A list of the hiking gear I use/carry in my pack:
- Hiking poles – Black Diamond Trail Trekking Poles. I’ve tried a number of brands of trekking poles and they all eventually suffer failures at the joints of the two sections. But this Black Diamond pole is still going strong after ~8 years.
- Hiking hat – If it’s sunny I use the Dorfman Pacific Safari Hat, which offers shade and breathability. If it’s raining I use the Outdoor Research Seattle Sombrero Hat.
- Backpack – It’s an older REI model called the Lookout 40 that is discontinued. I find 40 liters to be a reasonable size for long day hikes with a bunch of gear for changing conditions.
- Backpack raincover – REI Duck’s Back Rain Cover, 40L. Works. Backpack contents didn’t get wet during an absolute downpour (with bonus hail) in Montana in 2015.
- Firestarter – I carry UCO stormproof matches and FireSteel rod & striker.
- Water purification – Portable Aqua Iodine tablets are tiny and do the job.
- Multitool – Leatherman Juice S2. You can go nuts with tools on these things, but the only tools I’ve ever used are the pliers, regular and Philips screwdrivers and the blade itself.
- Knife – I have a Ka-Bar USMC Fighting Knife given to me as a gift by my brother-in-law, a former Marine. It looks exactly like this one from Amazon, but mine is honed such that you can shave with it. I don’t know about that, but it sure slices sausage well.
- Headlamp – Petzel Tikka XP. 120 Lumens is plenty.
- Personal locator beacon – ACR PLB. I like the one time payment on this PLB vs. the yearly fees on a SPOT messenger.
- GPS – Garmin Oregon 400t (the new version is the Garmin Oregon 600t). Nice GPS, but the topo maps are of questionable usefulness given their scale (1:100,000). If I did this over I would buy the non-t version of the Oregon and add on 1:24,000 topo maps by region.
- Compass – Suunto Field Compass. Always need a backup if the GPS dies.
- First aid kit – Adventure Medical Kits Ultralight 0.5.
- Cordage – 25′ of 550 Type III Paracord. You want 550 Paracord aka Type III Paracord.
- Duct tape – It takes up less room if flat. I’ve always waited until the end of a roll and stepped on it. I see you can now buy it flat.
- Space blanket – Adventure Medical Kits Emergency Blanket. I’ve never had to use it. They claim it resists tearing, I don’t know.
