Next month I will be hiking a small portion of the Superior Hiking Trail with a friend of mine. I have very little in the way of proper hiking gear. My friend says I will have to spend at least $400-$500 or so to gear up.
I don’t mind spending that kind of money if I know I’ll be getting some quality gear. However, I know almost nothing about hiking gear - what brands are best, when it makes sense to buy the second-best-but-much-cheaper brand, etc.
So, I thought I’d pick the brains of the smartest, hippest folks on the Internet for suggestions.
Details:
My friend has a two-man tent we will be using, and we are borrowing a water filter and a camp stove. But if you have suggestions for these items, don’t hesitate to say so - if this becomes a regular excursion (as is the hope), we’ll eventually need our own stuff.
We’ll be camping three nights, and returning on the fourth day.
What will I need? What are good brands? Any other tips and suggestions?
Nothing is more frustrating than running out of firewood because you had no way of chopping up branches too thick to break. You will surely find many fallen branches of perfect thickness for use as firewood, but they will need to be chopped up into smaller pieces.
And you can’t do this without an ***AXE. ***
ETA: The notion that you have to spend 400 or 500 dollars to gear up for a three-day camp is utterly absurd.
You do not need an ax, as burning found wood is usually prohibited in most parks. And even if it is not, campfires on a hiking trip are usually frowned upon outside of a designated camping ground, which are few and far between. Carrying an ax on a hiking trip is absolutely absurd, and prohibitively heavy. Do not do this.
Could you tell us, apart from what your friend has, what you have? For instance:
2a. What sort of boots do you have?
2b. Do you have a sleeping bag?
2c. If you do, what it is rated at?
Footwear: Depending on the terrain, you’ll either want some nice hiking shoes or hiking boots. I prefer boots when I’m hiking in areas that are extremely rugged, rocky or I have a chance of getting my feet wet. I good pair of boots will run you $100-200 or higher. You’ll also want a good pair of thick socks. Carry at least one extra pair of socks with you while hiking. If your feet get wet (or really sweaty) you’ll want to be able to change into a nice dry pair.
Utility tool/knife: I carry a little fold out knife that cost me about $20. Others like to carry those all-in-one utility tools or a fixed blade knife. I can’t remember the last time I needed my knife for anything other than opening a packet of food or taking out a splinter. You might want to think of getting something a little more robust than a pocket knife but don’t go all Rambo in your choices.
First Aid Kit: You can buy a kit for camping but you can just as easily put one together yourself. Make sure you know how to use everything in your kit and include a sling in case you need to immobilize an arm. A few tablets of pain killer such a ibuprofen is a good idea and maybe some aspirin in case you come across someone having a heart attack. Bandages and antiseptic ointment are a good idea.
Rain Gear: I carry a poncho in my pack year round. If it starts raining you’re going to want to make sure you stay dry. Especially if the weather is cool. It might not feel so bad when it starts raining but if it’s cool outside it doesn’t take that long before being wet stops feeling good.
Food: There are a wide variety of stuff to choose from. I’d take along something you can eat hot or cold just in case the stove malfunctions.
Emergency Gear: You should take along a light source, a whistle and maybe an emergency blanket.
An axe is absolutely not prohibitively heavy. For me, anyway. But if weight is an issue, a bow saw will also work. Also, I assumed that the hiking trail would have specific camping areas.
Because I cannot scan it in, I will hand copy and post here.
This is the recommended list of items I got from someone for a 5-7 day trip to the BWCA about 20 years ago. Modify as needed;
Sleeping Bag
Duffel Bag w/
Extra shoes or boots
1 extra pair of pants
1 long sleeve lightweight shirt
1 short sleeve light weight shirt (read: t-shirt)
1 pair of shorts or swim trunks
2 pair underwear
2 pair socks (wool if in cooler weather/climate)
Wool stocking cap (in cooler climate)
Baseball or other hat (to keep the sun off your face)
Long underwear (in cooler climate)
Pillow case
towel
bandana
head net (optional - for mosquitos)
pajamas
windbreaker
hankerchiefs (optional)
Ditty Bag w/
Extra glasses or contacts if needed
toothbrush and mini tube of toothpaste
razor/mirror (optional)
soap
Comb/shampoo*/dental floss
wash cloth
lip balm/hand cream
suntan lotion/nosecoat
personal medication
Bug spray
nail clippers
Rain Gear
Misc
Fishing gear (lists, but I won’t here)
Compass/map
Cotton gloves
Camera
Flashlight
Sierra Cup
Toilet paper, yeah. Put two rolls into a sealable freezer bag. Then make a second bag with the same and put it in a different pack.
Axe, hell yeah. Make it a sharp one with a blade cover on it.
Definitely need the emergency medical kit. The guy who led the BWCA trips I went on back in the day would go to his doctor and get small prescriptions of pain and antihistamines since we would be several days from help. If yours is cooperative, bring an Epipen just in case. You may never need it, but better to have one than watch someone die of shock for lack of it.
Ignore the cheap shit. If you’re going to be moving around in it for a couple of days, you want the good stuff. The cheap stuff will be falling apart in hours, or not working as well we you might like.
As for actual advice on things you’ll need, let’s start from the bottom up:
Shoes. Either boots or shoes. But it’s a month away, and you will absolutely need time to break them in. As such, I’m going to recommend shoes - they’re easier to break in, and harder to get blisters from as a result of improperly broken-in footwear. If you don’t have an adequate pair of footwear for this, go out TONIGHT and get them, and wear them every day for as long as you can get away with it. If they’re not broken in, three days is going to be torture, as you’ll get blisters within the first 6 hours. Be prepared to spend a minimum of $100.
Socks. Most hiking/camping stores will show you to a section of specialty socks that, upon first inspection, will make you double over in laughter based on their price and/or design. Fight that laughter, and consign yourself to buying at least 3 pairs of high performance, moisture-wicking machines appropriate for the shoes you’ve recently bought.
Legwear. I recommend the break-away now-they’re-pants-now-they’re-shorts hybrids. They save you room in your pack for other more important things. You will not need more than one pair (even if they get wet) for 3 days (actually, you could go a couple weeks without really having to replace your semi-water resistant pants, but that’s not a concern).
Underwear. Go nuts, and pack 3-4 pair. Everyone feels better in fresh drawers, and they weigh next to nothing anyway. Wear whatever you’re used to when you normally work out.
Shirts. If you don’t have some good performance wear that wicks moisture away, then invest in 2 of them now. They really do work. Also throw in a long-sleeved shirt and a fleece. Layers are important, so figure out what you’ll want at 11pm sitting around looking at the stars.
Hat. Get a hat. I have a great outback hat that weighs next to nothing, is waterproof, shades my face and neck, and has a strap in case I want to take it off but not have to pack it up. Or you could just throw on a baseball cap and be more liberal with the sunscreen.
Raingear. Lightweight is really important here. Heavy raingear is really hot when you’re wearing it, heavy when you’re not, and takes up too much room when you never need it. You should have enough layers to keep you warm - you just need something waterproof to keep you dry. Look into options for your backpack as well. If you’ve gone with just a baseball cap for your head, make absolute sure your raingear has a hood.
Backpack. Do not get something you can carry everything you own in. If I could go back, I’d go ultralight, because overpacking is the absolute death of me. Nothing worse than getting back thome at the end of a tough hike and realizing you were carrying 8 lbs. of shit you never needed, even when you encountered the conditions you packed the shit for.
Sleeping. Get a good sleeping bag that you can afford. You can go overboard here, so don’t go nuts. You can always sleep in your clothes if you need to - but at least make sure you have a 3-season (you’re in MN, so you may want to check conditions to really see what it should be rated for). Also, a good inflatable sleeping pad is worth its weight in gold. I also found a sweet pair of fleece pants that is my one luxury item - they’re great to change into once you set up camp (getting out of sweaty/stinky hiking clothes is a great feeling), and they seem to add another 20 degrees to your bag rating.
Miscellaneous. High SPF sunscreen. Sunglasses. Chapstick. A good multitool. Shoes for camp, be they crocs, flipflops, water shoes - just make sure they’re light, because you don’t actually need them. An 8"x12" piece of foam*. LED headlamp and flashlight (and maybe some extra batteries that you stow in an old film case).
Did you see the LED headlamp and flashlight mentioned above? Just checking.
Food. Go to Dick’s, and hit the freeze-dried food section. Don’t get anything exotic (the pad thai is absolutely horrid - but the red beans and rice is awesome). Feel free to pack some hot sauce if that’s your thing. But - and this is EXTREMELY important - don’t overpack. Food really adds up the weight, and will be your #1 regret when you get home and realize you have a week’s worth of food left over that you just carried for 3 days on your back.
*If you go to Dick’s or WalMart, or wherever, in the camping section there will be really shitty, cheap sleeping pads you can buy for like $4. Buy one, and measure the dimensions of your pack - either the bottom, or the length of it that would be against your back. For me, that was 8"x12". This weightless, volumeless (for all intents and purposes) piece of foam is your new favorite camp chair, and is more comfortable than any rock or log in a 200 mile radius.
A bow saw?!? No - do not do this, BlackKnight. It is silly and foolish. I cannot conceive of any area of Minnesota that does not have ample firewood, should you be in an area where you are able to fire up a campfire. In my experience hiking, a bowsaw would be hurled as far as I could throw it within 2 hours for being the most extraneous piece of equipment ever imagined, outside of a flatscreen television.
Yeah I agree bringing a bow saw is foolish. That’s why I bring an axe. I suggested the bow saw only because you claimed that an axe is too heavy, which I totally disagree with in the first place. I am not seeing what is so illogical about bringing an axe. You realize they make axes designed for camping? Google “camp axe.” I always bring one. You NEED to be able to chop up wood. Your fire will not last long on thin, breakable dry branches and kindling. You need real, dense, thick hardwood logs. And to get those, you need an axe. Or a saw.
A bowsaw might be able to cut pieces to length, but it is absolutely useless in creating tindling or dividing logs to expose the more easily burnable insides.
The top three Google results are 1.8, 2.5 and 1.2 lbs., respectively. I’m not an UL hiker by any means, but that’s too heavy for a unitasking item that is entirely unnecessary. That’s right - you do not need to chop wood while hiking. Unless you’re in the Alaskan outback, there’s simply no need for this, and in most situations, it’s not allowed in the first place.
But maybe you’re the kind of hiker/car camper that likes to leave big heaping piles of ash and burnt ground when you leave. If so, knock yourself out. I’m much more on the Leave No Trace end of the scale, and find very little use for a campfire. Not only do I leave the area as similar to the way I found it, I’ve eliminated a pound or two from my pack that I just didn’t need.
ETA: And to echo echo, hammocks are absolutely cool. I’m jealous of them, and people seem to love them. I wonder how warm they are when the temperature starts to dip, but that should be more a function of your bag.
Keep track of weight. Possibly the single most important factor in hiking enjoyment is the weight, and you’ll need to work to minimize it. I’m also not an “ultralight” hiker, but I keep my load to 25% of my body weight, and you should consider a similar limit, especially if you haven’t done much backpacking before.
I’d look into a down sleeping bag. They aren’t cheap, but the weight savings and comfort is worth it. I have this; it’s on the low end, and I actually only paid $80 for mine, but it’s been my best single purchase.
Get a nice sleeping pad. Thermarest is the classic, and hard to go wrong with. I have a “shorty” ProLite, which doesn’t go down to my feet, but has worked perfectly even in snow.
What are you doing for bear protection? Here in CA, bear canisters are a must, but as best I can tell a bear bag is sufficient for those on SHT. You definitely need something, though.
Try hard to avoid doo-dads. That camping chair may look nice, but you’ll regret it 5 miles in. Same goes for the axe, or fancy cookware, or whatever.
An axe is probably overkill. If you can’t put a stick in the crotch of a tree and then lean on it to get it to size then you’re building too large a fire with wood that will be burning/smoldering far longer than you need it to. I can see taking an axe to a campsite where you’re going to be making a bonfire for a group. For most kindling needs I can’t see ever going above a wire saw which I would mostly use to score a branch before breaking it. A wire saw should be in every emergency kit anyway, so why not let it earn its keep.
A bow saw I can’t see using unless I’m making a Swedish Candle, again more of a bonfire scenario, but for general camp cooking we prefer buddy burners and hobo stoves using sawdust(generated with the wire saw if necessary) and some paraffin.
Hopefully your buddy, who seems to think camping is an investment, will have all the cooking and food preparation gear and all you’ll need is your pack, ultralights are the bomb, clothes(fair and foul weather) and sleeping gear as mentioned above.
Some comments on the things people have said above:
Socks - In the old days the recommendation was a synthetic liner underneath a pair of wool socks. I now prefer something like smartwool which is a blend. Doesn’t itch.
Axe vs Saw - I bring a small hatchet. Where I go wood fires are prohibited though, I use it for pounding tent stakes and as an emergency tool.
Clothes - Do not bring jeans. It’s heavy and cotton performs poorly when wet.
TP - Besides toilet paper if you are hiking where there are no latrines bring a small camp shovel. Try to do things like washing and latrine activities at least 100 ft away from water sources.
Ultralight - I’d recommend not going that route for now until you find out this is for you. ultralight bags tend to be frameless because your sleeping pad becomes the frame. You don’t bring a stove, you bring an empty cat food can and a bottle of denatured alcohol.
Critters - Where I hike there can be bears, rodents, and/or raccoons. Keep food out of your tent (mice can easily chew through the fabric - experience talking here). Dishes should be done away from your site as well.
You can make your own backpacking food. If you find you enjoy doing this check out backpacker magazine. They used to send out 4 or 6 recipes each issue.
I never have carried an axe, but I never make a fire. When backpacking I don’t find a need - I cook on a camp stove and most areas I camp fires are either prohibited or frowned upon. Either way, count me in with the folks who vote against it.
Brands for the most part aren’t that important. Lots of brands make good gear as well as some junk.
Boots - get something that fits and is comfortable, that is the most important. Spend a good deal of time getting them fitted and wear them around the store with the socks you plan on hiking in. I generally hike in a single pair of Smartwool socks; I no longer use liner socks. If you expect to encounter wet/muddy conditions a pair of gaiters is well worth the investment.
Clothes - stay away from all cotton, except maybe something to sleep in. Fleece is pretty much fleece, no matter who makes it. You can get great values at discount stores. Pants are harder to find easily, in a pinch sweats will do fine unless you’re going to be in a heavy rainstorm. Rain gear is key, the jacket may be the most important piece of clothing.
Hats and gloves/mitts - bring extra pairs of gloves/mitts, keep dry ones in a ziplock. A neck gaiter is also very nice to have.
Sleeping bag - I’d start with synthetic since you may need to learn how to keep things dry. Down is great but you need to keep it dry for it to work. Don’t skimp on the sleeping pad - I like ThermaRest or Big Agnes brands, but there are others that work fine. This can be a weighty item, so check the specs.
I’ve seen two people mention two light sources. I’m just wondering why you recommend that. I used to backpack with a single mini maglite then switched to a LED headlamp to cut weight and free my hands.
Is it just for backup reasons? I carry extra batteries. Should I add a second light to my packlist?
If you need to do the bear bag thing Dr. Strangelove mentioned; bring 50-100ft of rope. You may also want to learn the counterbalance method of hanging a bag.
