Lessons Learned from My First Thru-Hike... (Backpacking Gear List)

I recently hiked 800+ km over the Pyrenees mountains in northern Spain on the GR11 trail. In this video, I talk about what gear I used on the hike, what thru-hiking gear worked, what didn't, and what gear I'll be changing for my next thru-hike.
▼ MY FULL GEAR LIST (affiliate links)
Silverlight socks ➜ (Silverlight: ) (15% discount code: hikemuch15)
Osprey Talon 44 backpack (new model) ➜ (Amazon: amzn.to/3pZUZHK)
Black Diamond Distance FLZ trekking poles ➜ (Amazon: amzn.to/3xkFazq)
Water filter ➜ (Amazon: amzn.to/3riXlDf)
Cicerone guidebook ➜ 54(www.cicerone.co.uk/the-gr11-t...)
Set of 3 dry sacks ➜ (Amazon: amzn.to/3bTlwBB)
Tent ➜ (Rei.com: www.rei.com/product/168564/re...)
Camping pillow ➜ (Amazon: amzn.to/2MzzUWT)
Decathlon Microfiber towel ➜ (Decathlon: www.decathlon.com/products/ul...)
Sleeping pad ➜ (Rei.com: www.rei.com/product/157892/re...)
Cooking pot ➜ (Amazon: amzn.to/2NRcywv)
Spork ➜ (Amazon: amzn.to/3b2moVk)
Silicone camping cup ➜ (Amazon: amzn.to/37YIOoq)
Cooking stove ➜ (Amazon: amzn.to/37W4SzS)
Power bank ➜ (Amazon: amzn.to/3gmqRER)
Headlamp ➜ (Amazon: amzn.to/37X41iH)
Camera ➜ (Amazon: amzn.to/3r8OALH)
Lense ➜ (Amazon: amzn.to/301mCWh)
ND filter ➜ (Amazon: amzn.to/3q5GrX1)
Camera mounted microphone ➜ (Amazon: amzn.to/3r7Yyge)
GoPro Hero 7 ➜ (Amazon: amzn.to/3dXVpvO)
Peak designs capture clip ➜ (Amazon: amzn.to/3dVRQq7)
Fanny pack for my camera gear ➜ (Amazon: amzn.to/37UJfA4)
Sunglasses ➜ (vallon.store/collections/shop...)
Sea to Summit trowel ➜ (Amazon: amzn.to/3iHAMGB)
Gear Air repair kit ➜ (Amazon: amzn.to/3pXnnfq)
Swiss Army Knife ➜ (Amazon: amzn.to/2MAHrVr)
Decathlon Down Jacket Trek 100 ➜ (Decathlon: www.decathlon.com/products/me...)
Marmot PreCip rain jacket ➜ (Amazon: amzn.to/3gqiBE3)
North Face beanie ➜ (Amazon: amzn.to/3zqR7pd)
Decathlon Evadict Mt2 ➜ (Decathlon: www.decathlon.com/products/me...)
P.S. I wasn't able to find some items on Decathlon.
▼ TABLE OF CONTENTS
00:00 - Beginning
00:42 - Backpack & Sleeping gear
06:41 - Water & Food
08:42 - Clothing
14:59 - Random items
21:52 - Electronics & Camera gear
27:51 - Outro
▼ FOLLOW ME ON SOCIAL MEDIA
/ oscarbrumelis
/ oscarhikes
▼ AFFILIATE DISCLOSURE
In some of our videos and articles, we sometimes use affiliate links. If you purchase something after clicking our affiliate links, we might get a small commission from the total purchase, at no additional cost for you. We participate in the Amazon Associates affiliate program and other affiliate programs.

[@mysterious.hiker.x]

I completely understand what you were trying to say in Outro. Most people backpacking the GR11 are using heavy, traditionalist backpacking items and still enjoy/complete it. Wanting andacquiring lighter gear into ultralight realm makes that task easier, but the key is just get out there with what you have. You don't have to have the lightest, smallest Instagram pack. Thanks for sharing what worked and didnt!

[@OscarHikes]

Well said! From my own experience, a lot of people started and finished it without much though and preparation, and they still had an amazing time!

[@ingvarsaft8461]

Awesome to see someone else who uses oldschool guidebooks! Much more relaxing than phone and gives you a good reason for a short brake to appreciate your surroundings.

[@OscarHikes]

I agree. I loved having it around

[@lizzaangelis3308]

15:22 one thing you could do is break your guide book into sections. And you can look into mailing each section to the first town included in that section. So you still have your guide book but you aren’t carrying the entire thing all the way.

[@MacroHiker]

I love my Silverlight socks too. I couldn’t quite believe how much I spent on them at the time, but they are so worth it. So comfy.

[@Skeptic2006]

They are great but ordering from europe I had to email them for the IOSS number so not to pay VAT twice when they got stuck in customs. Imho, Silverlight should make this number public on their website so asking is not required.

[@-desertpackrat]

26:01 lol I feel you there, I camp with my friend and we share a tent but I just bought my own, a couple times I slept away from the tent in my hammock, but even if I'm 50 feet away her snoring is so loud that I had to buy this sleep headband with build-in flat bluetooth earphones, that you can connect to your phone. So I play the Ambience app and blast thunderstorm noise into my ears all night to drown out the snoring. It's nice because they aren't inside my ears, which are super sensitive to pressure so I could never put in earbuds or even earplugs while sleeping, I wake up with intense ear pain. And because the speakers are super flat, it doesn't even hurt my ear and I'm a side-sleeper. You just have to nudge them under the fabric to adjust their width until they sit nicely against your temple and the front of your ear, not pressing on the cartilage, and then they rest nicely there. They also make the same thing in beanie form for winter, I have one of those and it's a nice beanie and really comfortable. And because I have to run the thunderstorm sounds on my phone all night I also use a power bank but I use the solar ones, I have two and they're both 20,000 I want to say. One is heavier, and has a fold-out solar panel, but also has a wireless charger area if you have wireless Qi charging. And it has a flashlight mode but it's awkward because it's on the flat side of the powerbank. THe second one is way lighter, and instead of a fold out solar panel it just has a small panel on one side of it. And it has two lights but they're on the edge of the bank, not the side, so you can hold it in your hand like a flashlight if your other lights fail, and it fits in the hand better than the heavy one. They both perform exactly the same so I prefer the smaller one because it's so much better and lighter and has better features with all of the same power. And I live in the desert so I can basicaly trickle charge it all day in the sun, I even hang it off my backpack when hiking so that the panel is out in the sun charging. Haven't had one of them die on me yet. As for music, we listen to the radio quietly at our campsites but we don't really listen to any music while hiking because we live in mountain lion country so we have to keep our ears open. I would maybe wear some arund my neck playing so I could hear it quietly near my ears though, so that I can still hear anything approaching me.

[@moorejl57]

Great gear update, Thanks!

[@Sinrumboporelmundo]

A very interesting video! I look forward to seeing your next adventure!

[@OscarHikes]

Me too haha

[@d.2110]

cheap synthetic trailrunning socks worked great for me, zero blisters. And a bamboo baselayer has all the good qualities of wool, but without the animal suffering. And I had the same shoes as you, funny. I replaced the inlays though with ones with a firm inside-foot-part against overpronation. I adore my super light wind breaker. I think many trailrunning clothes are very good for ultralight hiking.

[@jakubkouo]

I've had some bamboo socks in the past and it was the worst material I could imagine. My feet were sweating extremely and they just felt terrible when on. The silver line socks he mention is a good combination of natural and synthetic fibres - I've done 1000km hike last year with similiar ones and they held up quite well.

[@vozmediano1981]

Thanks!!!

[@markmulw0736]

Pretty interesting stuff for a multy day hike! One question, was Talon 44 able to fit the bessesport 2p tent? and what about overall weight and comfort during this combination? Because there is a significant difference in size and weight between the to tents. Thanks!

[@phil.clarke]

Great video - can I suggest that you look at the UK for your next thru hike? Perhaps the Pennine Way at 268 miles (431km)??

[@OscarHikes]

Oh yeah, UK & Scotland are definitely on my hiking list. Thanks for the tip!

[@Skeptic2006]

Thanks for the review. Sorry for pasting the spreadsheet earlier. Just thought it might get someone ideas but a random sheet of links and stuff is a bit sus so I totally get it why that was a bad idea. Anyhow great tips here!

[@OscarHikes]

What spreadsheet are you talking about? If you posted something, it maybe was deleted automatically? Dunno.

[@Skeptic2006]

@@OscarHikes I made this Google spreadsheet for traveling with all my gear. I made it kinda fancy so it has a checklist also and it automatically updates the total weight if you click on those items. Ofc, you have to add the grams initially to it. It has everything I've bought pretty recently and links to most where I found them the cheapest(not affiliated, just a reminder for myself) I think it's pretty useful for number of reasons but KZbin deletes those I guess.

[@hugosa4909]

Nice! 😉😉😉

[@raivuxa]

Sen nav redzēts tik labs latviešu outdoor kanāls! 👍

[@GeorgieTTT]

Excellent videos thank you I’m planning to hike the gr10 in July. From what you understand how different is the gr10 to the gr11?

[@OscarHikes]

Hey, thanks! It's very similar, only a bit rainier. Also, a bit more popular. I want to hike it someday as well. 😉

[@lucaschuk828]

Can you share your glove with us? I couldn’t find the link in the description. Great information btw👍🏻

[@OscarHikes]

Thanks! They're from Decathlon and made by Forclaz. I think I bought them in the cycling section for about 10 eur. They're pretty good.

[@Skeptic2006]

Can't find Decathlon aor REI in europe. I was wondering did you order gear from their US websites despite the additional shipping costs, customs fees etc? I might order that tent from REI but tbh if I can avoid making customs declarations I will. They are always a bit of a chore. Then again if I would go to a local shop the options are 15€ "tent" and Abisko X for 1k...

[@OscarHikes]

I did order from REI online and paid the customs. They also take super long to ship to europe - about 1-2 months... So if you order something from them, you must really want it. 😅 But everything from decathlon I bought locally. They're available all over europe, latvia included.

[@jcblum1507]