Jo Jo
Active Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- Eight routes; nine pilgrimages 2014-present
I always see pre-Camino gear requests, but rarely post-Camino gear reviews. I did one years ago after my first Camino (Frances), but now, after my fourth Camino (San Salvador and Primitivo), I thought it was a good time to update the list. This list is for a recent pilgrimage, Sept. 4-14, 2019, from Leon to Oviedo (Camino de San Salvador) and then the Camino Primitivo to Fonsagrada (Galicia).
The Lighterpacks spread sheet (with slightly different categories but the same items) for this Camino is here. https://lighterpack.com/r/vu75bc. I find the exercise of listing and weighing each item in my pack to be a very good tool for making decision about what is and is not valuable enough that it deserves a ride on my back across Spain. A note on terminology. "Baseweight" is all gear minus worn gear and consumables (including food and water picked up and consumed along the way). On any given day, I might have a couple of kilos of food in the morning starting out (although lunch usually took care of most of it) plus another kilo of water. Because I was a few characters over the limit, this list is continued in a following comment.
This review is dedicated to all of those pilgrims I saw weighed down with 10+ kilo packs. There is another way:
The Lighterpacks spread sheet (with slightly different categories but the same items) for this Camino is here. https://lighterpack.com/r/vu75bc. I find the exercise of listing and weighing each item in my pack to be a very good tool for making decision about what is and is not valuable enough that it deserves a ride on my back across Spain. A note on terminology. "Baseweight" is all gear minus worn gear and consumables (including food and water picked up and consumed along the way). On any given day, I might have a couple of kilos of food in the morning starting out (although lunch usually took care of most of it) plus another kilo of water. Because I was a few characters over the limit, this list is continued in a following comment.
This review is dedicated to all of those pilgrims I saw weighed down with 10+ kilo packs. There is another way:
Item | Description | grams | Review |
Packing | |||
Pack | Zpack Arc Haul + 4 hipbelt pk | 836 | This pack worked great, and at below 2lbs, is a real treat. If I was buying now, or wanted to spend the money, I would replace it with a K.S. pack, which I could probably design to come in at under 1lb (or 500g). |
Pack Liner | Litesmith, nylofume | 27 | I don't carry a pack cover. They are too heavy and they always leak. Instead I use a pack liner bag to keep whatever I want dry. For years I'd use a trash compactor bag, but these are lighter, tougher, and clear, so you can see your gear. |
Quart-sized ziplocs | To keep stuff sorted | 24 | One for soap (often wet), one for shower stuff, one for going-to-bed stuff, one for Vicks Vapor Rub (to keep it from getting on everything else) |
Two-gallon sized ziplocs | Two | Most of the showers do not have places where you can keep things dry while showing. Enter the huge ziplocs. One for the dry clothes I'm going to change into after the shower. One for the electronics, money, and everything else I do not want to just leave on my bunk in the albergue. | |
Walking Stuff | |||
Hydration tube | Blue Desert | 53 | I like drinking little sips of water as a walk, and if I stop to grab a water bottle, my wife pulls ahead. So, to keep up with her, I use this hydration tube. I have be a little careful to drain it before disconnecting in the albergue to avoid water on the floor, but other than that this works great. |
Water bag | Evernew, 900ml | 29 | About the lightest reservoir I can find. Even lighter than a plastic bottle. The screw threads on this brand are the exact same as a normal soda or water bottle, so matching with the hydration tube set up is easy. |
Sunblock | Solid Sticks (2 partially used) | 44 | I didn't completely finish these, mostly because I wear long sleeves/long pants/sungloves to avoid the horrific sunburns I have seen on my fellow pilgrims. |
Worn Clothing | Not in Baseweight | ||
Cotton Shirt | Patagonia Steersmans | 171 | I know the conventional wisdom is to not wear cotton. That is because cotton absorbs water, which in the mountains can result in cold, wet clothing and hypothermia. The Camino is not the mountains most of the time, and we have albergues to get dry in at the end of the day. Even in early September, and even on the Primitivo and San Salvador (which are more mountainous than other routes) most days this is the shirt I wore. I like this shirt because of its open weave, but really any loosely woven cotton shirt would do. I wear long sleeve for the sun protection. |
Cotton Pants | Kuhl Kontra | 346 | Again, this is the pair of pants I usually wore. Very light cotton. Kuhl has changed their cut for more of a "Tom Ford" look (less room in the seat and thighs, which makes them more about style and less comfortable for walking. My pair was older, which made them comfortable for walking, but they suffered a 4" rip the one time I put them in a washing machine. Prana makes some lightweight cotton pants (not jeans--way too heavy) that I will try to replace these with. |
Compression Underwear | SAXX, Strike | 89 | I like compression underwear to keep my thighs from jiggling or rubbing. These are the most breathable I have found to date. They are still the hottest part of my wardrobe when wearing cotton shirt and pants. They also take the longest to dry, which is why I carry two pairs (the pair washed the night before is usually drying during the day in the mesh on the back of my pack). Also, these are a little too anatomically correct, leaving me reluctant to wear them by themselves in an albergue (if I were from another country, I might have no issue, but I'm American). |
socks | Injinji Toe Socks--liner | 38 | Love these socks. Eliminates blisters caused by toes rubbing together. The liner weight is sufficient for me, but my wife found it too thin for her. I have very wide feet, so the liner weight keeps the added width to a minimum. |
Ankle Gaiters | Dirty Girl Gaiters | 43 | I'm a big fan of these. A little more trouble to put on, but they keep rocks out of your shoes and keep you shoe laces from getting untied. And they add a nice splash of color to your wardrobe. |
Shoes | Hoka Arahi | I'm new to Hoka (previously they were always too narrow, but now with the stretchy tops, that is less of a problem). These were for walking on the concrete and asphalt, and they worked well. My only complaint was that my heals took a bit too much pressure on long days on asphalt (especially on the Ingles). Other models have a bit more cushion, and I will probably try them for a future Camino. | |
Hat | Sunday Afternoons Ultra Adventure Hat | 73 | I love this hat. Lightweight. Coverage so good that it really makes sunblock on the face unnecessary unless the sun is really low in the sky. And the best part is that the brim folds, so you can easily shove it in a pocket when you walk into a bar or albergue. These run a little big. I usually would take a Large, but I can easily use my wife's Medium. |
Sun Gloves | Cheap off from Amazon | 22 | I use trekking poles, so my hands get really burnt unless I have these. I use basic ones. My wife uses ones from OR which are more durable (I have had to resew the top seam on mine many times through the years) but also a bit thicker and therefore hotter. |
Sunglasses | Julbo Vermont, w/ protective bag | 50 | These are old-school glacier glasses with side shields to cut the glare. I prefer the Category 3 lenses for a Camino. I have another pair with Category 4 lenses, which I use for the high mountains in America, but I find they are too dark for Caminos where I'm often in and out of shade or there are clouds. |
Bandanas | I carry two | 56 | One for blowing my nose; one for wearing on my head when I don't want to wear my hat (usually early morning or in the albergue when my hair is a disaster). |
Belt | Web | 26 | Came with Railrider pants (below) and absolutely necessary to keep my pack's hipbelt from pulling down my pants, especially given how much weight I lose on the Camino. |
Knee brace | Copper Fit Pro | 56 | I am old, and most moving parts are now held together with elastic. These work good, and are lighter and cooler than the more traditional elastic knee braces. |
Foot compression sleeves | I use two | 36 | To avoid foot splay, which leads to all sorts of problems including blisters. |
ankle brace | one | 18 | Also helps with foot splay, plus keeps my ankles bit stiffer to avoid rubbing on the top of my shoes. Downside is that it not very breathable and would make using it in high summer an invitation to blisters. Would switch to the Copper Fit Pro ankle brace in those months. |
Worn Gear | Not in Baseweight | ||
Watch | Cheap | 64 | I hate pulling out my cell phone to look at the time, so this is worth the weight for me. |
Money belt | Eagle Creek | 29 | I think this will be the last Camino for this item. I never actually wore it, just leaving it in my pack with my back-up credit cards, driver license, house key, and extra Euros that I don't need for the day (I usually pull as much as the ATM will allow to cut down on foreign ATM fees). A ziploc bag would be lighter and waterproof (for the Euros). |
Trekking Poles | Black Diamond FLZ | 462 | I really like these trekking poles. Much lighter than the telescoping style. Only real problem is that when you take them apart there is a graphite powder that gets on your hands and can be hard to get out of clothing (which I know from sad experience). For the first time on this Camino I put "Pacer Pole" tips on them (little rubber boots, not just straight tips), which are heavier, but much more durable. |
Extra Clothing | |||
Nylon Shirt | Columbia Omni-Freeze | 227 | This shirt is the complement to the cotton one. Worn on either colder or wetter days or in the albergue at night while the cotton one was drying. Again long sleeves for the sun. I liked this shirt because it had a "polo" type collar that makes it a little nicer looking, but probably should have carried a Patagonia Daily wear shirt instead. Slightly lighter, faster drying, and anti-microbial silver threads woven into the fabric. |
Long Pants | Railrider, Eco-Mesh | 296 | Again, these pants are the complement to the cotton ones. These I really like for the full zips down the sides that reveal mesh panels. Unzipping them makes them about as cool as shorts, while still getting the sun protection of long pants. My favorite new piece of gear. |
Rain Jacket | Lightheart Gear, Sil-Poly | 175 | I have given up on "breathable" rainwear. First, it only really breaths until the surface wets out, so the key is the DWR treatment to keep water beading off the surface. No matter how much I treat the garmets, I still find they wet out after an hour or two of constant rain, a likely occurrence in Galicia or Asturias. Second, I have found they are not very durable, and I have to keep replacing them. So I've gone to this rainjacket with HUGE underarm zips. I find the zips keep me as ventilated (or more) than any "breathable" jacket, for a much lighter weight. Only downside I've noticed is that it begins to collect "pilgrim odor" after a day or two of constant use, but that washes out quite easily. |
Rain Skirt | ULA | 79 | Another new piece of gear that I really like. Rain pants are a real problem to get on and off, and they are hot. This rain skirt wraps on and off in a second without taking off my pack or even stopping walking. It is much cooler. Sure my lower legs get wet, but rain gear is mostly to keep you from getting hypothermia, and wet lower legs is very different than a wet torso. My wife makes fun of how I look in this thing, but it works well. And she has taken to borrowing it to use as a cloak when she wants a little protection from the wind but does not want to put on her full poncho. |
Down Jacket | Mont Bell Ananork | 189 | This is about the best weight-to-warmth jacket that I know. Very useful on chilly evenings. I probably could have slept in this and avoided the weight of the quilt. |
Compression Underwear | SAXX, Strike | 89 | This is the second pair to wear while the first is drying. |
Extra Socks | Injinji Toe Socks-- two pair | 38 | Here is my sock rotation: Worn pair gets washed at night. But it is rarely dry by morning, so it stays damp in the mesh of my pack. Sometimes it will get dry by the end of day; often not. So I want a dry pair to change into while the now-damp pair continues drying. Also, for summer Caminos, my socks get soaked with sweat and I need two pairs during the day, plus one to change into at night. So three pairs seems to be about right for me. The one area I do not worry about weight is on footwear. Any other gear is optional, but footwear is critical. |
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