Comments on: The Beginner’s Guide to Backpacking: Buying Backpacking Gear & Supplies

By: All Inclusive

All Inclusive — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 20:44:42 +0000

Great post! I was just thinking about blogging about hiking, thanks for your great tips and the time saver.

By: mical parado

mical parado — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 07:16:31 +0000

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

By: Chang

Chang — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:50:00 +0000

I love your post. It provide all information that newby like me want to know. Thank.

By: G.E. Miller

G.E. Miller — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 22:58:27 +0000

@ 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.

By: Chris

Chris — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 09:28:56 +0000

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!

By: Ted

Ted — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 16:11:39 +0000

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.

By: Andrea (Recession Proof Living)

Andrea (Recession Proof Living) — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 18:19:15 +0000

Looking forward to next post! I am curious about ideal types of clothing while backpacking.

By: Phinance

Phinance — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 16:59:58 +0000

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.

By: G.E. Miller

G.E. Miller — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 00:51:39 +0000

@ 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.

By: Craig

Craig — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 15:43:27 +0000

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.