My Hiking/ Backpacking Gear Loadout 2024

2024 Winter Backpacking / Hiking Gear Loadout (Australia) — Summary

Backpack (overnight / multi-day)

• Whipper over 60 (Australian brand; hand-made in the Blue Mountains)
• Ultralight ~940 g with Dyneema construction
• Key features:
  • Large front pocket with a lid (more weather-protected than mesh)
  • Load lifters to keep weight close to the body
  • Comfort-focused strap/contour design around the neck/back

Sleep system (winter warmth)

• NEMO (N Gear) Warar quilt
  • Rated to -8°C
  • ~890 g, about 655 g down fill
• Cedar Summit Etherlite XT insulated mat (large)
• Two pillows instead of one:
  • Sea-to-Summit AOS ultralight pillow + a premium pillow
• Speaker note: having two pillows makes a “world of difference” in comfort/sleep.

Tent

• Durston X-Mid 1 (polyester version)
• Chosen because the inner bug net and outer fly are separate, so during morning pack-up in rain the bug net can stay drier.
• No trekking poles:
  • Uses Durston collapsable bows instead
• Peg issue:
  • Stock pegs bend too easily
  • Swapped for four aluminum V-shaped pegs (more durable)

Cooking & water setup

Cooking gear

• Alon titanium fry pan
• Plastic chopping board

Water vessels / filtration

• Carry:
  • 1L NEMO bottle
  • 600 ml titanium nesting cup (speaker prefers 750 ml, but this works)
• Testing two filtration approaches:
  • LIFEStraw Peak Series collapsible squeeze 1L bottle (filter integrated in lid)
  • LIFEStraw Peak Series solar filter + 2L water bladder (K+N)
• Also carries a syringe to backflush the filters

Cooking / fire pouch

• Stove: Optimus Croc
• Cutting/utility: Cedar Summit folding knife (benchmade bugout mentioned) ~50 g
• Fire-start options:
  • Small Big Lighter (Survival Supplies Australia) with Gorilla tape wrapped around
    • Works as a fire starter even if wet
  • Stormproof matches in a container
• Repair and carry items:
  • 10 m hank of 2 mm Dyneema cord
  • Pan grippers (for the fry pan handle)
  • Microfiber tower/towel (for wiping dishes)
  • Scour pads (cleaning pots/pans)
  • Gorilla tape roll
  • Needle & thread vial
  • Cedar Summit repair kit (including mattress repair)

First-aid (customized for Australia / snake risk)

The speaker emphasizes not going “too minimal” due to remote/off-track hiking and snakes.

Includes:

• Emergency space blanket
• Nonstick wound pads
• Gauze swabs
• Band-Aids + steri-strips
• Iodine swabs
• Cotton wool
• Leukotape / tape (mentioned as “lucco tape”)
• Dettol / tea-tree-like antiseptic (“teetroit oil” described as natural antiseptic for bites/cuts/stings)
• Beeswax lip balm
• Toothpaste + toothbrush (fit inside kit; not cut down)
• First-aid scissors
• Meds: paracetamol, ibuprofen, Volaron (in a small tin)
• Mirror (for hard-to-reach areas)
• Snake bandage (called “an absolute must”)
• Compression bandage
• “Dunny roll”

Versatile textiles & “always carry” items

• Shemagh (always carried)
  • Use cases:
    • Head scarf
    • Towel
    • First aid sling
    • Water filtering cloth
    • Laying around the fire / putting food on to keep sand/dirt out
• Bandana (Pendleton)
  • Used while hiking to wipe sweat and keep it out of eyes

Clothing & rain gear

• Warm layer:
  • Patagonia High Loft down jacket (long-time favorite)
  • For very cold/snow: Salii fleece jacket as extra warmth
• Pants:
  • Fjällräven zip-off trousers (can zip into shorts)
• Tops:
  • Wet conditions: OD / Over Marino wool t-shirt (stays warm when wet)
  • Dry conditions: “Industry” athletic tee (50% cotton / 50% polyester) for relaxed fit
  • Sleepwear: Icebreaker merino long sleeve
  • Leggings: Icebreaker merino leggings
• Rain:
  • Alton anorak rain jacket (speaker undecided vs regular zip jacket)
  • Rain pants: Mac Pack Naomi rain pants
  • Polyester beanie: Industry
  • Stretch gloves: Mac Pack
• Footwear & socks:
  • Shoes: Hoka / Hoka An aappa Breeze
    • Speaker unsure; thick sole catches on rocks and may increase ankle-roll risk
    • Good tread
  • Socks: “Drying / Bing…” socks with inner liner socks to help prevent blisters
• Sun/rain hat (Australian icon):
  • KÜBORA The Cooler Bar (band replaced by speaker)

Electronics / camera & navigation (for YouTube filming)

• Stored in an ultralight Whipper pouch
• Power / lighting / audio:
  • 10,000 mAh power bank (Signet)
  • Ledlenser MH8 head torch
  • Camera night light: Aperture light
  • Neo cold shoe mount for external light + microphone
  • Charging cables + headphones
• Main camera setup:
  • Canon EOS R6 Mark I + 24–105mm f/4 R-series lens
  • Rode VideoMic mounted on top
  • 4 spare batteries + in-camera battery
  • Nitecore battery charger
  • Peak Design carbon fiber travel tripod
  • Peak Design capture clip to attach camera to backpack strap while hiking
• Action / extra filming:
  • GoPro 11 on a bite mount
  • Foam wind sock to reduce GoPro wind noise
  • Chest mount + extra GoPro batteries
• Drone content:
  • Mentions GoPro chest mount mainly for fishing-related drone filming
• Satellite comms & GPS:
  • DJI A2S with 3 extra batteries
  • Garmin GPSmap 66i used as:
    • SOS device
    • Satellite communicator (messages partner back home)
    • Navigation device

Base weight notes (how heavy it gets)

• ~8 kg for hiking gear alone (camera gear excluded)
• Adding camera gear pushes toward:
  • ~11 kg (camera/tripod/extra batteries/GoPro)
  • ~13–13.5 kg when adding the drone too
• If weather is good, speaker considers:
  • Leaving wet weather gear at home
  • Possibly swapping sling bag for a lighter one
  • Targeting ~7 kg total

Notable Locations, Products, and Speaker Callouts

Locations / production

• Blue Mountains, Australia (Whipper backpack hand-made)

Brands / products mentioned

• Whipper
• NEMO (N Gear) Warar quilt
• Cedar Summit Etherlite XT
• Sea-to-Summit AOS pillows
• Durston X-Mid 1
• LIFEStraw Peak Series
• KN/2L bladder
• Optimus Croc stove
• Alon titanium fry pan
• Patagonia High Loft
• Icebreaker merino
• Fjällräven zip-off trousers
• Mac Pack rain pants/gloves; Industry beanie/socks/tees (as mentioned)
• KÜBORA “The Cooler Bar” hat
• Canon EOS R6 Mark I, Rode VideoMic, Peak Design tripod/capture clip
• GoPro 11, Garmin GPSmap 66i, DJI A2S

Speaker

• No specific name provided in the subtitles (appears to be the channel creator).