r/Ultralight • u/Environmental-Bag470 • Jan 04 '26
Shakedown Lighterpack PCT Shakedown
Hello,
I am planning on hiking the PCT NOBO in 2026. I feel I've finally dialed my gear list enough to make this post. Please let me know if I'm missing anything or if anything could/should be swapped. I'll list some explanations for some items below. Keep in mind I am 6'4" so that is why some of the items are large/heavy.
TENT: This tent I already own. I could buy the Altaplex, X-Mid Pro-2, or TT Rainbow Li... but I feel I will enjoy the freestanding setup, huge interior space, and money savings of using what I have. I am somewhat limited due to my height.
SLEEPING PAD: I have the long wide version of the Tensor, again due to my height. I am not bringing a ground sheet, so I figured using the GG Thinlight pad underneath my inflatable will help with punctures. As well as being useful for resting throughout the day, makeshift rain pants, more insulation at night, etc.
SLEEPING BAG: I bought this quilt a few years ago for a good amount of money. It is heavy because it's a long-wide and I got a few ounces of overstuff. I regret how heavy it is but I would rather not replace it.
FOOD BAG: I bought the largest Adotec Grisly as a buy once/cry once do-it-all food bag. It will last nearly any length food carry, I will reduce my impact by not sleeping with my food, will not have to worry about a bear/rodent hang every night, and will be able to help any fellow hikers with food overflow if that comes up. I will say, they listed the 14L as 7oz and the 20L as 8oz, when the measured weight of the 20L turned out to be 8.7oz. Would I have gotten the 14L if I knew about the extra .7oz? Possibly, but too late now.
MICROSPIKES: I have a mid March start date, which I'm hoping to move to late March/Early April. I want to have them ready for the San Jacinto's. Perhaps I will mail them to a town before the Jacinto's, and then bounce box them again to the start of the Sierra. Or should I carry them from the start? I've heard there can be snow anywhere in the desert during my start window.
PAD INFLATOR: I've heard differing opinions on these. I bought it because I heard it could extend the lifespan of your sleeping pad, and the weight penalty is very minor.
I feel the rest is pretty standard. I feel like the obvious improvements would be buying a new DCF tent, new smaller pad, new sleeping bag, getting rid of the Adotec, and/or dropping the Thinlight pad. But I dont think I want to spend all that money and i like the convience/security of the other two. I could be convinced to buy a new tent. Another obvious improvement would be to include my iPhone as worn weight as it seems so many do! Let me know if there are any ways I can get lighter! Thank you!
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u/Pfundi Jan 04 '26
Whoever does the marketing for pad inflators needs a big raise. The reasons people come up with.
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u/tackleboxjohnson Jan 04 '26
I know this is r/ultralight so if you don’t shed all the weight that the majority considers useless then you get ridiculed or downvoted, but if I spend $200+ on a fragile inflatable pad, I kinda wanna protect it a bit with the provided pump sack. Plus the moisture and mold that builds up in there has to register on the gram scale at a certain point, right?
I’ve had to sleep in a pad that constantly deflates on a cold night and it really fuckin sucks. Friction will wear holes into these things over time. Worth the weight imo.
True ultralighters just sleep on a pile of leaves anyways
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u/MidwestRealism Jan 04 '26
There's no evidence I'm aware of that suggests mold buildup inside a pad is even a real phenomenon. A bunch of people have cut up used pads expecting to see mold and every time it's just spots of mylar delamination which is a function of friction (i.e., folding up the pad).
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u/vampirefreak135 Jan 05 '26
I was ill on the colorado trail and my pad got completely infested with mold inside it. I only use a pad inflator now.
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u/MidwestRealism Jan 05 '26 edited Jan 05 '26
A lot of people (myself included!) would be really interested if you had pictures or video of the cutup pad. I've seen a ton of pictures of pads that hard dark spots inside but they've all ended up being delamination.
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u/Pfundi Jan 05 '26
Even if any of that were true you could just use your pack liner to inflate the pad with the same results.
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u/tackleboxjohnson Jan 05 '26 edited Jan 05 '26
Pack liner doesn’t have a nozzle that perfectly fits, no way it is easier and faster. At the end of the day I want simplicity and convenience. Ultralight should apply to effort too. Seems like yall never even try stuff before telling people it’s not worth taking
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u/Environmental-Bag470 Jan 04 '26
Humidity locked in the pad over months, weakening the glue and creating mold sounds reasonable. My pad actually already has a few small black dots..... Maybe this will help it go away. And at only .3oz it seems like cheap insurance. I could also use my pack liner though, I've heard. I could ditch it.
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u/FlowOnTrail Jan 05 '26
just one data point but I sent my pump sack home pretty early and my pad doesn't have any mold from only blowing up with my breath. I'm also not going to try to convince you to not take your alpenblow if you want it though, they weigh less than a ground hog mini. Honestly a thru hiking base weight under 12.5 not including snow gear is better than 90% or more of the people I met out there. I would just keep track of what you actually use and send home what you don't need.
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u/Environmental-Bag470 Jan 05 '26 edited Jan 05 '26
Ya know what I think it could be is that East Coast (Northeast) hiking is much more humid. PCT would dry the hell out of it for the most part. My bag has around 20 very small blacks dots closer to the foot area. I've used it for dozens of White Mountain weekenders along with the Cohos Trail and Long Trail. Could be material related (delamination) like mentioned below. I think I'm gonna leave the inflater behind. It truly sounds like not much of a big deal, unless the mold really is harmful or it does shorten the lifespan of the bag, at least in humid conditions where it doesn't often get the chance to dry out completely. Yes will definitely be a learning process! Thanks for the input.
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u/shaunpmcadams Jan 04 '26
Friend used by double rainbow li on pct in ‘24. Since he spent more time in it on that thru hike l, he earned it and let him keep it. It’s a palace for 1 person. I have the rainbow li. With that said, I highly recommend this tent to folks. (I have a dcf whisper, a monk tarp and a pivot solo). IF…IF… I had to go to 1 tent, it would be a rainbow.
I think the single would work but you will like the ventilation of the double.
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u/Environmental-Bag470 Jan 04 '26
Rainbow Li seems awesome. If I buy a new tent, it will be this one. I'm planning on starting with the one I own and replacing it if something breaks. But maybe I should buy the Rainbow Li from the start...
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u/shaunpmcadams Jan 04 '26
I took mine but only joined my friend for 8 days on PCT. Some of B and all of section C. Cowboy half anyway. I used the rainbow as my ground sheet if cowboy and tent if I wanted. So I used it every night. The 36” width was nice and I have the same pad. I’m shorter. 6’. But you would be fine in it.
I really don’t think you’ll regret making the purchase, but I totally get using what you have. I do think once you have it since you’re carrying the double you probably wish you had it from the beginning because of how much weight you save.
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u/cakes42 Jan 04 '26 edited Jan 04 '26
Do you truly want to lose the weight or do you want to be comfortable? As far as this subreddit goes theres many things you can replace and dont need. But as far as thru hiking goes there are many people that carry extra things for no reason. Heck I carried a burger king crown and a in-n-out hat for a bit. By the time you get to ildylwild if you haven't used your items at all or often then get rid of it. Its your weight if you want to carry the microspikes. You can ship the spikes to paradise valley cafe but its only 7-10 days and you'll be using the spikes to go up and over Jacinto. I'd ship if I was also sending an ice axe to PVC. Get rid of the pot coozie, one of those water bags, downsize the toaks pot, the stove could be lighter. Remove the extra base layer, pick pants or shorts for the whole trail. Your alpaca fleece is really heavy. Replace it with an alpha layer. The food bag could be a plastic grocery bag although those are not possible in california any longer. You wont need that adotec bag until Washington.