This is what I packed to take on the West Highland Way over 9 days.
Caveat! This was my first thru-hike and I had to buy 99% of the gear as I didn’t have much hiking equipment. I decided to buy everything new, which looking back wasn’t the best idea, however I did buy the majority of the gear over a few months, centred around Black Friday / Cyber Monday sales in November so some stuff was discounted. I also tried to buy the best stuff I could afford and due to my fitness went for ultralight stuff, which tends to be expensive…but worth it’s wieght (pun intended) in gold when you’re hungover, tired and walking up Conic Hill and it’s blowing a gale.
I aimed for a pack which was 20% of my body weight. I am 87kg so around 17kg or under. I used the awesome (free!) website Lighterpack to calculate my total pack weight. I found this so useful as it included a price column and also you could divide your gear into sections and chop / change to meet your weight targets!
Pro tip! It may sound funny but don’t forget *not* to add the stuff you’ll be wearing each day – there’s no use adding your hiking boots to your pack weight as they’ll be on your feet most of the time! I included it above just to see how much it weighed 🙂 My pack came out around 13kg. For training, I loaded my pack to 15-16kg so if anything I had a little wiggle room if needed.
Feet
The ol’ Adidas Terrex Free Hikers are very popular on the long US trails, such as the App, CDT and PCT. Initially I went for the more traditionally looking Haglofs Duality AT2‘s but they didn’t seem to hold one’s foot particularly secure and were not very proficient keeping the water out!
Initially, the Adidas Free hikers DESTROYED my feet! Mega blisters, hotspots, sores…but after about 3 x 20km hikes with a loaded pack, they became my best friends and suitably worn in for the start of the WHW. I still used blister tape for the first few days but it was soon discarded.
To wear in hiking boots, I feel this takes three stages. One is the ‘wear everywhere’ stage – around the house, down to Tesco’s, walking to work. Two is doing hikes the equivalent distance to that of your thru-hike. And the last stage is to do the same but with your full pack weight (or more). Blisters only showed up with the Free Hikers when I first walked 20km with a 14kg pack! Just because your feet were pristine on your quick jaunt to Tescos, doesn’t mean they’ll do the same after 15km’s with a 20kg pack on.
I took five pairs of merino socks each of differing thicknesses and also two liner socks – one traditional and the Injinji toe sock. I prefered the Injinji liner as it felt snug and more comfortable than the Smartwool one.
I changed out of my hiking sock at the end of each day and wore the Smartwool PhD Outdoor’s as a kind of relaxation sock in the evenings. They were thick and warm and great to keep my toes warm during the night. Added bonus was, because I wore a sock liner and they were made of meriono, the socks didn’t stink out my bag and I didn’t wash any pairs on the trail. Merino socks rule!
Ankle to Waist
As with my merino socks, these icebreaker merino boxers did not need washing throughout, nor did they stink! Ok, a bit grubby but this really helps when you need to keep your load lightened. Super comfortable and stopped any chaffing from my mildly fat thighs.
Wore these trousers on alternating days. Can’t fault Arcteryx or Fjallraven, although the Fjallraven’s were heavier, but marginally. Both trousers had built in belts so I didn’t need to pack a separate one! When it really rained the gore-tex overtrousers could be put on whilst still wearing my boots which was nice. It’s these small advantages that really add up and make the thru-hike experience easier and thus more enjoyable.
To be honest I could have left the shorts at home – or done the whole thing in shorts and saved some weight, but alas I am a trousers man. I think I used them once to padded in Loch Lomond but that was it.
Waist to Shoulders
Standard tshirt set: 2 x short sleeve, 1 x long sleeve, 1 x long sleeve with a collar. Chnaged these on the regular as they were a base layer and – despite their wicking properties – still got wet with sweat. Could have bought 1 more lightweight tshirt as this was the item I swapped out the most
I umm’d and ahh’d over taking a hoodie a lot as I could just put a down jacket over a tshirt and be done and I was right, I actually didn’t really use this that much. The weather was kind in Scotland for mid-May so I guess I would have used it more if it were colder. I found a long sleeve baselayer and the Jottnar Asger fleece jacket a better combo when it got cold. Good to have along – but not in warmer weather.
The Zeta SL softshell waterproof and Jottnar Fenrir down jacket are staples of any thru-hike. Used the waterproof loads and maybe the down once or twice but the weather was too kind. The Incendo windstopper is almost like a sunshade and I found it really good to add a really small ‘bonus’ layer when things got just too cold for a tshirt but too warm for a jumper. It packed small and was super light and I found myself wearing this quite a few days to get through cold speels and the odd shower. Same with the Jottnar Asger – it’s the perfect layer between the down jacket and windstopper. Out of everything I wore the windstopper and the Asger the most.
Head
Standard. being a baldie, the cap was super handy! Wore the beanie at night a few times but could have left it at home without too many dramas.
Pack
During the Cyber Monday sale, I bagged a nice Gossamer Gear G4-20 backpack for $190 including duty charges and shipping from the US. That’s £150 at present (or less before the Trussnomics mini- currency crash) which is a bargain – even with the $50 shipping – as today it’s on Ultralight Outdoor Gear for £240! Luckily it was under the value threshold so I paid £0.00 on customs duty. Bargain!
As far as the pack goes it’s was the perfect size and I filled it right up – all 42 litres. I believe in Parkinson’s Law (work expands to fill the time aloocated for it) applies to backpacking too – big backpack means you feel some psychological duty to fill it up! I added extra bungee cord to the front in the form of lock laces – I found these super handy as they’re cheap, come with tighteners and you don’t have 50m of excess bungee cord sitting in your garage for the next ten years.
I bought the additional strap pocket for my iphone and the bottle holder, both really handy to have to hand – I used them plenty and did not feel they were gimmicks. I used the smaller 500ml in the bottle holder for regular drinking and the 1L in the side pocket to fill up the smaller one infrequently. The filter on the Katadyn was effective – i didn’t get sick when drinking from natural water sources.
Cicerone’s West Highland Way by Terry Marsh is a great book to get a good background on the areas you walk though. I did my pre-reading like a good nerd, so I left the main book at home but the small map booklet became a great tool on the hike to cross reference with my WHW FatMap and also look at the land ahead to scope out potential wild camping spots.
Sleep
I went with the MSR Hubba NX ultralight one man – twin skinned to avoid that pesky condensation. I traded out some of the original pegs for a some beefier Groundhogs, the bigger size made it easier to push in and take the pegs out. Added some guylines, a groundsheet (the tent was expensive!) and chucked in a medium tent pole splint. I kept the inner part of the tent in my main pack compartment, pegs, poles and flusheet on one outer side pocket and the flysheet in the large front pocket as it spent a lot of the time wet.
I left the carry bag at home as this simply wasn’t needed.
For sleeping in the tent I went for a quilt which was a new experience, as apparently because you compress it, the bottom of a sleeping bag provides next to zero insulation. The Vesper quilt actually did the job, but I must admit I did have to keep adjusting it when I turned over and the inner of a sleeping bag feels more comfortable than the surface of a sleeping mat.
I tested two pillows – The Hikenture was an inflatable and you probably instinctively know this that air pillows are a bit crap! I found a compressible material pillow the best and used the padded Hikenture cover over the compressible one for a super comfortable feel!
The neoair xlite was light and blew up quite fast. It’s never a pleasure doing that but the air sack that came with the matress helps make a tedious job quicker and less boring.
These were my pyjamas! Despite the extra space, I always found it better to change into completely fresh clothes at the end of the day. These also provided warmth at night and I used the Smartwool top as a thicker baselayer whilst hiking.
Accessories
I was fairly close to civilisation for the majority of the hike so never resorted to ‘alternative’ personal hygiene methods. However this kit was light enough to just chuck in my pack and forget it.
Various tapes, creams, painkillers (ibuprofen works best for achy muscles). I found anti chafe Vaseline was a must! Went overboard on Toothypegs emergency dental repair, but only because I had a dodgy tooth prior to starting. Don’t forget your tick removers too – and learn how to use them, there definitely is a technique. Those Sea to Summit Ultra Sil sacks are great and weight next to nothing.
Instead of a clear plastic pack liner, I went reusable with a 35L Sea to Summit sack. This was ok to keep my sleeping bits and clothes dry and separate from everything else, but I did have to put some effort into closing and sealing the sack each day without letting too much air get in. It is doable but a little bit of a pain in the ass to do everytime you get something out.
The fabric wash leaves and leaf soap were a waste of time. I pretty much binned the fabric ones after the first wash as they clumped together on the clothing. The leaf soap was very impractical as you need to take it in the shower with you but not get it wet so, that was binned straight off after the first use too. I commandeered a small body wash bottle from the first guesthouse I stayed in and that became my go-to shower cleanser. Mini-deodorant and mini toothpast completed the bathrom bits. One luxury item I did take was a perfume atomiser (the small black tube in the photo above), filled with Penhaligon’s Terrible Teddy perfume. It was nice to spruce up every morning and evening with a nice scent!
The mossie net I didn’t use but is, of course, essential for Scottish hiking, but later in the season. I was lucky as it was warm enough to be plesant but early enough in the season for the midges to be absent. The Packtowl was good – only a hand towel but it did the job perfectly and dried in no time. I even cleaved a strip off to use as a dish wipe! The tiny pocketknife came in handy quite a few times and was a definite bonus to have in my pack; opening plastic wrap, cutting cloth etc. I used the icebreaker gloves a few times – they weren’t waterproof so not ideal for wet conditions and at some points were a bit soggy. A waterproof glove would have been better here.
One thing I forgot to include was a small charger – the Energizer UE10007 power bank, small and relatively light and able to charge my phone on the nights I was wild camping.
Food
As I was doing a mixture of wild camping, guesthouses and campsites, I didn’t need to reply solely on carryying my food and I was able to just pack 3 x dehydrated meals. I used the 750ml Toaks pot for food and the 550ml for tea – it was handy having two and they weighed next to nothing. I could pack the windshield, gas cannister, stove, lighter and stand (sticking out a bit) into the 750 pot thus space saving too.
The standout tool was the longhanded spork which was great for eating directly out of the bag, like a savage, if the situation required. I also took a few energy bars (not pictured) and replenished as I saw fit.
Final Thoughts
I went full on as light as I could for this trip and I felt it paid dividends. I did have to shell out a lot of money for things like the lightweight tent, quilt and air matress, but these things should last for years. I didn’t go ultra-light (single skin tent with a trekking pole, foam mat, saw the handle off my toothbrush etc) as I felt a pack of 12-15kg was managable. I did see quite a few absolutely miserable people with HUGE packs trudging along. Wether they finished of not is unknown, but some definitely admitted to struggling!
Through lots of re-reading, there’s not much I wished I didn’t take. Maybe the Jottnar fleece, but that’s about it. But the main crux of learning was reseach what you need, allow a few luxuries and practice long hikes with your target weight.
