What gear's on your Santa list?

I just ordered a set of size L, which fit mens 11-14 (I'm size 12). I also ordered an outdoor element Firebiner, which was on my that looks pretty cool list.

On the trail I'm an instant guy (VIA or Alpine Start). Some of my friends use this, which is what I would use if I wanted to go to the effort to fresh brew my coffee. Note that there is not only the weight of the device and the coffee, and the hassle of brewing, but the additional hassle and weight of packing out used grounds. If you get the GSI coffeemaker, I would recommend taking along paper filters to place in the cone. This adds a very small amount of weight, and makes cleanup a lot easier. Just take the cone out after you have brewed your coffee, let it dry in the sun a bit, and put it in your trash bag.

I have a Snowpeak titanium coffee press that I used on one or two trips, but it was not worth the weight and hassle. It is now relegated to car camping trips.

BTW, the Backpacking Light podcast had a whole episode dedicated to ultralight coffee options fairly recently. Well worth a listen.

I think we have a post about 15 pages long discussing coffee on the trail. Maybe more than one :D I’ve been through a whole lot of options, and ended up settling for the lightest one, which is to say, instant.

No sugar for me, unless I get really sick of instant and add cocoa mix . Otherwise, it’s Nido all the way.

digger, whether or not it’s cool to bury or scatter coffee grounds depends on where you are. But even if I’m not going to carry out the grounds, brewing it for real requires some means of brewing it, and thus extra weight. Yes, I do pay attention to ounces. I’m not very big, and getting older all the time, so I have to minimize pack weight. Totally agree that drinking it black makes it harder to drink instant. And I have had trips where I gave up and drank tea :D

Since covid cut into my ability to reliably get my old favorites (which were really bad - I admit it), I've "diversified" to a number of options. At home, I can grind beans and make freshly brewed coffee after freeing my ancient Mr. Coffee from the box it's been in for about 2 decades (since I quit working), make instant Starbucks Via, Cafe Bustelo, Medaglia D'oro or my old ugly fav instant, International House (now Maxwell House). My taste buds are adjusting to the more robust flavors, and I'm starting to require fewer "extras" like sugar, cream or Kahlua. I haven't gone all the way to black yet, however.

Back to the OP: I don't really need more gear. I need more time. (On earth.)

FWIW, I pack out all solid waste other than poop, including used toilet paper and food waste. The "it's allowed" or "it's biodegradable" reasoning doesn't quite do it for me. I also rarely take any soap products.

I used to brew coffee on the trail. Home-ground coffee in a ziplock, #1 paper filters and a "cone" made from silnylon scrap and wire. Lighter, less bulky and much easier cleanup than the French press accessories (I like hiking in places where you don't have the luxury of using water to "clean up".) Works well if you like your coffee black. For me, I couldn't solve the cream issue, so I mostly do a homemade mocha concoction with instant coffee, ground chocolate and powdered milk. On a gram-counting trip, I just take tea bags.



I'm a huge fan of the Helinox chairs but would almost never be able to pay the weight penalty for taking one backpacking. But I often fly with car-camping gear and love it that I can take a camp chair, and my chair has proven to be incredibly durable.