Why gear matters

Picking the right gear for a long hike while keeping things light makes a massive difference in comfort, safety, and how far you can go without wearing yourself out or sustaining injury. Lighter gear means less strain and more miles, and having the right stuff keeps you ready for whatever the trail brings your way. Long-distance hiking is a big part of my life, and having the right gear will keep me doing what I love for years to come.

Gear Kits by Trail

  • Appalachian Trail Gear

    My ultralight odyssey

  • Pacific Crest Trail

    Minimal to the extreme

  • Continental Divide Trail

    Minimal in the extremes

  • Florida Trail

    Ultralight swamp mode

My number one gear choices based on over 10,000 miles of backpacking across North America.

A Breakdown of Top Picks 

None of this is sponsored—just my opinions from using this gear on long-distance trails.

Mountain Laurel Designs Hell

I’ve carried Mountain Laurel Designs packs on every long trail I’ve completed, so it wasn’t even a question that one of their products would take the top spot on this list. I carried the MLD Hell pack on the 1,500 miles long Florida Trail, stretching from the southern terminus at Big Cypress National Preserve near Miami to the northern terminus at Fort Pickens in the Gulf Islands National Seashore near Pensacola.

  • This pack was my dream pack for years. Any time I bought a new pack, the first thing I’d do was snip off “extra straps” and “unnecessary cords”—and yeah, I even cut off the hip belt once. But when I got the MLD Hell, I barely changed a thing.

    This pack does away with any extra components and is trimmed down to the bare essentials. The heavy mesh pouch eliminates the need for bungees along the back of the pack while keeping your gear put (though I opted to add them as a way to “hang” my wet gear out to dry on the FT while hiking), and the minimal seams don’t just shave off a few grams—they also help the roll-top closure hold its shape better than other packs, with fewer straps and tension points needed.

    The pack comes in at 27L, and the current version weighs 12 oz (340g). It carries weight well in the shoulders, and while the slim hip belt isn’t a full-on weight distribution system, it does help shift the load to different points on your body for longer stretches before discomfort kicks in.

    While this pack is my top pick, it’s not suited for every trail. The CDT or any rugged trail with long food and water carries, combined with extreme conditions, might push this pack past its limits depending on your abilities. But for warmer trails like the Florida Trail or those with shorter food carries like the AT and PCT, this will be my go-to pack for the foreseeable future.

  • Straight from the source:

    WEIGHT: 12 oz | 340 gm
    27L DIMENSIONS: 9.5″ x 5.25″ x 26″ | 25 cm x 14 cm x 66 cm
    CAPACITY: 27 L | 1700 CI. (25L Pack Body + 2+L Stretch Pocket)
    LOAD RANGE: 15 – 20 lbs | 7 – 9 kg

  • Coming in at a close second is the MLD Burn (you won’t find any non-MLD packs on this page, folks). This pack was my constant companion on the 3,100-mile CDT, stretching from the Mexican border in New Mexico to the Canadian border in Montana. It strikes the perfect balance between minimal weight and carrying capacity.

    The MLD Burn feels feather-light when rolling into town on crumbs and water vapor, yet it handles the load of a 5-7 day food carry or a 40-mile water haul with ease.