Equipment List Southwest Lightweight Backpacking - NOLS

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© National Outdoor Leadership School
Equipment List
Southwest Lightweight Backpacking
Welcome to NOLS Southwest! We look forward to having you with us. We have designed this list to help you decide what
equipment you will need for your course. Please take the time to read the following information carefully before making any
equipment choices.
Equipment Selection
The Southwest Lightweight Backpacking course is designed to travel in the mountains with the lightest load possible. To do
this you will need some specialized lightweight gear built specifically for expeditions such as these. Equipment selection and
care is an essential wilderness skill. There is a bewildering variety of equipment on today’s market. We urge you to do some
research before buying or purchase available items from NOLS.
You are welcome to bring any gear on our equipment list that you already own. Please try to match your selections as closely
as possible to the items described in the following list. Your instructors will inspect all of the gear you bring to determine if it
is suitable for your course’s specific route and anticipated weather. If an item is not approved, you can leave it with your
luggage in our storage lockers. You may be required to rent or purchase gear from our outfitting department to supplement
what you brought with you. Your specific instructor team, recent weather, and route will ultimately determine which
gear is best for your expedition.
Remember, if you purchase gear before arriving, lightweight is the name of the game. Every ounce counts towards the total
weight of your pack. Do research, read labels and ask questions. The goal is to have each person go into the wilderness with a
pack that weighs 25 lbs or less.
Gear Resources
An excellent resource for unique ultra-light gear is the website www.backpackinglight.com. In addition, www.golite.com,
www.patagonia.com, www.granitegear.com, www.outdoorresearch.com, www.montbell.com and www.gossamergear.com are
great lightweight gear resources.
Weighing Your Equipment
We recommend that you purchase an eleven-pound digital postage scale to help you prepare for this trip. By weighing each
piece of equipment you might bring, you will be able to make better choices in your gear selection. Scales will also be available
to weigh your gear during the issue process at NOLS Southwest on the first day of your course.
Equipment Fees
To cover the cost of your equipment purchases and rentals from us, you have been charged an equipment deposit in addition
to the course tuition (See your account statement for the amount). The equipment deposit equals the cost of what the average
student spends on gear purchases and rental items throughout the duration of this course. Additional charges will be incurred
for any equipment that is lost or damaged. You will be billed for any charges that exceed your equipment deposit or refunded
any balance approximately 2-4 weeks after the end of your course. Please note that any rental prices listed are per course
and that prices are subject to change without notice.
Equipment List
The following list describes the equipment necessary for your course and the availability of that equipment at NOLS
Southwest. Please pay careful attention to those items we do not provide, and/or those that are for purchase only— with no
option to rent.
The availability of each item is indicated as follows:
Purchase Only — The item is available from NOLS, but for PURCHASE ONLY.
Rental Only — The item is available at NOLS, but for RENTAL ONLY.**
Must Bring — The item is NOT AVAILABLE from NOLS; must bring from home.
** Rental Only items have the opportunity to be purchased at the end of your course if you are interested. The rental price is then applied towards the
purchase price.
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Important Note: If you have not spent much time in the outdoors and have little experience with outdoor or lightweight
gear, this list may seem overwhelming at first. Please don’t stress. Doing gear research online or bringing this list to your local
gear store can also help. Please also do not hesitate to call us with questions at NOLS Southwest (520) 749-0955, we love
hearing from students before courses start!
GEAR TO BRING, RENT OR PURCHASE FROM NOLS
You will need to either bring the items below OR rent or purchase them from NOLS. If you already own items you’d like
to use, bring them with you and we will check them out and see if they suffice for this course type.
Equipment
Primary
Insulating Layer
(Mid-Weight
Top)
Hiking shirt
Down Puffy
Jacket
Wind Jacket
Rain Jacket
Primary
Insulating
Layer (Mid-
Weight
bottoms)
Shorts
Rental
Price
Purchase
Only
Purchase
Only
Purchase
Only
Purchase
Only
Purchase
Only
Purchase
Only
Purchase
Only
Purchase
Price
$40 - $55
$35 - $40
$190
$60 - $80
$120 -
$150
$40 - $50
$35 - $45
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Comments
One mid-weight underwear top made of wool,
polypropylene or Capilene®. [Example: Patagonia Capliene 2
Lightweight Crew, 5.6oz or Ibex Woolies Crew 6.4oz]
One synthetic shirt for hiking. We highly recommend
polyester or Capilene® for hiking because it dries much
quicker than cotton and can be incorporated into a layering
system. Consider a men’s polyester button up dress shirt for
a hiking shirt, inexpensive at a thrift store and provides great
sun protection! [Example: Patagonia Capilene 1 Silkweight T-
Shirt, 3.4oz]
You will be excited to have a down 800-fill puffy jacket.
Something less than 20 oz. and with a hood is ideal.
MontBell, GoLite, Patagonia and Mountain Hardwear all
make great lightweight options. We carry and recommend
the Montbell Alpine Light Down Parka, 11.3oz. [Other example:
Patagonia Ultralight Down Hoody, 9.3oz]
A lightweight, breathable, nylon wind shell either pullover
or full zip style. Hooded wind jackets are strongly
recommended. Does not need to be waterproof, but should
be about 5oz or less. [Examples: Patagonia Houdini Jacket,
3.7oz or the Marmot Trail Wind Hoody, 5oz]
A lightweight, roomy waterproof jacket with a hood that is
less than 16oz. Both coated nylon and breathable fabrics
such as Gore-Tex® are acceptable. We carry the Mountain
Hardware Epic Jacket (13 oz). [Other Examples: Marmot Precip
Jacket, 13oz, or the Go-Lite Malpais Trinity Litshell Jacket, 7oz]
This insulating layer should be made of polypropylene, wool
or Capilene®. Cotton and cotton blends are not acceptable.
These could be optional if you are bringing puffy pants and
consider yourself a “warm” person. [Examples: Patagonia
Capilene 2 Lightweight Bottoms, 5.7oz or Ibex Woolies Bottoms,
5.6oz]
Any quick drying pair of nylon shorts, with or without builtin
underwear. We carry Patagonia Baggies shorts, 8.1oz.
[Other Example: Go-Lite Siskiyou Hiking Short, 6oz.]
Check
List
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Equipment
Hiking Pants
Synthetic or
Down Puffy
Pants
Underwear
Sports Bra
Fleece Hat
Lightweight
Gloves
Socks
Hiking Shoes
Sun Hat,
Baseball Cap
or Visor
Rental
Price
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GEAR TO BRING, RENT OR PURCHASE FROM NOLS
Purchase
Price
Must Bring Must Bring
Purchase
Only
Purchase
Only
Purchase
Only
Purchase
Only
Purchase
Only
Purchase
Only
Must
Bring
Purchase
Only
$140
$20 - $35
$35
$15 - $30
Quantity
1
1
1 pair
1
1
Comments
A pair of quick-drying lightweight pants is key for a hiking
course in the desert southwest. If you prefer, you can forget
the shorts and just bring the pants to save weight. [Example:
Patagonia Simple Guide Pant, 12.3oz or Mountain Hardware Mesa
Pant, 13.2oz]
You can substitute bringing a pair of polypro midweight
bottoms and just bring a pair of lightweight synthetic or
down puffy pants instead. Bringing these pants may also
allow you to bring a lighter rated sleeping bag (i.e. 30 degree
instead of 20 degree), as you can sleep in your pants for
increased warmth. If you sleep cold, you will want to bring
both, especially for the winter/spring lightweight courses.
We recommend and carry the Montbell U.L Thermawrap pants,
10.2 oz. [Other example: Backpacking Light Cocoon Insulated
Pants, 7.3oz].
Optional. Silk, synthetic or none. We recommend that men
go without underwear, and just use nylon shorts with liners.
Women should go with what’s comfortable. We stock
Patagonia silk-weight briefs for women and boxers and
briefs for men.
Females will need one synthetic sports bra. We stock
Patagonia sports bras.
A warm hat made of wool or fleece or a Buff. If you are
bringing a fleece layer with a hood, this could also suffice.
$9 - $15 1 pr Wool or fleece is acceptable. [Example: Outdoor Research PL
glove liners, 1.4 oz]
Bring 2-3 pairs of short (1/2 crew to crew) length,
comfortable, lightweight socks that should fit with your
$8 - $12 2 - 3 pr hiking shoe. These should be synthetic or wool. Check out
socks from Smartwool, Darn Tough and Wigwam.
Must
Bring
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You’ll need a lightweight hiking shoe/sneaker that has
adequate stability, breathability, and foot protection. High
top shoes are not recommended. Avoid shoes with large
quantities of leather, as this adds weight and drying time.
Gore-Tex liners also increase drying time (if shoes get wet)
and decrease breathability of shoes. The fit should be
slightly roomy, one half size larger than your normal shoe
size to accommodate swelling from altitude and exercise.
This will also help to avoid blisters and sore feet. Before
arriving for your course, take some time to do a few day
hikes to make sure your shoes fit comfortably. Please see
the bottom of this document for a list of recommended
shoes.
$20 1 A light baseball or running cap is great for sun protection.
Also consider wide brimmed hats for better protection.
Check
List
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Equipment
Backpack
Down Sleeping
Bag
Sleeping Pad
Sleeping Bag
Compression
Sack
Gaiters
Trekking
Poles
Rental
Price
$40
Purchase
Only
Must
Bring
Must
Bring
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GEAR TO BRING, RENT OR PURCHASE FROM NOLS
Purchase
Price
Rental
Only
$270
Must
Bring
Must
Bring
Must Bring Must Bring
Purchase
Only
$65 - $70
/pair
Quantity
1
1
1
1
1 pair
1 pair
Comments
A lightweight (less than 2 lbs.) backpack with approximately
3000 cubic inches of capacity. We recommend and have a
limited supply of the GoLite Jam pack, 1lbs. 6oz for rent.
You will need a lightweight (close to 2 lbs.), down sleeping
bag that has a breathable water repellant shell. Ideally, it
should be rated 20 degrees or less for winter/spring courses
and 20 – 30 degrees for fall courses. Check out sleeping
bags from MontBell, Western Mountaineering, Feathered
Friends, GoLite, Mountain Hardwear or Big Agnes. We
carry a limited supply of the Montbell U.L Super Spiral
Down Hugger (15 degrees, 2lbs., 4oz). Also consider using a
lightweight quilt style sleeping system, such as the Go-Lite
UltraLite Down 3-season Quilt, 20 degrees, 1 lb., 8oz. We
do not rent down sleeping bags.
Bring a lightweight (less than 1lb.) inflatable (or closed cell
foam) sleeping pad that extends from your head to your
thighs. We recommend Bozeman Mountain Works
TorsoLite pad, 10.3 oz, the Montbell UL Pad 90, 11.1 oz, or
Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XLite, 12oz. MontBell also makes an
excellent inflatable pillow, which weighs only 2.3oz.
Optional. If you want/need to compress down your
sleeping bag to save room, you should think about bringing
a sil-nylon sleeping bag compression stuff sack. Check out
the Granite Gear Air Compressor. Some folks may just
pack their sleeping bag into the bottom of their pack with
no compression sack needed.
A tiny, lightweight gaiter is recommended. [Example: Outdoor
Research Salamander Gaiters, 6.2oz]
Optional. If you have trekking poles, and want to hike with
them, please bring them with you. They are NOT essential
or required, but many folks enjoy hiking with them. These
should be a sturdy 2-3 section pole that packs easily.
Check
List
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Equipment
Titanium or
Plastic
Bowl/Mug
Rental
Price
Purchase
Only
Spoon Purchase
Only
Water Bottles/
Containers
Purchase
Only
Lip Balm Purchase
Only
Sunscreen Purchase
Only
Bandana Purchase
Only
Sunglasses
Headlamp
Purchase
Only
Purchase
Only
Lighter Purchase
Only
Plastic Trash Purchase
Bag Only
Watch
Camera
Notebook &
Pen
Stuff Sacks
Toiletries
Coffee
Purchase
Only
Must
Bring
Purchase
Only
Purchase
Only
Purchase
Only
Purchase
Only
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GEAR TO BRING, RENT OR PURCHASE FROM NOLS
Purchase
Price
$4 - $30
Quantity
1
Comments
A super lightweight titanium mug/bowl is excellent for
eating and drinking. A simple and light ziploc® or
Tupperware® type container will suffice. [Example: Firelite
550ml, 2.5oz].
$2 - $12 1 Titanium, .75oz or Lexan, 1.1oz spoons work well. We
carry both options for purchase.
$7 - $11 1
You will need at least 2 Liters of capacity for your trip.
Lightweight collapsible containers with or without hoses
work great. Check out different styles from Platypus or
MSR. One Liter wide-mouth plastic Gatorade bottles also
work well. A 16 oz. Nalgene with a lid works well doubling
as a small water bottle and coffee mug.
$3 1 Stick, cream or tube type moisturizing balm with Sun
Protection Factor (SPF) 15 or greater.
$3 - $9 1 One small bottle with Sun Protection Factor (SPF) of 15 or
greater.
$3 1 - 2 Useful for a variety of purposes. Silk is a great lighter weight
$40 - $75
1 pr
choice.
Lenses should be dark and block at least 100% ultraviolet
and 95% infrared light. We stock a variety of sunglasses
styles.
$25 - $50 1
Bring a lightweight LED headlamp. Examples are Petzl E-
Lite, .95oz. with batteries, or the Black Diamond Ion, 1.06oz
with batteries. We carry the Black Diamond Spot, 3oz with
batteries and the Black Diamond Gizmo, 2.8oz with
batteries.
$1.50 1 A mini Bic lighter for lighting your stove.
$.75 1 You will need one small trash compactor bag (3 mil) for
making your pack waterproof.
$40 - $60
Must Bring
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Water-resistant. An alarm is necessary for early morning
starts.
1 Optional. A small, lightweight digital camera is great for
taking photos.
$2 - $10 1 of each A small, lightweight pad is necessary for taking notes during
classes.
Optional. A few small stuff sacks for organizing gear can be
helpful. Please choose the lightest fabric possible (sil-nylon
$15 - $20 2 works great). [Example: Granite Gear’s Ultralight Air Bags series]
Toothbrush, toothpaste, comb, brush, skin lotion, tampons.
$2 - $5 1 Travel or sample sizes are ideal.
$4 (3pk)
Optional
If you are a coffee drinker, we’ve found that the Starbucks
VIA Ready Brew packets from the supermarket are the hot
ticket!
Check
List
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Recommended Hiking Shoes: The following brands and models are good examples:
Montrail: AT Plus, Masochist
La Sportiva: Raptor, Crosslite, Imogene
Salomon: XA Pro 3D Ultra, XA Comp 5, XT Wings 2
Vasque: Mindbender, Velocity
Asolo: Dominator, Tritronix
Innov8: Roclite 315
*Please note that shoe manufacturers often rename their product line. Visit the manufacturer's website or contact us
if you have questions.
GROUP GEAR
All group equipment necessary for your expedition, such as lightweight shelters, cook gear, navigation equipment, first aid kits,
emergency communication, maps, etc. will be provided by NOLS.
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