Backpacking Gear 101: A beginner’s guide to choosing gear
Giving you the tools needed to identify the gear to best suit your needs, and sharing what gear and brands I have personally found to be most reliable in the field.
My first time backpacking was a mess. I knew almost nothing going into the experience. I didn’t know how drastically temperatures would drop in the mountains at night and was clueless to the importance of warm layers. I found myself wearing my sleeping bag like a jacket around camp in the evenings with my bandana around my ears and a borrowed hat for warmth. I was instructed ahead of time that smell and style weren’t important on the trail, so I only brought one t-shirt to hike in (great!), but didn’t know the importance of moisture wicking fabrics so that t-shirt was cotton (terrible!).
I brought useless items that added weight to my bag and wasn’t aware of other essential items that I naively hadn’t packed. I didn’t have a hat or any head cover to block the sun during the day and I wore practically zero sunscreen, so my face burnt. My pack was not adjusted to my height; the outer straps were uneven and the weight distribution was off. I didn’t know how to listen to what my body needed, which resulted in dehydration. I hadn’t broken in my new hiking boots ahead of time, and although I had a small med kit, I was clueless on how to use it if an accident greater than a scrape would have taken place. I was brand new to the activity, and the amount of backpacking knowledge I lacked was astronomical.
It would have been easy to give up after that first disastrous experience, but luckily, I was dedicated to learning. I subjected myself to trip after trip, slowly gaining knowledge of what gear I needed and how to use it properly. In an effort to give you a leg up, and because I don’t want your first backpacking experiences to be as painful and off-putting as mine, I’ll provide you with tips to avoid some of the major blunders made by beginners when choosing gear.
When it comes to gear, hikers have different priorities based on their own personal beliefs of what is most important. Those choices usually come down to weight, size, durability, versatility, comfort, and material. Let’s talk about each of these so you can learn why they are important when you’re picking out your own gear.
WEIGHT
As you’re browsing through potential gear to purchase, you may begin to notice that outdoor gear is weighed in ounces. As a beginner introduced to the backpacking world for the first time, it may seem unnecessary and almost comical that someone would make a particular purchase based on a difference of 2 oz. But, the necessity to recognize the weight of your gear couldn’t be more important. You’re about to embark on a new style of travel in which you carry absolutely everything on your back: the food you eat, your sleeping system, cooking set up, clothes, etc. There is a saying in the outdoor community, one that I adhere to and remind others of constantly: “every ounce counts.” I was given this tip before my very first trip, and although I took that advice somewhat seriously, it wasn’t until I was actually out in the mountains hiking that I realized how true it was. 2 oz may seem like nothing, but when every single piece of gear in your pack is just a few ounces extra, suddenly your pack is pounds heavier. And when you’re hiking for miles on end, those pounds begin to weigh you down.
Ounces make pounds, and therefore, Every. Ounce. Counts.
SIZE
Similarly to weight, you have to consider the amount of space an item will occupy in your pack. Just like ounces adding up to become pounds, a few slightly bigger pieces of gear add up to an overflowing pack. I can promise you that early on in your backpacking experience, you will be tempted to ignore this, and as you’re looking at gear, you’ll think the difference in size between two items is minuscule and not worth your attention. Fight this urge to ignore the differences in size. The moment you gather all of your gear together to pack it up for your trip, you’ll thank yourself.
DURABILITY
Outdoor gear tends to be expensive. Considering these items are often meant to keep you alive and safe, the prices are understandable, but expensive nonetheless. Most of the gear you buy is not something you will want to replace every year, or even every few years. You want something that is going to last. Additionally, you want something that is going to be able to handle the extreme conditions you’ll put it through. There are companies that make outdoor gear for true wilderness enthusiasts and athletes, and there are companies that make cheap knockoffs. Take the time to look at the company you’re buying from. Is it a company that specializes in this item? Do they guarantee or back their items? Are their ambassadors actually accomplishing amazing outdoor feats? Or is this company making a cheap item that will potentially break in the field and need to be replaced, costing you more money in the long run? Coughing up the money early on for a piece of gear you know will both last and be reliable (especially when you’re miles from civilization) is usually the smarter option.
**At the end of this post, I compiled a list of companies that I trust.
VERSATILITY
It can be difficult to find gear that fits all of your weight and size goals, but searching for versatility in gear can offer relief. Using your creativity to find items that can be used for more than one purpose is key. Imagine you are deciding between two jackets, both comparable in price, size, weight, etc., and the only difference is that one of them has a storage pocket that allows the jacket to pack into itself (always a cool feature). This jacket can now be used as a jacket and a pillow. You no longer have to worry about the weight, size, and price of a backpacking pillow and this versatile jacket is therefore cheaper, smaller, and lighter than the other jacket. There are countless items that can be used for multiple purposes; the only word of caution I give is to make sure you aren’t compromising quality to accomplish versatility. An all-in-one compass, thermometer, whistle, and magnifying glass may seem like a wonder product, but aside from the whistle, any one of the other essential features likely won’t work well. If you actually needed to document temperature for some reason, or examine something closer with a magnifying glass, this item probably wouldn’t do the trick, and you would end up buying a separate piece of gear later on anyway. In that example, you essentially would just be buying a heavier, more expensive whistle. If you find a piece of gear that you think is versatile, make sure that each use you expect it to have is high quality and functioning to meet your needs.
COMFORT
This is an aspect of gear that can be overlooked by backpackers, usually in an attempt to save on weight and space, but also often to protect their desired image of looking tough and hardcore. There is already an unspoken sense of pride backpackers have over car campers. After all, they carry everything needed to survive while roughing it out in the wilderness. Driving up to a campsite and unloading amenity after amenity is not the same as backpacking, and some backpackers will do everything in their power to avoid looking like a pampered camper.
I can admit that early on, I also adhered to this unspoken drive to separate myself from the cushy image of a drive up campsite camper, but over the years, that has changed. In part, this change was from necessity. A few back to back spine injuries and surgeries forced me to upgrade my sleep system. Rather than using my clothes bag as a pillow, I now bring a real (though still compact) pillow, and the weight of my air mat is now a few ounces heavier than the thinner more narrow one I used to use. Aside from necessity, over the years, I also realized that in some ways, prioritizing comfort actually made me a better backpacker! I noticed that comfort paid off in the long run. Getting better sleep, feeling warmer and more comfortable once I set up camp, and having a tasty treat to look forward to at night (usually an avocado at dinner or a Justin’s dark chocolate almond butter cup before bed) helped me to feel more rested in the morning and gave me more energy throughout the day. These physical benefits allowed me to hike longer, go further, and keep my spirits higher. Allowing myself a few extra ounces and occupied space in my pack actually helped, rather than hindering my journey.
Obviously, as with all of these categories, you can’t give in at every step. If every piece of gear you bring adds a bit of luxury, it probably won’t have the same energizing effect because it will be so much heavier. Choose what matters most to you and give in to your needs in those small areas.
MATERIAL
The good news is that, as a beginner, as long as you’re choosing from reputable brands, you’re almost guaranteed that the material used on an item will properly match the needs of that item. Reputable brands will make sure that their rain jackets are made of properly waterproofed materials, winter jackets will offer down or synthetic-down fillings, base layers will be synthetic and moisture-wicking, packs will be made of durable ripstop materials, etc. As you develop in your knowledge, you will begin to learn the minor differences and nuances behind certain materials that will help shape your decisions on future purchases. For now, I suggest a greater emphasis on brand research, to make sure the item you are purchasing falls within their scope of expertise.
Now that you know WHAT to look for, it is helpful to know WHERE to look.
When I first started gathering gear, I utilized the discounts from REI garage sales. An REI garage sale is a periodical event held for members where you can buy returned items at a discounted price. REI has an amazing return policy that allows you to return anything for almost any reason, and because of this, they end up with a large amount of used merchandise that they need to unload. The best part is that each item comes with a return tag telling you exactly why it was returned, so that you can decide for yourself whether or not it is gear worth purchasing.
At my very first REI garage sale, I bought a severely discounted 2-person Big Agnes tent that was returned because “it was dirty,” an unused med kit (at nearly half of the original price) that was returned because it “had bug spray spilled on it,” a sleeping bag discounted by a few hundred dollars because it “wasn’t long enough,” Lowa hiking boots that “didn’t fit well,” a Black Diamond headlamp that “didn’t turn on the first click every time,” and a Therm-a-Rest air mat that was “too noisy.” I saved well over $1,000 on gear that day and spent a little less than $500. As a brand new backpacker, I found REI garage sales to be the perfect place to find discounted gear to start with.
As I developed as a backpacker and I became more aware of the exact items I wanted to own, REI garage sales became a bit more difficult, because I had to hope that the exact item I wanted was returned, available, and not overly damaged. I still attend garage sales in search of great deals, simply because it’s nice to have backup gear in a pinch. But for the most part, I now search for deals elsewhere. The first place I search is Backcountry because it is a great way to find consistent discounts and still have the ability to search for specific brands and items. The second place is SteepandCheap which sells gear and clothing up to 80%, and no less than 50%, off. They promote one deal at a time until that item is gone and then they kick off another sale, which means it’s back-to-back deals all day long.
I have been backpacking for years and I’ve covered five contents and hundreds of trails. I’ve tested various brands and different versions of each piece of gear I carry today. In that time, I’ve found the brands that I like best specifically for backpacking, and continue to use consistently. Those brands are:
Osprey (My absolute favorite backpack)
Therm-a-Rest (Sleeping mats)
Patagonia (Warm, sustainable quality clothing)
Outdoor Research (High quality clothing and gear)
Cotopaxi (sustainable and ethical clothing and jackets)
Black Diamond (Head lamps and technical gear)
REI (often less expensive versions of items with similar quality, i.e. clothing, tents, packs, etc.)
Big Agnes (Tents)
XERO Shoes (My hiking boot, trail running shoe, and adventure sandal)
Although those are the brands that I trust and use consistently, that does not discount the benefits of other brands, so I hope that you will find what works best for you. Just remember to research brands new to you and make sure that they offer quality outdoor gear.