5 Bits of Hiking Gear I Wish Beginners Would Use (But They Don't)

One great tip is to look backwards regularly when hiking, stop turn around and take in the trail and scenery. The trail looks different going the other way. It’s helped me many times especially in woods.

as an ex military man, I would add sunblock or a cap to protect yourself from the sun. It gives your head and neck that extra protection that helps prevent sun/heatstroke or a nasty headache.

Re: Safety of "clear, clean water" in the mountains... Many years ago, my friends and I were hiking in the Sawtooth Mountains of Idaho. We came upon a beautiful little stream, maybe 6' across and a foot deep. Perfectly clear water, no bad smells or any indication of it being unhealthy. About half of us filled our canteens and drank heartily, while a couple people went upstream "to check things out." They came right back, and cautioned that there was a dead deer in the water! We immediately stopped drinking, and went 50 yards or so to see. The deer wasn't recently dead, but it also wasn't completely rotted dry. None of us got sick from it, but lesson learned: You never know what the source of the water is, nor what is in the water. Bring some kind of filtration device, you don't have to be like the pioneers of 150 years ago (and how many of them died from such things?).

It's not gatekeeping when you're teaching about leave no trace. It's education, and people need to know and should be following those rules.

I am convinced everyone needs a compact but reasonable intensity light source, a competent flashlight or headlamp. If light runs out, it will help. Not very heavy.

💧Water: drink a lot before you begin the hike, and leave with the bottle full.

Wilderness Steward and Boomer here, lol. Yes, a paper map is an excellent backup, they work without batteries and they are cheap: here in the U.S. you can get an entire National Forest mapped out for just $10-$12 that will easily cover 500 miles of hiking trails. The ever useful compass might be on your phone, but a small analog map compass can be as low cost as $7. All this for less than a battery charger or an annual subscription to a trail app. Thanks for covering the necessary subject of poop. 👍

The trawl (shovel) thing is actually mentioned in scripture!

I can attest to the offline trail maps. Went out on an easy hike a few years ago. Fog and rain set in and I ended up following an animal trail for a long ways before realizing I had gotten off the hiking trail. The offline maps were a life saver. I had my phone plugged into an external battery pack and in airplane mode while hiking back. With that being said, a flashlight is a must. It’s very easy to lose day light. Heads lamps are useful while hiking/camping since they free up your hands.

8 years ago i stepped onto the Appalachian trail with my teen aged son at the visitors center for a week in the woods and no idea what I was doing. As the day dragged on we started running out of water and I was scared for him. Just before sunset we made camp and I found water. For the next week, whenever we crossed a stream we drank all of the water we had and filtered and refilled our water bottles. As am amateur that day i learned I never wanted to be dehydrated again.

One thing about carrying water that too many beginners don't think about; actually drinking enough on the trail. Too many times, I've seen people who have water in their pack suffer from dehydration because they "Weren't thirsty." When' on the trail and whether or not you're thirsty, you NEED to drink water BEFORE you're thirsty, and depending on the terrain, temps, humidity and the distance you're going, having a electrolyte drink may be important too.

I liked some of the products you talked about. I am a newbie to hiking, one month day hiker and I can't get enough. retired 2 yrs ago, am 67, lost 40+ pounds in the past 22 months and am now hiking 2x a week...

First aid kit!! Never go into the wilderness without one.

My kit includes a conventional compass (doesn't need batteries), sharp knife, small flashlight, first aid kit w whistle, and non-perishable food (jerky, packaged items). I tend to wear a long sleeve cotton shirt, wide brim hat and pants with many pockets (or a proper uniform). Sometimes, I carry fire making gear. I like a Life Straw but this bottle with a built-in straw is cool. These items helped me on a 9-day tour of the Grand Canyon and 20 months in Afghanistan.

I had a buddy was going to climb Mount Washington and borrow some of my gear to do it. I looked over his pack. Total water load 14 ounces. no jacket or coat. Had a little folding camp chair he was going to take, because "where will I sit?" No extra socks, no wool or fleece, no gloves, no coat. "Its summer man" I repacked his pack, tossed stuff aside, included more, like freeze dried foods, wool hat, mechanic's gloves, wool jacket, polyester poncho, iodine tabs, trail guide and map, three liters of water, a bandana, a small garden trowel and a quarter roll of toilet paper. He was in the wilderness for 60 hours, and used everything I included.

Love my silverlight socks.

Sunblock and proper sunglasses also. I’ve had snow blindness from being 11,900 ft up and it’s nothing to play with. Great way to take a fun and challenging summit into a game of life or death

Loved the suggestions! I'd definitely suggest adding a form of personal shelter. A bivi bag, poncho, or tarp is a lifesaver: the little space blankets you can get won't be good enough, and it's no use if you are up a hill while your tent is down in the valley. The storms here last weekend meant I had to use mine, but a bunch of people needed a rescue. So, please, take a personal shelter.

Retired hardcore hiker here and now that I'm old and crippled up I'm going to travel Europe. I'm interested in tips and ideas, even gear, for older hikers/travelers. Love the channel. Subscribed.

The water filter thing is true, in most cases. I used to live in Minnesota, and people were often confused about why I carried so much water. They didn't realize that a huge amount of the streams, rivers and ponds there are fed from crop tiles, meaning lots of not only filterable bacteria, but tons of non filterable chemicals from sprays. Needles to say, when they were puking after drinking from a filter, I was just fine with my extra weight in water.