Pieces of Gear All Beginner Backpackers Need

Backpacking is one of the most wondrous activities. For all those reasons it's so wondrous, it's also dangerous. The home comforts of civilization don't exist out on the trails, and so it's important to be well-prepared for a backpacking trip of any length. This means covering all your bases: food, water, shelter, warmth, protection from the elements, etc. There's some gear all beginner backpackers need to invest in long before hitting the trail. Especially as a beginner, being well-prepared and taking your time is infinitely better than launching into a trip you're not prepared for.

Choosing the right backpack is a crucial step for any backpacker, of any level. A good backpack is perhaps the most important piece of gear all beginning backpackers need, and there are a lot of factors to consider when making this decision. In part, this will depend on the length of your intended trips—for beginners, those should not be more than a couple of days. For shorter overnight backpacking trips, you should look for a pack with a capacity between 30 and 50L, which is enough space for all your essentials, but will still be light enough to carry around easily. There are two dangerous extremes when it comes to packing: Some beginning backpackers pack too light in order to save themselves the haul, and end up with too few supplies. Others make the opposite mistake, and take on more than they need, slowing them down and making the trip much more difficult.

An oft-overlooked piece of gear all beginner backpackers need is a stuff sack. A stuff sack allows you to compress your bulkier items like sleeping bags and clothing down to a minimal size, so that it can easily fit in a smaller pack, as mentioned above. Whether you're doing a quick weekend trip or a long haul, you need to make the most of the space you have, and keep that space as small as possible while still fitting all of your essentials. Key pieces of gear like stuff sacks will help you do that, so you don't have to sacrifice any of your other crucial pieces of gear.

You should never go hiking—even one day hiking—without double and triple checking your first aid kit. While you hopefully will not need it, this is still perhaps the most important piece of gear all beginner backpackers need. As with all things concerning backpacking, you want to find the right balance of compact and portable and sufficiency for any contingencies. You can find checklists to make sure you have all your essentials from experts like R.E.I. or others online. Outdoors and hiking companies like this also offer pre-packaged first aid kits for hikers, that combine all the potential necessities you could need in the most compact size possible.

Next to a stuff sack, the most overlooked piece of gear all beginner backpackers need is a sleeping pad. Unless you're car camping, your tent and sleeping bag are not going to be sufficient to protect you from the elements. Especially in colder climates, a sleeping pad will protect you from water and the cold ground, making a significant difference in your comfort, safety, and health while you're braving the elements. Even the most high quality sleeping bags can't offer the necessary protection from the leeching cold of the ground that a sleeping pad offers. For backpacking purposes, you should also look for a lightweight pad that rolls or folds up, like the Hikelite Air pad above, which inflates via an internal hand pump so it can fold down to a minimum size.

The basic human needs are food, water, and shelter. Proper shelter when backpacking and hiking involves a good tent, sleeping pad, and sleeping bag. Food and water require even further gear of their own though. In particular, a crucial piece of gear all beginner backpackers need is a portable stove for boiling water. The ability to boil water enables you to pack light, compact, non-perishable food, which merely needs added boiling water to make something actually fairly delicious. Freeze-dried backpacking meals are the only way to go when backpacking, as it removes all of the water weight from the food and allows you to pack light.

Beginning hikers often lack the proper apparel for backpacking. When day hiking, you can probably get away with any old set of athletic clothes and running shoes. For long hikes however, especially overnight hikes, you want to have clothing that does a few important things: First, it should protect you from the elements—both sunlight and cold. Specialized hiking pants are designed to do this in a way other pants are not, and are further designed to be lightweight and flexible, and to whisk moisture away, unlike other fabrics like denim which are cumbersome, restrictive, and prone to trapping and creating odors when tightly packed.

Even more important than basic apparel, every hiker needs a good pair of hiking boots. Much like choosing a pack, choosing the right hiking boots for you depends on a number of factors. Some boots are designed for shorter use, like day hikes, while others are meant for longer endeavors. Similarly, some boots are best for certain kinds of terrain, while others might provide more comfort on easier hikes. Experts at outdoor stores like R.E.I. can help you find the right boots for your particular hiking needs. Regardless of what boots you decide on, you should make sure to purchase your boots well in advance of your planned trip, and wear them around for a minimum of a few days to break them in. You don't want to be dealing with blisters on any of the beginner backpacking trails in the US, where there's no civilization to rest your feet.

In the modern age of pollution, even the clearest springs are likely to be contaminated in some way. Even far away from civilization, pollutants can travel into bodies of water, and bacteria from things like dead plant and animal life can further endanger your life if you choose to drink unfiltered water. Staying hydrated, though, is perhaps the most important thing to remember on a long hike. So it's important to invest in a portable, high quality water filter that will last you a long time. This ensures you will have plenty of clean drinking water, as well as clean water for boiling and cooking.

We've covered food and water; however, as tempting as the open stars may be, you can't go backpacking overnight without a good tent. You should look for tents that are designed explicitly for backpacking, so you can roll or fold it up as small as possible in order to best transport it in your pack. You should also go for the smallest tent you need—that is, a single-person tent if you're going solo, and a two person tent if there are only two of you. Luxurious though some of those family-sized tents may be, they will just add extra weight and make your trip unnecessarily difficult. Check out some of the best backpacking tents to bring on your next trip to make sure you have the right equipment when you need it.

The final piece of gear all beginner backpackers need is a sleeping bag. You can't just shove your old overnight-field-trip bag in a pack and call it a day; backpacking requires both a lightweight bag that's easy to carry long distances, and one that will keep you warm and safe from the elements. Just because the forecast says temperate, does not mean you can get away with skimping on your sleeping bag—sudden changes in weather are the biggest danger to hikers and campers. Most high quality sleeping bags will tell you the low temperature they're designed for—you should always choose one at least 10 degrees colder than the lowest expected temperature for your trip.