What do you bring and what stays at home? How to ensure that the weight of your backpack remains acceptable?
Below I give you some general tips that are useful during a multi-day hike. In addition, I give you a packing list, which includes everything for a hike and / or camping holiday.
Another packing list will also follow later, including the weight of each item.
Tips
- Try to ensure that the weight of the three most important items that you take with you (backpack, tent, sleeping bag / mat) is less than three kilos. We have not quite succeeded yet, but we are well on our way. We each have a mat of 465 grams, a sleeping bag of 1100 grams and a tent of 1.7 kg together. However, our backpacks weigh 2.1 kg and 2.7 kg so we are not there yet …
- If everything is about weight and you start flying to your destination then it will be difficult. You want to transport your backpack safely and not use an airplane bag. Because an airplane bag is heavy. For this we use the standard rain cover of the backpack, an extra (old) rain cover and two straps. One rain cover goes over the backpack at the front, the other rain cover goes over the back (plus a part over the front) and then the straps go around it. We have done this several times and it works great! And a rain cover is really very light!
- Less clothing, toiletries, first aid: Limit the amount of extra clothing that you bring with you. Make sure that you have something dry at night or when you stop walking. So thermal shirt and thermal pants, but an extra set is not necessary. So you can also limit on toiletries and first aid. Only take the essentials with you!
- A chamois: a chamois? yes a chamois! A chamois weighs almost nothing but comes in very handy after a rain shower. You can use it to dry your tent canvas, very nice if after a heavy storm there are puddles on it … and then you hang it on your backpack and it will be dry again.
- An extra peg: smashing pegs in rocky soil, it is not easy. You will smash a peg in no time. Sin! Take one extra strong peg, with which you try to make little hole first. Once you have the right place for your final tent peg, you replace the extra peg for the tent peg.
- Daypacks of food: During a trek I prepare the food for that day in the morning. In a ziplock bag I put the lunch, the fillings, coffee / tea, snacks such as trail mix. This ziplock bag is in an easily accessible place so that we can reach it quickly.
- Old sock: In warm areas, the water in your waterbottle quickly becomes warm. Also dip an old sock in the water when you tap water and put the bottle in the old sock. Then hang the bottle outside on your backpack. The water stays nice and cool.
- Camphor spirit. Not so much a packing tip but a preparation tip. Spray your feet a few weeks before the trek with camphor spirit. Camphor spiritus contains alcohol and 10% camphor. It ensures that the top layer of your feet dries out and becomes stronger. It helps very well against blisters! A bottle, 120 ml, costs € 1.99 at the drugstore, you can also buy a spray from careplus, which costs € 4.99 for 60 ml.
- More tips will follow soon!