Video summary

The only 9 things worth carrying after 34 years

Main summary

Key takeaways

Lifestyle

The “9 things” that consistently make the cut (after 34–35 years of hiking)

The speaker focuses on gear they’re reaching for now on most trips (not necessarily what they’ve always carried). They split the list into:

  • Heavy lifters (structure / shelter / sleep)
  • “Surprise gear” (small but high impact)
  • Identity gear (personal comforts)

They also include a final “what everyone should upgrade” item.

1) Heavy-lifter gear: Pack that gets it right

Whippoorwill pack (their current go-to for ~12 months)

Why they chose it

They picked it to avoid two common pack mistakes:

  • Too small → you end up strapping items outside (especially not ideal in rain)
  • Too big → you overfill just because you can

Key features they like

  • Proper padded harness
  • Load lifters
  • Useful front pocket
  • Can be loaded to expedition capacity, then cinched down for day-pack use—so they don’t need a separate day pack

Notes / minor gripe

  • Made on-site in Australia, with incremental improvements across batches
  • Minor issue: hip belt pockets bunch up against the hips (they slide/adjust while walking)

2) Heavy-lifter gear: Shelter that handles real weather

Durston X-Mid 2 tent with carbon poles

Why it makes the list

  • Works for most trips, including:
    • solo 1–3 nights
    • trips with a partner
  • Fits two people on 25-inch wide pads with spare room
  • Has handled proper Tasmanian weather, including saving them from horizontal rain

Tradeoffs

  • Runs a bit warm (solid inner; they suspect a mesh inner might be better for their area)
  • Carbon poles are light but rough on gear and they worry about breakage; aluminum is an option they may switch to later

3) Heavy-lifter gear: Sleep system built to prevent movement and drafts

Zenbivy sleep system

Core idea: it’s an integrated system

It’s not “just a quilt”—it’s integrated:

  • Integrated sheet locks to the pad
  • Pillow stays in place
  • The connected setup reduces:
    • rolling off the pad
    • drafts around shoulders / side gaps
    • twisting up overnight (they describe past bag nights as “corkscrew”-like)

Quilts they run depending on conditions

  • Ultra-light system down to about -12°C (for snow trips)
  • Their go-to quilt for around -4°C and warmer
    • rated to about -6°C
    • “Hypersonic down”
    • they love the hot pink color

(Optional reference) Where to see everything listed together

They mention building a free resource called Trail Kit, including:

  • their opinions
  • exact models
  • weights

(link in description)

4) Surprise gear: Small items that prevent big problems

4) Ultralight Gear Blue Diamond food bags (organization wins)

They carry 3 of the bags on trips—often splitting food across 2–3 bags on longer missions (like ~9 days).

Why it matters

It prevents the common problem of digging through a messy pack in the rain with cold fingers.

How they use them

  • Color-coded for visibility (blue bags are easy to spot from the bottom)
  • Labeled by “dinners vs breakfast vs snacks”
  • Features:
    • Roll-top closure
    • Big mouth for quick access
    • Can see through the bag

They recommend splitting by either:

  • time chunk (e.g., days 1–3), or
  • meal type (their preferred approach varies)

5) The “two Toaks pot system” (hot drinks without delaying the meal)

Toaks two-pot system (inspired by a friend; refined from their mate’s setup)

Their system

  • One wider pot (~750 ml) for eating and rehydrating meals
  • A second pot (~750 ml) dedicated to boiling water for drinks at the same time

Stove/cook kit is stored together so it’s “ready to go” in the pack.

Pot cozy hack (fuel-saving rehydration)

  • Made at home using reflective bubble wrap

Method

  1. Boil water
  2. Pour into meal pot
  3. Let sit briefly on stove (~30 seconds)
  4. Seal in cozy for about 15 minutes

Benefit

  • Saves fuel vs keeping it actively cooking
  • They claim it also tastes better

Tip They encourage looking up “how to make your own,” and note it’s also on the Trail Kitchen website.

6) Brynje Superthermo Mesh base layer (warmth + faster drying)

Why they changed

Merino can feel safe/comfortable, but when sweating it stays wet against skin and can take a while to dry.

What the Brynje does

  • Creates an air gap (moisture moves off instead of clinging)
  • Helps them:
    • warm up faster
    • dry quicker after sweaty climbs
    • stay warm under a rain jacket with fewer layers

Use notes

  • Wears it on every single trip
  • Often pairs it with a fleece at camp

7) Identity gear: personal items that shape the experience

7) Suunto Vertical 2 watch (becomes “everyday gear”)

They use the watch as both:

  • a track tool
  • a daily device

Why they switched back to Suunto

The app improved route building so they can:

  • drop GPX into the phone app
  • sync directly to the watch

Key preferences

  • Bright display
  • Compact on wrist
  • Very light (about 89 g mentioned)
  • Only taken off for sleeping
  • Only downside mentioned: no golf feature compared to Garmin

8) Helinox Ground Chair (camp comfort that changes how the trip feels)

Helinox Ground Chair

They say sitting properly at camp changes the feel of the trip—especially on wet ground like Tasmania.

Stability emphasis

  • Wider, low-to-ground style
  • Not tall stool legs that poke into the ground

Current status

Their chair broke a small frame connection; Helinox is sending a replacement part (small fee).

9) Temres gloves (the cold-hands fix)

Temres gloves (recommended as their biggest single-item upgrade)

Their cold-hands problem

They tried:

  • Gore-Tex gloves
  • layering
  • liners + over-gloves
  • mittens-over-gloves

…and still stayed cold.

Why Temres worked

  • Likely based on a Japanese fishing glove concept
  • First trip in 2021: within ~10 minutes, hands went from numb to almost too hot
  • They carry them on every trip since

Proof points

  • Stayed warm all day in blizzard conditions
  • Durable through harsh Tasmanian scrub:
    • no punctures
    • still looks near-new

They frame them as essential for hikers in Tasmania who struggle with cold hands.

Notable locations, products, and people mentioned

Locations

  • Tasmania (repeatedly emphasized for weather and ground conditions; also for scrub durability testing)

Packs & shelters

  • Whippoorwill pack
  • Durston X-Mid 2 tent (carbon poles)

Sleep systems

  • Zenbivy sleep system (quilt options down to ~-12°C and ~-6°C)

Food organization

  • Ultralight Gear Blue Diamond food bags

Cooking system

  • Toaks pot system
  • Bubble-wrap pot cozy

Base layer

  • Brynje Superthermo Mesh

Electronics

  • Suunto Vertical 2 watch

Camp comfort

  • Helinox Ground Chair

Gloves

  • Temres gloves

People / references

  • A hiking mate (more than 100 days on the track) who influenced the two-pot setup
  • Helinox support
  • “Walter” referenced as recommending the cozy system
  • Friend’s setup
  • Garmin vs Suunto comparison

Resources / sites

  • Trail Kit
  • Trail Kitchen website (pot cozy references)

Original video