The Path Less Traveled #055: The Cost of Gear is Too Dang High

Jimmy McMillan went camping last week and told me the cost of gear is too dang high. If some of you were born before this century, you’d know who this guy is. If not, don’t worry because it is true!

Welcome to our recurring series of “The Path Less Traveled.” In this series, we want to take you along for our exploits out in the wilderness while hiking, camping, exploring, and general adventuring. This will include our small daily victories, foibles, tips, tricks, and reviews of gear we authentically appreciate and frequently utilize. While a well-worn trail can often be the pathway to a leisurely day, the paths less traveled can often spur on some of the greatest memories, misadventures, and fun we could imagine. Join us in the Comments as we share our travels and hopefully, we can all come together for a greater appreciation of the outdoors.

The Cost of Gear is Too Dang High – Backpacking Edition

I’m not an economist, and there’s a high chance you aren’t either. In the 2022’nd year of our Lord, we have been facing worldwide illnesses, conflicts and political disruptions that have resulted in undesired inflation levels. On top of this, with fuel prices continuing to go up it feels like the late 70’s when that Peanut Farmer was in office.

I’ve been looking at data related to thru-hike costs lately. Most claim it takes about $1.00 to 2.00 per mile to complete any of the Triple Crown hikes. This expense does not include any off-trail expenses like health insurance, phone bills, or gear purchased before stepping foot on-trail.

These same guides mostly start out with a base number of $1000 USD to cover gear expenses for a thru-hike. I find this number to be absolutely preposterous when considering gear lists that accomplished thru-hikers post.

Lastly, we are going to look at whether the cost of being outdoors being dang high has any benefits. Don’t worry, this isn’t me telling you to stop being poor all the time. 

Hiking Guides and Their Gear Prices

Looking at reliable sources for recommendations on expenses of hiking should be moderately accurate, but when times are changing faster than the sites are being updated, you have pages like these:

This is the Appalachian Trail Conservancy organization’s information above. They are the governing body for the AT. These are individuals who have potential access to thousands of beginners and hundreds of 2000-miler individuals. My assumption is they place these numbers to be a bit low to prevent people from being spooked from wanting to start. I could be wrong.

REI cites the ATC’s base numbers, but goes further into depth that you may be lugging around a four pound tent if you’re doing a $1200 gear loadout. REI even makes note for those who want to do an ultralight setup.

Backpacker Magazine states gear costs will range from $1000 to $2000, which we’ve pretty much seen at the other two sites so far. The funny thing is, if you look at their recommendations for backpack, tent, sleeping bag quilt, and pad – these four items alone reach nearly $1100. Adding shoes, and all other clothing would throw you above $2000 about as fast as your momma can slap when you say a curse word.

Popular site TheTrek has been collecting data for a good while on various topics. In 2016, 45% of respondents claimed they spent $1000 to $2000 on gear. 2017 saw 47% spending the same on gear. 2019’s data was a little more specific with their X-Axis numbers, showing 86% of respondents spent between $200 to $3000 on gear. Lastly in their 2021 data, nearly 33% of respondents spent $1500 to $2499.

Funnily enough, their “Appalachian Trail Thru-Hiker Gear List” gives various recommendations for gear for each category. I chose the first item from each category and the price came out to $4,581.

What It Really Costs?

So to determine what the going rate of what it would cost to hike a Triple Crown (specifically the AT), I developed a spreadsheet from three various sources.

The Trek

Five thousand dollars for a gear list is inconceivable for many. Five thousand dollars is three grand more than my first car.

Andrew Skurka

Let’s check another with Andrew Skurka. This man is a well known athlete, writer, and publisher of The Ultimate Hiker’s Gear Guide: Tools & Tips to Hit the Trail. He knows his stuff, and no doubt knows what would be best for him on trail. His five day pack list is shown below:

So not only does Skurka’s pack list come in 1100 g lighter than The Trek’s, it also costs $1240 less. That’s an entire month’s worthy of trail costs! Now this is half the value of silver on the US market, but if you consider his GPS Watch and satellite communication device is 17% of his total cost, it still shows he can do a lot more with his money than others!

Sintax77

Sintax77 is a guy living in Delaware that doesn’t fall of his bicycle and enjoys the outdoors. He has a website, youtube and has been documenting his outdoor adventures for a few years less than I have. Here’s his list:

	Gear Type	Purpose	Item	Weight	Price
	List Maker:	Sintax77’s Gear List – Quehanna Trail
	Pack System	Backpack	Backpack – ULA Ohm 2.0	978 g	$260
		Gallon Ziploc	Gallon Ziploc	7 g	$0
		Sandwich Ziploc	Sandwich Ziploc	6 g	$0
		Bear Bag	Bear Bag Line, Lash-It	14 g	$29
		Cookset Stuff sack, Mesh	Cookset Stuff sack, Mesh	13 g	$3
		Pack Cover	Pack Cover – Argon	50 g	$40
			Total	1,067 g	$332
	Shelter	Tarp	Tarp – Hammock Gear Cuben Hex Tarp	241 g	$299
		Sit Pad	Sit Pad	29 g	$7
		Stakes	Tent spike – Titanium	34 g	$17
			Total	304 g	$323
	Sleep	Hammock	Hammock Body – Half-Wit	284 g	$109
		Suspension	Whoopie Hook Suspension (Pair)	99 g	$34
		Topquilt	Top Quilt – HG Burrow 40	404 g	$240
		Bottomquilt	Under Quilt HG Phoenix 30	397 g	$220
			Total	1,184 g	$603
	Kitchen	Stove	Alcohol Stove, DIY cat can	7 g	$3
		Fuel	Fuel bottle, Alcohol + 4oz fuel	235 g	$4
		Cup	Cup – 450ml Titanium	57 g	$20
		Utensils	Spork – Sea to Summit Alloy	7 g	$18
		Ignition	Bic Lighter + matches	25 g	$2
			Totals	331 g	$47
	Hydration	Bottles	Water Bottle – 1 liter, Disposable	56 g	$2
		Water Treatment	Katadyn BeFree Water Filter System	57 g	$38
			Total	113 g	$40
	Hygiene	Dental	Toothbrush, Floss, Toothpaste, etc	57 g	$10
		TP	TP	21 g	$1
		Cleaning	Wet Wipes	21 g	$1
		Hand Sanitizer	Purell	21 g	$1
			Total	120 g	$13
	Tools/Gear	Light	Headlamp, Olight Wave	113 g	$30
		Compass	Compass, Brunton Classic	28 g	$17
		Knife	Benchmade Bugout 535	52 g	$220
		GPS	GPS locator – Spot	135 g	$150
		First Aid + Foot Kit	See Original List	43 g	$10
		Firesteel	Fire Steel – Light My Fire, Mini	10 g	$20
		Bug Spray	Bug Spray – 100% Deet 3ml bottle	7 g	$10
		Emergency Radio	Weather Radio, Sangean	113 g	$59
		Phone	iPhone 13 Pro Max	148 g	$699
			Total	650 g	$1,215
	Clothing	Clothes Worn	See Original List	539 g	$60
		Footwear	Merrell MQM mid GTX + Wool Socks	914 g	$167
		Underwear	Adidas Performance Sport	78 g	$13
		Packed Clothes	See Original List	765 g	$163
			Total	2,296 g	$403
			Final Total	6,065 g	$2,976
				13.37 Lb
			USD per gram	$ 0.49
			USD per ounce	$ 13.91
			USD per pound	$ 222.55

Sintax remains under $3000, but his overall dollar per weight ratio is higher than Skurka’s. If you removed the calculation for the phone, it would even stay under two grand, I think. I’d like to see an updated list to determine whether this guy has maximized anything to a greater level of value.

Pack Weights

While writing this article, I went on several rabbit holes of data scouring One was reviewing decade old pack lists all the way up to today’s. You can notice two things from this; first, costs are going up. Second, pack weights are going down. HalfwayAnywhere, a site that primarily focuses on the PCT and CDT displayed the average starting pack weight in 2016 for a CDT traveler was 18.20 lb / 8270 g. The average finishers spent on gear was $1,001.

Data from 2021’s PCT thru hikers displayed an average 9.72 lbs / 4.409 kg pack weight once out of the Sierras (ice gear). That’s almost half of the weight of the average 2016 CDT pack! (2021 pack average cost was $3,442.) I know that is not comparing apples to apples, but the lists show what items are being used and what gear has been left to the wayside.

This brings up more questions than answers for me, other than it doesn’t.

I recall upgrading my 2007 road bike in 2009 and spending an exorbitant amount of cash to go from 9.31 kg to 7.1 kg. Note, Carbon fiber and titanium were ridiculously more expensive back then and I think my upgraded bike cost double what the prior one did. Was it worth it? Totally, and I’d do it again. Did it make me faster? That’s debatable, but it made riding more enjoyable and let me think going uphill was easier, as if I were a Pro Tour rider…

In Summary

As time goes on, I believe online access to sites, stores and social media pumping the idea of lightweight gear is ever-present. The average thru hiker, even if never stepping on trail is going to know about DCF and find forums dedicated to making spreadsheets of weights of recommended gear. Consumer acceptance of lightweight and even some ultralight principals are starting to to reach a tipping point. People know that less weight is one of the traits that most successful thru hikers have in common. Wanting to be like a pro happens in other circles of activity too, no?

Less weight is less pain, less pain allows you to potentially move faster. The successful thru hikers that are completing their journey in less than five months on the AT likely have significant more knowledge, experience, fitness, etc. Does weight weenie gear help? Sure does. Will it make everyone great? Nope.

This is where HYoH comes into play. Do what you can, with what you have and hike your own hike.

Could it also be online sites making lists to sell you stuff that’ll make them money? You betcha!

I’ll work on a piece on how to beat the system and have a lighter pack for less money in the near future, but for now… be wise on recommendations versus reality for gear.

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