Anyhow – since I’m currently a soft-shelled, computer programmer from the suburbs I have to say ‘animal safety’ (bear/etc) is the first thing that comes to mind as I start to educate myself on this hobby/activity. For reference – I’ll say that one of my all-time favorite movies is ‘THE EDGE’ – and we all know about the bear in that movie!

Anyhow – I’m anxious for that ‘bear safety’ post you said you’d make! I’ll keep checking back!

To the essentials, I’d add sleeping pad. You don’t need much, but a small, inflatable pad adds a lot of comfort and keeps you thermally insulated from the ground when it’s cold.

As for sleeping bags, I’d actually recommend for 3-season campers to get something with a rating in the teens or twenties. Unless you’re doing winter camping, a 0 degree bag is too warm to keep zipped up and it can be hard to find the level of comfort between being half-in/half-out of the bag. I have a 20 degree bag and I don’t start to get chilly at all until it’s under 30 F. Most people won’t do any winter camping, but for those who do, they’ll definitely want the colder-rated bag. Serious backpackers often own a winter bag and an ultra-light summer bag. In addition to temperature rating and weight, it’s really important to know how small you can pack up your tent and buy a good compression sack to do the job.

Most national parks and many other areas don’t let you light open fires in the backcountry. If you’re planning to cook (which is half the fun), you’ll want a good camp stove. You can get them very small and they run about $50 and work fantastically. The big debate is propane vs white gas. I prefer propane because I hate having to keep the line pressure up, which is an issue with white gas. Even if you can build a fire, it’s much easier to cook on a camp stove and you won’t get carbon deposits all over your camping cookware (something else for the list).

Knife: I prefer the multitool. There are plenty of reasons to have a larger, nicer knife, but fighting a bear is not one of them. If you think your knife will help you in the rare event a bear attacks you, you’re sorely mistaken. It’s important to know what kinds of wildlife are in the area and what to do. You often need to hang your food and some areas require you to use a bear canister. Black bears pose almost no threat to humans and in Grizzly territory, your best bet is bear spray (a giant canister of special pepper spray) should one come after you.

@Will: You can get a nice cheap 6″ plastic spade at stores like REI that are great for digging your cat hole, but hardly weigh a thing.

It’s also important if you’re going to be in the backcountry to make sure that you observe Leave No Trace ethics:
http://www.lnt.org/programs/principles.php

Buying all this stuff is crazy expensive if you try to do it all at once. Your advice about going out with someone experienced is right on. I recommend people start by buying a sleeping bag and pad, which is enough to go car camping with a friend who has a tent. Then add on the boots and backpack and you can go backpacking with a friend. Then tack on things like a tent, stove, water filter, and first aid kit and you’re ready to take other people out who just have the first phase!

And one last note: I’d move headlamp up to the essentials. You’ll find plenty of uses for it even when you’re not backpacking!