So as time goes on I'm trying to get more into backpacking into Wilderness areas. Last summer I went with some friends into the Bitterroot Selway Wilderness. It was fun but we experienced difficulties on our trip mainly due to lack of equipment or the wrong gear.

My friend that came with us had never went backpacking in an actual Wilderness Area and he came way under-equipped with cheap tennis shoes (he got injured because of that) and lack of smart backpacking gear. I have backpacked into wilderness areas before and my friend hadn't. I wore decent foot gear so I wasn't as bad off as he was. We went on a 10 mile hike with moderately steep parts and we only could stay 2 nights meaning we had 20 miles of hiking within about 3 days.

Ok so now next summer is coming around again and I'm trying to prepare for backpacking. I'm still highly confused about gear/equipment in terms of what I have, what I need, what I should have, and what I shouldn't have. I'm having issues filling up my new Backpack with stuff that I find essential perhaps wrongfully.

It seems unfortunately that if I am to be honest about the situation, I'm still very much an amateur when it comes to Wilderness Backpacking. This summer we are looking to backpack again with a few of the destinations being 10 miles or so.

I have a degrees of questions that I'll ask about gear/equipment as they come up and I'd like your opinion to what you use and or if I'm doing something wrong for long distance Wilderness backpacking.


So starting with that I just bought on sale a brand new latest model Gregory Baltoro 75 backpack. I just had a chance to test it yesterday by going on a decent 5 mile hike with about 25-30 pounds of gear. I was extremely impressed with how the pack feels and I could definitely use this pack comfortably. As far as shoes go I have a pair of Salomon Men's Quest 4D 2 GTX Hiking Boots. They are also incredible because they seem durable, comfortable, and they keep you feet from hurting after walking long distances.

So there are the first two pieces of gear which I feel are decent.
BOOTS AND BACKPACK
-Gregory Baltoro 75 Pack
-Salomon Men's Quest 4D 2 GTX Hiking Boots

Now here is where the problems really start to get to me.. We used a tent last year backpacking. We loved the tent but it seems somewhat bulky. I wouldn't even say it's especially heavy; because it's 5-6 pounds which I find acceptable for a 2 person tent that is fully insulated and waterproof (which I want). We got stuck in a horrid rainstorm in the Wilderness last summer and we were perfectly dry in this tent. The tent is
TENT
-Mountain Hardwear Drifter 3 DP tent.

It seems a big bulky though so maybe taking it out of its compression sack will help that?

The part that I'm really having trouble with is the sleeping bag. I have a
SLEEPING BAG
-Ledge Sports River +0 F Degree XL Oversize Mummy Sleeping Bag

It kept me very warm last summer and seems like a really good sleeping bag. It weighs about 5 pounds but takes up a ton of room in its compression sack. I'm thinking maybe taking it out of the compression sack would take up less room but it still seems somewhat huge to me. The other options is I could carry it in a hand while going up the trail which is annoying but doable.

For water filtration I have a
FILTER
-General Ecology, First Need XLE Elite Water Purifier

I was highly impressed with this product last summer as it's simply amazing. You can attach a nalgene bottle and pump water directly into that is purified. My only complaint about it is it's a little bulky and slightly heavy but nothing terrible. An alternative I was considering the sawyer mini filter.

Lastly for for major items I have an REI Med kit and an REI Sleeping pad. Both items are awesome, however they seem a tad bulky again. What can I do to improve my system guys?