By now, we have developed and optimised our list of standard items to bring on hikes. While the majority might not be too surprising, we hope to give you some additional tips or answer the well-known doubt ’Do I have everything? I am sure I forgot something!’. Obviously, everyone has slightly different preferences, but here are the things that you will always find in our bags:
- The first one speaks for itself, but be sure to always bring enough water. Especially during hot days and long climbs, your body needs a lot of water.
- Similarly, you should have enough food to fuel your body throughout the day. Check out our posts and food and recipes for more information and inspirations.
- Staying on the track of eating, we always carry a reusable set of attachable plastic cutlery for breakfast on the train and for lunch. Alternatively, sporks are now available in most sports and outdoor shops, if you need to be careful about each gram or prefer an all-on-one item.
- Furthermore, we have a sharp knife with us to cut bread, fruits or vegetables. Everything from our simple ikea one to an elaborate Swiss army knife will do the job for this.
- After a while, we learned the hard way to also bring a small travel towel and plastic bag, to sit on when the ground is very prickly or muddy. Conveniently, the latter can double as an emergency rubbish bin.
- Additionally, we started to always bring a second shirt. After a few hours of incline it can happen to arrive soaking wet at the top, especially in summer. By then changing into a new shirt, you are less likely to get cold from the wind or standing still while enjoying the view. Of course this is not always necessary, but it is neither spacious nor heavy and you never know when you might need one.
- Also during cold days, the sun can be very strong in the mountains. Next to a travel-sized sunscreen, it can be nice to have a cap or a buff to cover your head and avoid nasty sunburns at your hairline or parting. Sunglasses are another obvious must.
- The next one goes without saying but we never go on a trip without a camera. Check the blog if you are interested in which equipment we use for drone shots and pictures.
- Following the saying ‘better safe than sorry’, a small first aid kit as well as a light rain jacket complete our standard packing list.