The Beginner’s Guide to Backpacking: Buying Backpacking Gear & Supplies
The Benefits of Backpacking
Whether doing a week-long trek through the Grand Canyon, or a two night weekend hike at a nearby state park, backpacking has a number of great benefits and is relatively cheap in comparison to typical hotel-based vacations. I started backpacking four years ago and have enjoyed the physical challenge, natural beauty, relationship building opportunities, sense of adventure, and financial savings.
Each backpacking trip I make has resulted in hundreds of dollars worth of savings – and I’ve never looked back on those trips and said “boy, I wish I had stayed in a hotel and laid around instead”. Interested in learning more about this rewarding hobby, the lessons I’ve learned, and what gear to buy? Read on!
Before you Commit to Backpacking
I won’t lie, getting all the right equipment for backpacking is certainly not cheap – and this is one time where you’ll be thankful that you spent a little more for the high quality stuff. Before you make that big commitment, I’d recommend doing a trial run (or two) with an experienced backpacker who has all the pre-requisite equipment to share.
Backpacking is not for everyone. Some personalities just don’t jive well with the trail. There’s nothing wrong with that. Don’t force it if you’re hating every minute of it. There will most likely be bugs, sore feet and knees, a few blisters, body odor, and let’s not forget the hole digging. You may even want to simply try a few nights out in a tent in your back yard. Not scared off yet?
Backpacking Gear
By this point, you’ve already done a trial run or two with some friends. You’ve decided you want to commit to this rewarding hobby and get your own gear. There are some hardcore backpacking minimalists out there who daydream about ways to lower their total load weight by 2 ounces. Let’s hit on the essentials first, and then get more into the optional stuff. These are truly all items that I have used personally.
Three General Rules of Thumb when Buying Backpacking Gear
- When comparing items to buy: lighter is almost always better unless you’re sacrificing necessity.
- Opt for high quality stuff. Your life might be at stake, after all.
- Get stuff that packs nicely. Avoid anything that is boxy or has exposed sharp edges.
Backpacking Supplies List – the Essentials
- Backpack: it would be hard to backpack without one of these. You need a backpack, you need a good
one, and you need one that is fitted by someone who knows what they are doing. Packs with a internal frame molded back panel are the standard these days vs. those with an external frame. I have an internal frame, which are known for more flexibility and a closer to the body feel and can’t testify to what, if any, benefit an external frame pack has. I would definitely recommend getting a backpack that has a waist and chest belt. Another nice feature to have is a pack that holds a water bladder in a special compartment. I have a Lowe Alpine internal frame backpackand it has served me well.
- Sleeping Bag: A necessity, even if you think it might not be in the climates you plan on hiking in. It can get unexpectedly cold at night, and when you’re out on the trail in the dark, miles from anywhere, your life may depend on keeping warm. Mummy bags trail rated for 0 degrees F are recommended. I have a bag similar to this Coleman mummy bag.
- Tent: You’ll want to keep critters away from you. Spiders, mosqitoes, mice, raccoons, bears, it do
esn’t matter. A thin sheet of nylon in between you and them is a necessity. You’ll want to get a very light tent specifically made for backpacking – under 4 lbs. if possible. I have a discontinued 2 person tent very similar to this 4 lb Eureka tent. - Tent Pad: You will also want a tent pad that is made of a waterproof material to keep ground moisture and sharp objects away from the bottom of your tent. Many tents will come with one. You’ll want one that fits at a size just smaller than your tent so that water doesn’t seep between the two if it rains.
- Water filtration: Forget the iodine tablets. I’ve never gotten sick from water that I’ve filtered through my Katadyn Hiker PRO Water Microfilter.
When filtering your water, make sure you are getting it from moving water that hasn’t been stagnate or just downstream from a source that would cause it to be potentially impure (dead animal, etc.).
- Water storage: I use a CamelBak bladder
that fits conveniently into a storage compartment in my backpack.
- Knife: Knives have so many expected and unexpected uses when backpacking that they definitely
make the necessity list. Many like to have the multi-functionality of a Swiss Army, but I prefer a knife with a serrated larger blade.I’d like to see a Swiss Army knife stand up to a bear.
- Fire: There are a number of ways to make a fire – matches, a lighter, a flint, or some ole’ fashion knowledge and elbow grease. Just make sure you have at least one of those methods covered so that you can cook, stay warm, and make smoke signals in a rescue situation, if need be.
- Boots: Shoes may suffice on short flat trips, but when you’re carrying 30 lbs. and over, trekking over rocky terrain, or encountering wet/muddy conditions, you’ll probably want a good pair of waterproof boots. I love my Merrell boots.
- Compass: I’d recommend getting a good ole’ fashion high quality magnetic
vs. a digital version. I’m sure the digitals are efficient (when they work).
- First Aid Kit: Essentials for backpacking include band aids, antiseptic, pain reliever, rubber bands, sewing kit, blister pads, and a snakebite kit.
The Nearly Essential Backpacking Gear:
Some of these things are considered to be essentials by many people and just extra weight by others. They become more or less essential based on on the terrain, weather conditions, experience level, and length of hike – so it’s often a judgement call by the hiker.
- Head lamp: you don’t want to get caught out on the trail in the dark (or get up in the middle of the night to tinkle) without a headlamp.
They are very efficient and light. I’d argue essential.
- TP: make sure to get the biodegradable kind. You’re truly hardcore if you don’t want to carry the extra weight of TP.
- Stove & Fuel: A light stove is essential if you want to eat anything warm. Cooking anything on a wild fire is not easy, especially for a beginner. I prefer the MSR Whisperlite
for its lightweight qualities.
- Watch: I think a watch is essential so that you can scout out where you are and where you need to get to by certain times if you are in between campsites. Also essential for determining when you need to start setting up camp.
- Soap: You can get dirty now and then on the trail. You can find special environmentally friendly soap for hand washing and dish washing.
- Bug Spray: Not a necessity if you are backpacking at the right times. Essential if you’re not.
- Sun Block: Sun block is definitely essential in certain geographies. Not so much if you’re in the forest for the majority of your trek.
- Toiletries: For longer trips, I bring deodorant, toothbrush, and toothpaste.
- Bandana: I don’t pack a towel (too heavy), but I do pack a few bandanas to dry things. They are extremely light, but do the job nicely and you can tie them to the outside of your bag to dry.
Next Steps for Aspiring Backpackers
That’s it! Well…. not quite. You may have noticed there are a few essentials missing from this list – clothing and food. Those two are worth of their own post (upcoming). We’ll also get into training and getting out on the trail. Stay tuned in!
Backpacking Discussion:
- What backpacking gear would you add to or remove from these essential items lists?
- Any particular brands you highly recommend or have terrible experiences with?
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You May Also Find the Following Articles of Interest:
Choose the Right Backpacking Food and Clothing
How to Train & Prepare for your Backpacking Trip
This is a good list. I think a tiny garden shovel is a good one to add, but probably not a ‘necessity’. It’s a whole lot easier than digging with a stick. I’ve tried an external frame pack once and did not like it – internal frame is much more comfortable and snug. Anyhow, you got me excited about getting out this year!
I’ve been backpacking for several years and have done multi-day trips all over the US. I agree with your list for the most part, but have a few comments:
To the essentials, I’d add sleeping pad. You don’t need much, but a small, inflatable pad adds a lot of comfort and keeps you thermally insulated from the ground when it’s cold.
As for sleeping bags, I’d actually recommend for 3-season campers to get something with a rating in the teens or twenties. Unless you’re doing winter camping, a 0 degree bag is too warm to keep zipped up and it can be hard to find the level of comfort between being half-in/half-out of the bag. I have a 20 degree bag and I don’t start to get chilly at all until it’s under 30 F. Most people won’t do any winter camping, but for those who do, they’ll definitely want the colder-rated bag. Serious backpackers often own a winter bag and an ultra-light summer bag. In addition to temperature rating and weight, it’s really important to know how small you can pack up your tent and buy a good compression sack to do the job.
Most national parks and many other areas don’t let you light open fires in the backcountry. If you’re planning to cook (which is half the fun), you’ll want a good camp stove. You can get them very small and they run about $50 and work fantastically. The big debate is propane vs white gas. I prefer propane because I hate having to keep the line pressure up, which is an issue with white gas. Even if you can build a fire, it’s much easier to cook on a camp stove and you won’t get carbon deposits all over your camping cookware (something else for the list).
Knife: I prefer the multitool. There are plenty of reasons to have a larger, nicer knife, but fighting a bear is not one of them. If you think your knife will help you in the rare event a bear attacks you, you’re sorely mistaken. It’s important to know what kinds of wildlife are in the area and what to do. You often need to hang your food and some areas require you to use a bear canister. Black bears pose almost no threat to humans and in Grizzly territory, your best bet is bear spray (a giant canister of special pepper spray) should one come after you.
@Will: You can get a nice cheap 6″ plastic spade at stores like REI that are great for digging your cat hole, but hardly weigh a thing.
It’s also important if you’re going to be in the backcountry to make sure that you observe Leave No Trace ethics:
http://www.lnt.org/programs/principles.php
Buying all this stuff is crazy expensive if you try to do it all at once. Your advice about going out with someone experienced is right on. I recommend people start by buying a sleeping bag and pad, which is enough to go car camping with a friend who has a tent. Then add on the boots and backpack and you can go backpacking with a friend. Then tack on things like a tent, stove, water filter, and first aid kit and you’re ready to take other people out who just have the first phase!
And one last note: I’d move headlamp up to the essentials. You’ll find plenty of uses for it even when you’re not backpacking!
Oh, and I nearly forgot: lightweight rain gear is really nice when it rains!
It depends what type of backpacking you are doing. You are more suggesting hiking and camping out. I have done a bunch of backpacking throughout Europe and the Middle East and have experience and a lot of the tips you mention still hold true. Pack light, learn how to tightly wrap things up, and prefer to live and travel on minimums. But when backpacking through cities, you have more the luxury of hostels, so you don’t really need the sleep or camping equipment. The bag itself is expensive but a must and having it once can help in the future.
@ Greg – a lot of good suggestions. I don’t know how I forgot tent pad on my list. Adding it to the list. The knife was a joke – I don’t expect a Swiss Army or even a machete to save you if a bear is hungry. I’ll cover bear safety in an upcoming post.
Excellent post. As an avid camper/hiker, I will echo your sentiment that you will definitely want to spend more money on quality equipment. There’s nothing worse than a malfunctioning piece of equipment. Even a water bottle leak can be extremely annoying on a long hike.
Looking forward to next post! I am curious about ideal types of clothing while backpacking.
Sorry, it’s a pet peeve… the word is ‘jibe,’ not ‘jive’. Jive is slang talk.
Anyway, I would not recommend a 7 pound backpack or a 0 degree bag. Too much!
But thank you for sharing your thoughts and experience.
Thanks for writing this series – this concept/article certainly caught my attention. I’m not sure I’m backpacker material yet but I have wanted to get outside and see the earth’s scenery (moutains, etc) for years. I’m in decent physical shape but aside from neighborhood walks in sandals I haven’t tried anything like backpacking… ever.
Anyhow – since I’m currently a soft-shelled, computer programmer from the suburbs I have to say ‘animal safety’ (bear/etc) is the first thing that comes to mind as I start to educate myself on this hobby/activity. For reference – I’ll say that one of my all-time favorite movies is ‘THE EDGE’ – and we all know about the bear in that movie!
Anyhow – I’m anxious for that ‘bear safety’ post you said you’d make! I’ll keep checking back!
@ Chris – good idea. Glad that someone out there was inspired by this series, thanks for the feedback. I was planning on doing a ‘once you’re out on the trail’ post, and bear safety will definitely be a topic that I’ll cover.
I love your post. It provide all information that newby like me want to know. Thank.
Hi,
Just found your blog on Technorati & Digg upcomming news feeds and read a few of your other posts.
ISeems good contents,Keep up the good work. Look forward to reading more from you in the future.
Thanks,
Michael
Great post! I was just thinking about blogging about hiking, thanks for your great tips and the time saver.
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