Grand Canyon Backpacking Gear
I wanted to share our Backpack gear list from our Grand Canyon Hike in this post. We hiked down the South Kaibab Trail to Colorado River, spent one night at the Bright Angel Campground. We ascended the Canyon on the Bright Angel Trail back to the South Rim.
The chart includes our estimated Backpack weight. We documented the actual weight of most items in the chart with a few exceptions. We did extensive research with hiker recommendations for the gear we purchased and used. The items posted in blue ink we did not carry in our backpacks but we wore them or carried on our person. Overall we did well carrying this weight for our first backpacking adventure and have learned alot from this experience for future hikes.
There were a few items that were extremely helpful for our hike which were the trekking poles, extreme sleeping bag liner and micro-cleats for hiking boots. We discovered the importance of trekking poles and micro cleats quickly as the trail was icy with low visibility due to snow falling at an inch per hour and gusty winds.
As we watched the weather before our scheduled hike, the forecast a week before included possibility of snow, rain and below freezing temperatures. Our sleepy bags were rated for 30 degrees so we quickly discovered extreme sleeping bag liners, ordered them and received them the day before our hike. The liners added an extra 15 degree warmth to our sleeping bags which were lifesavers for us as the March weather was really cold and wet with a low of 32 temperature. We woke up to ice on our tent.
| Item | Becky | Kyle | Brand | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Estimated Weight of Loaded Backpacks | 20.6 | 28.6 | ||
| HIKING GEAR | ||||
| Backpack | 3.4 | Osprey Kyte 46L Womens | 185.00 | |
| 4.2 | Osprey Atmos 50L Mens | 240.00 | ||
| Water Bladder with water | 6.0 | 6.0 | Osprey Hydraulics LT 2.5 Liters of water | 80.00 |
| Tent | 3.5 | Big Agnes Copper Spur HV UL3 | 450.00 | |
| Ground Cover | 0.5 | Big Agnes Copper Spur Footprint | 90.00 | |
| Sleeping Bag | 2.3 | Nemo Disco 30 Womens | 259.95 | |
| 1.9 | Nemo Disco 30 Mens | 279.95 | ||
| Sleeping Pad | 0.8 | Thermarest Neoair Xlite Womens | Gift | |
| 1.0 | Thermarest Neoair Xlite Mens | 229.95 | ||
| Sleeping Bag Liners | 0.9 | 0.9 | Sea to Summit (2) | 140.00 |
| Trekking Poles | 1.2 | 1.2 | REI Traverse Trekking Poles with Rubber Tips(2) | 219.90 |
| Headlamps/Batteries | 0.3 | 0.3 | Petzl Tikka Core Headlamps (2) – Extra Batteries | 99.90 |
| Water Filtration System | 0.4 | Katadyn Gravity BeFree 3Liters | 74.95 | |
| Toilet Wipes | 0.2 | Sea to Summit Wipes, small | 4.95 | |
| Pee Rag | 0.0 | Kula Cloth | 20.00 | |
| First Aid Kit/Toe Kit | 0.6 | Outdoor First Aid Kit plus blister pads/bandaids/tape/wrap…. | – | |
| CLOTHING (Backpack) | Extra Layers (Sometimes Worn) | |||
| Rain Jacket | 0.6 | 1.3 | Mountain Hard / Halti | – |
| Jacket Layer | 0.4 | Mountain Gear Quarter Zip | – | |
| Micro Cleats for Shoes | 1.4 | Kahtoola Microspikes Traction System (2) | 139.90 | |
| Camp Sandals | 1.8 | Keen Whisper Womens | 119.95 | |
| 1.8 | Keen Newport H2 | 129.95 | ||
| Socks | 0.2 | 0.2 | Darn-Tough Socks (Spare in pack) | 30.00 |
| Long Sleeve Shirt | 0.5 | 0.5 | Mountain Equipment Micro Zip T Fleece | 73.73 |
| Gloves | 0.2 | North Face Apex +Etip Gloves | 55.00 | |
| 0.1 | Under Armour Mens Liner 2.0 gloves | 23.95 | ||
| 0.1 | Extremus TouchScreen Liner Gloves | 15.99 | ||
| 0.1 | RBX Fitness Gloves | – | ||
| Compression Leg Sleeves | 0.1 | Zensah Compression Sleeves, calves | 39.95 | |
| Hiking Hats | 0.1 | 0.3 | Smartwool/Canada Bliss | – |
| CLOTHING (Worn) | ||||
| Hiking Boots | 2.1 | Keen Targhee III Waterproof Hiking Shoes W | 164.95 | |
| Hiking Shoes | 1.6 | Hoka One One Speedgoat 4 Mens | 145.00 | |
| Base Layer Pants | 0.4 | UnderArmor Cold Gear Pants | ||
| 0.3 | DEVOPS Base Layer Compression Pants | 20.00 | ||
| Base Layer Shirt | 0.4 | Oneil – Long Sleeve Swimming Shirt | – | |
| 0.5 | UnderArmor Cold Gear | – | ||
| Pants | 0.7 | Calia Leggins | – | |
| 0.6 | Eddie Bauer Leggins | – | ||
| 0.6 | Columbia Convertible Pants | 60.00 | ||
| Shirt | 0.6 | UnderArmor Cold Gear Quarter Zip | ||
| 0.4 | REI Long Sleeve Quarter Zip | 50.00 | ||
| Rain Pants | 0.6 | Adidas Rain Pants | – | |
| Socks | 0.2 | 0.2 | Darn Tough Socks | 30.00 |
| Hiking Hats | 0.4 | Smartwool Merino 250 Beanie | – | |
| ELECTRONICS | ||||
| Phone | 0.5 | 0.5 | iPhone 12 & 11 | – |
| Kindle/Tablet | 0.4 | 1.1 | Kindle Oasis/Samsung S10 | – |
| Camera | 0.3 | GoPro Hero10 | 350.00 | |
| Camera Batteries | 0.2 | GoPro 1720mAh lithium-ion (3) | 60.00 | |
| Battery Charge | 0.1 | Go Pro Dual Battery Charger | 50.00 | |
| GoPro Camera Clip | 0.2 | GoPro Camera Clip | – | |
| Battery Charger | 0.9 | Anker Power Core III 19200 | 110.00 | |
| Cables | 0.4 | Various charging cables | – | |
| OTHER | ||||
| Tooth brush/toothpaste | 0.1 | 0.1 | Hiking toothbrush/toothpaste | – |
| Hand Soap/Sanitizer | 0.1 | 0.1 | Eucalyptis from Bath Store | – |
| Food/Snacks | 0.6 | 0.9 | Stinger Organic Waffles, protein bars, mandarin oranges, jif peanut butter, energy chews, nuts | – |
| Food Storage Bags/Waste Bags | 0.1 | Lopsak odor proof bags(quart and gallon sizes) | 20.00 | |
| Writing Journal/Pen | 0.2 | 0.2 | – | |
| Map Laminated | 0.2 | Trail Map | – | |
| Book | 0.5 | Grand Canyon One Best Hike | – | |
| Clothesline | 0.1 | Sea to Summit Lite Line Clothesline | 13.95 |
Other Links:
Video of our climb out the canyon
Video of our climb into the canyon
Blog Posts: Our Decent, Our Ascent, Our Equipment, Preparation Part 1, and Preparation Part 2
About The Author
imombecky
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