Hiking is a sports activity that is continuously increasing in popularity, especially in Australia. It’s a sport that can provide you with numerous benefits, both physical and mental. However, if you want to stay safe and reap all the advantages it offers, you’ll need to buy the right hiking gear.

What Equipment Do You Need For Hiking?

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Having the right hiking equipment will help you stay safe and get out of dangerous situations. There are lots of different types of hiking equipment available on the market, and they all serve a unique purpose. The type and amount of equipment you take with you mainly depend on your expertise and how long you’re planning to hike.

Backpack

The first thing that comes to our mind when we think of storing and carrying our personal belongings and gear when hiking is backpacks. Backpacks are easy to carry around regardless of the trails and places you plan to discover and hike. Usually, they’re spacious enough to hold the essentials and more. They’re compact and can carry everything from clothes, footwear, food, water and some of your personal belongings.

When looking for the right model, choose one that has at least two compartments with easy access since this allows for an easy and fast organisation. The chosen backpack should have multiple external pockets for keeping different things, and its straps should be padded so you could carry it with ease regardless of its actual weight. Make sure to choose a backpack that’s made from waterproof and water-resistant material. This is essential for keeping your belongings safe and dry regardless of the weather conditions.

Sleeping Equipment

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If you’re planning on sleeping under the starry sky in order to continue with your hike the next day, you should invest in good sleeping equipment. First, you should invest in a good tent that’ll provide you with the needed comfort at night. The chosen tent should be made from water-resistant, waterproof and super light material and should be spacious enough to provide you with the needed space and comfiness. When in the search for the right tent, you should consider the number of people you’re planning to hike with. You can either look for a one or two-person tent, or you can look for a larger one.

However, keep in mind that the larger the tent, the more space it’ll take up in your backpack. To improve your overall comfort, you should also consider the idea of investing in a quality sleeping bag. Even though they come in different material thicknesses, all of them offer a certain level of padding which will add to your comfort and warmth. When the weather is warmer, you should invest in an extremely light sleeping bag and vice versa, when the weather is colder, you should invest in a thicker sleeping bag.

Clothes

When planning to hike for a day or two, you’ll only need a few pieces of clothes so you can change. This could be a pair of extra leggings, a base layer long-sleeve shirt and underwear of course. Other than that, you’ll need to wear a light/warmer jacket depending on the season and that’s it. However, if the weather is cooler, you should plan on tucking more than one pair of leggings and upper garments. In the end, you should stay warm, and have enough clothes to change when in need. The type and amount of clothes you wear can in fact determine the size of your backpack.

Footwear

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If this is your first time hiking, look for trail running shoes or boots. These shoes are relatively rigid and lightweight at the same time to provide you with the needed comfiness and support. Even if you don’t choose boots, practice shows that it would be better to choose high-ankle shoes rather than low-ankle ones. That’s because they offer greater protection from sharp rocks, thorns and many other things. Ideally, you should try and test the chosen shoes before hiking since comfort plays a huge role in how good your first hiking experience will be.

Hiking Accessories

A headlamp and hand torch are among the first and most important electrical accessories you should take with you. While the solar ones are presented as a good option, having ones that run on regular batteries might be a better idea especially when the weather is gloomy. Although, you can get rechargeable batteries and recharge them on a power bank. Water bottles and water purifiers are the next thing you should take with you, as well as a foldable pole, sunglasses, hat, gloves and toiletry to stay fresh and clean.