Here's my gear:

Arcteryx Bora 80 pack
MSR Pocket Rocket (resently upgraded from WHisperlight)
Titanium Pot (1L)
Spork
Mountain Hardwear Phantom Bag 15
Old Thermarest
MArmot Aura 2p
Princton Apex headlamp
Msr Miox
My own design FAK
Leatherman CHarge
SPyderco FRN Salt


My elrctronics items:
Ipod Touch (music, books, videos)
Small Speaker
Solio Solar Charger
Leica Dlux3 or Olympus 1030SW (with backup batteries)
Garmin Vista Cx

Do you like that Solio Charger?

Some things I learned a long time ago in carrying heavy packs long distances-

If you carry it twice and don't use it, and it is not on the 10 essentials list - don't carry it again.

If you can find a lighter or smaller version of what you are carrying, and it will make you as happy as the original, get it.

Never carry a single use item. Multitask everything.

Never forget the toilet paper.

It's more a matter of what you can do with what you have than what you can do without.

Yes and no. It stores about charge and a half for my Ipod Touch. It is easy to use and self explanatory. Anything that can be charged thru USB most likely will be compatible with Solio. And of course there is a load of conectors available for most of the electronics out there. I can charge my cell with it but I never did because my phone is off on the trail. I used it in Patagonia with sun being my only power source while backpacking but before getting on the plane/bus I would top off the Solio from the wall outlet and be good. There are few things I wish for to be made for Solio and it would be nice to get it riged up in the near future. One of them is camera battery charger. One of the "fears" I have on the trails is running out of juice. ANother thing is AA chargers. There are some USB AAs that dont hold much of the charge but I have two just in case I need something to hold me over.

In the end most of my electronics use AAs and 123s. As of now its easier for me to carry 20 Lithium AAs than to carry 8 rechargables and rotate them. But the marriage between ipod and solio made me a very happy man.

That's why I'm always broke.

I always enjoyed backpacking and have not done it in years.
I recently purchased a new backpack and off I went. Can not wait to get out some more now.
I have some pics of the items I took here:
http://www.terraforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=118369

Love the Atmos. A cheap way to store clothes is in ziplock freezer bags. A roll of paper towels. Trust me, paper towels don't weigh a lot and they come in real handy. This pot scraper or something similar makes cleaning pots much easier. And a pot koozie (or freezerbag koozie) can help save lots of fuel.

I've been backpacking since I was a Cub Scout, and now my son's going to age out of Boy Scouts before long. Absolutely loved it as a kid, and now have been fortunate enough to share the outdoors with my boy, (and the 25 others I have on loan for weekends). There have been some great gear suggestions already, so I'll offer some other thoughts.

You mention that you and your brother are just getting into backpacking. My first suggestion: if you have any friends that are more experienced, see if you can tag along with them for an overnight. Good way to expand your friendship, and ease into a new skill.

Otherwise: Make sure you build your backpacking trips up over time. As your skill and experience grows, your trip planning can get more involved, but for now... Start with an overnight or weekend at most for the first one. Don't plan any aggressive hike in or out. If you've never carried anything more than a daypack, and now carry full overnight gear and split a tent and food, you might be surprised how it affects your fatigue level. Give yourself plenty of daylight on that first day out to set up your campsite, and then be able to enjoy it! After a nice hike, sitting by a fire, listening to a babbling brook in the distance, enjoying good food, telling some tall tales, playing cards, maybe a harmonica, it's a slice of heaven.

Enjoy!

Another way to ease into it, especially for the little guys' first overnight hiking trip, is to do loop hike that leads right back to a campsite at or very near the trail head. Forgotten gear, homesickness meltdowns, and other "crises" are thus much easier to manage.