The Ultimate List of Hiking Gear: How To Pack For The Trail
Who the hell needs hiking gear, Jack? You walk up the mountain turn around and walk back down and that’s all there is to it.
When I think of my second hike, I wonder how I ever had the cojones to hike for a third time. Me and my homey were on the return portion of an out-and-back trail.
At this point of the hike, we were starving and low on energy with a mean case of cottonmouth.
Not to mention the whole swamp-butt situation!
On top of that, every turn that we made on the trail made us feel more lost than the last. Nothing looked familiar at all. Was that chopped tree there when we walked up the trail?
If I never saw a tree again I would’ve been happy. We wanted nothing more than to be in the car zooming to the furthest point from that trail.
I hated so many things about that hike, but I had to make a decision at that point on where to direct that hatred.
Either give up on hiking as a hobby, or learn how to prepare for a hike like a fucking boss.
Guess which one I chose.
Why hike?
I got started with hiking pretty late in the game. I was 21 when I made my first hike.
My parents never took me hiking. As a matter of fact I took my parents on their first hike, and many more after that.
I loved it so much that I told all my peeps back home that they need roll with me to go on a hike. The responses I got were eye-opening!
Some said, “Wait, you want me to climb up the side of a mountain?”
Some said, “ Hold up, you ain’t scared of bears attacking us?”
And my personal favorite, “Hiking? Ain’t that some white people shit?”
They revealed to me that people in the black community were never exposed to hiking while growing up. It wasn’t just me!
Since I discovered that, I’ve been on a mission to put as many of my peeps on to hiking as I can.
I’ve taken dozens of friends for their first trek, and nothing makes me feel better than when they take their loved ones on a hiking trip after that.
I was an amateur on a mission, but I was still an amateur. So we had some rough times on hikes because I didn’t actually what hiking gear to pack or how to prepare at all.
It took only one hike for me to feel at home on a trail, but it took a dozen hikes before I knew what I was doing.
But once I got it down, I never looked back.
Between getting your mind & body right, packing the right hiking gear, and getting to know your trail, your work seems cut out for you in learning how to prepare for a hike.
Peep the Spiritual Benefits of Hiking post to get the feel for all the little-known reasons you should hit the trail.
But first, let’s figure out exactly what hiking gear you need to make your hike as dope as possible!
Hiking gear you need to pack
Hiking is just walking down a trail and back right? All I need is the clothes on my back, Zack.
And that’s when keeping it real goes wrong.
You gotta make sure you throw a few key ingredients in the bowl before you start stirring.
Hitting a trail without the right items can leave you hungry, dehydrated, lost, and overall screwed dude.
Poor preparation can also be dangerous, depending on the trail you choose to step on.
It’s all good though! I’m here to make sure that never happens to you. Zack did that, so hopefully you won’t have to go through that.
Just like a cake, all the ingredients are not created equally. Some are required while others are the icing on top.
The 3 types of items you can bring on a hiking trip:
1. The Non-Negotiables: Items you GOTTA bring
2. The Enhancers: Items that will improve the experience, but not required.
3. The Personals: Items that are particularly special to you.
Bring the right mixture of these three and you’ll be coastin’ to the summit.
Non-negotiables
water
Agua, or your hydration of choice is more important than any other hiking gear on your hike. If you go on a hike without water, you run the risk of getting extremely dehydrated and lose all of your energy.
Hiking is dope because you’re able to get to a point where you can pop a squat and give your body a chance to catch up with you.
Laying on a mountaintop is a perfect way to rest and recharge for the hike down. But if you’re thirsty, and don’t have anything to revitalize you, then that hike back down the mountain will be the shittiest walk of your life.
The whole hike down you’ll be thinking about gulping down an ice cold 64 oz. Slurpee from the closest Seven Eleven.
How much water you need depends on the length of the hike, but if it’s over 2 miles round trip then bring two bottles of water per person.
It’s always a good idea to bring more water than you need!
The last thing you want to do is take baby sips of H2O so that you can conserve. You should be gulping that thing down whenever you feel the need.
On top of that, on too many occasions I’ve had friends that didn’t bring any water at all and I had to share one of my bottles of water with them.
That leaves me with one bottle of water that I’m baby sipping so I can make it up and down the hike without suffering.
SO MAKE SURE EVERYBODY BRINGS WATER!
And extra water’s a MUST because it’s gonna drain quickly when you’re washing down your mid-hike meal.
grub
A playa’s gotta eat right?
Me and my squad in North Carolina have a hiking ritual to hit up Bojangles to cop a chicken biscuit for the road to the mountains, and another chicken biscuit as a mountaintop meal.
But it ain’t even gotta be that. Everybody has their own vice and you should bring the right food for you.
There are endless ways to go with hiking food, but you should bring a snack and a light meal for moderate-to-strenuous hikes.
A great way to start is by pre-making sandwiches at home and tossing them in some sandwich-sized ziplock bags.
We’ve gone with turkey sandwiches and PB&J sandwiches, but I’ve even gone as far to pack fir fir(a spicy Ethiopian dish) in tubble ware.
I can’t lie, I wouldn’t recommend eating anything that spicy or heavy in the middle of a hike unless you plan on spending hours on the summit because it can weigh you down.
Spending those hours on the summit will give you time to digest heavy foods and use that new energy to push you through the rest.
You definitely have to bring snacks that everybody can munch on throughout the hike, or a little something to supplement your mountaintop meals.
Bring something light like fruit, nuts, or granola bar if you wanna be healthy.
Shit, you can go Doritos and Snickers bars for all I care. It’s not nourishing for you but that’s not the goal of this. It’ll lace your stomach, get rid of hunger, and give you short bursts of energy.
Go for the healthy and refreshing snack over the processed munchies.
GRAPES are my shit!
The night before a hike I wash a bunch of grapes, throw them in a ziplock bag, and toss it in the freezer.
I swear to you when you whip those bad boys out on a mountaintop, your peeps will crown you for the rest of the hike. It’s the most refreshing and delicious thing that I’ve had on a hike and I always get great feedback on it.
Apples, oranges, strawberries, and all types of fruits are super restoring so try out different things.
You know yourself better than anyone else does, so bring things that are refreshing to you.
change of clothes
I don’t know bout you, but my clothes be stanking after I take a lap around the block. So you know after a hike I’m smelling like a stray dog with a mean case of swamp butt.
The post-hike car ride home can be a euphoric experience as you reminisce on the struggles up the mountain, the incredible views from the summit, and the jokes you cracked with your peeps along the way.
I call it a hiker’s high.
Nothing blows a high like a close-quarters car ride with a group of stank individuals for an hour plus, so it’s worth bringing a little extra hiking gear.
I’m actually a dirty Dan with low cleanliness standards, but I can’t stand sitting in sweaty and dirty clothes for a long time.
Always pack a comfy pair of sweats/shorts and a clean shirt for the ride back home AT THE MINIMUM.
I’ve even gone as far to bring a fresh pair of draws and socks when I’m feeling extra saucy.
Pro-Tip #1A: If you’re driving to the park, then you have the luxury of packing clothes in the trunk of your car as opposed to carrying them in your hiking bag.
So why wouldn’t you bring as much extra clothes as you might need.
p.s. I’m a serial overpacker.
Pro-Tip #1B: Put extra clothes in an old plastic bag and throw it in the trunk of the car before the hike. Then after the hike, change into the new clothes and throw the soiled threads in the plastic bag, tie it up, and toss it back in the trunk for the ride home so the smell doesn’t escape.
That way you can ride off into the sunset and enjoy every bit of that hiker’s high.
backpack/bag
You got all this essential hiking gear for your trek, and you’re ready to hit the trail. I’ll hold my water bottle in my left hand, and my frozen grapes in my right. Nah bruh.
So damn, where do I put my fir fir?
That’s why you GOTTA secure the bag! I’ve had first-time hiker peeps join along on a hike and not bring a sack.
They survive, but that’s because they’re mooching off of everything in my bag. I’m cool with sharing but everybody’s gotta do their part.
No Bag = No Preparation
Keep it real, I blame myself for them not bringing bags. If this was their first time hiking, then I need to tell them how to prepare for a hike.
If only there was a blog post about it….oh well.
The type of bag you need depends on a few things.
1) How long is the hike?
2) How many peeps are hiking?
3) Are you bringing any extras?
The length of the hike directly affects how much of the essentials you need to bring along. More essentials require more space in your bag.
If you’re like me, you always bring way more than you need. I’d rather over prepare and have more weight on my back rather than not have everything I need.
That’s why my favorite bags are by Think Tank. I used to use a LowePro bag but it just didn’t have enough compartments for me.
I needed a backpack that could carry my cameras, food, water, and laptop if I was on a weekend trip.
Now my go-to bag has all of those things and adjustable velcro compartments so the space allocated for each item is flexible.
I like to think I’m a simple fella.
I don’t need much in a bag. I need it to be large, weatherproof, with plenty of divided compartments.
Everybody’s different though.
If you’re a light traveler with no camera equipment and the hike isn’t too long, you can get by with a typical school backpack.
You also gotta think about how many of you are hiking. If it’s just you and bae, or one travel buddy, one of you can carry a big bag and switch off at different times.
Or you can both have small backpacks and get by just fine. I prefer this option (Every man for himself)
Outside of the essentials, are you packing anything that’s not necessary but will make the hike more pleasant.
When you choose your bag, you gotta consider how much space that extra hiking gear will take up.
We call those extras, Enhancers.
enhancers
Enhancers are the hiking gear that you don’t necessarily need, but definitely make the hiking experience so much sweeter.
For avid hikers like ya boy, these enhancers eventually become essentials. Hiking gear that you can’t imagine trekking without because you know the benefits.
For a first timer, these enhancers definitely aren’t necessities. You can’t miss what you don’t know. Right?
hiking attire
Getting laced in the finest North Face or Patagonia threads is a must because those are the major hiking brands, right?
Nah bruh, it ain’t even gotta be all that!
These high-end brands make supremely comfortable clothing tailor-made for hiking. But buying this for your first hike is like buying a brand new Benz for your first car.
You need to buy a “beater” to whip around, so you can make all the mistakes in that car. Then cop that Mercedes when you know what you’re doing.
My first time hiking, I was wearing the same kicks that I’d go to the gym in. Some beat up Nike trainers, probably.
Keep it real, I didn’t think anything of it. I was too pumped and excited about the new experience.
But after a few more hikes, I started to realize that I could feel every rock and pebble that I was stepping on. When I woke up the day after a hike, the bottom of my feet would be sore!
Hiking shoes or boots have been the key to leveling up the hiking experience for me.
With the right kicks, you won’t slip on wet surfaces, you won’t feel the rocks & pebbles under your feet, and MOST IMPORTANTLY..NO WET SOCKS!!
The only issue is that hiking shoes are usually butt-ugly. So my favorite pair are these all-black Under Armour boots that I’ve been rocking all over the world. I highly recommend these!!
Everything other than hiking shoes depends on the weather, but ALWAYS BRING A JACKET.
You gotta remember to dress for the weather, just like momma taught ya. Basketball shorts and a T-shirt works just fine in the summer.
But even on the warm days, you can’t predict what it’s gonna be like on the mountaintop. Heavy winds can make the hottest days too chilly to relax in.
A light jacket tied around your waste will get you by on a warm day. The cold days are a little trickier.
A super heavy jacket on a tough and cold hike might seem like a good idea, but it might make you hate your life!
You’ll warm up while hiking up the mountain and the heavy jacket will have you burning up on the insides but it’s still too cold out to take off your jacket.
Nothing’s worse than being sweaty & cold.
Breathability is the name of the game when it comes to hiking jackets, so look for something with that in the title.
In the winter things get a little more interesting. Peep my latest post on how to dress for a hike through the 4 seasons.
speaker
If you’re hiking with the squad, it’s always nice to just sit and reflect in silence with the sounds of nature in the background.
I’m one of those people that love to have low-key background music, no matter what I’m doing.
There’s nothing better than staring out into a mountainous landscape while some Fleetwood Mac lays the sun to rest behind the horizon.
The only criteria for good hiking speakers is to be durable, waterproof, and small enough to fit into your backpack drink pocket.
My handy dandy speaker is the UE Boom 3. It fits all the above criteria and slides right into my backpack pouch and packs some serious power.
Not that you’ll need all of that power in the mountains, but you’ll bump it at home everyday to amazing results.
mat
Now this definitely has become an essential hiking item to me. A beach/picnic mat that I can clip onto my backpack is sooo clutch.
Why the hell do you need a picnic mat on a hike? I’m glad you asked.
One of the coolest things we do on hikes is to set up camp in a spot with a sweet view and just chillax for an hour or a few before packing up and hiking some more.
Laying out the mat claims your spot, and also gives a place to lay down where you’re not in the grass with bugs crawling over you.
On top of that, it’s a comfortable place to put your belongings down while you roam nearby.
We always set up camp, then throw a football or frisbee around our spot. I wouldn’t feel comfortable leaving my book bag or keys in the grass and having to find it later.
This specific mat has been my prized possession since buying it. I actually bought it for a beach trip but it’s been wayyyy more than a beach mat.
It doesn’t hold onto dirt, sand, or water. It’s foldable and it’s large enough for 3 people to comfortably sit on. I’ve had it for years and it seems to be in perfect condition although I destroy everything I touch. Seriously!!
personals
camera
I’m gonna say something that cuts the inner photographer in me real deep.
Phone cameras are pretty damn good nowadays.
I myself wield the mighty full-frame Canon 6D Mark II for all types of photography and videography.
Hiking is the whole reason that I got my first DSLR. The iPhone 5s just couldn’t capture the beauty of the mountains the way I needed it too.
So if you got it, flaunt it.
This is an incredible entry-level camera to get started with capturing the world.
instrument
If you have a love for music, and you gotta portable instrument you can carry around then bring that thing.
I personally love throwing my harmonica in my bag as it takes up no space but echoes like a yodeler in the valleys of the Swiss alps.
If you got it, flaunt it! Your peeps will love you for providing the backdrop for unforgettable memories.
On top of your go-go gadgets, there are things to know before you go.
I'm ready to hike! what now?
You got all the hiking gear and gadgets you need for your hike. So where you headed?
If you haven’t figured out which hike to do first, or you don’t know where to start. Peep the post on finding the right hike for you.
In the 5 years since I first hiked, I’ve trekked up countless mountains and have forgotten more trails than a lot of people will ever know.
And yet, every time I hike I still feel myself get a little closer to the person I want to be.
If you’re looking for some hiking inspiration, check out my Swiss Alps hiking videos where I’m trekking through some of the best mountains Europe has to offer.
If you were on the fence about hiking and this hasn’t pushed you over the edge, then let me know any questions, thoughts, or concerns on hiking in the comments section below!
If you are feeling ready for your hike then let’s get strapped up and hit the trails my wanderers. Till then, don’t hesitate to ask questions in the comments section about how to prepare.
See ya on the trail!
Ya boi, Zekarias
