2021 CT Gear List

Colorado Trail Gear List

Who doesn’t love gear and gear lists? I put my Colorado Trail Gear List online for everyone to see. My hope is it will assist others plan their own Colorado Trail thru-hike or help show my thoughts on how the gear I brought worked.

My goal for this thru-hike was to do it in 21 days. To do this I needed keep my base weight to a minimum. I think this gear list accomplish that well, but I could have put a bit more comfort in it, (sleeping pad).

Overall, I was pleased with how things turned out. From the individual sections you can see there were very few items that I would change out or wasn’t happy with.

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Big Three

As usual I made changes to my my Big 3 (Pack, Shelter, and Sleep System). I tried a new pack (smaller), tent, and sleeping pad. With the way my mail drops worked out and the time of year I choose to hike I didn’t need a large volume pack. The tent I had been wanting for a while and knew it would be what I wanted. After my experience on the JMT and using a narrow air mattress I knew I wanted to go back to a foam sleeping pad.

Pro-Tip

The Big 3 are the three items where one can save the most weight. Cutting Pack weight takes research and testing. Don’t skimp on either.

Pack

The V2 was the perfect pack for me and this trip. I never felt like it was close to being overloaded or overweight. When I did have 4 days of food in it, I felt the weight but the pack managed it well. The hip belt helped disperse the weight from my shoulders to my hips, saving my back.

The pack held up well and no tears or rips occurred. The bottom pocket was great for trash and stowing unneeded items like my head net and wind gloves.

PROS:

Plenty of space
Comfortable
Durable
Bottom stash pocket

CONS:

I wish it had more options for storing snacks (hip belt pockets).

What I do differently next time:

I would consider carrying a fanny pack to carry my day time snacks.

Shelter

Tart Tent Pro Trail, colorado Trail, gear list

I have had my eye on the Tarp Tent ProTrail Li for a while now. It’s very close to the Contrail that Tarp Tent used to make, which I used on the PCT. The ProTrail is simple to set up, light, has amazing ventilation, and along with the ventilation the user gets great views from inside the tent. Due to the superior ventilation and some planning on my part, I only had condensation 3 nights out of the 18 I was on the trail.

I know most people don’t like tents with end entries but I think they over look a lot of advantages. They usually have smaller footprints, which means you can set them up in more areas. They also are not effected by uneven surfaces like other tents (Hexamid, Plexamid, and other of this style).

PROS:

Lots of space
Easy set up
Very small packed size
Minimal weight
Great visibility

CONS:

Only on pocket?

What I do differently next time:

I honestly wouldn’t change a thing. The ProTrail Li worked amazingly and I never had a single issue with it. I love this tent.

Sleep System

I went with my Big Agnes Flume 30. I was a bit concerned that if the weather turned cold in the San Juans I might be cold but I only had a few nights where the cold effected my sleep.

For this trip I was able to try out the new Big Agnes TwisterCane BioFoam Pad. For the first week I was pretty sore at night but after that I got used to sleeping on the thinner pad.

Once again I carried a Big Agnes AXL Air Pillow. At 1.6 oz it didn’t add much weight or bulk to my pack, but it did add tons of comfort. (I also put my buff around the pillow as a pillow case, Pro Tip).

PROS:

Light weight (Bag and pad)
Compact (Bag and pad)
Warm (Bag)

CONS:

Narrow – (Bag and pad)
Comfort – (Pad)

What I do differently next time:

I would consider bringing an air mattress next go around but everything else in this category worked great. Don’t get me wrong, the TwisterCane pad worked but at almost age 50 the extra cushion of an air mattress would be nice.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

Overall I felt the changes I made to my Big 3 were a success. They weren’t ground breaking or overwhelming better than what I used before but they still added the comfort I was looking for in my JMT Gear List, which I used on my last trip.

Clothing

I like to break my clothing down into three categories: Rain Gear, Daily Wear, and Camp Wear. Outside of these three categories there’s not much else I need on a hike. Less is more, unless it’s colder than you think and less is bad.

For the CT I bought a bunch of Montbell clothes as they make some of the lightest and high quality gear out there. I also switched back to some Ibex socks as they perform so well on my CDT hike and I didn’t like the result of the ones I used on my JMT hike. I gambled a bit and didn’t take a tights for sleeping or cold mornings, but it worked out okay.

Pro-Tip

Carrying extra clothing not only adds weight to your pack but bulk as well. Find clothes that work for your body type. Don’t carry items that aren’t getting used, and lastly find items that serve one than one purpose.

RAIN GEAR:

HIKE WEAR:

La Sportiva – Ultra Raptors Shoes
Simblissity – LevaGaiters
Ibex Wool – Low Lite Crew Sock
Montbell – Canyon Shorts
Montbell – Cool Hoodie
Julbo – Renegade Spectron 3 Sunglasses
Big Agnes – Trucker Hat
Chums Eyeglass Retainer

EXTRAS:

CAMP WEAR:

Outdoor Research Verismo Hooded Down Jacket*
Ibex Woolie Boxers
Ibex Indy Hoody

*The Verismo Hooded Down Jacket is no longer made but an equivalent substitution would be the Helium Down Hoody.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

My choices of clothing were pretty spot on. I only wore my rain jacket 3 times, despite the fact it rained 7 times. I only wore my rain pants twice. Both times it was for added warmth and not rain. Would I leave either at home next time? Probably not, better safe than sorry as the saying goes.

A lighter color sun hoodie would have be cooler but options were limited. The Montbell Canyon Shorts dried quickly and were super comfortable.

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Hydration/Cooking

My Hydration/Cook Set Up was super bomber this go around. I had some issues on the JMT which is why this go around I switched back to an ISO butane stove for the first time in 18 years. The cook set up worked great and so did the hydration set up.

The only issue I had was I put too much pressure on the dirty water bag while filtering water and I cause the seam of the bag to burst. The failure was totally user error. Now’s a great time to mention one should regularly back flush their filter.

COOK SET UP:

HYDRATION:

(2) 32 oz Smart Water bottles
Platypus Quickdraw Filter w/ 1 Liter Platy Bottle

FINAL THOUGHTS:

As I mentioned at the beginning of the section both set ups worked great. I wouldn’t changed anything about either set up. I would make a point to back flush my filter more, even though all my water sources looked super clean. I learned the hard way you should back flush regularly. Luckily, I was able to bum a small SmartWater bottle off a day hiker which works with the Quickdraw filter.

Health/First Aid

After too many miles of hiking and bikepacking to count, I’ve learned to be safe or as close to safe as I can, and I try to make sound decisions when in the backcountry. Using those miles and experiences to evaluate new situations and using care when approaching them, has allowed me to trim down my Health/First Aid set up to what I consider the bare minimum.

Pro-Tip

My Health/First Aid kit shouldn’t be yours. Your set up should mirror your own personal experience, skill level, and comfort level. Know your abilities and what you’re comfortable with or without. Knowing these things will help you build the right Health/First Aid kit for you.

Contacts (daily wears)
Assorted bandaids and wipes
K-tape
Toiletries – Dude Wipes & hand sanitizer
Pain – Advil
Imodium AD
Duct Tape
Lip Baum
Ibuprofen
Ear Plugs
Oral – Tooth brush & paste
Sun Screen – Neutrogena Ultra Sheer
Thread and Needle
Assorted safety pins

FINAL THOUGHTS:

The only two items I used from my first aid kit was some KT Tape to cover up hot spots on my heels, ibuprofen, and my sunscreen. I could have had more sunscreen with me but other than that my first aid kit was dialed in.

Odds/Ends

Simblissity Head net (Never used it)
Pacer Poles – 3 section carbon
Water Scoop (for scooping water from swallow sources) *Used it maybe 3 times.
Sunglass Wipe
Dish sponge for cleaning myself
SealLine Blocker Zip Sack (used to hold my electronics)

Electronics

Electronics have almost become a must on many peoples packs. I’m no different. I started with just a headlamp in 2001 and now I have multiple electronic items I use. I was fortunate to have a buddy meeting me after week 1 of my trip so I was able to start with a 10,000mhz battery then switch out to a larger one for the last two weeks of my trip. This helped me save some weight in the beginning of the trip.

I went without my Spot Tracker and Wireless Air Buds. For music which I only listened to three times I used old school air buds. I also left the Apple Watch at home. Leaving these little conveniences at home helped save battery life.

Pro-Tip

Besides simply turning off Wifi, bluetooth, and data usage, try using the low power settings option on your phone while in the backcountry. This will help you conserve power and go further with the power you have available.

RavPower 10,000 MaH battery pack (week 1)
RavPower USB C Battery Pack, 20,100 MaH QC 3.0 (weeks 2/3)
Qualcomm QC 3.0 Wall Charger
iPhone 12 Max
iPhone charging cord
iPhone Ear Buds
Timex Expedition Watch T5K463
(2) Short Mini USB to USB cord
Petzl Swift RL Headlamp

FINAL THOUGHTS:

I left certain items at home to converse power and to limit the amount of electronics I had. Not only to enhanced my wilderness experience but less electronics meant less upkeep to keep them charged and safe.

The only item that didn’t work well for me was the Timex watch. It was cheap and I had trouble hearing the alarm in the AM (the only reason I brought it) and the buttons were hard to push. In the end I just used my phone, which I was trying to avoid.

Other than that everything I took worked well.

Overall Thoughts

As a whole I was please with what I brought for gear and how it performed. I did worry about whether or not I had enough cold weather clothes as I had heard rumors of snow and freezing temperatures in the high country. Luckily, I never really experience anything too cold.

A better watch or no watch, and a more comfortable pad are about the only things I wished I had, but neither really affect the outcome of the hike.

My advice to others when planning their own Colorado Trail Gear List would be to know yourself and what you can can can’t deal with, know the trail and what it’s going to throw at you, and plan accordingly. Do your homework and test your gear, and you should be fine. If in doubt, rely on past experiences to help your decision making process. Remember, use what works for you in your own Colorado Trail Gear List! Be sure to test your gear and do a proper Shake Down Hike.

Lastly, if you want to read about my hike you can read my Colorado Trail journal here.

Watch my gear list video for more!

MORE RESOURCES

Read these next or checkout the main resource page.

Hiking Resource Main Page

MY PROVEN GEAR LISTS FROM THE TRIPLE CROWN

1 2 3

Gear lists from the AT, PCT and CDT; Pros & Cons; Things I’d do different; and Tips.

“IF I HIKED…” SERIES

1 2 3 4 5

In depth look at what I would bring for gear and why, if I hiked the AT, PCT, LT, and CDT.

JMT - Sierras - How to Pick the Perfect Campsite

Bikepacking, Bikepacking Resource, Featured Hiking Resource, Hike, New

Checkout our hiking resource page for more planning help.

Hiking Resources

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2021 CT Gear List

Colorado Trail Gear List

Table of Contents:

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Big Three

Pack

PROS:

CONS:

What I do differently next time:

Shelter

PROS:

CONS:

What I do differently next time:

Sleep System

PROS:

CONS:

What I do differently next time:

FINAL THOUGHTS:

Clothing

RAIN GEAR:

HIKE WEAR:

EXTRAS:

CAMP WEAR:

FINAL THOUGHTS:

Hydration/Cooking

COOK SET UP:

HYDRATION:

FINAL THOUGHTS:

Health/First Aid

FINAL THOUGHTS:

Odds/Ends

Electronics

FINAL THOUGHTS:

Overall Thoughts

MORE RESOURCES

MY PROVEN GEAR LISTS FROM THE TRIPLE CROWN

PCT

AT

CDT

“IF I HIKED…” SERIES

APPALACHAIN TRAIL

PACIFIC CREST TRAIL

CDT

Colorado Trail

LT

Checkout our hiking resource page for more planning help.

CHECKOUT ALL OUR GUIDES

Support the Project