Order of Importance?

I thought it would be fun to see everyones opinions on which piece of gear is the most 'important', and does that co-relate to the amount of money you spent on it? Are boots more important then a tent? Sleeping bag or backpack? So I would suggest putting them in order 1-6 by money spent,(sleeping bag, tent, backpack, boots, sleeping mat, stove).

To keep everything equal either do your summer kit or your winter kit, or both. It might be interesting to see if individuals differ from summer to winter. Does a sleeping bag become more important then a tent in the winter, etc...?

Lets please let everyone have their own opinions, I don't want this to turn into heated debate and overload the moderators.....:)

I will throw out my winter kit first to get the topic started...............

1)Tent- Hilleberg Unna ($300)

2)Backpack- Osprey Aether ($280)

3)Boots- Zamberlan Vioz ($260)

4)Sleeping bag- MH Lamina, -26c ($210)

5)Stove- MSR Simmerlite ($90)

6)Sleeping pad- MEC Kelvin ($80)

Maybe include location or a general description of temp range to give other members an idea of your uses.

Northern Ontario, Canada- Average winter temp around -20celcius.

Take it away Trailspacers...........!

I forgot to add, if you want to justify or include a short description behind your reasoning for your order that might be fun to read too.

If I was headed out here in Vermont tonight this would be my order of importance:

1 Layers-- all included, mostly gucci, light and mid weight plus a fleece depending on temp HeliHanson or MHW, plus triple goretex layers or woolies, marmot gloves and so on. all told I'd guess about $550 to $900      A naked winter hiker is a dead winter hiker.

2  Boots-- either Limmers or Koflach Paras, depending on the mission.  Limmers $80 plus a quart of maple syrup, Paras, $165   Aint gettin far without my boots

3 Pack-- Usually Marmot Eiger or Gregory Reality.  Eiger $79 and Reality $175  Pack is headquarters, water, fire, food.

4 Headlamp- Petzl Myo.  I think $59   If I can't see, I'm all done.  

5 Sleeping Bag--  Kelty -15 600fp down.  $89 closeout  Often headed to a leanto shelter or improvising shelter

6 Pad--  Big Agnes Insul. Air Core $59 Actually tested it to -5F the night before last.  Very impressed with warmth

7  Tent--  Sierra Designs Alpha  $280 

8  Kitchen-- Optimus Kit and Butane stove

Interesting thread Jake, 

Well I only have 1 kit, sorta, lots of packs and bags but really only use one set.  As to order of importance...  Heck that's hard, I don't think I would want to be with out any of it.  And as for prices ...  To long a go to remember, i.e. I never really keep track, but nothing is very expensive. 

1 Tent?  Walrus Arch, great little tent I almost always take it with me.

2 Pad?  Synmat 9 pump DLX, Oh how I love thee

3 Pack?  Kelty Red Cloud, got to have something to carry it all in!

4 Bag?  SlumberJack Latitude 0-F, nice and toasty

5 Stove?  Optimus Nova, great little stove for cooking up all kinds of things

6 Clothing?  Lots of Polypro, wish I had more wool, but what I have works for what I do. 

Question marks are because I am not really sure what is more important.  Of course their is always Food at the top of the list too! 

Wolfman

1) Tent- Nothing yet

2) Backpack- Deuter 40 liter pro (165)

3) Boots- Keen Oregon PCT's ($150.00)

4) Sleeping bag- Big Agnes 0 degree Moon Hill ($123.00 on Steep and Cheap)

5) Stove- MSR Pocket Rocket (35)

6) Big Agnsee self inflating (80 on steep and cheap)

Have all kinda layers of cloths, will bring some crampons, have OR gaiters, leki poles. I think, for my trek, the most immportant piece of gear is my boots. If they were to fail me, nothing else good would happen.

This is what I have for Evereest Base Camp Trek

I live in the PNW where its been in the mid 20's to 30's  at night for the last month. And we were 13" behind in rain fall last month, so we're having a fairly dry winter here.

If I have to pick an order of importance from: sleeping bag, tent, backpack, boots, sleeping mat, stove then mine would be:

1) Boots (Keen Targhee II, $120) I want my feet to be warm, comfortable and dry. I'm throughly impressed with the waterproofness of these babies being that I live where there's a lot of rain, wet foliage, and standing water.

2) Stove (Brunton Talon, $30) So I can cook and boil water.

3) Sleeping bag (REI 15 synthetic, $40 used) So I can be warm and cozy, I can always build a shelter.

4) Tent (Homemade Silnylon Bilgy Tarp Tent $60 in materials/nontions and approx. 18 hrs of labor) Then I won't have to build my shelter and it's much more waterproof.

5) Backpack (TNF Terra 45-$120, Marmot Zelus 25-free I won it, Osprey Stratos 24-$40 used, Kelty Cache Hauler, free as a gift) This would obviously be decided on my length of trek. 

6) Sleeping pad (Self-inflating Thermarest lite $30) This is more of a luxury than a necessity for me.

Now then, if it's order of importance of ANY gear (excluding food, since it's not really "gear," it would be entirely different.

1) Clothing. Baselayer to Rain parka, I probably paid around $250 for the outfit, some bought new, some bought in EUC. I want to be warm and comfortable and dry.

2)The boots listed above. I want to keep my feet warm and comfy. I can also use the laces for snares and other things.

3)Flint or some type of fire starter. To keep warm, cook, and boil water.

4)Pocket knife. (Gerber, it was a gift). I don't like going without a pocket knife. Self-protection, cutting kindling, kill food, slivers...uses are exhaustive. 

5)Water bottle or water treatment (Platypus 1 L soft bottle-$8, Katadyn Hiker pump-$40, Katadyn Micropur $12) Water keeps you alive. I put this lower on the list thinking I could collect rain water in a piece of bark lined with leaves or something, but this would be much more convenient.

6)Headlamp (Petzel-$20) So I can see between 5:30pm and 7:00am, plus I'm not too fond of the dark, more specifically outdoors....alone is worse.

But that's the inner survivalist in me. I might have taken that list too far. 

PNW allso. Keeping dry and warm is the highest priority.

Dry Ducks, I still giggle sitting around  in the rain. $17 new

Saloman X-a pro shoes, they keep my feet dry and warm. $9 second hand

TNF Canyonlands tent $60 used, But with a new fly. Thank you North Face!

My bag is a Kelty Cosmic D 20 ( I'm picking up a SOL bivy just in case) $57 and $16 new

Kelty Noah 9 tarp for kitchen. $36 new

Cook set-up. Total cost $72 new

Pack, Kelty Treker $15 new

Merrino wool socks $?

Wool shirts <$5 used

and my UCO candle lamps.

Great idea for a post.

it varies a lot from summer to winter for me.  we don't have "winter" in the mid-atlantic, really, but i try hard to winter hike in the Northeast, where it is pretty cold most of the time.  because it IS winter now, that is what i am listing here.  I am also excluding the basic clothing one has to have for winter or necessities that don't cost much.  so, while you won't see me listing an ice axe or a headlamp, you can bet i will have them. 

I guess I disagree with the premise that higher expense means more important.  As I review this list, omitting any of the first seven of these would probably mean losing appendages, hurting myself, or even dying. 

1.  Backpack - Mystery Ranch G6000, purchased new.  they don't discount.  it was worth it. 

2.   Sleeping bag - Mountain Hardwear Ghost, thankfully discounted.  I sleep well in inhuman weather. 

3.   Shell jacket and pants - Rab Latok jacket, Wild Things eVent pants w/suspenders.  Discount.

4.   Down parka - Mountain Hardwear sub-zero parka.  Discount.  While i dream of a Feathered Friends Rock and Ice Parka, i really don't need it. 

5.   Boots - Scarpa Invernos purchased used; bought new high-altitude liners eventually.

6.  Stove - Optimus Nova, purchased new.

7.  other footwear - Camp auto crampons and Sherpa snowshoes, purchased new.  The Sherpas are on their third set of bindings.   

8.   Summit pack - Cold Cold World Ozone

Note i didn't include a tent.  if i need a winter tent, i rent or go with friends who have one.  As i have gotten older, i prefer staying in some kind of structure, if that is an option.  New Hampshire's White Mountains have, between the AMC huts and the RMC shelters, some pretty good options.  Plenty cold, but having walls and a roof makes sleeping and cooking so much safer and more manageable.  if that brands me as a weakling, i plead no contest.  :)

wow, lot to respond to here....

Mozee- one has to know how you swung a pair of limmers for 80 bucks and some maple syrup. I mean I'm Canadian and all, and love my maple syrup as much as the next guy but thats a sweet deal for you! Gotta agree with you on the clothes being #1, one of the reasons I left it off my list, once you add them all up, especially for winter temps, it pretty much an automatic first place. I was trying to include items that would be comparable in price.

Wolfman- I always like a man that likes to eat. Someone needs to start a nice steakhouse restaurant in the backcountry! That chef would clean up.....hmmm new business idea?

Capow- I don't think you took the list too far, just a different angle at it. More survival than backpacking, all solid reasoning, fun to read.

Mike- You always seem to get these great deals on stuff, congrats, also I did notice that your cookset was the most expensive, by far! Another man that likes to eat.....I'm noticing a trend here Trailspacers!

Lead- I think one of my big premises behind the thread was to see whether people had a co-relation between expense and 'importance', I agree with you and would probably put boots as the most important, yet not what I spent the most money on....hmm. I was just interested to see if others had a different outlook or not. I've stayed at those AMC huts, they are awesome, so sign me up in the weakling club! I just bought a used Rock and Ice parka, the thing is amazing!!!! I think the down filled hood is the most impressive, close your eyes during the price part though.

Capow......any trouble with the keens? I have Oregon PCT's and am hearing some lug/sole issues......

Mike- You always seem to get these great deals on stuff, congrats, also I did notice that your cookset was the most expensive, by far!

Now hold on there! The most expencive cook set-up? No way. I was including everything. Stove, stand, windscreen, pots and pans. spork, and coffee press. All added up at less than half price.

I never buy things when I want them. I just tuck it away in my little bitty head till the price is right. Then jump on it like a hungery wolf.

For survival:

1. Boots – most won’t get far without them.
   You can travel several miles totally soaked in the cold, but not if you have no boots.  Injured feet will literally reduce you to a crawl.
2. Shell garments – keep moving and you will keep warm enough and protected from the sun.  Add layers and you can stay warm without a fire.
3. The means to start a fire.  
4. Tent – gives you options where to rest.  A resourceful person can get by without a tent, finding shelter among nature’s landscapes, but a tent provides options.
5. Sleeping bag – allows you top get out of your clothes, or augment their warmth, but it usually isn’t a life or death item.
6. Everything else pretty much is for comfort’s sake.

------------------------------

For enjoyment and comfort”

1. Boots – #1 again?  Yep. Bad feet always = bad times.  Money should be the last consideration.
2. Proper fitting pack – you will quit the sport if this isn’t rectified real soon.  Again don’t let money force performance compromises.
3. Adequate clothing – Probably the #1 reason many people won’t camp at all, and the main reason most won’t camp in winter.  You can get by on the cheap, but eventually may want to lighten your load.  If looking to prioritize purchases within this category, your first quality items should be your shell garments.
4. Good stove – This purchase can last a life time; get the best for your intended use.  Nothing worse than an unreliable stove when you are hungry.  The cost difference between a headache and a joy to operate does not justify going cheap.
5. Sleeping gear, suitable for your applications - Being cold is no fun, but at least there are several options to tide one through until they can afford a quality solution.
6. Tent – Given the sheltering options out there this one has flexibility.  I hardly ever use a tent, though always bring one.  Because of these two considerations, a tent does not rate higher on my lists.

Ed

I try to go as light as possible and my average gear (pack,bag,tent,cooking gear) now weighs about 12 lbs without food, but with 4 lbs of water per hike. I average 2 lbs of food a day.

Boots/hiking shoes

First because I need them most for doing any hiking

Pack/daypack

Second as I need it to carry whatever I am taking

Sleeping bag/pad

Third for being comfortable in the wilds

Tent

Fourth may not always use it but nice to have if I do

Stove/cookpot

Fifth for making good hot meals

Water Bottle/bladder

Sixth for hydration

Food/supplies

Need to stay fed

Binocular's

Like to watch wildlife

Camera

Like to take pictures/memories

Comrades

Like to have company now and then...

The most important items one has with them are their boots, and their clothing. No matter the season really, but obviously the fouler the weather the more it matters.

If your boots fail you, you can become for all intensive purposes immobile. Without the proper clothing on a outing you can quickly find yourself in trouble, more so during very foul or winter weather.

I use Zamberlan Trekker RR boots , which are a full leather boot. My clothing varies alot depending on the season. For winter I typically have Head: smartwool balaclava, smartwool beanie, synthetic hood off an old hunting jacket. Torso: capaline 3 l/s, l/s hiking shirt, wool sweater, waxed cotton down jacket, ecwcs goretex jacket or stoic vaporshell. Legs: capaline 2 bottoms, cabelas down pants, winter weight military bdu pants, ecwcs goretex pants. Feet: smartwool trekking socks for moving, smartwool mountaineering socks for camp, down booties, TNF arctic pull on boots, Hands: marmot stretch wrist gaitors, OR flurry gloves, OR endeavor mitts, and reserved dry/spare are a ragg wool fingerless gloves and smartwool glove liners.

Next would be what any self respecting hiker should have on their PERSON at any time when in the backcountry, especially in winter. A knife and fire making kit! I now carry a Kabar bk11 neck knife, with a small pouch on the sheath. The pouch holds an altoids tin. I keep a flint/mag bar, about 30 matches, lighter, 3 3in pieces of a firework sparkler, some birch bark, and several pieces of dry tinder

After boots, clothing, and knife/survival items I would have to say that your shelter system is the most important.

Year round I use a tarp and hammock setup. For winter I use the following.

Warbonnet Outdoors Superfly tarp with doors, WBBB hammock, hammock gear 0F underquilt and top quilt, momentum 90 hammock sock. Unlike alot of companies the 0F rating on these quilts is the comfort rating and not the lower limit, so they are more realistically about a -10 to -15F bag. The underquilt is for all intensive purposes the same as a sleeping pad for a ground sleeper. The hammock sock is kinda like a bivy and gets pulled around the hammock and cinched up which adds warmth and eliminates any drafts if its really windy out.

After all of that the importance isnt really too great. The cost for all of this? alot!

It varies with the 4 seasons but I"ll show my three season kit.

!. Boots Raichels $100 used  Merrel moabs $90.00 new   Trailrunners

2. Pack Ula Catalyst  $160 used

3.Sleepinmg bag WM Apache used

4. Stove Alchy white box $20.00  Jetboil $80.00 new

5. Tarptent Henry Shires Virga $125.00 used

6. Hardshell MH conduit   $70.00 new

7. Pad NeoAir   $120.00 new

I can live with any type of pad but you need rain protection and good footwear. I use a different tent for winter and my leather boots only.

This is my list. Part practical, part comfort, not survival.

1) Shoes/Boots: Nike air somethings.  I don't remember the model. ~$70.  Most trails in FL don't need boots. Take them off if you have to cross water. Comfortable shoes are most definitely important.

1.01) Pack: Alps Mountaineering Cascade 5200. $60. Without a pack you're not going to carry much gear. Without gear you're not going to do much overnight camping. Sure you could do the live off the land thing but I don't think it would be fun, comfortable or realistic. 

2) Pad: Alps Mountaineering Lightweight Air Pad, Size Long (25" x 77" x 2", 3 lbs. 14 oz.) ~$28. Okay this is a comfort thing. Also a good night sleep is important. Waking up multiple times because of hard ground is not good.

3) Stove: JetBoil original $49, 1.5 Liter GCS Pot $20. Simple, all-in-one, neat package and easy to use.  

4) Water Container:  Camelbak 3 liter ~$50 w/Fourteener pack.  I really like my Camelbak. Drink water whenever you want. IMHO better than a bunch of water bottles.

5) Tent: Alps Mountaineering Chaos 3 or Zephyr 3. ~$90 apiece. Plenty of room for 2 people.  Zephyr is all mesh and is my choice in warmer temps. Chaos for cooler. Both are easy to setup with plenty of headroom.

6) Bag: Alps Mountaineering 20 degree Clearwater wide.  Got this in a combo with an Alps Red Tail pack for $65) Great bag for the price.  Keeps me warm in the temps I camp in, reasonably light and because it's a wide size it's like a tapered bag. You can side sleep, roll over, etc.

My list is focused on gear that has impacted my enjoyment of the woods and not necessarily survival. 1. Backpack: osprey Atmos 65 - love this pack even more than the old Jansport D3 it replaces. $270 2. Boots: Zamberlan, this brand just fits my feet and I can hike all day with no discomfort. 3. Sierra designs Sirrius tent. Got one from the last year it was made and they made some slight changes to address complaints about mesh. Nice light 3 person tent has been great for 2 and nights below freezing, but no rain/snow test yet. - $150 4.. Sleeping bag: Campmor Down 20 degree. Ugly color, very warm, light and packs small, plus only $90. 5. Cook kit: GSI Dualist, I'm shocked how much I love this kit, packs small and light and is easy to use for all boiled meals. $50 6. Water filter: Hiker Pro. Has changed the way I hike, no longer carrying water while it purifies, so my pack weight has dropped significantly. $80 7. Hiking poles: Big 5 cheapos, but have performed great and held together more seasons than some of my friends feature-laden sticks. $40 8. Ninjaclava

[deleted - sorry]

For General Survival and Occupy Camp-outs...

#1: pocket knife - this one was my grandfather's - swiss army issue.

#2: form-fitting sleeping bag suit.
For some reason these are always on sale.

#3: hand-operated battery charger so my iphone and ipad will always work
(this one was overpriced because it doesn't have enough plastic)

#4: pack with too many pockets and the latest camo pattern

or for day trips this Kangatec sling with too many pockets is more ergonomic and accessible ($37 or $50 with optional explorer's hat):

#5: barefoot shoes

soo comfortable you won't even need toe socks.

#6: camp fire video (Free!)

http://youtu.be/tqt5owjb7-w

Locale is Santa Fe NM USA.  The elevation is over 2km!

For rations, check out this list:
http://www.amazon.com/Backpacking-Gourmet/lm/R2QJUIODVU8IYK/ref=cm_lmt_fvlm_f_3_rlrsrs0

Please forgive me for being flip - I enjoyed reading everyone's posts and really did chance upon each of these while gear hunting.

A more genuine attempt for wilderness backcountry outings is here:
http://www.amazon.com/Ultralight-Camping-and-Backpacking/lm/R12S5Z4671F0YY/ref=cm_lm_byauthor_title_full 

Then I thought of our local Occupy encampment, which is a shame of a mess with abandoned tents and trash everywhere, however well intended.  (Occupiers, don't take offense... I'm behind you all the way!)  You can see a photo here:
http://www.santafenewmexican.com/localnews/Local-news-in-brief--Jan--5--2012

The obvious design flaw of that camo pack is that it is not multifunctional.

If I could do it over again, I'd take along one of these for greater versatility:

Hey now! don't be knockin the camelbak BFM, thats one awesome pack. I have put thousands of miles on mine carrying crazy amounts of weight in the military. It is still in almost new condition despite being dirty, its a trooper and hauls 50+ lbs of ammo and gear like a champ. Is it the best for backpacking? probably not, but it is a heck of a good pack.

In light of recent events(you can read my post here in the gear forum about my camelbak failure) I would say that the absolutely most important gear you carry in winter is your wits/knowledge but for real gear it is:

Even if just a day hike.

1) your clothing, including dry spares, or full rain gear at a mimimum(including rain pants)

2) emergency fire starting kit with a fool proof way of starting a emergency fire. I carry 3 3in firework sparkler pieces, some birch bark, matches, a flint/mag bar , and a few pieces of dry kindling. Cost: about $3-4, value: priceless

Practice with it too in your back yard on a really cold day. Spray yourself with a hose, stand out in the cold and put your hands in some ice water for a few minutes. Then try to start a fire with your kit with absolutely no advance prep. I found out first hand it is very difficult, and would be downright impossible without the right items.

In took all of about 5-10 minutes for my condition to deteriorate into a very bad situation. After about 2-3 minutes I started to shiver, at about 5 minutes the shivering became severe and i started to loose feeling in my hands and legs, by about the 5 minute mark i was changed into what dry layers i had and was running around gathering up as much wood as i could. At about the 7-8 minute mark the shivering progressed to a very violent and uncontrollable level and i could tell i was loosing my fine motor skills/dexterity so i started trying to light the fire. It took 2-3 minutes to get the fire lit, and during the process i found that it was impossible to use a lighter, and i broke at least 6 matches or so trying to light one. It was a very sobering experience. Practice practice practice, i can't stress that enough, especially this time of year.

And the whole thing about wool insulates when wet is blown way out of proportion. My wool sweater was soaked and it wasn't anywhere close to warm, i stripped it off as soon as i could and wrung it out and put it back on. It was so useless that i ditched it completely.

giftogab said:

Capow......any trouble with the keens? I have Oregon PCT's and am hearing some lug/sole issues......

 I haven't had any trouble with my Keens, yet. I'm not sure if I have enough miles on them to be too judgmental of them though. I bought them in July and I've worn them on two trips in the back country of WY and then I have probably 20 miles or so on them from hiking around where I live. So far I'm very impressed with the Keen Dry technology. It rains a lot where I live and I also hike where I cross or even walk up creeks. The leather seems pretty good too.

The only thing that shows any sign of wear is the rubber on the soles (as you mentioned). The lugs have no wear or damage, but when I was in Wyoming I had to hike a total of approx. four miles on nothing but sheer avalanche rock and boulders and from skipping across all of the rock there are little scratches embedded in the rubber and a few nicks. Since then, there hasn't been any more damage, so if I hadn't walked over so much of that rock I don't think there'd be any wear on them. I find mine to be very comfortable and my feet love them, I just don't know if they're going to hold up. If I know I'll be on that rocky terrain again, I'll opt for a boot with harder rubber on the sole and save the abuse on these. If I'll be strictly hiking/backpacking on the trail with dirt, creeks, grass, etc. I'll wear the Keens though.

For a day trip in almost anywhere this would be all I would bring in this order: Clothing, Water, Snacks. To make things more interesting, my list will be for winter (Florida doesn't rain much in winter and at night it can get to 30s F), 2+ night trip, alone in the wilderness! It will be in order of importance not money spent.

1. Clothing, because it doesn't matter what gear I bring, if I'm naked I'm not leaving the house! And I would say pants are the most important, I have seen people hiking without shoes, have seen people hiking without shirt, but have yet to see someone without pants walking around in the forest! Hopefully never will. Price: Pricesless

2. Backpack, Kelty Red Cloud 5000 ST. A proper fit, proper size backpack is very important, without it I wont be able to carry anything that wont fit in my pockets and my hands. Price: $99.95

3. Sleeping Bag, Kelty Cosmic Down 20 degree. This one was a tough one. Between tent, fire and sleeping bag, I think I can sleep comfortably in a cold night with just a sleeping bag. I could sleep with fire but would not be fun, and at 30F with just a tent I would lose heat all the heat to floor. For all you survivalists I could build a shelter with sticks and leafs to protect against the rain if that were to be. Price: $65.97

4. Water and food, after the first day without food or water I would have to turn back.

5. Tent, Hilleberg Akto. Very nice and durable tent, I also have the Allak for two people and Marmot Aeros 3P for 2-4 people. Price: $800 for both Hillebergs, $199 for the Marmot.

6. Cooking system, Coleman butane stove that looks like pocket rocket. Cheap, lightweight, small, fuel control for simmering and such, fuel available in any Walmart I pass by unless its sold out, can't ask for much more! Also Quick pot and skillet system my MSR. Price: $24 for stove, $88 for pot and skillet. Currently I'm trying to create an alcohol stove, might also try out the 24oz Heineken beer can as a pot setup for lightweight hikes. Price: less than $10

That's all I need for backpacking, everything else is just for comfort or to make the trip more enjoyable. A map and a compass as well as first aid and fire kits should be honorable mentions :).

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