Backpacking can be an excellent source of exercise, bonding time with your backpacking partner, and a stress reliever-assuming you pick your backpacking gear correctly and pack the right items. While picking individual brands can be time consuming, a basic understanding of the gear and techniques involved can really make the overall decision making process fairly easy.

When preparing for backpacking it’s important to remember Water, Food, Shelter, and Safety: those are the four basic categories-but many other items are necessary to make the trip safe and comfortable. Remember too, that everything a backpacker needs will have to fit in their pack and be comfortably carried for the duration of the trek.

Water: while the terrain and mileage plan will dictate the water needs, you should plan for a minimum of 1 and ½ times your normal water consumption in mild weather. For hot or cold extremes you will need to allocate for more water to stay hydrated. Water weighs about 8 lbs. a gallon.

*Important note: some of the most fit women backpackers can carry about 45 lbs. comfortably, for men it’s about 60 lbs. -These are maximum numbers for very fit backpackers, so plan your weight accordingly.

Food: most beginning backpackers tend to favor ultra light food over normal daily eats from their pantry and kitchen, while it may shave weight, unless you are truly going for a minimalist approach the extra lb. or two you will save may just not be worth it. Regular food will create a sense of comfort, and will tend to keep spirits high and bellies full. Ultra light weight food sometimes sucks the fun out of a backpacking trip, so as you begin backpacking don’t necessarily grab the cans of beans, but definitively don’t go for bland lightweight food until you decide that weight shaving makes sense for you.

A great method of taking regular food with you but also saving a few grams of weight is to learn how to dehydrate your food in food dehydrator. Then it’s simply a matter of rehydrating the food the night before you’re ready to eat it.

*Important note: freeze dried food may be easy, and actually pretty decent tasting, but you are paying for convenience and a few ounces of weight savings. Buying dried pasta will cost you only a few grams of weight over opting for the freeze dried variety. Food should be evenly split as needed between members of the backpacking group, to spread the burden.

Shelter: It’s possible to put together a nice survivalist camp and ‘rough it’ in the woods, but it’s hardly practical when quality tents and tarps are available at great price points, and provide such easy setup. Backpacking is about enjoyment, not fortitude. Just because you can handle it in the rain with ants and spiders crawling all over you and walk off the fever you got the next day, doesn’t mean that you should. Any premade shelter will be better than none at all. If you later decide it’s time for mountain man survivalist training, then that’s fine, but it’s not worth risking hypothermia, bug/spider/snake bites or misery from having to be exposed to the elements.

*Important note: Hypothermia and frostbite are surprisingly easy to get. They can be deadly or life altering. Always be sure to stay as dry and warm as possible to avoid these concerns. Don’t be afraid to approach your backpacking partners to tell them if you have discomfort or concerns arising. Prevention, planning and early detection are the best tools in your arsenal.

Safety: This is a big portion of the backpacking puzzle, much of the gear is carried by backpackers has some sort of safety feature built in, and when it comes down to it, you are always better safe than sorry.

The biggest trick to safety is planning. Understanding your routes, the techniques or special conditions involved and your backpacking buddies can be the most useful tool. Communication is also incredibly important. Without proper communication, others may be put into harm’s way, or may not be able to react to a situation that a bit of communication could have prevented. Don’t be afraid to tell your backpacking partners about the cliff edge crumbling under your feet, or the trouble you are having breathing. All of the communication can prevent concerns. The final piece of the safety equation is the physical safety tools like first aid kits, books, and backup supplies that may be able to save a life in a bad situation. Each part of this safety triangle is equally important and each relies on the other to prevent and treat injuries and safety risks.

*An important note: pre made first aid kits actually provide a value when compared to make it yourself kits from over the counter items. While you may not get the customization in a pre-made kit, you can almost guarantee nothing vital will be left out, and that there will be enough of it included to make a difference over the course of a whole trip. Certainly add items you feel are necessary, but try not to take out anything if possible-the one time you need it will be the one time you don’t have it.

The Pack: It’s almost impossible to find an external framed pack nowadays, and for good reason: internal packs can keep your center of gravity and balance in harmony, and provide a more weatherproof and durable setup. Opt for a pack that is one size larger than your typical trip would require. For instance, if you plan on doing mostly 1-2 day trips, where it might be ok to pack minimally, choose a pack capable of 3-4 day trips so you have adequate room, and the feature set of a bigger pack. If your pack of choice can handle it: grab a water reservoir (i.e. Camelback) that can fit between the pack and your back. This will place the bulk of your water in the most comfortable and protected place, along the axis of your spine.

Water filter: on extended trips to areas where natural water will be located, a water filter is a necessity, Additionally, using one in conjunction with some packed water can cut weight significantly and make a trip much more enjoyable. Don’t assume that a water filter means you don’t need to bring water too, filters can break, and become clogged, and the stream nearby that you once remembered may have dried up long ago. Plan to pack some water regardless of the trip or location.

Boots: when you begin to transition from hiking to backpacking, where you might be carrying 40+ lbs of gear for a week or longer on your back, it’s time to find some supportive tough and comfortable boots which can serve a bunch of important functions. Opt for a boot one level up from the standard level you expect to be most common, i.e. if you plan on making 35 mile 2-day trips, plan on having a boot capable of at least that, forego the cheap bargain basement boots and move into a high quality model. Have the boots fitted professionally even if you decide to purchase online.

Stove: This is almost a necessity, and there is such a wide range of stoves available now that recommending one specific type might do more harm than good. Opt at least for one with a good simmer control, and one that can hold a pot or pan setup to feed your entire crew. All fuel types are acceptable in almost all weather scenarios. Definitely don’t forget the fuel, and make sure of the fuel level for the next trip so you aren’t left empty handed.

Sleeping bag: Simple really: down is warmer and lighter and lasts longer than synthetic fills, but costs more. If you are in extremely wet conditions then don’t go for down, use synthetics, which are warm when wet. Down can kill you if it gets too wet and the temperature drops too much. Go for a bag 15 degrees warmer than the temperature range you would normally expect to encounter.

Some other items you may want to get: pots and pans; sleeping pad; footprint tarp for your tent or Bivy sack (a weather resistant cover for your sleeping bag); compass and map/gps/cell phone with GPS; battery backup or solar charger for electronics; clothes that use high quality fabrics.

Don’t forget the: RX medication, anti-histamine medicine for allergic reactions, toilet paper, trash bags, camera, eating utensils, extra socks, blister protection, chap-stick, sunscreen, salt and pepper, soap, something to write with/on, backup water sterilization materials, contact lens care and equipment, and other normal daily items.

Don’t forget to:

• Tell several people where you are going and when you will be back.
• Pack your medications and life sustaining items.
• Pack with the heaviest gear towards your center of gravity.
• Pack enough water.
• Plan the logistics out carefully.
• Get a back-country permit/campsite permit.
• Tell your party everything you think they may ever need to know about you in stressful or unstable scenarios.
• Know the local wildlife-flora and fauna.
• Know how to use all your gear correctly and without help.
• Take a few one night practice trips to familiarize yourself with the process and gear.
• Weather-seal your clothes, tent, backpack, tarps and boots.
• Pack food you will actually eat, that is rich in protein and carbohydrates and go easy on the salt to conserve water for necessary consumption.
• Read a book about first aid and basic survival techniques, and practice some of the ideas to get familiar with them.

Remember the idea with backpacking is to be self sustaining, and responsible, yet also to have a good time. If you think you will need something more than once, it should probably find a way into your pack.

Pack your backpack with the items you need most often near the top or outside areas, and heavy hard and dense items in the middle of the pack towards the bottom (small of the back area). The goal is to center the weight on the hips to utilize the most efficient weight transfer and carry technique.

As a rule of thumb, backpacking is not a routine that should be jumped into without some gradual progress. The sun, heat, cold, rain, snow, terrain, or lack of regular similar exercise could make a backpacker unnaturally tired, or even cause temporary lightheadedness or muscle aches if they are not taken into consideration with planning. A gradual entry into the sport is going to yield the best results.

Good quality gear is available just about everywhere at reasonable costs, so there are not too many excuses that should keep someone from getting out and backpacking. Just about every County, Region, state and country on the planet has many different trails maintained specifically for the purpose of backpacking, and permits are available at the headquarters for the agency that maintains them. Some countries do not require residents of that country to obtain permits for tent camping.

Try to be realistic when you purchase gear, and take advantage of the equipment vendor’s personnel to help you determine adequate quality and specific needs. The rest of the equation is simply hiking, and enjoying the beautiful outdoors in a way you haven’t ever seen it before. Backpacking puts the participant into the outdoors, in a fully submersing experience where one can see the outdoors from the outdoor’s point of view. Enjoy responsibly.