Custom hiking bear/food bags buyer tips and hiking tricks. Stove: If you own a single-burner camp stove that weighs less than a pound, it’s probably fine for your first backpacking trip. If you choose to buy, you’ll have to consider fuel types first and then make your stove choice. A lot of beginners go with a gas-canister stove because they’re affordable and easy to use. And be sure to pack along a full canister or bottle of the right type of fuel for your stove. Learn more by reading How to Choose a Backpacking Stove. Water treatment: Even pristine-looking sources can hide things you’d rather not drink, so it’s wise to treat all water in the wilds. You can borrow a filter, but an ultralight and simple option for your first trip is chemical treatment: tablets or drops you add to a bottle to purify your water. Learn all about buying and using water treatment gear by reading How to Choose a Water Filter or Purifier and How to Filter Water.
Reducing backpack weight tip : Dental floss to stitch and tie. Stronger than thread for stitching clothes and mending gear. Floss can also be used as a dry line or for tying items to your pack. Duct tape saves. Wrap it around your water bottle or roll it into itself to prevent bulk and the extra cardboard weight. Duct tape can be a great barrier to prevent blisters as well as helping mend the obvious gear repairs. Ultralight stove.Consider an ultralight alcohol fueled stove. You can make one out of a soda can. Shave off your toothbrush. Cut off the handle. Or get a travel toothbrush that comes in two pieces and discard the extension half. Read additional info at Custom Hiking Gear Online Store.
Don’t hike in winter conditions unless you have experience doing so. Every year I see dozens of preventable hiker deaths in the winter. Hikers attempt a trail that’s straightforward in the summer, but in the winter becomes a mountaineering exercise. Don’t push yourself past your limits. Build your strength and distance in a gradual way. Stay hydrated and fed, even if you aren’t hungry or thirsty. Heed signs and warnings. Sometimes they seem very basic and aimed at beginners, but they’re there for a reason. Stay on the trail, avoid shortcuts, and always know where you are and where you’re going. Check out my “hiking for beginners” post to make sure you haven’t missed anything important. Leave your hiking plans with a friend or family member, along with a time that you will be back by. If you’re not back by that time, let them know that they should call 911 and alert the authorities of your situation. Usually this is as simple as forwarding a link to a hike web page in an email. Worth the 2 minutes it takes. Practice camping overnight with your emergency gear in your backyard (or a nearby park). Learn some primitive skills to help you survive in the outdoors. You can watch videos on Youtube, or even attend classes all over the country. I’ve gone to the Tom Brown Tracker school and it was pretty awesome. And even though I know primitive survival skills, I still bring all of the emergency gear that I mentioned earlier. It’s better to have as many options as possible.
Who is Hilltop Packs? We are a family owned business. You can find more info about us here. Does Hilltop Packs have an affiliate program? Yes! Earn 5% on every order you refer to us. Sign up here. What is the current lead time from when I place my order? While we do keep many items in stock a lot of our products are made to order. Current lead times can be found here. Where is Hilltop Packs located? Waynesburg PA. We share space with the photography studio that our family owns downtown. However we make a lot of our products off-site in a shop we built in our home. We currently do not have a shop open to walk-ins. However, that may change in the future. Discover extra info at https://www.hilltoppacks.com/.