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On a hike, there is no comfortable bedroom, kitchen, or bathroom, but a person needs to sleep, eat and brush his teeth. All household items have to be carried with you. With them on your shoulders, you need to walk a maximum of kilometers and try to get tired as little as possible. How to do it? The secret lies in the correct packing of the backpack.
Essential things
On the question of what things are needed, there is no clear answer. It all depends on the time of the year, the duration of the hike, the chosen route and the goal (conquering the peak, rafting on the river, traveling through the forest).
We propose to consider an average version of the correct configuration of the backpack with the necessary things, it remains only to supplement it with special-purpose items.
Backpack
First, you need to choose the backpack itself.
With this data, it is easy to determine the size.
Even in the store, you should try on tourist equipment and check whether it fits comfortably. And at home, it would not hurt to fill the backpack with something, weigh it and take a walk with it in the local park to find out the degree of loading and understand whether it is possible to go to the mountains with such a load for a week. No one will help you on a hike, everyone has their own maximum burden behind their backs, you will have to get rid of the overload right on the go and forever. When choosing a backpack, you should pay attention to the width of the straps (at least 7 cm) and the possibility of their adjustment. It is convenient if there are waist belts. For long transitions, the backrest is fixed, the bottom is rigid, not sagging.
List
When you have decided on the model of the backpack, you can proceed to collect things and fill them with a hiking bag. Start with a well-thought-out list. You need to make a list a few days before the trip, so that there is time to remember and supplement something. It is easier to make notes on topics: food, dishes, clothes, Ledlenser headlamps, things for sleeping, hygiene items, etc. People rarely go on a single trip, usually, they go out in groups: with family, with friends. It is important to add public things to your personal things, which are agreed and shared between the group members in advance. These include a tent, food, a supply of water, and possibly an inflatable boat.
Sleeping bag
Let’s take the tent itself to this topic. The old versions were made from tarpaulin, they were reliable, but heavy. For those who have delayed such a model, it is better to leave it for traveling with a car. It is easier to carry a modern product made of light and durable materials. By the way, the more expensive the model, the more reliable.
A good tent has double strong seams, a mosquito net, ventilation windows with the same mesh, convenient zippers, Velcro, pockets and other additions. The product is provided with light frame tubes, pegs for fixing on the ground. The tent and accessories can be transferred to several people for transfer.
Let’s move on to sleeping bags. They are of two types – a blanket and a cocoon. It is more practical to choose the first option: if necessary, the zipper that forms the sleeping place is unzipped, and the bag turns into a full-fledged blanket. By the way, 2-3 blankets are enough for a company of 2-5 people living in a tent. One sleeping bag is laid under sleeping tourists, and one or two blankets are covered from above. For a company of five people, three sleeping bags are enough.
The theme of sleeping bags can also be attributed to karemats – small individual rugs that are rolled up and attached to the outside of the backpack. They can be used during the day for outdoor recreation, or at night they can be used to make bedding for sleeping in a tent.
Raincoat
Raincoats include not only clothing that protects from rain, but also waterproof covers for hiking equipment. For tourists, there are special light capes such as ponchos that can hide the traveler along with the backpack.
It is better to put electronics and documents in sealed bags in case the backpack falls into the water. Traveling by car, provide material for covering the tent – a heavy downpour can always find a weak spot in it. But backpackers won’t load themselves up with tent raincoats.
Food
Before buying food, you should make an approximate calculation: sum up the amount of food needed for one person, multiply by the number of tourists in the group and the duration of the trip (in days). The entire food set is divided by weight between travelers.
Products should be chosen as nutritious (protein and carbohydrate), not perishable, fast food. Sweets should not melt in the sun. We will continue the topic of nutrition with a complete set of dishes. You should choose lightweight, but durable options with reliable lids. If something remains in the plate, you can close it and save the product until the next halt. For cooking, you will need a pot and a kettle.
Clothing
The set of clothes depends on the season. But even in the summer heat, you should take some warm clothes, as the nights can be cold and the rains are long. In places with a lot of ticks, clothing that completely covers the body is necessary, that is, long-sleeved T-shirts and pants. On a hike, there is always a chance to get wet, the kit is dry
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