Note: Lucas and I have no idea how much we spent on gear. However, we purchased most of it at a discounted price. Here’s a few suggestions on how to find deals.

• The Clymb, Steep & Cheap, and the REI-OUTLET are good places to check regularly. Also, look in the clearance section of your local outdoor stores, and even generic retail outlets.
• Amazon! Just make sure to watch the prices (they change often). Amazon also refers you to deals offered by other sites like Sierra Trading Post, and if you click through the colors on various items, odd colors are almost always cheaper (hence why my clothes are so bright).
• Don’t forget thrift-stores, especially if there are outdoor related ones in your area. Lucas bought a nice Columbia fleece from Goodwill for less than two dollars.

With that said, here’s our gear list!

SLEEP SYSTEM                                                                      Lucas                  Montana
	General Item	Specifics
	Tent	Tarp Tent Squall 2 (6 stakes)
	Sleeping Pad	Therm-a-Rest Prolite & Therm-a-Rest Prolite Plus Short
	Sleeping Bag	The North Face Cat’s Meow & The North Face Cat’s Meow Women
	Sleeping Bag Liner	Coleman Stratus Fleece & Sea to Summit Reactor Thermolite Liner

PACK
	Backpack	Osprey Atmos 50 & ULA Circuit
	Space Blanket	Mylar Emergency Blanket
	Pack Liner	Trash Compactor Bags
	Stuff Sacks	Sea to Summit eVac Bag x2 and Sea to Summit eVent Compression Dry Sack x2

	KITCHEN
	Cook Pot	Evernew Ultralight Titanium 1.3 L
	Stove	Homemade Alcohol Stove with 8 oz denatured alcohol as fuel, & aluminium windscreen
	Spork	Snowpeak Titanium x2
	Plate	Sea to Summit Collapsible Plate

Water/First Aid
	Water System/Purification	2L Platypus Bladder x2 & Platypus GravityWorks
	Bear Bag and Rope	Sea to Summit Ultra-Sil Dry Sack & orange 550 paracord
	Pack Liner	Trash Compactor Bags
	Knee Braces	Cho-Pat Dual Action x4
	First Aid Kit	Ibuprofen, Medical Tape, 6 Bandages, Gauze, Benzoin Tincture, 2 gloves, tweezers, nail clippers, antihistamine, safety pins, tiny floss, thread, needle, and Iodine Tablets.

	Bug Net	Sea to Summit Mosquito Head Net x2
	Pot Scrapper	GSI Outdoors Compact Scraper
	Toiletries	In Ziplock bag – Sunscreen, insect repellent, chapstick x2, toothbrushes, small toothpaste, Bronner’s soap in 2oz bottle,  Wet Ones, gold bond, petroleum jelly, and hair ties.
	Mirror	Coghlan’s Feather Light Camping Mirror Survival

CLOTHES
	Shoes	Salawa Men’s & Women’s Wildfire, Superfeet Blue Premium Insoles, $10 croc-offs from Walmart, and Women’s Vibram Five Finger
	Pants	Target Champion pants & Outdoor Research Women’s Voodoo Pant
	T-shirts	Target Champion shirts x2
	Socks	Injinji toe sock liners x4, SmartWool Lightweight Hiking Socks x4, and SmartWool Mountaineering Extra Heavy Socks x2 as camp socks
	Longsleeve	Minus33 Merino Wool Turtleneck & SmartWool Zip-up
	Rain Gear	The North Face Venture Rain Jacket Hyvent & Women’s Marmot Precip Rain Jacket
	Jackets	ExOfficio Storm Logic Jacket, Scott Synthetic Down Jacket, and Columbia Fleece jacket x 2
	Misc.	Fleece Gloves x2, Minus33 Merino Wool Cuff Beanie, Polyester Hat, Minus33 Merino Wool Midweight Balaclava, 3 Bandanas/buffs x2, and Brimmed Hats x2
	BaseLayer Tights	Minus33 Merino Wool Leggings & Columbia Women’s Baselayer Tights
	Underwear	Men’s ExOfficio Boxers x2, Women’s ExOfficio Boy Cut x2, and Polyester Bras from Target x2
	Shorts	Billabong Boardshorts & Columbia Cross On Over Cargo Shorts

MISCELLANEOUS/ELECTRONICS
	Headlamps	x2
	Knifes	Morakniv Companion Knife & Razor Blade
	Notebooks	Moleskin Soft Notebook Large & Volant Large x4 pens
	Electronics	PowerGen 6000mAh charger, Sansa Mp3 player, x2 headphones, water resistant watch, and cords
	Phones/camera	Iphone 5 & LifeProof Case/Motofone f3

Final Notes:

• Montana’s backpack baseweight is about 16lbs and Lucas’ is 19lbs.
• Our tent uses trekking poles to prop it up, and only weighs 2lbs. Best. Investment. Ever. Check-out TarpTent.
• There are great quick-dry clothes at Target. We even bought a water-resistant watch on sale for $10, aka our alarm clock.
• For the ladies with back pain or Scoliosis, Target also has quick-dry bras (not sports bras) that feel fantastic.
• Columbia fleece jackets last forever. I’ve had a boy’s fleece for seven years. It has survived everyday use, numerous rock climbing & camping trips, summited a mountain, and more. No snags, no holes–it’s perfect.
• Cho-Pat Dual Action Knee Braces are great for crummy knees. Seriously. Get these babies if you experience discomfort or pain. I’ll write a review soon.
• We’ll mail our cold weather gear back home around Damascus, VA, so our pack weight will drop a few pounds.

And that’s just about it!

We start our thru-hike in less than a week. I hope we don’t have to send things back at Neels Gap! (;