norway it is overkill. So after this video I bought the same super small gas burner you have!

Great video and amazing sound. You're inspiring me to make more videos!

Hey Darwin, thanks for your videos. They are always a great inspiration for going out. I personaly am not a great hiking fan, but I love cycling. So I'm traveling mostly by mountainbike. That's why I'm realy interested in your reviews of equipment. The piece of equipment I got for my journeys and that I don't want to miss on the trail is a good MTB-trailer. I tried out many models and found a year the one that works perfect for me: it's the Aevon Kit80. Not for hiking, but as far I know you're also love biking. Maybe you can try it on your next bike tour. Keep on hiking and biking! Mick

totally agree on both a camera and a pillow.

the MEC packrat stuffsack is also an awesome pillow for anyone looking for a lightweight option. Its basically just a stuffsack thats nylon on the outside and microfleece on the inside. So when you get to camp, just turn it inside out and restuff it with some clothing and you're good to go. Weighs practically nothing and its still a fully functional 9L stuff sack during the day

Thanks for a great video. I was pleased in the fact that I was using a couple of those pieces.

I will have to check the pillow out. I have been using my clothes bag as well but I really don't rest well on it. I even went as far as making a homemade pillow case for it. That helped a little but still not enough.

I had a 1.5 gallon gravity feed filter and it was awesome sauce.

Love the videos, hope to see you on the 18' PCT hike! :)

I've been learning allot from you through hikers about light gear. I ADV ride motorcycles and other guys I meet can't believe how light I travel. Picking up a bike is bad enough, really bad if you've got a ton of gear on it. Many sports crossover...these are 2 of them.

I have tried all sorts of pillows. The Aeros pillow is simply the best.

bring some pantyhose to put over your water collection bag to keep bits of junk out of it.

Ditto on the pillow. OMG, when I first used one like yours, the lumpy, shifty clothes bag idea went out the tent door. Ray Jardine would not approve. In answer to your question about what I would not be without: trekking poles. I find quadruped travel to be much less exhausting than biped and I use them to put up my tarp tent, when I'm not using a bivy. 😉 Ray also would not approve here. He claims they slow you down. Possibly, on the flattest most buff terrain. But hiking up and down rooty, rocky trails on the CDT...priceless.

Great content as always, thanks for the tips!

You are so right about the pillow! It's my next purchase!

A great camp stove option is the Uberleben stoker flatpack. It weights next to nothing. Breaks down and fits in a nice flat pouch, and the best thing is , there’s no lugging fuel, it just burns twigs. I’ve used mine several times now, it’s a great little stove .

I was dead set on a jetboil until I started looking around and seriously taking weight into consideration. They're awesome at boiling water fast but, heavy and damn expensive!

the aeros pillow is amazing!!!

Some gear that I carry with me now that is cheap and multi functional are... 3 or 4 industrial strength garbage bags (39 gallons), 5 to 10 gallon size Ziploc bags. 2 plastic 20oz water bottles lightly crushed, dozen brightly colored balloons. I can put water in the ziploc bags and carry them outside of my pack allowing the UV light to help kill certain organisms before filtering. I can carry extra water in the balloons. My fav when it comes to the balloons is that I can blow them up and hang them in a tree to find my way back to a certain point. Also when in bear country, you can blow one up and attach it nearby to mark where your food is hanging. Glow stick you can only use once. The garbage bags can be used for garbage, emergency poncho, raking leaves into and keep small sticks dry for kindling, rain guard for my backpack and at night keeps bugs out of my backpack.

good thinking - learning and changing is what it's all about :))

Good info.. the Platypus Gravity Bag is something I will get right away .. Thanks!

I just got a blow up pillow too. Love it!!!!

I love the new intro cutscenes! Strong work.

aw man this guy is a god send! i've been in lala land for so long i thought i wouod never be able to get back into it. tx and grt vid

Good list, I'm checking out pillows now.

Great ideas Darwin. i might check out some pillows cos i do similar for a pillow .what you used to do.

THANKS ILL BE ON THE TRAIL 4TH MAY...MAYBE THE PARK IN MAINE WILL BE CLOSED BY THE TIME I FINISH.

I use the therm-a-rest pillow. Its so soft and no need for a pillow case

Victorinox Forester Swiss Army Knife - Locking blade, saw, can and bottle openers, plus a corkscrew. You never know when you're going to need to crack open a bottle of vino!

I'm looking to thru hike the PCT in 2018 going ultralight, hope to see you their man! I'll be 18 then so I can go considering I haven't been aloud to this year :(

Great and useful video. I don’t hike, I cycle, but I have to say I’d be nervous relying on an electronic map and not having the paper one just in case my phone dies through lack of power of fault!

I use that Sawyer filter you showed as a gravity bag with the squeeze bags it came with. Inside the mesh bag it came with...on a tree. Even "shower" with it

I personally really enjoy using jetboils. As you said are great! (i'm not doing long distance hiking) and on my tours I love it. But yeah I would never bring it on the at or pct...

Awesome Advice! Happy Hiking

Take a GEO Cache app with you. Not only can you find caches, but often people share great information. When i went to England to "hike" in our defender, mini "RV" you can rent so many forms of holiday transportation. Narrow boats is a thing we thought about. To finish of the geo app story. The information in the app, took us to a place where British & American army pilot's is training. So you can stand on a place above them, and film, when they came blasting. It was amazing, and there was lots of people taking photos. And one of them, agreed to take some photos on our memory card. Best day ever. This was years ago. And i dont know if everything is the same way. Sorry about my bad English, and the looong "comment"👋

I always have a life straw handy to take a sip from streams on the go. I have other means of water filtration but for a quick sip, I stick with the straw.

This is a good list. Thank you.

great informational videos, thank you.

not a long distance hiker yet, by any means. I like day hikes and tend to stick to state/national parks. I recall one point in the summer of 2016 I went to Baraboo WI for a few short day hiking spots. I was completely unprepared for the weather. the forecast didn't call for rain and I didn't have an all-season rain jacket. the first stop was a small trail called Pewittt's Nest. it had begun to rain as I passed through the town but had let up by the time I got there. I was with an old girlfriend at the time and we were about half a mile back when the sky just OPENED and we were completely miserable because even though the canopy was shielding us fairly well, we had to cross about 100 yards of open field, UNDER POWER LINES at two spots along the trail ahead of us, and this was just as the lightning was approaching. I will never be unprepared for bad weather ever again

Nice reminder on those liner socks. Man, my list seems never ending. lol Right on, man. Keep on truckin'.

Hey brother great video. I don't expect you to reply. Especially being that video is 3 years old lol but I will have to say I agree with you on everything except for the map. I would definitely want more than just an electronic device to rely on for my coordinates. I have never done the complete trail at once but I live at the foot of the mountains in Greenville Tennessee so from the Horse Creek area over to Hot Springs, North Carolina and Gatlinburg,TN. There has been times when I've spent 2 and 3 weeks going back-and-forth over there.As I'm sure you know Viking Mtn to Gatlinburg can be done in three days. I just absolutely love Hot Springs...lol...Not to mention the fact that we always took a couple liters of Stoli as well as at least a half oz. of the purple sticky punge

Ditto on the pillow. I never used one until I got a free one (paid for shipping) from Outdoor Vitals. Never slept so well on the trail before.

I was there and I never felt so alive! I went way to heavy and struggled to the top. Wish I would of got info from you lol

I have the trekology pillow and a redcamp non inflatable padded type. I prefer the real type but enjoy the ultralight aspect of the trekology. Thing is I hate that balloon feeling so I'm experimenting with inflatable pillows that are insulated and have a removable pillow case.

I like your stuff! you're not a know it all and you are super positive. Keep up the great work!

This is helpful stuff, Darwin. Thanks!

Great advice... almost 2 years later!

Ok I'm gonna say this with love and humor. I love your videos. You're teaching me a lot. Here's the humor and love comment. The older you get, the more you want a pillow LOL!!!! Great video once again. Keep it up.

Gear I wished I had on my thru hike would be some type of roller. I thru hiked the PCT in '14 with a buddy named seeds. We were consistently doing 35 mile days and even did a 41 in northern Cali, He'd roll out his thighs and calves every night, I tried it and my legs felt so much better the next day. The only thing was that it was weirdly shaped and he had trouble finding a good place for it in his pack. Another thing would be Zensah compression sleeves for your calves and they are said to help prevent shin splints as well. I think I was downing 4 advil every morning before I got out of my bag, so I had a lot of pain issues on my hike, anything to help me out in that way is a winner in my book.

Thanks for a very enlightening information and for this excellent video. I like your channel because it's full great content. Regards!!

I think the Sawyer bags now open fully with a zip enclosure as well. FYI.

Ive been using OSMand+ for all my travels. Offline maps and lots of possibilities if you use GPX files. It also supports wikipedia on the map. Take a look at the free version and wait for it to be on discount 50%, it happens often!

The oils from a greasy hiker head are really terrible for a down jacket that's doing double-duty as a pillow. The oils kill the loft, which robs the down (even treated down) of its insulating ability. No bueno. Pillows are smart gear.

It's not about a better hiking or doing more miles but about a better experience , we only live once.

Another pillow idea is use a 2L Sawyer squeeze bottle in a Zpacks stuff sack with the fleece liner. You can add or remove air to the bottle to make is more soft or firm. You're going to carry water storage and stuff sacks anyways.

I definitely agree that a stand alone camera would b so much easier. A cell battery is constantly needing charging. Good tip. And yeah, a pillow is a must. I have a Nemo with memory foam. Sweet.

Great list and share. From another AT thru hiker, I would disagree with some and agree with others. Which goes to show HYOH is personal and there is no one size fits all out there for thru hiking gear. Air Pillow I would take anything reasonable to improve my sleep, so yes I agree that taking something as light as this which improves sleep is a yes- agree (however personally air pillows don't work for me) Gravity water filter, disagree for the AT, perhaps agree for other trails such as the PCT (where water is rare). , The problem with the gravity system is water itself is heavy (far heavier than water purification systems) and this system works best for making a lot of water in your spare time. Since the AT has water basically everywhere, that means a system where you make just what you need is the lightest was to go. For my thru I used the lightest steripen (2.5 oz), it would last a week between recharges (usually available every 3 days on the AT), but most importantly it works best making small batches of water, so far lighter. If one is worried about electrical device failure, which I did not have, carrying some AquaMira tablets as a backup is very light weight. Jetboil, agree and disagree. I used the Jetboil Ti model (discontinued), the lightest one with fuel canister weighs 13 oz (then up to 3-4 oz of fuel on top of that), so 16 oz total full. What the Jetboil cost one in weight it saves in time, which is a critical resource. It saves time in 2 ways, first is the cook time and the short time means more cooking due to less frustration and fiddle factor, and the second way it saves time is because it is so efficient one does not have to look for fuel canisters (or other fuel) as often and one can enjoy the town stops more. As such I find the jetboil very good for thru hiking, less so for section hiking and weekend backpacking as efficiency doesn't mean much as long as you will use a single canister for the trip. But for me I have found that is only in the colder months, in summer I ditched it as I was only having perhaps one hot meal a day and morning coffee and went with Esbit. I would also add I feel the jetboil is ideal for 2 hikers sharing, but heavy on the side of a single hiker. I do agree with you about the digital guides, they are great and Guthook is among the top, however it is not ready for prime time, as the AT guidebook has much more then Guthook at this time - best to supplement with AT Thru Hikers Guide PDF. Having everything on the phone is also risky (if you lose the ability to use your phone you are SOL). Since I know the AT, I would feel comfortable without a paper guide, but for the first time I still like the method of carrying a section of the AT Guidebook and have the rest we waiting for me in mail drops.. Camera - I agree as far as it is a passion of yours, so yes for that. But for me the cell camera is great. Again you don't want to feel deprived out there of something you love, so bring that.

I have the NEMO Fillo pillow and it's great!

An item i dont think many hikers even know exist, is a MULTIFUNCTION WATCH WITH COMPASS (i paid only $20 for mine, and i REALLY like it). Phones are awesome, but if i slip and fall and crush the phone in my pocket when im out exploring the forests around here, then a compass can save my life. And these watches can have some pretty nice functions, and are also waterproof. The one i have got have compass (with auto-calibration that is plenty more accurate than my phone - and manual calibration which you will never use), altimeter (with 12 hour log), barometer (with 12 hour log), weather forecast (that im not sure works very well, but maybe it will if i manage to calibrate it correctly), thermometer, pedometer (with calculations for distance walked and calories burnt, as well as a timer that runs when you walk, and pauses when you take a break), stopwatch, timer, alarm, and a pacer, as well as time and date and showing which day it is... It is only $14 on ebay right now - from ONE of the sellers... That is a serious bargain for this watch, that actually looks pretty nice, and who reviewers say is good quality... I have 2 of them already, but as they will probably break at some point, im thinking of getting another one now that they are so cheap...

Hello, as a Frenchy I m not a real English speaker. I do not know where you are from in America but to me your English is amazingly understandable, and your advices and tricks very helpful. Thanks. Regards