Throwing all your gear into your pack and heading off isn’t the best practice for a comfy hiking experience. The way in which you pack your backpacking backpack will make a huge difference to how it feels on your back.
If you’ve never gone backpacking overnight before or haven’t done it in a while these simple and easy to follow guidelines really will make your trek more enjoyable.
First things first, lay out all your backpacking gear on the floor and organize it into piles. For example, cookware, toiletries, backpacking first aid kit, clothing, sleeping gear, food and anything else you are bringing along with you.
I highly recommend using zip lock bags and heavy-duty bags that are large enough to pack a couple extra items in. For example, a 20oz. emergency whistle that you can hang on a tree branch works great to alert help in the event you or someone with you gets lost. Bear in mind that if something of a noise nature occurs your location will be easily pinpointed from the sound.
Anything that you are bringing in with you, especially bathroom gear, needs to be cleaned. A waterfall with some soap can go a long way in making your bathroom policy a lot more sanitary and lessen the amount of germs that are flying around your body. Take along some biodegradable toothpaste and baking soda to help you rid your gear of any harsh chemicals. Plastic doormats can be stringently used to help keep things clean on your backpacking trips.
One concern that might be brought up is fit. There are many different kinds of backpacking backpacks on the market. E.g., with different load capacities. These backpacks are manufactured differently and each have their own fit system. We fit some of our gear in a Columbia Hightower Backpack. It fits a full 20 L of gear, but we also fit a full backpack. In this case, we know that we have enough room to accommodate all the gear that we would bring to camp, but we also have to be able to carry extra stuff in the case of latecomings.
We fit some of our regular tools in this pack such as our Swiss army knife. It is a good tool to have in your pack regardless of how short your trip may be. It can be used for many different tasks. For example, you can use the knife to open up chaparrel, cut a trail, sterilize water and many more.
In addition to our own personal items, we bring along a water filter that we use for our short trips. The water that we drink is often heavily mineralized and can make us get sick. For this reason, it is important to bring a water filter. Water purification tablets are also useful to bring along.
For our longer trips where we bring along our Ziploc bags, we put a guide book with a few simple questions for our family to see. We also put a flashlight and extra batteries in the pack so that we do not run out of daylight. Other tips that you can use for your packing of your backpack includes having the right shoes for different activities. It is a good idea to have a pair of shoes fit properly because stepping around a rocky trail will make your backpack fall apart.
Pack it up before you leave
Ziploc bags are the best bags to use for storing your different items. The reason for this is that they can serve multiple purposes. For instance, you can store dishes and silverware in the bag, place sub ziplock bags inside the ziplock bags to catch drippings and garbage, and the bag can also be used to store dirty clothes. Since the subject of dirty clothes is highly repulsive to most travelers, using ziplock bags to store dirty clothes is a better solution than piling those dirty clothes into your backpack.
Getting to the top of a mountain and cramming everything into your back pack can be a thrill most hikers would love to experience once in a while. However, that enjoyment can be tainted if you fail to bring along the essential provisions and miss a crucial item critical. Ziplock bags are the best solution to that problem.
Carrying your ziplock bags is much easier than loading a bunch of gear into your backpack. By having a separate compartment for your ziplock bags you can easily find that vital item you need and then grab and go. No need to over think what you have or miss that crucial item.
Using Ziplock Bags for Luggage
The best use of ziplock bags is for luggage. Bags are extremely important when you are traveling and need to put items in a non-bacterial state. The use of ziplock bags for luggage makes it easier to deal with things when traveling and keeps things organized in your bag.
