Wild Island Adventures

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Overland Track Gear List

I’ve never made a list of my gear before but this question gets asked a lot. So, when preparing for our recent hike on the Overland Track, I thought I’d give it a crack and make a list of the gear I’d packed. Who knows, maybe it will give you some ideas!

A few things to note:

  • This was a winter trip (August 2022) – I have put an Asterix next to the gear that I would most likely not take if it were a summer trip (most likely because it would depend on the weather forecast of course, anything can happen in summer!)

  • I am not an ultralight hiker. My gear is good quality, comfortable and durable. While I do try to minimise weight where possible, it’s not my main goal… I aim to ensure that I will be warm, dry, well fed and comfortable at night-time :-)

  • I have created links for some of the items in my list as I rate them highly and would recommend!

 

Here’s what I wore during the day:

 

Extra things I had for day wear/use:

 

Here’s what I had for night time wear:

  • Nice thick woollen socks

  • Merino leggings*

  • Fleece pants

  • Merino singlet

  • Merino t-shirt*

  • Merino long sleeved jumper

  • Down jacket

  • Gloves

  • Beanie

  • Down booties

The idea is that none of these items are worn during the day to ensure I have a full set of warm and dry clothes to change into once I’m in camp

 

Other Equipment:

  • Mont Zodiac 700 down filled sleeping bag

  • Exped sleeping mat

  • Pillow

  • One Planet Goondie 2 snow tent (shared between 2)

  • Hiking Pack - mine is an Osprey 85L, it’s only this big because I used to be a hiking guide and it was necessary.. when it’s time to replace I’ll go down to a 65L

  • Waterproof Pack Liner and Cover

  • Stove, 2 x pots and 2 x 230g gas

  • Bowl, mug and spork

  • 3L Water bladder

  • 500ml water bottle (mainly to use as a hot water bottle at night)*

  • Toilet paper and trowel

  • Sit pad – can’t give you a link for this, but a simple piece of foam to sit on during the day is bliss!

  • Leatherman

  • Glue

  • Gaffa tape

  • Sunscreen

  • Small first aid kit

  • Toothpaste & brush

  • Kindle

  • Battery pack and charging cables

  • Hip flask of special juice

  • Food + Snacks see our menu for the week here

 

Total starting weight – 20kgs

Total finish weight – 14kg

 

On reflection –

We were blessed with outstanding conditions on the trail.
Our overnight low for the week was around -3deg and daily highs of roughly 9deg.

As such I didn’t need/use:

  • The buff or synthetic puffer jacket I brought along as extra day wear.

  • The gaffa tape or glue… but I wouldn’t risk leaving them behind as they are very useful for all kinds of equipment malfunctions.

  • Probably didn’t need to take 2 x pots, and bowls – we could have made use with one pot and the lids as our bowls.

  • A 4 season tent was too much for this trip – we were battling with condensation issues every single morning, it just wasn’t cold enough (which I shouldn’t complain about)

 

My gear highlight for the week were my sealskin socks and gloves!
I’d never used them before and was pretty sceptical, especially about the socks – worried that I’d sweat a lot in them and end up with blisters.
In reality, I had warm and dry feet for the entire week even though my boots were saturated on the inside, what a dream!
The gloves were fantastic for climbing Barn Bluff, they were super grippy and warm and I was able to get all up close and personal with the snow and have my hands stay warm and dry inside – they gave me more confidence for the climb up and down!

 

If you’re just starting out, compiling all of this gear is going to be expensive!
Hiring gear is a great way to test out equipment, see what you like or don’t like and make an informed decision when it comes time to purchase your own.

Many of the items I have listed and used are available through our Hiking Gear Hire page and our Gear Hire and Transport package page