Backpacking Gear 101

Written By Andrew James Gordon

Backpacking can be in intimidating activity to start. Not only does it require walking/hiking dusty trails, often (always) uphill, but also there’s also a plethora of gear one must acquire before even taking your first step on a trip.

I recently took a quick weekend trip with a few guys who were new to backpacking. Of course, they brought too much equipment, (somehow they managed to lug chairs up to the camp). But I thought I could share a generic list of what I deem necessary backpacking items for any trip. These are what I would consider the base for equipment, obviously one can add specific gear (ice ax, crampons, climbing gear) as needed. Or in the case of my friends, Fire in a Bag and folding chairs.

Below I’ve tried to organize the gear by use and functionality. I’ve also added notes and comments as I saw necessary:

Personal Items

  • Backpacking Pack

    • This is essential. Having a comfortable pack will make or break your trip. If looking to purchase one I would go to a local outfitter and get properly sized and even trying walking around the store with some weights in it just to feel how it sits when weighed down. Plus you’ll want to make sure you get the right size for your torso. I prefer and internal frame pack (where everything is self contained inside of it), but plenty of folks still rock external frames.

  • Hiking Boots 

    • Please don’t buy these online. Please try on several pairs at a store. Please for the sake of your feet, break these in. Breaking in does not mean wearing them around the block while walking the dog. Breaking them in means wearing your boots on several day hikes before your trip. Trust me on this, your blister free feet will thank me.

  • Clothing 

    • I find clothing tough to plan in advance. Often it’s dependent on weather conditions and location of the trip. No point in hauling a down jacket when it’s going to be a warm trip in the desert. But there are a few standard rules to follow:

      • Moisture wicking fabrics - I would avoid any cotton t-shirts or underwear. Cotton doesn’t do well with sweat and can get heavy when wet.

      • Extra Pair of Socks - So Necessary. You never know when you’ll accidentally soak a pair of socks and a pair of clean dry socks on the last day of a trip is…..delightful.

      • Less is More - Despite my sock rule, I always over pack clothing and its annoying. Try to pack so that you are carrying exactly what you need for the trip - even if that means wearing a shirt a few days in a row.

      • Pack Car Clothes For Ride Home - TRUST ME.

Sleeping

  • Shelter/Tent

    • There’s a lot of products on the market for sleeping, tents, hammocks, and/or bivy sacks. If you’re going ultralight or solo - I would definitely work out some sort of bivy sack tarp system. It’s not luxurious, but easy to put up and light. If going with a partner (or for the luxurious solo hiker) a two person backpacking tent will do fine.

  • Pillow 

    • Eh. Isn’t that just a bundled up jacket?

  • Sleeping Bag

    • This is not the big o’sleeping bag that you take to your kid’s slumber party. You’ll need one that can be compacted down to fit into your pack. Some considerations to keep in mind:

      • Down vs Synthetic Fill - Down is expensive, but is lighter and can be very compacted. But if you snag a hole you get feathers all over the inner part of your tent. Getting it wet to sucks. Synthetic is cheaper and reacts better when wet, but doesn’t compact down as much.

      • Location Temperature - Sleeping bags come with a temperature rating. These ratings help folks know what level of cold the bag can protect you from,. So if you are expecting 45 Degree F weather, a 0 degree rated bag would keep you warm. But maybe too warm :)

  • Sleeping Pad 

Cooking/Eating

  • Camp Stove/Gas 

    • With backpacking - going minimalist is the ideal. This applies to a camp stove too. You’ll want something that is small, but also durable. I use a MSR WhisperLite and it works great. It heats up really quick and I can use a frying pan or boiler with it.

  • Cooking Pan/Boiler

    • Carrying pans suck. They are big and bulky. But so necessary if to boil water or cook food. Tons of items on the market for this too, (I use this with the stove above) find one that works well with your trip and needs.

  • Lighter

    • You like fire, right?

  • Coffee Making Method

    • You like Coffee, right? Yes. This is my one luxury item, while folks swear by some sort of unholy instant coffee product, I’ll bring an AreoPress and pre ground coffee from home. If I’m willing to carry it, then I better drink it.

  • Water Filter/Bottle 

    • This probably should be further up on the list for being essential. You need clean water to survive and sometimes that’s hard to come by while backpacking. I use a gravity filter (cause I’m lazy), but tons of folks use pump filters or UV Light Pens. To each his own.

Other Gear

  • Flashlight/Headlamp 

    • Cause you want to see in the dark right?

  • Knife/Multi-Tool

    • Cause you never know when you need to cut something AND need a Phillips Screwdriver

  • Navigational Tools - maps, compass

    • This might be a topic/article on its own. There’s a lot to consider here - paper maps vs GPS devices vs smart phones. What about a compass? At the bare minimal, a paper trail map is essential. I’ve done trips without a GPS device or Smart phone, but they were short and I knew where I was going. For longer trips (read 3-4 days) GPS and trail map is essential.

  • Spot or Rescue Device

    • This is essential. 99.7% of the time its totally unnecessary and we all leave our backcountry trips completely safe. In the other .3% it’s nice to be able to call for help.

  • First Aid Kit

    • See above. But with the ability to treat cuts and scraps.

Hilarious video from the nice people at North Face (featuring Alex Honnold and Jim Zellers) that is ALSO an Intro to Backpacking.

Andrew James Gordon