2024 BMWO - Gear List
I thought it would be insightful to write a blog post about my gear for the Bob Marshall Wilderness Open. A spring trip in the Bob required a little more gear list scrutiny than a summer time trip in most places. My plan to be moving from camp to camp meant I could save weight by not bringing a puffy or warm pants. If something went wrong and changed this plan I would have to exit out to the nearest trailhead. The other important variable was to keep everything dry, I was expecting moisture from weather and many creek fords. I carried one actual dry sack for my quilt and sleep clothes and one pack liner that could waterproof everything else. With the variable conditions, my base weight was a little heavier than I normally would carry. My base weight was around 11 pounds. In addition, I carried 2 pounds of food per day, and a little extra for the last day. I started out with a pack weight of about 20 pounds.
Shelter and Pack
Ultimate Direction 35 Liter Fastpack (foam back panel removed) - 26oz/737g
2x pack liners - 2oz/56g
ZPacks Hexamid, 8 stakes, plastic ground sheet - 17oz/482g
Enlightened Equipment 20°F Quilt - 20oz/567g
Nemo Switchback sleeping pad (6 panels) - 6oz/170g
All of this stuff worked well. The UD 35L pack is fairly comfortable with 20 pounds in it. Carrying ANY pack for 15 to 16 hours will create issues. I have carried more weight in this pack and it gets uncomfortable quickly with 30 pounds in it. I could’ve saved weight in the pack category with something like a Pa’lante or a similar option. I just used what I had for this trip. I did remove the foam back panel to save weight and put my sleeping pad back there instead. This tent is my favorite. I do wish I could pitch it directly to the ground to block cold wind and breezes. Oh boy, the 6 sections of pad were a little small. I ended up having to lay my rain pants under my knees/thighs for a thermal barrier against the cold ground.
Packed Clothes
Long sleeve sleep top - 6oz/170g
Sleep socks - 3oz/85g
Rain Jacket - 8oz/226g
Wind Jacket - 3.5oz/99g
Warm Jacket - 9.8oz/278g
Rain Pants - 4.6oz/130g
Gloves - 2.3oz/65g
Overmitts - 1oz/28g
Buff - 1.2oz/34g
Beanie - 1.4/39g
There were only a handful of hours during this trip when I was not wearing extra layers. I was cold and chilly just about the whole time. I ended up not wearing my sleep shirt since my hiking shirt never got sweaty so I still could sleep in it fine. Sleep socks stayed dry the whole time. Carrying both a wind and rain layer was nice. I used both individually for many hours. I would’ve liked to have a lighter rain jacket, but just carried the one I have. I even hiked in my warm jacket a little bit. I carried an insulated jacket from The North Face. It has down insulation in two areas, the chest/shoulders and the lower back. The rest is a mixture of grid fleece type of material. It is about an ounce heavier than my lightest down jacket, but more useful. The rain pants were useful, I hiked in them a lot. My hands did struggle on this trip, they just were cold the whole time. It was inevitable, there was lots of wind and lots of moisture. I also preferred to have my right hand glove free in case I had to make a quick reach for the bear spray so I just dealt with it.
Packed Gear
Food bag and bear line - 2oz/56g
Filter, bottle, and extra reservoir - 5oz/141g
Maps - 6.7oz/190g
Poop kit - 1.4oz/40g
Garmin inReach, external battery, cordsx2 - 13.1oz/370g
Headlamp - 6.2oz/176g
Phone - 7.6oz/215g
Bear Spray - 10.5oz/298g
Okay this was a collection of random and important stuff. I used my bear line and hung my food both nights. It was hard to find ideal bear hang spots. At night I lined my food bag with a nylofume bag to reduce smells while my food was hanging. The maps were heavy but necessary, I did refer to them a few times. I carried the Cairn Cartographics maps, they make top quality maps. It was slightly unfortunate I had to carry BOTH the north and south maps for the Bob Wilderness. I could’ve scanned and printed the sections I needed to save weight, but oh well. This was my first time using a Garmin inReach on a trip, oh boy was it worth it. Highly recommended. I carried a Lupin Neo headlamp. Its one battery could apparently last 9 hours on 200 lumens, I for sure turned it up to its highest setting occasionally. Since I cut the trip short I did not end up using the external battery. My watch and phone were both at low battery as I finished on Monday night. Lastly the phone and bear spray are two necessities. I used onX as my primary mapping tool. It worked.
Ditty bag - 5oz/142g
Kt Tape
Toothpaste+Brush
2 safety pins
Lil knife
Lighter+waterproof matches
DCF Repair tape (for tent)
Superglue
Esbit tab (firestarter)
Small first aid kit
Small tin of Squirrel’s Nut Butter
The only things I used from this bag was my toothbrush, toothpaste, and the Squirrel’s Nut Butter. I thought about starting a little responsible fire, but I didn’t have the time at camp. I also carried a small first aid kit with some supplies.
Worn/Carried Items
Leki polesx2
Lightweight wool long sleeve
The North Face running shorts
Black Diamond Hat
Socks (Darn Tough, duh)
The North Face shoes
Dity Girl gaiters
All of this stuff worked out well. I thrashed my shoes, they weren’t exactly new so I was expecting that. The little trail gaiters were kind of silly. They didn’t keep out the snow and spent most of the time soaking wet. The second day they were on the back of my pack drying out. Darn Tough socks are my go to choice. I wore a thicker pair to stay warm, but they also held on to a little more water. I did unfortunately lose one of my poles I think near the end. I might need to go have a gander for it soon.
Well that sums up the gear I used during the Bob Marshall Wilderness Open. Gear selection is important at an event like this due to the conditions, remoteness, and route distances. Maybe one year my list will include a packraft or some other silly contraption. I am pretty stoked with how my gear choices played out and didn’t have any gear issues along the way. Even though I lost a pole I did manage to come across a free bucket hat, so it’s all gravy.
