looking for your help to equip me for my very first hiking trip!

[heescha]

Like the tittle says, my very first hiking trip! WHOO! i can't wait! But, you guys are all seasoned veterans so i need YOUR help! i will make a list of what i have, you can make suggestions to what i need to change or if you have things to sell me that would be useful. i have a low budget on all items due to college funding! (ah, where passion for the outdoors meets the need for college cash...who will win this time!?!?)

-side note...i'm going to the black hills for 3-5 days in june


my gear-
camelbak Kronos bag
Lafuma 600 fill down bag (good to 30 degrees)
REI Ti .9 liter cook pot
white gas stove (MSR i think...can't quite remember right now!)
Hennessy Expedition Asym
Hennessy upgraded rain fly
Titanium stakes
Columbia rain jacket
2 compression sacks
4 stuff sacks
head lamp
nalgene water bottle
buck knife
small leatherman


that's all the stuff i have...I'M NOT SELLING ANY OF THAT...i want you guys to sell me stuff to add to my list...sell me only things you think i will need!

[FanaticFringer]

I have nothing to sell. I love all my stuff.
What about clothing? Water filtration?

[ame]

Compass, map, whistle. And don't forget to file a schedule with friends, so they can raise the alarm if you don't come back, and know roughly where you were supposed to be.

Arguments abound on what are the essentials to have when hiking, but here's a reasonable list of things to get you thinking:

The TEN ESSENTIALS + Four - Backpacking Gear

Don't just grab things because they're on a list on the Internet, but do think about what you might need in the place you're going, especially in the unlikely event that you get into trouble (weather change, accident, getting lost).

A

[Schneiderlein]

Heescha,

nothing to sell, but a few additions to the gear list and some suggestions.

1. Take some extra rope. I don't know if there are any bears where you are going, but even if you don't have to bear bag, rope is always good to have.
2. Get a first aid kit together. Mole skin, bandages, triple ointment, vitamin I, tums, anti-diarrheal etc.
3. You might be able to save some weight with a different stove for very little money, if any, if you limit your cooking to boiling water (freezer bag cooking or mountain house dinners). Since you are in college, it should be easy to find a steady supply of empty beer cans. Perfect for making alcohol stoves, which, aside from hammocking and related gear making, is probably the second most worthy addiction out there. Aside from the weight of the MSR white gas setup, all I remember from having one on a 3 week trip through Italy a long time ago is that you definitely need the repair kit with all the little spare parts.
4. Water treatment. The steripen is really nice if you have clear water. The budget solution is iodine drops, or even plain old chlorine bleach. There are probably better products that leave less of an aftertaste, but I haven't tried any of them.
5. Put all your stuff in a trash bag inside the pack. Save the money for the pack liner or pack cover. Whatever you do, do not trust a single stuff sack to keep your sleeping bag dry.
6. I would try all the food you are going to take with you at home. Nothing sucks worse than rehydrating a mountain house after a day of hiking just to find out you don't like it. Check out the freezer bag cooking website.
7. Buy a good knife with the money you made selling the white gas stove. One that can cut aluminum cans to build alcohol stoves.
8. If you think you'll need a 30 degree bag, take gloves, fleece or wool hat, wool socks, fleece pants and fleece sweater.
9. It looks like you don't have bottom insulation, yet. A cheap option is a homemage SPE. Depending on the pad, you might be able to rig that up with duct tape, or sew one out of cheap WM ripstop. If you need fabric, I have some material that I'd be willing to donate to the cause.
10. Take a camera so you can post pictures of your trip!

Have a great hike and be safe out there!

[slowhike]

are you going w/ someone else? if so, are they experienced?
if you are going solo, i would think about not going far & always have a bail out plan in case you run into problems that you're not able to safely deal with.
and like said in an earlier post, let people know where you are going to be & when you expect to return.
that should include talking to rangers in that area.

[Ramblinrev]

My experience... YMMV...

If you want a reliable cooking stove don't trust the beer cans until you have a ton of experience making them. I have played around with several and they work fine in the kitchen. I can even bake in them. Once I get to the outback I can't even get the buggers to light. I am not dissing on the alcohol stove. I saw a really super sweet titanium alky made be vargo that I began to lust after. It weighs aboslutely nothing but is supposed to burn for 15 minutes. I would trust a white box or other manufactured stove over a DIY jobber. But for reliability on your first trip.. I would say stick to the MSR or whatever.

[heescha]

thanks for all the option and opinions guys...but does anyone have anything they want to sell!?!

[NCPatrick]

I'm still in "collect" mode myself. When the tide goes back out I'll keep you posted.

[Miguel]

My experience... YMMV...

If you want a reliable cooking stove don't trust the beer cans until you have a ton of experience making them. I have played around with several and they work fine in the kitchen. I can even bake in them. Once I get to the outback I can't even get the buggers to light. I am not dissing on the alcohol stove. I saw a really super sweet titanium alky made be vargo that I began to lust after. It weighs aboslutely nothing but is supposed to burn for 15 minutes. I would trust a white box or other manufactured stove over a DIY jobber. But for reliability on your first trip.. I would say stick to the MSR or whatever.

If you want an alky stove, get a Trangia. It's bombproof, simple to use, it simmers, and it has a sealable top which allows you to leave left over alcohol in it. I use it in conjunction with a "Clikstand" base. They don't sell repair kits for them because there's nothing to repair. I've seen the Vargo stove but wasn't too impressed except for it's lightness. I've had MSR stoves fail on me more than once. For details on a very simple but effective alky stove, google "Cat stove". They work like a charm and weigh next to nothing. I love alky stoves.

Miguel

[Ramblinrev]

My very first stove was a commercial alky. That was 40 years ago. I don't have anything against them, I just can't get them to work. To each their own. But I think planning on building a beer can stove and having it work on the trail takes a skill that I certainly don't have. I don't know if the cat stove is what I am thinking of but a car food can with holes punched in the side has never appealed to me as a viable stove. Once again, personal preference is where I go with it. I built the "penny stove" and would have starved if I had had to rely on it on the trip. It would fine at home... I baked some biscuits and everything.