Thru-Hiking Appalachian Trail with $383 of Gear! Full Gear List
I’m going back to hike the Appalachian Trail… again! This will be my third time thru-hiking the AT.
Why?
Good question! I want to hike with as low of a budget as I possibly can. So about $500 for gear and $1,000 for trail expenses(food, hostels, etc.) “How do you afford this lifestyle” and questions about gear are two of the most common questions I get. I want to test out some budget ultralight gear options and also show people how to hike on a ultra-tight budget.
This challenge will also force me out of my comfort zone - going into town, taking a shower, sleeping in a real bed, and eating massive portions have always been a way to break up the stress of a thru-hike. With such a low budget I won’t have the luxury of affording luxuries and be forced to face more stress and spend more time in the woods. Getting out of the comfort zone and the accompanying growth is one of the main reasons I keep thru-hiking.
This might be how I look after doing a trail with only $1,000
The Gear
Most of this gear I bought from Aliexpress. Think of this website as a Amazon but for Chinese companies(lol like Amazon isn’t already just filled with Chinese companies, anyway). Lots of different Chinese vendors post their products on Aliexpress and most of it gets shipped over from China or sometimes Canada/Mexico.
I found that there are still a few reputable Chinese hiking companies that make decent stuff, like 3F UL, Naturehike, and Widesea. Buying these products can be fairly safe that you’ll get at least what is advertised. That’s the big risk, very often what you’re ordering is in reality nothing like the photos and description in the listing.
My goal was to find the cheapest gear that would still work on the trail and not fall apart immediately. Surprisingly I found some pretty good options.
You can find most of this gear on websites like Amazon and such but I found Aliexpress was the cheapest source of this gear, it’s just more of a hassle to navigate the Aliexpress website. There’s a constant rotating promotions and such on Aliexpress so prices will shift a few % every week. YMMV on these prices.
Random sidenote: I had trouble getting my credit card to work on Aliexpress but using PayPal checkout worked fine.
Shorts
This seems like the most popular piece of gear, here's the link: https://amzn.to/4bMDDXm
Backpack
3F UL Gear QiDian Pro $86.33
“At only 880 grams, this Qidian Pro backpack is an upgraded version of the Qidian. UHMWPE material ensures that this backpack will perform in the harshest of field environments.”
It’s under 2lbs. It’s made from UHMWPE(aka dyneema) so it’s super durable and mostly waterproof. Should hold up great and it cost me $86.33 shipped. Shipping took about 10 days.
Tent
Lanshan 1 Pro Tent $123.01
690g/1.5lbs. Made of silnylon and requires one trekking pole to set-up. The internet is full of rave reviews for this tent, definitely the best budget to performance tent I found. You do have to seam seal it, but that’s not a big deal, seam seal costs $8 and can be done in 20 minutes.
Sleeping Bag
Widesea 400B Ultralight Quilt $44.46
Weighs 1.7lbs and filled with duck down. This is rated to 40F. Should be warm enough for the AT in the summer, but that’s why I chose the AT. Lots of margin for error and I won’t freeze to death at night.
I want to try my hand at making my own gear so I’m also making my own quilt that should be much warmer and one I will have more confidence in.
Rip Stop By the Roll Frontcountry Quilt Kit $61.40
You’ll have to do your own research on fabrics and such but I chose 5oz/sq yd climashield which should equate to a 30 degree quilt. It’s nice that you can buy all the materials you need from Rip Stop by the Roll and get these kits where you know you have all the required gear. Don’t forget thread and needles like I did!
Sleeping Pad
Widesea Foam Sleeping Pad $14.13
Total Z-lite knock-off. The foam feels a little bit more thin than a Z-lite and likely has less R-value, but shouldn’t matter too much on the AT in the summer. Worst case scenario I can just buy a regular Z-lite for $57. I’ll cut this down to save weight and space, you only need it to cover your back and hips, I’ll put my feet on my pack.
Cooking Kit
BRS Isobutane stove $12.96
This thing is so tiny! 25g! You can find it on Amazon for ~$25, but you can find it for half that on Aliexpress. Literally the same product. This is another one that has been tested by many others and seems to work well. It’s loud. I think it probably wastes more gas, but, it works!
Widesea Titanium 1300ML Pot $19.00
This one I’m really excited about. You can’t really screw up titanium. Just a quick google search similar titanium pots are all above $50! I like this cause it’s got a lot of volume and it’s wide and fat so it’s easier to clean and easier to eat out of.
Titanium Spork $4.32
Again exact same thing as you’d find stateside, but at a fraction of the price. Buying titanium on Aliexpress is the smart move.
Puffy
UETEEY Ultralight Down Jacket $18.94
Another product that advertises as real down. Buy it 2 sizes up, I got a XXL, but it’s pretty good. Good zippers, good stitching, and good loft. I think this will be plenty warm and so much cheaper than something name brand.
Direct Alpha Hoody
Rip Stop By the Roll MYOG Direct Alpha Hoody Pattern $20
Some people are paying 50%+ markups for direct alpha hoodies like senchi because they’re hard to find in-stock. So… just make your own! It’ll be like $40-50 total and shouldn’t be that difficult. I am making my own, on a custom printed direct alpha too, excited to see how it turns out. Direct alpha is one of the best midlayers, great warmth for the super light weight, completed this should be under 6ozs.
Headlamp
Nitecore NU25 400 Lumen Headlamp $26.72
Exact same headlamp as you will find on Amazon except it is branded for sale in China.
Trowel
Titanium trowel $7.10
These same ones sell on Amazon for $25!
Shoes
I tried some knock-off Hokas and trail runners from Aliexpress that were $23 and $28. Total fail. The sizing was all wrong and the soles looked terrible, basically no grip whatsoever. Bad shoes could lead me to slip and break my neck or break my leg, or develop feet and knee issues so this is one area I’m not going to take a chance on. I found some La Sportiva trail runners on REI used for 50% off, good enough for me and I’ll try and stretch these shoes to ~1,000 miles so that hopefully I only need two pairs of shoes. Definitely an area where it’s difficult to save money.
Rain Gear
I bought a rain jacket off Aliexpress but I’m not sure how it will hold up. There’s already a good solution for cheap raingear and that is Frogg Toggs $17 on Amazon. If the Aliexpress rain gear doesn’t cut it I’ll just wear Frogg Toggs.
Battery Pack
Anker 20k MAH $29
I’m not going to trust my electronics to a Aliexpress battery, but thankfully anker 20ks are really affordable and only slightly heavier than Nitecore 20k batteries(which run $100).
If you’re hiking on a budget having a big battery is a good idea that way you’re not forced to go into any towns unexpectedly just to re-charge your electronics.
Water Filter
Sawyer Squeeze $45.99
Just can’t beat it. This is the water filter I’ve carried on every thru-hike and this is the filter I’m going to continue to carry. The only time I’ve gotten sick on-trail is the time in Colorado when I didn’t filter my water lol. Cow ponds, poop water, water with dead animals in it… all filters just fine with the Sawyer. The only thing it can’t filter is viruses, so this is not a good solution for going to places like SE Asia or South America, but for hiking long trails the Sawyer Squeeze reigns supreme.
Clothes and Layers
Don’t need a bunch of layers on the AT. Between the puffy and direct alpha I’ll have my bases covered. I might not even need the puffy, and in that case I’ll just leave it in a hiker box for a cold hiker in need. Another great thing about cheap gear, you don’t even need to mail it off, you can just hiker box it when you don’t need it anymore!
Otherwise I’ll be wearing a Finetrack L1 and L2, they have a pretty cool layering system that wicks sweat away. I figure clothing choices will be pretty individual so I’m not going to go into depth about these here.
Total $383
So far my total for gear is $383.62. I still need to pick up a few other things like trekking poles but mostly I’m good! And my pack is under 8lbs right now, crazy! I’m excited to get out there and try it all out. I’ll be starting NOBO at Springer late May and aim to make it to Katadhin in about 90-100 days. The faster you hike, the cheaper the hike is as well.
