Hiking Gear Review

Yung: Many of you have asked us about the type of gear we take on our hiking trips...or more bluntly "what's in the bags we're carrying?". Because we're both still novices in the hiking business, the list below is not meant to be a bible for hiking gear, but rather things we have acquired and learnt (the hard way) through our experiences.

- Hiking Boots: No point driving a 4WD on sport wheels, same principle applies to hiking. A good pair of boots will not only help you on the beaten track but will also save your feet. (Tip: its good to also get soft insoles for extra cushioning).









- Water Bladder: A plastic bag like container to carry your water. It has a long mouth piece tube extending out of your bag so you can drink on the go. (Tip: if you like your water cold, you should freeze your water bladder - and as it melts during your walk...ta da...cold water!)
- Dry Sacks: these are water proof bags of all sizes which are used to store all your gear in your bag. So if your bag gets wet and water comes through...your gear will still be dry.
- Tent: Comes in all shapes and sizes...but for pack carrying, it needs to be light...ours is a Macpac Stellar...2 person tent at only 2.4kgs. Pitching a tent is quite easy but...(Tip: make sure you choose a flat area - Alyssa once had the idea of pitching on a slight slope, theory being we may not need a pillow if we slept on the downward slope - result: we kept sliding off our thermarest all night....ah, don't think so honey).



- Thermarest: a thin self inflation mattress...not quite a sleepmaker pillowtop...but great nevertheless.
- Sleeping Bag & Liners: many varieties, again best if light and warm. Our's are Macpacs. (You'd probably figured by now Macpac is our favourite brand...)
- Inflatable Pillow: unless your head is flat, you'll find this handy to have...and no they're not the size of normal pillow, try the size of hardcover novel.
- Clothes: On our first walking adventure we wore all the right clothes (sport shoes, jeans, cotton shirts and wollen jumpers...)...luckily we've evolved since then. The basic principle is light, breathable and packable. Hiking pants are the best, they have knee length zippers so they convert to shorts at an instance. Quick dry Tees are essential, a fleece jacket comes in handy around a camp site, and always bring a light waterproof jacket just in case.
- Cookware: leave the scanpans and estelle pots at home, you'll need small purpose made gear that are stackable. Cups and plates should be plastic (Tip: stackable, stackable, stackable!)
- First Aid Kit: always carry one and hope you never need to use it.
- Fuel Stove: Most places now won't allow you to burn your own camp fire (or bush fire) so you'll need a fuel stove for all your cooking. They're simply a small burner head attached to disposable fuel cylinders.
- Food: General principle should be...easy to cook, light to carry, and easy to carry back out as rubbish. You can get special dehydrated food, so far we've been able to keep away from that. Remember you have no microwave, no gaggenau appliances and certainly no fridge, so leave the Iron Chef instincts at home!
- Miscellaneous: Camera & peripherals to capture the magical scenery, toiletry, torch, swiss knife, insect spray...and anything else you fancy as long as you can carry it.
- Rucksack: now that you got all the gear, you'll need a bag to put them in. There are an unlimited variety of rucksacks, but basic principle is that it needs to fit you well and it needs to be functional. Ours are...you guessed it Macpacs. (Tip: a good fitting harness is the key to making a 20kg bag feel more like 10kgs..literally!).

Our favourite Brands:

Macpac (top gear, worth its investment)
Mountain Design (very good gear, value for money)
Berghaus (we love their quick dry Tees)
Kathmandu (good only for peripherals... buy only at their Sales, they're a ripoff at full price -come to think of it, even at 60% off, they're still more expensive and inferior to some other leading brands on the market).