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Backpacking Supply List
What to carry on the trail, and the extras forum hikers say to leave behind.
A real, editable checklist below — tick, tap a line to rewrite, drag to reorder.
Tick the circles, tap any line to change it, drag the dots to reorder.
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One Backpacking Light forum thread has hikers suggesting a lighter load: nix the pot or the mug, the pack towel, the sit pad. Buckhorn Cliffs comes at it from another angle, ranking gear by what keeps you safe and warm first, and it backs a ferro rod with a lighter. This list is the backpacking cut: water, clothing, food, fire, sleep, shelter, then the small stuff. It assumes a weekend trip and leaves out car-camping comforts like canopies, chairs and coolers.
Why these items are on the list
- Water bottle with leak-proof cap. Buckhorn Cliffs wants one liter with a screw cap that doesn't leak.
- Water filter or purification tablets. Buckhorn Cliffs: anything from a creek gets filtered or treated, however clear it looks.
- Wool socks and base layer. Buckhorn Cliffs says no cotton next to the skin once weather turns; wet cotton stops insulating.
- Warm hat and rain shell. Buckhorn Cliffs camps in the Colorado mountains, where July nights can hit the 30s. Cut back if milder.
- Food for each day. Buckhorn Cliffs puts it at about 2 pounds per person per day in a pack, with freeze-dried pouches.
- Ferro rod. Buckhorn Cliffs: it works wet and cold. Pack dry tinder in a bag for an easy first fire.
- Backup lighter. Buckhorn Cliffs keeps lighters as the backup to the ferro rod.
- Sleeping bag. Buckhorn Cliffs says go by the comfort rating, 10 degrees below the coldest night expected.
- Sleeping pad, R-value by season. Buckhorn Cliffs gives 2+ for summer in one place, 4+ for all but midsummer in another.
- Tent or tarp. One forum reply says a tarp instead of a tent saves 20 ounces.
- Locking pocket knife. Buckhorn Cliffs lists its jobs: food, cord, tinder, repairs. Pick one that locks.
- Toilet paper in zip bag. Buckhorn Cliffs recommends the paper in a zip bag so it stays dry.
- Trowel for digging holes. Buckhorn Cliffs says dig 6 to 8 inches deep, 200 feet from water.
- First aid kit. Buckhorn Cliffs says size it to the group and the distance from a road.
- Headlamp with spare batteries. Buckhorn Cliffs: hands free, spare batteries. Forum hiker's 1 ounce Atom has a tight beam, likely poor for night hiking.
- Light cord for a bear bag. One forum hiker's 50 foot cut of 2.2 mm cord weighed about 1.1 ounces and reportedly holds 300 pounds.
- Trash compactor bag pack liner. One forum reply swaps the clothing sack and sleeping bag stuff sack for a compactor bag: lighter and fully waterproof.
- Biodegradable soap, small amount. Buckhorn Cliffs says wash 200 feet from any water, even with biodegradable soap.
- Mug or pot, not both. Forum replies say pick one; the mug can do the cooking if you freezer-bag cook.
Tick items as they go into the pack, so what's left unticked is what you still need to find. After a trip you'll know which lines you never touched.
When to use it
Use it before a first overnight trip, while there is still time to borrow or buy gear.