[NSW Lake Mac] Wanted essential gear and advice

[Joel1982]

Hi.
I'm not really that new to multi-day hiking but it has been about 10 years since I've walked one and am starting from scratch with gear. My goal is to do the Overland Track in about a year's time and am looking for the essential more expensive stuff (tent, waterproof jacket and pants, pack, stove, etc.) to slowly accumulate at the lowest possible cost. Things like boots and sleeping bags I'll buy new for cleanliness.

If you have some of these big ticket items in usable condition, please let me know.

If you know of other good sources to get decent used equipment, I'd like to know.

For someone on a strict budget, what things are good to hire for a one time trip?

What kind of budget should I be looking at for the basic items? This is not including small things like food, water bottles, beanie, sunglasses, rope, etc. that I will get between now and then for pretty much no cost.

Thanks in advance for any and all help!

[Mark F]

Before getting too caught up in the selection of individual bits of gear you should read up on some of the newer ideas and techniques that have become more mainstream in the last ten years. These are often based around the ultralight movement where the big 4 (pack, shelter, sleeping bag/quilt and mat) can be relatively easily got under 3kg for 3 seasons mainland use.

Some of the current changes:

Trail shoes rather than boots,
Quilt rather than sleeping bag - cheaper, more versatile and easily MYOG.
Tarps - open or fully enclosed with or without inner.
Sleeping mas are now often inflatable rather than just foam or self inflating.

This is not to say that the traditional type of kit is wrong but that there are alternatives which can greatly lighten your load without compromising your safety.

I suggest you do a great deal of reading these and other forums to get an understanding of the current state of play and then try out a few options to see whether they suit you. Patient checking of this section and eBay and Gumtree will turn up some bargains.

[weeds]

Given you have done multiday hikes before therefore you are across the gear needed.

While Mark makes a good points about light weight I found when starting from scratch it's difficult to commit to the ultralight equipment mainly because it a little hard to get ones head around it.

Our setup is far from ultralight but we were comfortable with our purchases based on our experience (no multi day hikes).

We brought new for pretty much all our gear, but you have time to wait for bargains to pop up.

We just completed the OLT......seven nights eight days...throughly enjoyed the week.

Good luck in the hunt for gear....keep us posted.

[Gadgetgeek]

rental is easiest for stuff like a SPOT tracker or EPIRB. Some of the other gear like tents can be easily re-sold at a minimal loss, depending on the desirability of the unit.

Stoves have come leaps and bounds in weight and efficiency, so really its a matter of just deciding what food you will eat, and then decide which stove will cook it the best, as many stoves are quite specialized in as far as what they are best at.

A lot of the choices are very personal, but I think you will find that there are things to suit. feel free to keep reading here, ask questions.

[Joel1982]

Thanks for the tips everyone! The more I read everything on this forum the less daunting it is to get my head around everything needed.

I think my other major hurdle is to get some friends to commit to coming with me, especially financially! However, from my reading this forum and many other internet sources it sounds like it can be tackled solo because the OLT is popular enough you'll meet lots people along the way.

[dinna89]

Once you have an idea of what you're after, have a look on the BPL (backpackinglight) forums, they're US based and have a very active selling forum. Don't bother paying the annual $5 membership fee, you can send private messages to sellers. The forums can be hard to navigate, but you kind find some great deals.

Another site for cheap gear is massdrop. You have to sign up to see the deals, but they bulk buy from distributors and sell at a considerable markdown.

These sites are mostly marketed as ultralight, but they have an extensive variety of good gear. Both of the sites are american based, and the exchange rate has not been kind over the past few years.