I am planning to hike about 100 miles of the CDT in June. My gear list is below, but I can't seem to get it any lighter. The stretch of CDT that I've chosen does not allow too much for a resupply and food for 12 days may end up weighing a lot. Please help me reduce my load.

Columbia down liner 41.80
Columbia Vest 11.20
Columbia Windbreaker 26.00
Gander Mountain Rain 41.60
Golf shirt 10.20 |
Hat 6.10
Lungi 8.40
Rei pants 18.00
Sherpa wool hat 4.30
Socks x2 5.40
Tek undershirt 7.50
Underwear 2.60
Water shoes 14.30
Camelback water bottle x2 14.00
GSI Pinnacle Solist 10.50
Nalgene water bottle 6.40
Pocket rocket 3.50
Alps Mountaineering Comet 1.0 tent 52.60
Kelty lightyear sleeping bag 39.50
Knife sharpener 2.40
Ozark Trail Multi Tool 9.80
Pack cover 6.60
REI Flash 65 47.80
Ridge rest 7.80
Sylvania Lantern 8.20
Watch 2.00
First Aid Kit 2.40
Hand warmers 10.40
Katadyn Hiker Pro 13.80
Maps 10.80
Microfiber towel 4.00
SAS Survival Guide 7.60
Solid braid nylon rope 10.20
Toilet paper 0.80
Toilet paper wipes 8.20
Trowel 2.00
Waterproof match case 0.80
Blackberry Pearl 3.10
Extra camera batteries 1.20
Garmin Colorado GPS 8.60
Journal 4.00
Pocket Qur'an 5.00
Total Weight of Selected Items 499.10oz (31.19lbs)

I'm not sure if you have funds at your disposal or not, so here we go...

Your "Big Three": shelter, bag/pad, and pack...
all are right around 3lbs each. This is good. Improvements could be made, but it would cost$$$. Good start.

I do understand that the weather at elevation can be wild even in June - been there done that - but the clothes section of your pack seems excessive. It's close to 10 lbs total. I'd try to cut in this area first. For example, Columbia Windbreaker 26.00 & Gander Mountain Rain 41.60... could you ditch the windbreaker and use the raingear in a windy situation? Could you ditch the down liner and use a lighter 200 or 300 weight fleece? Personally, the golf shirt can stay home. The water shoes could stay home too. Pants and a lungi?

Try cantenes rather than water bottles. A cantene will weigh 1/4 the weight. Knife sharpener could stay home. Multitool could stay home or be replaced with a smaller blade. the lantern could be replaced with a small headlamp. Hand warmers could stay home.

You may actually want a third pair of socks, as there will probably be snow at some sections, if you are at elevation. A dry pair of socks is a great thing! A few other smaller things could be replaced or cut off the list. Go through each item and make sure that most things have multiple uses. Be critical of yourself. A "shake-down" hike might be a good idea. Pack as you would for the trip. 12 days worth of food will be tough to carry by itself... much less the space that it will require.

Just to give you ideas - you should of course always consider what you need to feel safe. Not sure if you have a set budget.



Water shoes are heavy. Going to guess they are something like Tevas. You can get lighter water shoes at a dollar store or Walmart - crocs, those water booties with a nubbly sole, some people use flipflops. Rain jacket is also pretty heavy; some lighter alternatives, depending on expected weather patterns where you are going, might be a poncho or wind shell. I picked up a wind shell for about thirty bucks that weighs 3.5 oz that is also water repellant, which would not do for a serious storm but repelled a light rain on a recent day hike without issue. I also carry a poncho but for me a poncho is a multi-use item. Driducks poncho is not the toughest thing but weighs about 12 oz.

I'm sure the lungi is comfy but you also have pants - is it a layering item as well?



If all you do is boil water, the Soloist could be a GSI teakettle weighing 4.5 oz. and you could switch out the canister stove for an alcohol stove weighing a couple of grams.

I often take one of the smaller Nalgenes to have a hard sided container to mix a powdered drink, but have gone to using Platypus or Nalgene soft sided containers, which are much lighter and easy to roll up and store. 14.00 could be turned into 4.00 ounces and give you more water storage.

If you took a sufficiently large poncho and use a trash compactor bag as a liner the pack cover isn't necessary. I like a bag liner - the pack cover won't save my stuff if I tip over on a creek crossing.

A weight reduction in shelter could be managed by taking a bivy and tarp, or something like the Sublite (tarptent product that weighs 18 oz). Again, it's what you feel comfortable with in the environment you're going out in, and what's in your budget. I think if you went with Titanium Goat for the bivy or Tarptent for a solo shelter it would be in the range of 150-200 for everything you needed.

do you really need a sharpener? If the knife edge gets that dull that fast, get a better knife.



If the Flash works for you with the weight good for you! you're the first one I've met.

A headlamp instead of the lantern would save you ounces.

Aqua Mira instead of the Hiker Pro would save you about 12 oz, but I also like the filter better. If a gravity filter would work, you could use the ULA Amigo Pro which uses the Hiker Pro cartridge and then you also get a camp shower, and it weighs about 8 oz.

I am assuming that you want to spend the lease possible so with a few exceptions, I've kept suggestions to cheap ones

Columbia down liner 41.80 - This is a really heavy down liner. Can you get by with a wool sweater or fleece jacket. Even capiline (or similar) top and bottoms are a total of 12oz plus 16oz for fleece is only 28 vs your 41oz

Columbia Vest 11.20
Columbia Windbreaker 26.00 - $100 will get you a 4oz windbreaker or around $6 at the 2nd hand store should get you down to around 19oz or less.

Gander Mountain Rain 41.60 - I've seen DryDucks for as low as $12.
Golf shirt 10.20 |
Hat 6.10
Lungi 8.40
Rei pants 18.00 - How much of these are you wearing vs. in your pack? (I don't bother with skin out weight as I know that the clothes I never take off are the lightest I'm comfortable with.)

Sherpa wool hat 4.30
Socks x2 5.40
Tek undershirt 7.50
Underwear 2.60
Water shoes 14.30
Camelback water bottle x2 14.00 - Why do you need 3 (with the nalgene) bottles? Also, quart gatorade bottles are only 2.8 oz each or a 3quart soft nalgene for $10 is around 3oz.

GSI Pinnacle Solist 10.50
Nalgene water bottle 6.40 the white ones are only around 4oz.

Pocket rocket 3.50
Alps Mountaineering Comet 1.0 tent 52.60
Kelty lightyear sleeping bag 39.50
Knife sharpener 2.40 - Why do you need this? Can you leave it at home?

Ozark Trail Multi Tool 9.80 - A basic swiss army knife is much lighter.

Pack cover 6.60 - A trash disposal bag is much lighter

REI Flash 65 47.80
Ridge rest 7.80
Sylvania Lantern 8.20 - A Tikka headlamp for $30 is 2.5 or a energizer headlamp for $12 is around 3.7oz

Watch 2.00 - warn not carried?

First Aid Kit 2.40
Hand warmers 10.40
Katadyn Hiker Pro 13.80
Maps 10.80 - That is a lot of maps! (Do you have a compass?)

Microfiber towel 4.00 - My old camp towel is only 1.4oz. Can you cut it down or get something lighter?
SAS Survival Guide 7.60 - Not something I'd takem, but I'm pretty well trained.

Solid braid nylon rope 10.20 - Parachute cord might be lighter. How long is this?

Toilet paper 0.80
Toilet paper wipes 8.20 - Do you need both TP and wipes?

Trowel 2.00 - A snow stake is only 1oz and does double duty as a tent stake.

Waterproof match case 0.80 - with matches, I hope
Blackberry Pearl 3.10
Extra camera batteries 1.20
Garmin Colorado GPS 8.60
Journal 4.00
Pocket Qur'an 5.00
Total Weight of Selected Items 499.10oz (31.19lbs)

I think that is around 100 easily removed ounces for as little as $50. Hope this helps and have a great trip!

not necessarily on a 10-12 day trek. if you're cooking twice
a day you've probably got a lower max weight with the canister stove. (alcohol may work out lighter on average over the trip, so depends if you care about the average weight or your pack at the heaviest..)

Ditch the lantern and get something lighter. Ditch the Ozark Trail multitool. If you have to have a multitool, then at least do yourself a favor and buy a good one. The steel on that one won't hold a good edge, and the saw doesn't work very well. The pliers are Okay, but barely, and you won't use them that much. If you need a multitool with pliers, look for Gerber, Victornox, or Leatherman. Otherwise, get a Victornox SAK. I wouldn't ditch the sharpener for 12 days, but you might look for a smaller one.