I've decided to upgrade a lot of items in my pack, as well as my pack itself.
I did some research and compiled a wishlist here. Please let me know if you have any ideas for me... changes, substitutes, things I should leave out or anything like that.
This is my first post, by the way, and it feels great to have found a community that shares my interests. Thanks guys. Cheers.

It would help to know where, how and when (season(s) of the year) you plan or hope to use the gear. For example, a packa is a great piece of kit when you've got rain, or on-and-off rain. But I don't like it as much if I'm long-distance hiking and want a 'normal' jacket sometimes in town, or if I need to carry snowshoes and/or ice axe on my pack.

Base layers are always an individual choice. FWIW, a mid-weight base layer would always be too heavy/warm for me. I personally don't worry if I stink and go for capilene 1. Smartwool stays warm, but doesn't dry out all that fast. I DON'T mean to suggest that my personal preference here should mean anything to you if you have experience otherwise (!).

It seems a little strange to me that you list both hammock and bivy; perhaps you don't intend to carry both on the same trip? I think more typical for hammock hangers is that if you have to "go to ground" that you make do with the hammock as a somewhat clumsy bivy. Depends on the hammock model no doubt, but still. I've done this a couple of times with a (bottom entry) Hennesy, so if it can be done with that ...

"Field strop" ?? I know what a strop is. I don't know why a person would carry one in the context of that overall set of gear. ?

If you do have to go to ground (and again, this depends on where you hike), I don't see any sort of ground insulation ... ? Maybe fine.

Lighter than most in terms of electronics or anything battery operated. No phone, no camera ... ?

Overall a nice looking set of gear (!), and what's listed looks to be actually ultralight (many people use the word, IMO very few achieve it in real world conditions). But is it a complete list? For example, I see no stove or pot --- plan to eat cold food only and drink only water?

Biggest comment I have is that in terms of suggesting "changes, substitutes, things I should leave out" --- the context of where and when you plan to hike, and maybe even a little about your experience and preferred hiking style(s), all of that can help a lot. For me, at least, gear doesn't exist in isolation, it's very much tied to how and where/when I use it.

I will say that I own a couple of zpacks items and would feel good about purchasing those. With the somewhat exception of their cuben rain jacket ("Challenger") --- I did a 500 mile trip with a new one of those last year and feel that the wear was excessive. Depending on how many miles or total days of backpacking you contemplate, I might have similar concerns about their cuben backpack for durability. No experience there, just --- I wonder. Given the nature of how the packa works, I wouldn't have concerns about wear on a cuben version of that, a fun choice if you've got the funds for it.

Thanks for all the feedback!
So I left out a good amount of important information and I apologize.
I'll follow up one by one, here.

1: First and foremost, I left out some of the clothing which I'll be wearing all the time and a few other things like my knife I have clipped to my side. Here is a more complete list . So that should cover a few of your questions.

2: I live in Omaha, NE. I usually just go for 1-3 days, but the weather can vary a LOT and I want a modular system so I don't have to buy 3 different sleeping quilts, etc. I don't know a heck of a lot about the packa, so anything more you can tell me would be great. The main reason for the cuben optoin is because you can customize the size.

3: I haven't tried capilene, but I'd be interested to. I've had good experience with the smartwool so far. I guess my main concerns would be duribility and breathibility.

4: The bivy is kind of a multi-purpose item. I can put it over me if I need a little extra warmth, or use it if I'm forced to sleep on the ground. Or, if it's a warm night, I could forgo the underquilt and just use the bivy in the hammock. That's the idea, anyway. I have yet to test that theory.

5: Neat idea using the hammock as a bivy.

6: With that more complete list, you'll see that I carry a knife. It's really just to help with making a fire. I don't have a cook kit planned. I find that cooking meals is rewarding, but more trouble than it's worth, IMO. I do like a nice, warm fire in the evenings, though. Anyway, that's what the strop's for. I guess I could eat it in a survival situation too LOL.

7: For ground insulation I would use the large plastic bags I carry and fill them with dry leaves or just find some spruce branches and use those.

8: I do have a helium 2, if the packa doesn't work out. I haven't ordered half of this stuff yet anyway.

Lemme know if you have any more ideas/questions. Cheers!

I use a piece of reflectix single layer bubble foil insulation for a ground cover. It's light, waterproof, compacts down nicely and can be attached outside your pack. It provides a bit of insulation and reflects heat back into your sleeping pad or bag in cold weather or back into the ground in warm weather. It can be folded and used as a sitting pad too, so it's a pretty versatile and inexpensive piece of gear.

I've also used reflectix in my hammock and it worked great there too. It did slide around a bit, but that would be easy to fix. I don't have a down quilt to compare it to, but I'd sure like to because the cost difference is hundreds of dollars and the reflectix might work better, and it's waterproof. I can tell you that in freezing temps my bottom side got cold in an instant as soon as the reflectix slipped out from under me, and warmed back up just as fast when I got it back under me.

I'm a big fan of the SOL reflective materials. I haven't used their bivy but I've used their Emergency blankets a lot and have done quite a bit of experimenting with them. I've tested them in below freezing temps over my sleeping bag and the difference was very noticeable. I've wrapped up in them without a coat in freezing temps with just a shirt, and with a layer of fleece, and the layer of fleece makes a huge difference.

I made a tent out of SOL blankets to use with a campfire and it will warm up to +80º inside when it's 0º outside and it's ultralight. Here's a youtube video that describes it and a short one here showing it being used with a fire. The biggest draw back with that tent is that it will gather enough condensation to wet you down if you seal it up tight and don't have a fire going. On the plus side, it will dry out wet clothes pretty fast if you do have a fire going. It's not going to impress your friends with it's looks, but that tent is absolutely luxurious in cold weather and it's very comfy and roomy inside. I didn't really expect much from it when I made it, but I have used it for three years now and there's no tent on the market at any price I'd rather have.

I have a few different camp stoves and my favorite is a SuperCat Stove. You really cannot get any lighter or cheaper stove, but after forgetting it on a trip a couple years ago I realized that here in the Ozarks I didn't really need a stove because a tiny fire made with twigs works just as good and doesn't weigh anything.

That's about all I got for you, but those low budget items have worked really well for me.

Thanks a bunch!

The whole knife thing is a personal style/choice thing that you and I differ on so ... no comment (and virtually no experience).

Packa: Was originally just made in sil-nylon, I have one of the first eVent Packas that Cedar Tree made. I met him when hiking the AT and bought it at Trail Days in Damascus.

I love the Packa in the right conditions, those being: rainy and/or windy, especially on-and-off. Conditions where you want a pack cover a have a variable and changing need for a rain/wind shell.

That said, I almost never use it. First, the eVent version is fairly heavy compared to things like the Helium II that you mention. The cuben version would certainly be better there, and no doubt in terms of packed bulk too.

It gives more coverage (to hips as well as pack) but ... it's heavy. On a trip where I expect significant rain, I'd want the packa, but how often do we choose to start a hike where we expect significant rain? (!) And as I think I mentioned, having a pack cover can interfere with strapping things to your pack, like snow shoes, ice axe, crampons, even trekking poles. Just that much extra hassle to get into the pack with the packa cover on it. And the packa is also a bit of a PITA to use as "just a jacket", around camp or --- for me as a long distance hiker --- around in a trail town. I've learned to use shock cordage that's part of the packa to suck up the extra so it doesn't drag too much, but still.

So, in the right conditions I love it, I just rarely find myself in those conditions with the packa actually along on the trip.

Capilene: note that I said capilene 1, the lightest weight version they offer. For me, this is part of layering, staring with a thin, light, quick-drying base layer. Certainly not everyone is the same here, either in hiking 'style', nor in metabolism (I run 'hot').

I find that capilene 1 is pretty durable. That sort of base layer isn't something that I wear every day except in cold weather, so I can't speak with authority here, but I think it holds up pretty well. In terms of breathability, and especially in terms of quick drying --- better than smart wool IMO. If smart wool is comfortable for you, then some folks love it, and in particular as it doesn't stink. It will retain some warmth when wet, but will stay wet more than an equivalent capilene. Each to their own!

Some lists here for ideas and inspiration:
--Home page of this site, left-hand column--The 27 lb., 7-day gear list
--"Phat's" sticky post at the top of the Backcountry Beginners section'
--The Budget Backpacking Kit--new from PMags
--Andew Skurka 3-season gear list template

I'll have to give capilene 1 a shot. Thanks for all the tips.

I should add that Capilene seems less commonly available now; I just looked and it seems that REI no longer carries it. It's still available via Patagonia and at least one outlet venue.

It might well be that the sporting goods powers that be have concluded that there's something (or some things) better than capilene now. If so, I'm not sure what it/they are ! I've had my capilene clothing items for several years now.

I've also used Capilene and liked it (I also like the OR Sequence mid weight items I replaced them with when they wore out. It was mostly a case of my local backpack shop not having my size in Capilene, and a trip coming up before he could restock.)

I suspect that REI's decision might be at least partly motivated by their increased marketing of their house brands ("REI" and "REI Co-op".)

I still have my Capilene, in good shape, bought 6-7 years ago, but I bought it at the Patagonia online sale which at least used to be in February. What I got were discontinued colors, and some of the combinations are a bit weird, but what the heck, it's underwear! The Capilene 2 top (which I wear as a hiking shirt) is a nice medium blue, and nobody sees the purple bottoms!

I have several Montbell sale items, also in discontinued colors, which is why my windshirt (one of my favorite garments) is the color of wine vomit. I enjoy wearing it, but try not to look at it!

I agree that REI is going more and more to just their own brands. The last I looked, Patagonia is tinkering with other names.

I recently found this review of Minus 33 base layers on the Section Hiker blog, if you're interested in wool.

Backcountry Gear and Moosejaw are both having really good sales on Patagonia right now.