blog.tibidat.com

After recent hikes and in preparation for upcoming hikes, I compiled a little list of bare necessities. It should be adapted to the suit climatic demands of the destination:

• 2 sets of base-layer clothing
• 1 mid-layer
• 1 soft- or hard-shell depending on the expected weather conditions
• Hiking pants and waterproof pants if expecting rain
• A pair of gloves
• A buff
• 3 pairs of hiking socks
• A pair of broken-in hiking boots
• A hat against the sun
• An insulating mattress
• A microfibre towel
• A head-torch
• A kindle ;)
• A mechanical or chemical water filtration system
• A well equipped first aid kit
• A tent
• A sleeping bag with inlet
• A hiking backpack with a waterproof liner
• A camping chair or sitting cushion
• A camping gas powered cooker and crockery (at least 1 spork and 1 pot)
• An neigh indestructible water bottle
• Required map(s) and/or guides
• A decent sized knife
• A minimalistic set of toiletries (make sure to include earplugs, sunscreen and toilet paper)
• Dedicated, waterproof bags for your valuables and your sleeping bag
• One day’s worth of emergency rations
• A small notebook and pen
• A camera
• Trekking poles
• About 5m of rope
• Spare, tough rubbish bags

A couple of accompanying remarks:

• Aim for under 12kg total, unless you are going on an expedition
• Soap and shampoo-free works surprisingly well, you will have to deal with about a week of ‘transition time’ though
• Merino beats just about any other material with regards to odor and long-term comfort
• Zip-off pants can be very incredibly
• Socks are the second most important part of your kit. Really good socks offer incomparable comfort and hygiene.
• As long as it’s wind- and waterproof, a lighter tent is always the better choice, but especially during very wet conditions additional space in the tent is much more valuable than saved weight
• Silk inlets are amazing for sleep comfort.
• A camping chair might seem like unnecessary comfort - it is - but the amount of comfort per gram that it offers after a long hike is incredible