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Backpacking tips

Anonymous Mon 20 Jan 2020 00:57:00 No.1680926 View View Reply Original Report

Quoted By: >>1680929 >>1680943 >>1681448 >>1681659 >>1681725 >>1681750 >>1681774 >>1682216 >>1682944 >>1682952

Hi /out/, i want to go backpacking for the first time. I usually just go car camping and then do day hikes but i want to experience the back country. I have some questions.

What's a good pack to buy? I like the idea of getting some kind of milsurp pack rather than some fancy REI one or something.
What kind of food do you usually bring and how do you cook it?
Any tips for a first timer?

Anonymous

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Anonymous Mon 20 Jan 2020 01:02:39 No.1680929 Report

Quoted By: >>1680932

>>1680926
>put car camping stuff in backpack
>walk 10 miles innawoods
>camp

Anonymous

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Anonymous Mon 20 Jan 2020 01:08:20 No.1680932 Report

Quoted By:

>>1680929

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 20 Jan 2020 01:27:49 No.1680943 Report

Quoted By: >>1680944 >>1683000

>>1680926
dont go the milsurp route unless you like making things harder for yourself. get a real pack, doesnt have to be rei or high end just big enough and comfortable and supportive enough. foodwise its really whatever you want and are willing to bring the stuff to cook with. the best tip i have is to not go alone.

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 20 Jan 2020 01:28:40 No.1680944 Report

Quoted By: >>1680992

>>1680943
Why not go alone? That was my plan because I don't have friends, or at least not friends who would be willing to go backpacking. They are all lazy

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 20 Jan 2020 01:55:37 No.1680967 Report

Quoted By:

Second the no milsurp that shits for combat not comfort get cheap shit to start

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 20 Jan 2020 03:04:42 No.1680992 Report

Quoted By:

>>1680944
Lots of people will go given a good chance, ask around you'd be surprised.

If you have the funds get a decent pack and get it fitted. Don't think backpacking is about mileage, especially when you are new. Go hike a few miles and do an overnighter somewhere pretty, figure out what you need and what you don't.

Anonymous

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Anonymous Mon 20 Jan 2020 23:40:49 No.1681448 Report

Quoted By: >>1681529

>>1680926
Why not do some basic online research about how to get started with backpacking, then come here with specific questions if you're confused about something? Pic related.

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 21 Jan 2020 03:26:48 No.1681529 Report

Quoted By: >>1681693 >>1682718

>>1681448
Because I like /out/'s advice better than some dweeb writing an article

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 21 Jan 2020 10:31:29 No.1681659 Report

Quoted By: >>1682950

>>1680926
Backpacks can vary a lot depending on how much your willing to spend, and what kind of weight your looking to bring. If you've been car camping you probably want a larger volume bag because car camping stuff is just heavier and bulkier than thru hiking ultralight stuff. Material type also varies depending on what your going to be doing. A waterproof bag isn't a bad idea if your going out in winter in the PNW where it rains all the time; a sturdier bag is good if your crawling through thick brush. Milsurp is typically heavy and not super comfortable.

Food varies with whatever your comfortable. Instant rice + flavoring, cured meats, cheese, peanut butter, tortillas, chocolate, bags of tuna. Generally anything with hard container is bad since your going to have trash. Cook it via a backpacking stove using esbit/gas/isopropane whatever your stove cooks. Heat up water, add water to dehydrated stuff. You can bring extra pans or cook it all in one. You can also just not use heat and cold soak your meals, though it's not for everyone.

Keep anything scented, ie. toothpaste, food away from you at night. Try and go with a friend. You'll shakedown your pack's weight over time as you don't need stuff since you'll bring crap you don't need. Check the fucking weather and be prepared for it. Tell people where your going. Don't forget TP or equivalent.

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 21 Jan 2020 12:28:28 No.1681693 Report

Quoted By:

>>1681529
It's the same advice numb nuts. /out/ doesn't know of some secret way of back packing that the rest of the internet doesn't know about. Here you're just going to get a ton more shit thrown your way and bad advice.

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 21 Jan 2020 13:49:47 No.1681725 Report

Quoted By:

>>1680926
>What's a good pack to buy?

one you can afford which has a decent belt for weight distribution and padded shoulder straps.
less is more, the less straps and zips it has, the better.

aim for 50 liters for 2-3 days out, it is not too small, you must avoid bringing useless stuff when /out/

ideally you don't "need" to cook while out, since cooking implies fuel, a burner of some kind and additional water, which is a drag if you don't have refill points with decent water nearby.

having said that, look into cheap gas stoves and cartridges.

for personal recommendations, I'd say one of the most important things of sleeping outside is having a decent night of sleep.

I usually bring one foam pad (or two, depending on temperatures) and a self inflating pad for comfort.

Anonymous

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Anonymous Tue 21 Jan 2020 15:05:22 No.1681750 Report

Quoted By: >>1682769

>>1680926
go to a backpacking store. try on some of the backpacks there. they can load them up with like 40lbs of supplies and let you wear it around the store for a while. It will feel heavy as shit since you are not used to it. now imagine having a shitty milsurp backpack instead with that same weight. you may change your mind on wanting one. I have both. I have a gregory baltoro I use for hikes greater than a mile. and I have a military backpack with molle all over it that I use for canoe camping. Both are useful. If you don't plan on going more than a mile ever then milsurp is just fine and dandy.
Food - I recommend silver turtle for anyone new. Its easy AF and super tasty. Basically you do all your meal prep at home. cut up potatoes and carrots and make a large hamburger patty. get some aluminum foil. spray it with cooking spray or butter it up. you put all the veggies and hamburger inside the aluminum foil. make a bundle. I triple wrap it. then put this in a ziploc bag. cause it WILL leak blood into your backpack if you dont. When you get to camp, just make a fire and put the silver turtle into the coals. let the fire die down a bit first. when you think its done - after like 45 mins - you just cut a slit in the top and eat out of the aluminum foil bowl (another reason to triple wrap it).
Tips for a first timer: dont go alone. dont go far. let people know EXACTLY where you will be. Take extra water. limit axe/knife use until proficient. dont set tent too close to fire. take extra food. hang food in tree away from camp. dont leave any food in backpack or tent. take a pillow of some sort. dont forget firemaking supplies.

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 21 Jan 2020 15:54:48 No.1681774 Report

Quoted By:

>>1680926
Try it with what you've got first. Borrow a pack if you don't have one and do a VERY short hike. I'm talking 5 miles max. You'll most likely have a horrible time, but the benefit is you'll very quickly figure out what's important to you on the hike and the overnight before you blow a bunch of money on a japanese titanium mess kit.

Anonymous

Anonymous Wed 22 Jan 2020 04:59:59 No.1682216 Report

Quoted By:

>>1680926
Go to a local outfitter and try on all the packs they have with guidance from one of their employees. Once you narrow it down to a few (or even one), ask them for some weights. A lot of these places have weights for specifically testing backpacks,

Buy the most comfortable after testing it with weight. If it's too expensive, maybe get the second best one. If that's still too expensive, save up for the best one and buy it when you can. Buy once, cry once.

Anonymous

Anonymous Thu 23 Jan 2020 01:39:13 No.1682718 Report

Quoted By:

>>1681529
>I like /out/'s advice
He thinks he's getting good advice on how to get into backpacking from a Mongolian anime website

Anonymous

Anonymous Thu 23 Jan 2020 02:35:11 No.1682769 Report

Quoted By:

>>1681750
This is good advice.

Anonymous

Anonymous Thu 23 Jan 2020 14:03:04 No.1682944 Report

Quoted By:

>>1680926
Whiteblaze.net

Anonymous

Anonymous Thu 23 Jan 2020 14:31:43 No.1682948 Report

Quoted By:

I've done a very basic, 2 night backpacking trip with my dad so I know a little bit about it.

Basically, you need everything you carry to be in compact form. There are various ways of condensing items yourself but you probably don't want to do them all so you'll have to buy backpacker size stuff at a premium. Food is obviously like this too, you basically are stuck with dry snacks and those 'insert hot water' packets (actually taste pretty good) which require a stove kit to heat up the water.

My dad taught me that if you can make hot water, you have civilization. Thus, your stove kit is the part of your pack you should pay the most attention to. You should definitely test it out at least once before you go backpacking because they're weird and finicky devices you'll probably mess up somehow.

Obtaining safe water to drink is the other major challenge of backpacking, and there are several ways to handle it. If you're really good with your stove kit you can just boil fresh water obtained anywhere (more organized camping areas have pumps, but they still require treatment so you don't get sick), but this can prove to be tricky so I'd suggest taking some kind of chemical purifying method as well.

Anonymous

Anonymous Thu 23 Jan 2020 14:44:54 No.1682950 Report

Quoted By:

>>1681659
"your"

Anonymous

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Anonymous Thu 23 Jan 2020 15:05:58 No.1682952 Report

Quoted By:

>>1680926
stay indoors

Anonymous

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Anonymous Thu 23 Jan 2020 18:29:38 No.1683000 Report

Quoted By:

>>1680943
Only one exception here from experience. Buy some Military Mess kit, especially the west germany/european ones, the swiss have the best one, of course.

That are sturdy as fuck, you have a mini frying pan, an extra conatinaer, they fit toghether and they are extra reinforced. Also, go with the alcohol little burner made from 2 coke cans. Just make a good one and try it first. It's way cheaper than the commercial ones and you dont have to carry around pressurized gas. Also, you can get alcohol anywhere.

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