Calling on the collective wisdom of the ETS brain hive!

A friend and I have decided to hike the West Coast Trail on Vancouver Island in B.C. and I could really use your help. The trip is a couple of years off, but with my young kiddos and current employment/financial situation, that's the perfect amount of time to plan and accumulate and test the gear I need I'm looking for practical advice but think of of it as a creative thought experiment, if you like. We've got two years to "play" with.

Have any of you done the West Coast Trail? (Teslinhiker, maybe?) Any big trail/west coast thru-hikers with common trail advice to share? Specifically, I'm looking to for your help to:

1) Buy a personal locator beacon, which will work on this trail specifically - and hopefully in my home territory in South Easter Ontario, Canada.

2) Upgrade to more lightweight gear, specifically the big ticket items like boots, pack, tent, sleep system, tarp, etc. I've got a tight budget, so I'm looking for the best bang of the buck without having to take out a second mortgage. DIY stuff is a family hobby so fire away with the suggestions!

3) Curb my over-packing tendencies and take what I'll need with a bit of comfort and a security blanket.

We're planning an early season trek of the 75-km trail, hitting the trail head in May, before peak season hits, and we're thinking of allowing ourselves a week to ten days, for girl-talk, photo ops and general decompression.

Advice? Thanks for the help, my friends!