Straight up this is not a light weight gear list. My total carried base weight was 9.2 kilograms.
There are plenty of light weight gear lists out there including this one from Carrot Quinn. If you have the money and accessibility for this type of gear I recommend it. The bulk of my kit was purchased in New Zealand, where light weight gear is few and far between and often very expensive. A few bits and pieces, like my neoair thermorest, were bought from Ebay and came from places like Germany. This was purely for massive price savings (the Neoair was $200NZD on Ebay appose to $400NZD at Bivoac). Gear was swopped out and switched up in Auckland where I reevaluated what we really needed and to cut down on unnecessary weight. I bought some extra layers and replacement socks in Wellington. Gear that was added in is in Italics. The list of gear that I left in Auckland along with the reasons why is at the bottom of the page.
SHELTER
MSR hubba hubba tent 2 person + footprint
1998g
SLEEPING
Thermostat neoair x sleeping pad
355g
RAB atlas explorer sleeping bag 500 fill
1100g
BACKPACK
Osprey exos 58L backpack
1400g
Sea to summit backpack liner 50L
85g
RAIN/MUD GEAR
Osprey backpack rain cover
117g
Outdoor research Helium II rain jacket
175g
COOKING and EATING
Jetboil Zip 345g (added in Auckland)
Gas can small (full)
293g
Microfleece cloth 25g
Lighter
18g
Sea to summit bowl
78g
Sea to summit spoon
10g
Opinel knife
43g
DRINKING
Mapac 2L bladder (empty)
125g
Nalgene 1L with sipper insert (empty)
112g
Steripen
126g
Sea to Summit thermal cup
74g
MISCELLANEOUS
Microfleece towel
155g
Petzl head torch
82g
Earplugs in case
9g
Wilderness wash
25g
Poop scoop
84g
Rag
28g
Coin and card purse
25g
TECHNOLOGY and OTHER BITS
Sea to summit 8L dry bag
20g
iPhone with lifeproof case
152g
iPhone Charging cable & plug
43g
Lifeproof adapter and iPhone headphones 20g (Added in Auckland)
Kindle
190g
Kindle charge cable
20g
CLOTHES and SHOES (not worn – spare/layers/camp/hut clothes)
North face thermoball jacket
341g
Icebreaker leggings
179g
Icebreaker underwear
24g
Smartwool socks 24g (Added in Auckland)
Icebreaker shirt 105g (Added in Auckland)
Icebreaker skirt 200g (Added in Auckland)
Patagonia jumper 150g (Added in Wellington)
Quick dry Nike tights 200g (Added in Wellington)
Outdoor research quick dri gloves 50g (Added in Wellington)
Teva sandals
500g
TOILETRIES & FIRST AID KIT
350g combined including bag –Sunscreen roll on, Toothpaste, Papaya ointment tube, Toothbrush, Tweezers, Nail clippers, Wilderness wash , Cyclosporine x 30 tablets in plastic tub, Toilet paper, Bandaids, Soap bar, Insect repellent, Gerwhal foot cream sachets, betadine ointment tube
CLOTHES and SHOES (Worn)
Lululemon sports bra
103g
Icebreaker underwear
24g
Icebreaker shirt
105g
Helly Hansen shorts
154g
Icebug buff
28g
Icebreaker ankle socks x2
28g + 28g
Salomon wings flyte 2
604g
Outdoor research gaiters
84g
Fizan poles x2
337g
STUFF JACK CARRIED THAT I USED
Battery pack X 2
95g X 95g
Spot tracker
134g
Battery pack cable
19g
Action camera with waterproof case and stick
200g *If we were going to the trail again we would have left this at home and Just recorded stuff on our phones. Its a bit of faff to get out and record when your on the move.
GEAR LEFT IN AUCKLAND
Columbia rain pants 267g -Honestly I could not be arsed taking off my shoes to get these pants on while I was walking. They probably would have been way too sweaty anyway.
DIY vinyl rain skirt 100g -It was useless. My DIY skills are lacking.
360 degree cookpot set 214g – It was useless and took 20 minutes for water to boil. We replaced it with a pricey but very fast Jetboil
360 degree pocket rocket 111g – see above
Cookpot scorer 7g – Changed our cooking style to boiling water only so no need to scrub pots
Small net bag to hold items 11g – Zip locks work better
Platapus preserve (wine pouch) 10g – Nalgene and bladder was sufficient and we certainly learned the hard way that drinking wine and through walking does not mix!
Sea to summit dishes bucket 56g – We were able to take water from streams in our bowls and rinse them and bury the waste water
Duct tape – 87g – Not needed.
Carabiner with led light 20g – It was from Kathmandu so of course it broke.
Goal zero solar panel -395g – This was soooo heavy and we used it twice. We picked up a second Smaak brand battery pack which was lighter and more efficient.
Plantronics wireless headphones -15g- Poor battery life. Switched to lifeproof jack and regular headphones
Plantronics charge cable – 17g – See above
Hiker gx socks – 80g – Too thick for hot swollen feet
Fleece gloves – 45g – Too hot for gloves. Only regretted leaving these in Auckland when I was freezing on the Tararua ranges. Picked up some Quik dri Outdoor research gloves when we finished the North Island
Sea to Summit hat -44g – Too hot for hats. I just got an extra buff when it was cold.
Swimming bottoms – 50g- Too heavy and I swam in my undies
Sleeping Shirt -140g – Cotton and stupid
Kathmandu fleece jumper -298g – Replaced this heavy jumper with a lighter Patagonia one
Hikers wool – Better suited for tramping boots. The constant river crossings and mud meant the wool shifted about too much and ended up causing more of an issue.
Medical tape & Scissors – Discovered that fabric Elastoplast plasters work just fine. They are a good alternative to moleskin
Emergency blanket – Super heavy and not necessary if we took the correct precautions.
Under armour mid heatgear shorts – 75g – Uncomfortable
Purplerain hiker skirt – 130g – Bought too large and uncomfortable
Solabari long sleeve shirt -155g – Great for 90 mile beach but not practical everywhere else. Sweaty and clammy polyester and white fabric so got super filthy
Icebreaker long hiker socks – 72g – Too hot and chunky
michelle campbell NZ 
I think you should definitely keep the gloves and hat, there are some cold cold days. And I wouldn’t get rid of the waterproof pants no matter how much they weigh (I found the ones I used in the gutter beside a road and they saved my life). Personally I would bring the Nalgene over a thermocup, you can still use it for hot drinks if you need and it’s. Really convenient for gathering water as well as using the Steri pen (we used chlorine tablets, but same idea) especially if your eater source isn’t empty when you go to replenish or if you need to filter dirt chunks or sand out of the water. I maybe carried a bit too much with me but I definitely did not regret any warm clothing. The stuff I left behind as I went was my fleece (accidental) and my towel, we used one half sized microfiber for dishes and bathing. We also had one wilderness wash thing that we used for ourselves as well as our dishes and clothes and whatever else needed washing. It lasted.
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What about the solar panel for now ? Is it worth the weight ?
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No! We will ditch this in Auckland. It’s good but we a fine with battery packs and putting our phones on flight mode – the iPhone battery lasts around 5 days
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Were the short/small gaiters good enough for you? I had long ones but I could save another 70 grams getting shorter ones 🙂 Just wondering if it’s worth it.I am most likely using Topo Athletic trailrunners.
Thanks for the list!
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They worked great for me! My main question for gaiters is can they keep crud out of my shoes? And the OR trail runner gaiters did the job. But if you want more protection for your legs you might want to stick to the good old kiwi long gaiters which are particularly useful for overgrown forests but way too much for the rest of Te Araroa. Cheers for reading 🙂
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