Aftering completing the first section of the Bibbulmun trail (Kalamunda to Dwellingup) from 4th to 14th May, 2024, I thought it would be a good time to review my gear list (see below for the list).

TL;DR: Overall, I felt that my gear worked well for the time of year (Autumn), however for future travels I would opt for additional thermals.

Gear Revisions

Sleeping

I took with me a plus 30 rated Enlightened Equipment Revelation Quilt. This was incredibly comfortable (compared to a sleeping bag), especially for those who don't like to be confined, say like a mummy-style sleeping bag. I used a Sea to Summit Expander Sheet with this, which was good for adding additional warm and keep my quilt clean. However, if you're a cold sleeper you may find this combination a little cool for this time of year (I believe the lows were around 10 degrees Celcius). So, at times I found myself plenty warm, but at other times I wore fleece pants and top as well as my long-sleeve thermal.

I should note that I wasn't exactly feasting during this trip (primarily living off cuppa soups), so less food in the belly could have had an impact too!

Obviously the quality of your thermal mattwill come into play too, providing a barrier between yourself and the earth. I used a Thermarest Z-lite mat.

With cost and flexibility in mind - If I had my time again, I would probably opt for a better sleeping pad for one. I felt that it's narrowness didn't always protect me from the cool earth, nor was it particularly comfortable. Secondly, I would buy quality thermals that could be used for sleeping.

Of course, if I hadn't already owned a rather expensive quilt / sleeping bag I would probably opt for an all season sleeping quilt. However, if you enjoying being all tucked up at night you might be better off with a mummy style sleeping bag.

Water

Although the Bibbulman trail had water tanks at every campsite and they were monitored, one can't totally rely on them having water. For instance, maybe the person responsible for topping up the water tank was on holiday!? Of course, I chose this time of year to hike due to the increased rainfall - although the rain gods weren't behaving themselves.

In any case, my solution was carry a 2.5 litre Camelbak style bladder and my 1.5 litre water bottle. I wouldn't necessarily fill these up entirely each morning however I'd aim to have a total of around 3 litres when I set off.

As the water that I was carrying was obtained through a water tank I needed some way of ensuring that the water was drinkable. I used Aquatabs which did the job (simply drop one tablet in 1 litre of water and wait 30 minutes). In the evening I boiled the water for a minute prior to drinking (using it for my meal and cup of tea).

My primary concern, in hindsight is the chemicals ingested through the use of Aquatabs and the infeasability of boiling all of your water and waiting for it to cool down. However, I observed a technology via another hiker which I was unaware of. That being the Sawyer Products SP128 Mini Water Filtration System (or similar). The general idea with this product is that you have two water sources (e.g., two bottles). One of the bottles is your clean drinkable water whilst the other is your unfiltered water. You attach both of these to the filter and push water through the filter from the unfiltered bottle through to your clean drinkable bottle and voila!

This method has the benefit of reducing the chemicals you ingest during your hike and also potentially reducing the amount of water you need to carry. The latter is especially true if you are likely to encounter varied water sources along the track (e.g., a big puddle).

Stove

My final adjustment to my gear would be my camping stove. I opted for the Campmaster from Kmart, which I chose due to it's price and it's similarity to Jetboil. However, it is rather bulky for a single traveller, as I was.

I observed a number of hikers use a much smaller and cheaper burner, which I was advised they purchased through AliExpress. Here is an example. These have the advantage of being super cheap but also tiny. This means that you can separately buy your cooking 'pot' / 'container'. For me, I would attempt to opt for a cooking container that had both a lid and a handle. I found that the handle would be useful to heat water over a fire (at the particularl time of year that I was travelling), thus conserving gas and enjoying nature's TV.

Anyway, that sums up my modest gear review. Below I've listed everything I took with me (with the exception of food). I will aim to do a separate blog post on my inadequate food selection.

Sleeping 😴

Enlightened Equipment Revelation Quilt 850FP
Durston Gear X-Mid 1P Ultralight Tent
2 x Z-Flick Tent Pole
ThermaRest sleeping matt
Inflatable Pillow

Water + Food Accessories 💧🍽️

2.5L Hydration Bladder
1.5L Water bottle
Aquatabs for water purification
Campmaster Ultralight Hiking Stove
Gas Canister
Cutlery

Electronics 📱🔦

GoPro 12
Head torch
Samsung S20 (Used AllTrails app for the trail)
Monocrystalline solar panel (5v 1amp)
INIU 22.5W 10000mAh Power Bank

Clothing 👕🧦

1 x Merino Wool Boxers
1 x Cotton Boxers
1 x Cotton T-shirt
1 x Merino Long Sleeve Thermal
1 x Fleece Top and Pants
Rain Projection
2 x Merino Wool Blend Socks
1 x Cotton Blend Socks

Accessories 🧴🧵

Heavy duty tape
Soap, deodorant, toothpaste, sunscreen
Hat
Twine
Dry bag
Ear plugs
Basic first aid kit

If you have any questions or suggestions please pop them in the comments below. A note, if you are leaving a comment - all I'm doing is having you login via Google (other login options are coming) and using the first part of your email address as your username, just for simplicity.

Happy travels.