With the decision to go hiking in the mountains for the first time and become part of the reckless tribe of hikers, without understatement, one life ends and another begins. Full of adventures, starry skies, lungs full of fresh dawn air, breathtaking views and shots, bright sunsets, but, as in any life, not everything will go smoothly - hiking in the mountains is sometimes about tired legs, wind, snow and cold nights.
Let us prepare you properly for this new life and tell you what to take with you on a hike so that it will have many more pleasant moments and much less discomfort.
The better prepared you are, the easier and more enjoyable your trip will be - on the one hand, you won't have to carry an unnecessary item all the way, and you won't have to suffer from the lack of something you really need (for example, crunching dry buckwheat because you forgot to throw matches or a lighter in your backpack). Don't be afraid of long lists of equipment - organizing a hike is fun and enjoyable, because when you pack your backpack, you anticipate an upcoming adventure! Over time, you will learn how to pack a backpack for a hike of any duration quickly and accurately, you just need to gain this experience. We hope that our article will be a good start to your new hiking life.
The specific set of equipment that you are going to pack in your hiking backpack will depend on the chosen season, the duration of the hike, your experience, weather forecast, personal preferences, gender, age, and the mountain range you are going to. Of course, a young girl weighing 45 kg who is planning a 3-day hike in the summer Carpathians with a group from the KULUAR club will not take the same set of equipment with her as a 40-year-old experienced climber in the spring autonomous expedition to the Himalayas for one month. But hiking is always hiking - the basic set of equipment is the same. You just act on the situation, adding the necessary elements to this "skeleton".
It's unlikely that a mountain hike can be a one-day trip, but if you go hiking for 1 day, it is most likely to be in the format of hiking without an overnight stay and you will need much less stuff. You definitely don't need to take everything that is usually used to set up a camp - a tent, a sleeping bag, a rug. It's enough to bring:
What to take on a summer hike? Let's pack a backpack for the mountains together with KULUAR's head Taras Pozdnyi. The list of equipment for a group hike with the club - without a tent and camping kitchen.
Now let's take a look at the list of equipment for a 3,7 or even 10-day hikes.
It all starts with the so-called "tourist's big three" (backpack, sleeping bag, tent) + clothes and shoes + first aid kit + supplies and what will help to cook and eat them.
Its composition depends on the duration and difficulty of the hike. For ordinary mountain trekking, you should take everything that will help you quickly deal with scratches and abrasions, colds, headaches, and stomach upsets. We have already written in detail about an individual list of medicines in the article What to take on a hiking trip in the mountains from a first aid kit. If you are traveling to the mountains with us, you will be interested to know about the KULUAR hiking first aid kit, which the teamleader carries with him on every hike. It is ideal if you pack all your medicines in a hard box and then in a sealed bag.
A city backpack, a backpack for fishing or a laptop will not work for a mountain hike. Take a closer look at this piece of equipment, because all your belongings will go in it. The backpack should be strong enough to withstand a potential move or flight with numerous loading and unloading (you still need to get to the mountain range). At the same time, it should remain comfortable for the back and light enough - after all, a backpack is just a shell for all your treasures and should not be a burden in itself. Most backpacks for mountain trekking and climbing are equipped with a waist belt that fixes the backpack on the lower back. The volume of a hiking backpack is measured in liters. Before going to the mountains, be sure to familiarize yourself with how to choose the right backpack.
In mountain hiking, a tent is most often used as a shelter. The weight of the tent can range from half a kilogram, for very expensive lightweight variations, to several tens of kilograms, for large camping shelters with a vestibule and several rooms, which are used in base camps during climbing. For mountain hikes, people usually take something in between. The most popular universal option is a two- or three-person dome tent with windproof aluminum arches. The optimal weight is 1 kg per person. If you plan to go only on mountain hikes, it is better to give preference to a lightweight and windproof tent with a strong frame - such a tent can be set up anywhere. It is also advisable to choose a shelter exactly for the number of people who will spend the night in it. If you're hiking solo, you shouldn't take a two-person tent - it's extra weight. You should also not take a two-person tent for three people - it will be warmer, but you will have to forget about a good rest, which is so important in a hike. We advise you to study a detailed guide on choosing a tent in advance.
They can be downy and synthetically filled. Down sleeping bags are often lighter and warmer, but more expensive. Only a few years ago, we would NOT recommend taking a down sleeping bag to the mountains if high humidity, rain or snow is expected. But modern manufacturers of sleeping bags use not only high-quality fabric that insulates the down well inside, but also a special impregnation for the down itself, which increases the durability of such a sleeping bag and its resistance to moisture. In addition, we now have such wonderful inventions as a sheet insert in the sleeping bag and a condenser cover that can be put on top of the sleeping bag. Speaking of the comfort temperature of your sleeping bag (and you should only pay attention to this parameter on the sleeping bag label when buying it), an individual approach will not hurt. If you see the number 0°C, and the list of recommended equipment for this hike says “sleeping bag for temperatures not exceeding 0°C”, and you know that you are prone to freezing, you should take a sleeping bag with a margin - for example, for -2°C or -4°C. If you already have a +5°C sleeping bag at home and don't plan to buy a new one in the near future, this is also not a problem - just bring some high-quality thermal underwear and sleep in it. Remember, a sleeping bag is a fairly flexible piece of equipment, but you should also take a responsible approach to its choice - the quality of your sleep and your overall enjoyment of the trip depends on it, just like the tent and the mat. Read about choosing the perfect sleeping bag for a mountain hike.
The "big three" should include a travel mat that insulates you from the cold ground, uneven ground, or snow. Modern mattresses are divided into standard foam, inflatable, and self-inflating. What is the difference, and what is better suited for your hiking trip, you can find out in this article "How to choose a tourist sleeping mat"?
Lighter, stronger, quick-drying. Its function is to keep you warm, but also to prevent you from overheating. Here we talked in detail about choosing clothes for hiking in the mountains and about the list of equipment and clothes for a winter hike. In short, the concept of "three-layer" is popular in modern mountain tourism - moisture-wicking, heat-saving, and protective layers. But don't think that the three-layer principle is only applicable for winter or demi-season hiking. In the mountains, even in summer, the weather is extremely changeable - the sun is shining gently now, but in half an hour a cloud can creep in, rain or a snowstorm can hit.
This means that you will need:
There's no one-size-fits-all list when it comes to clothing for a mountain hike - take the time to consult with a hike leader who knows all the specifics of your program.
It has several main functions in a hike: to prevent you from slipping and falling on stones (good grip); high-quality support of the lower leg (not giving tired feet a chance to turn upside down); warming and ventilation. What are the different types of hiking shoes?
It all depends on whether you are traveling with your own company or with a group from a club. In group hikes, the team leader usually takes responsibility for choosing light and nutritious food and preparing it. You only carry your part of the supplies. Traditional camping cuisine is:
As well as an individual set for each participant:
And finally, we enter the realm that depends entirely on your own hiking whims and type of hike. It's up to you (or the organizer) to decide whether or not to take (how much and what kind of) the following equipment on your next mountain hike. But we recommend that you listen to our recommendations, which are the result of many years of experience in organizing mountain hikes.
We have already prepared several more detailed lists of equipment by region. If you are planning a trip to one of them, we recommend that you familiarize yourself with them in more detail:
And now, so as not to bore you with boring lists of equipment, let's look at a few live examples.
Photo: Andriy Vergeles
Masha is planning her 4-day hike in the winter Carpathians.
She chose the "Winter Climbing to Hoverla and Petros" hike with overnight stays in huts, so she won't need a big backpack, because she doesn't take a tent, sleeping bag, or pad. Such mountain hikes are called radial hikes.Masha has checked our list of winter gear for hiking in the Carpathians, so she knows that her 30-liter backpack needs to be equipped with a waterproof cover (raincoat) to protect all the contents from moisture. Masha will also bring a thermos instead of a regular flask (it's much nicer to drink hot coffee than ice water when descending a mountain), a spare fleece, and an empty plastic container for goodies. Masha will also definitely not forget trekking poles with a nozzle for walking in the snow, a second pair of walking shoes (in the morning it is not very pleasant to climb into shoes that have not dried since the evening). Masha doesn't like crocs, so she plans to buy thick knitted socks from old ladies at the train station in the Carpathians, which are so cozy to wander around a wooden house and sit by the fireplace with a cup of Carpathian herbal tea! Masha is a smart girl, so she respects the principle of three-layer clothing and will pack good thermal underwear and ski pants, a hiking jacket and a down jacket for the road and for gatherings. She also packs a hat and a fleece buff (instead of a scarf), winter mittens and gaiters ("flashlights") to keep snow from getting into her boots. A ski mask and a seat so that it won't be cold to sit on the snow when she wants to rest a bit. Masha doesn't take a large first aid kit because she knows that the team leader of her group has one, but remembering her tendency to get headaches, she brings her usual medications, just in case. Masha installs the navigation program recommended by the group's team leader, where she will save several important objects in advance, such as the location of the lodge. Masha is not afraid of getting lost in the winter Carpathians, and in the mountains it is better to be prepared for anything. That's why her backpack also contains a tiny but very functional thermal blanket, a large garbage bag (the size of Masha herself), a candle, lighter, flashlight, power bank and a small chemical hand warmer - all neatly packed in a zipper bag. Masha is not only smart, but also beautiful, so sunscreen and hygienic lipstick also found a place in the outer pocket of her backpack.
Maksym is packing his backpack for a trip to Nepal.
Max is a passionate photographer, so he packs all his photographic equipment in a separate small 30-liter backpack (the same backpack will serve as carry-on luggage during the flight). Max won't forget his large power bank, which will charge not only his phone but also his camera batteries. Maksym is packing almost the same list of clothes as Masha, but he will need not only equipment for mountain trekking, but also for high-altitude mountaineering. So he adds crampons, an ice pick, and trekking poles. Max had never used trekking poles before, but they are on his must-have equipment list, so he read our article "How to Choose Trekking Poles" and bought himself a sturdy titanium one with a convenient folding design. Maxim plans to spend the night in a tent, so he takes a camping mat and a sleeping bag. He doesn't have much experience with tents, so for this hike he rents a single person tent to see what kind of tent really suits him. Mountain trekking, and even more so climbing in Nepal, involves passing through all climatic zones, from the tropical zone of the Kathmandu Valley to the snow-capped peaks of the Himalayas. Max knows this because he has studied the issue in advance, checked the weather forecast and consulted with the KULUAR consultant. Now he knows that it is worth taking a large 90-liter backpack with a rucksack that can hold both summer and winter gear: boots, sneakers, sandals, thin and warm socks, thermal underwear, several synthetic T-shirts, shorts, a buff, regular gloves, trekking pants, fleece and fleece pants, down jacket, membrane jacket and the same pants, poncho coat, flashlight, waist bag for documents and money, repellent. While preparing to go trekking in Nepal, Max checked our list of equipment for trekking in Nepal from KULUAR. He supplemented his personal first aid kit with a pack of antihistamines, knowing that he is sometimes allergic to unfamiliar foods.
Ira is hiking the Lycian Trail in May.
This is a classic summer camping trip, where in addition to the "big three" Ira will need things from this list of equipment. Just a pair of walking pants, shorts, a hat and sunscreen, a few T-shirts, a lightweight fleece, and a lightweight membrane jacket. As a result, the 60-liter backpack still has plenty of space. Ira has a sweet tooth, so she uses the remaining space in her backpack for a dozen of her favorite candy bars to make traveling more fun.
Igor had long dreamed of hiking in Scandinavia.
He hesitated for a long time between Iceland and Norway and eventually chose Iceland in August for 14 days. He takes his favorite comfortable 90-liter backpack with a small backpack. Furthermore, he packs a sleeping bag designed for sub-zero temperatures, a thick inflatable mat with insulation, trekking poles, sturdy sneakers with a GORE-TEX membrane, a membrane jacket and pants, a pair of fleece jackets, regular pants and swimming trunks for swimming in hot springs. Ihor is going camping with his girlfriend, so he has a two-person tent. The tent is wind-resistant - low, with aluminum arches. The outer tent can withstand 5000 mm of precipitation. Igor's detailed list of equipment for the hike in Iceland.
Well, the next time you start packing your backpack for your next mountain hike, mentally imagine who you are today - Masha, Max, Ira or Igor - and it will be much easier to decide on the list of equipment!
Автор: Анастасія Доманова