Good gear is an investment in injury prevention. My gear advice for my fellow hikers is quite simple, it starts and ends with: purchase quality, lightweight stuff. Go as lightweight as your budget permits. 

You might save a few dollars here and there purchasing cheap-o stuff, but don’t kid yourself, you’ll replace those items at the first opportunity, doubling your costs in the long run, meanwhile subjecting yourself to uncomfortable days and nights. 

If you plan to do more than 2-3 overnight hikes in your lifetime, go for it, get the lighter stuff. If you decide to only hike once, you can always resell your gear on Gear Trade or REI Trade-It-In Program .

Insight: Almost one-third of long-distance thru-hikers quit because of injuries, which were mostly due to troubles with lower body extremities ( 2019 The Trek Survey and 2017 The Trek Survey) . So reducing your pack weight will reduce the beating on your legs, knees, ankles, and feet—saving your lower extremities from the little injuries that turn into monsters as days go on. 

You can certainly hike with cheap(er) gear, but it will likely increase the weight of your pack. Imagine hiking with a 20-pound dumbbell strapped to each leg for 8-10 hours each day. Hikers are obsessed with pack weight because after hiking all day on uneven terrain, you’ll quickly regret every extra ounce in your pack. 

On shorter hikes, I feel lighter when my food supply dwindles down to the last meal. It’s only a 2-3 pound difference in pack weight, but I physically feel less drained when I get to camp and still have energy to make dinner and set up camp. 

How do you know which gear is the “best”? Just type into Google “top-rated (insert item)” and you’ll get answers in less than one second. You can also scan Gear Trade and REI Garage for lightly used or last season gear at highly discounted prices (50-70% off). 

Pro Tip: Always test your gear before taking it out into the woods. From zippers to lighters…test, test, and re-test. Don’t be like Cheryl Strayed in the book Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail . She ended up without a working stove on her thru-hike. Made for interesting meal planning. Rookie mistake. Test your stuff. 

Pro Tip: I use my clothes bag as a pillow. Therm-a-Rest sells a waterproof nylon pouch that has a soft fabric on the inside that I turn into my pillowcase. With my clothes inside, it stays in place as a heavier alternative to a blowup pillow which tends to shift around…a lot. If you’re feeling crafty, sew a fun pillowcase to make your clothes bag a welcoming evening addition. But, keep your clothes in a waterproof bag, always. 

The 4 Ws: Wardrobe, What to Wear and When?

Floridians have no tolerance for the cold. That’s a fact and cooler temps are hard to tolerate. So, I tend to overpack. Anything below 70° F degrees feels a bit chilly. Anything below 40° F might as well be the Arctic. 

Warning: My layers may be more extensive than those who are from the cooler climates. 

Pro Tip: I am a big fan of the merino wool fabric. The natural fiber is unparalleled to all the synthetics out there for odor and temp regulation. If your budget allows, upgrade shirts, undergarments, and socks to the merino wool variety. Days without washing while sweating will trap a lot of dirt and bacteria, so anything next to skin will smell and get grimy, but the natural fibers will air out faster and more efficiently to naturally ward off the stink and minimize the microorganisms. 

Pro Tip: Hygiene will vary on trail and fellow thru hikers might not always sport similar cleanliness levels to you. It’s good practice to use sanitizer after touching anything in shelters, using pens and registers, going to the bathroom, and securing food on cables or bear boxes.

When you add it all up, the gear above costs around $3000. That’s less than the $5,500-$6,000 median budget of hikers surveyed in 2019 by The Trek . 

That’s a lot to unpack there. Literally. Do you really need a $500 sleeping bag? Yup. If you like sleeping in comfort and hiking with a 25 lb pack. Does anyone enjoy dragging 40-50 lbs up a mountain? Nope. Gear doesn’t get lighter with miles. Splurge on your gear and enjoy nature with minimal blisters. 

But, please spend responsibly. Budget for your hike a few months ahead and ensure you plan somewhere around 10% contingency for a rainy day fund (literally!). Always expect the unexpected and leave some wiggle room to deal with sticky situations. 

When I first started hiking, I wore cotton (yikes) leggings and a cheap waterproof jacket. I nearly froze in July when it rained for 24 hours in North Carolina and all my clothes soaked through, chilling me to the bone. I had to hike out and get back to town to find new clothes. I wasted a precious half-day of a three-day backpacking trip on that little mistake. 

And now…it’s time to get out there and enjoy nature.

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I’m an avid hiker, world explorer, nature enthusiast, and an artist by hobby. I spent my childhood summers mostly outdoors - hiking, camping, and swimming in frigid northern lakes. I’ve also traveled across the world from Thailand to Iceland, exploring nature and hiking hundreds of miles across mountains, forests and deserts. In my ‘indoor’ life, I am a marketing executive with a strong passion for strategic planning, data, consumer insights, and analytics. I am a creative problem solver in business and in the outdoors.

Most hikers include rain jacket and puffy jacket. Why not use a light weight rain jacket with a liner? Based on my research, it appears a rain jacket can keep you just as warm. Am I off-base?

Oreo – you could go with a lined jacket, but when you are actively hiking it will feel about 20F warmer than the temps outside. A light rain jacket over a mid-weight base layer is all you need for temps above 35F-40F. A puffy jacket is a nice-to-have item when you stop at camp and are no longer moving to generate body heat.