What to put in your backpack

Italiano

To walk we leave the house with the shoes that we have already tried and we appreciate for their comfort, practical and breathable trousers and t-shirt and maybe with a hat on; we also slopped sunscreen onto our skin when needed. It's easier to walk by emptying the pockets of keys, mobile phone, wallet, paper handkerchiefs and sunglasses in a pouch. If we go miles away and for hours we have to drink. We will choose the hiking backpack of a sufficient size to fit the essential objects in relation to the route and our request to be free from impediments.

How to distribute objects

Lightweight and well-distributed equipment allows you to move comfortably, reducing fatigue and finding what you are looking for quickly and easily. On the bottom you can arrange the more voluminous objects that you do not need during the excursion, such as the sleeping bag, along the back soft objects, such as spare clothes, a towel. Above the fragile objects and those you want to have at hand, gloves, hat, headband, vest. Outside, put as little as possible, bottles and flasks, sticks, in vertical position and with the plastic tip inserted so as not to get hurt or hurt someone. The side pockets of an ultralight backpack allow you to take small items and drink without taking it off. Pay attention to sharp objects, placing them so as not to cause annoyance.

What to put in your hiking backpack

Hiking in the mountains requires tools for personal identification, navigation, protection from the sun, insulation from the elements, lighting, first aid supplies, nutrition, hydration, and even more (making a fire, tool repair kit, emergency shelter). You will carry this weight on your shoulders throughout the day, which will only decrease by the weight of the water you drink. By forgetting some items you need and carrying others you will never use, you will learn what to put in your backpack. Specifically, in a backpack for a day trip you must not miss:

• water bottle or flask, the quantity you need, at least one and a half liters
• sugar sachets, complex sugars such as maltodextrins, energy bars, dehydrated fruit
• wallet, with an identity document and some cash
• keys, to the house, to the car
• mobile phone, with a charged battery, which in addition to being a telecommunication tool is also GPS and lighting
• topographic map if you don't know the place
• headlamp, with charged batteries. We have not planned to walk in the dark, but the hike may take longer than expected
• spare shirt, socks and underwear
• a light vest, preferably waterproof
• towel
• cap with visor and sunglasses with protective lenses from UV rays, a bandana, essential when there is wind to replace the cap
• under gloves, headband and a cap that covers the ears
• paper handkerchiefs and cleaning handkerchiefs
• biodegradable plastic bags, at least one to collect their own excrement and one for the garbage
• sunscreen to be spread at the beginning of the walk, and when needed, to protect the skin from the sun's rays
• surgical mask or FFP2 as long as the Covid-19 epidemic persists
• first aid kit (sterile gauze, elastic band, plasters, cotton wool, latex gloves, scissors, disinfectant, thermal blanket, etc.)

Personal effects, wallet, keys, mobile phone, and the lamp must be kept in the safest place in the backpack, inside a closed zip.

Other items that are best to have are: charger wire, charger, whistle, utility knife, trekking poles for challenging climbs, lip butter and cocoa, spyglass, flashlight, waterproof backpack cover, small umbrella based on weather forecasts, spare hat, food as needed, for those who love photography a professional camera. When there is snow, poles are recommended for better balance, crampons or small crampons, gaiters and, if there are exposed sections, an ice ax.
If the excursion lasts two or more days, add a sleeping bag to sleep in, comfortable slippers that can also be used for a shower in a refuge, toothbrush and toothpaste, a bar of soap.

What do I put in my backpack

The more you go to the mountains, the more you appreciate freedom, understood as distancing yourself from the world in search of silence, discovering nature, feeling better or healthy, meeting, which manifests itself in joy and gratitude towards creation. This bliss is appreciated when one is not burdened with an excessive weight on one's shoulders. Like so many others, I like to walk ultralight, which turns into running when I'm trained.

In the summer, I walk with sunlight on the Grignone with a minimal technical backpack with towel, vest, wallet, mobile phone, house keys, a packet of handkerchiefs, a biodegradable bag, sunglasses holder inside. There is also sunscreen when I have to repeat the spreading operation, in any case I will not stay still in the sun with my skin uncovered. If I stay below Pialeral and it's not hot, I don't take a drink with me because I know the mountain and where the water springs are.
With the snow, I put the above in my backpack (missing the first aid kit), starting with Pasturo, Balisio or Barzio with sports shoes that have low or medium uppers. If my excursion involves climbing over about 1500 meters of the Pialeral, in my backpack there are boots, which I will wear to the place that is the watershed between a simple excursion and one with a certain degree of difficulty. In winter, for a hike in the mountains, I should imagine that there may be ice, not forgetting to insert a pair of useful crampons so as not to risk slipping.

References

1. "How to properly pack your hiking backpack". Salomon. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
2. "10 Things You Should Bring On Every Day Hike". Clever hiker. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
3. Shaefer, Anna. "Is Maltodextrin Bad for Me?". healthline. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
4. "First-Aid Kit". The Hiking Life. Retrieved 22 March 2022.

Which backpack to choose

Italiano

Whether you will be walking from one point to another according to a predetermined route, or you are planning a trip, you will need a storage bag, which is more comfortable to have on your shoulders to have your hands free and distribute the weight. The backpack is a travel companion, in fact you can't help but bring personal effects, spare clothing or to cover yourself, which you will become attached to if you choose the right one. You also need to store the clothes you are wearing that are too many when the temperature starts to rise. Which backpack to choose depends on how long you will be away and on the equipment to face the natural difficulties of the route and the distance from inhabited centers. You will choose your hiking backpack for its size and technical characteristics. After numerous times you have left at home what you need and carried unnecessary things on your shoulders, which have slowed down your path, you will learn what to put in your hiking backpack.

How long does the excursion last

How many things will fit in the backpack essentially depends on its volume, i.e. its capacity, expressed in liters. The duration of your excursion is the first aspect to consider when choosing the right backpack because the necessary things grow as the days increase.[^] For a day trip you will choose a small backpack, if you believe that you just need to have only your personal effects, a towel and a spare shirt (and one or two external water bottles) one of the size between 10 and 15 liters is sufficient, otherwise one up to 25 liters. The weight of the empty backpack varies between 300 and 600 grams. Another parameter is the length of the bust, adjustable to your height. The growing popularity of fast and light hiking, trail running, has been satisfied (and possible) with the creation of minimalist, absolutely comfortable backpacks. The means of transport with which you travel also influences the choice, in the car you can leave items of clothing that are only useful for the journey, otherwise you have to carry them with you in a larger backpack.

On a two-day hike or a one-day winter hike, where a spare sweater and jacket take up space, you need a bigger backpack than a summer day hike, with a volume of up to 35 liters. The larger ones are for three day, one week excursions. Whoever goes on via ferrata or climbs, the "vertical world", brings with them a rock helmet, harness, lanyards and carabiners that take up a lot of space.

Technical backpacks

A backpack for walking in the mountains has many more features than a normal backpack. They are made of nylon, Cordura or polyester, but there are other materials as well.[^] The backpack has at least two compartments that open with a zipper from the top, the largest can have a divider. In the outer ones there are pockets where to divide small objects that must remain hidden, keys, telephone, wallet, and closed with a zipper. Outside a technical backpack there is space for bottles or flasks and attachment points for specific equipment, such as telescopic poles,[^] crampons and ice ax. For the comfort of the hiker, you need soft, breathable and adjustable shoulder straps, a waist strap to stabilize the load, an adjustable sternum strap, a reinforced base, and, for longer ones, an ergonomic structure for the lower back. Even in the rain, the precious internal load does not have to get wet, and an integrated waterproof backpack cover is better than one that you forget at home.

How much do they cost

The cost of a backpack often depends on the quality of the materials used, as well as on its characteristics. A small ultralight backpack can cost as much or more than a technical backpack of over 35 liters, which can weigh as much as 1 kg. A reasonable price range for hiking backpacks is between 70 and 100 euros. The advantage is that most of the backpacks, used with good manners, without overloading them, are almost indestructible.

Mauro's backpacks

The backpack I wear on my shoulders is much more than a highly specialized bag that houses and carries useful objects for the excursion, it identifies me and lasts many seasons, like the shirt for a footballer who always plays on the same team.

A couple of years ago for my birthday my mother gave me the Salomon ADV Skin 12 backpack, so light and close to the body that it feels like a shirt worn on the back, the stabilizing straps have become an elastic cord. The new product made me realize once again the continuous progress in sports materials. In summer it is ideal for running towards the Grignone and climbing from Barzio to the Piani di Bobbio, more than enough for the essentials, a towel and a vest, in addition to the house keys, the telephone and the wallet. When I was leaving Milan by public transport towards the Lombard Pre-Alps, I needed a little more space because I was forced to change clothing from traveler to hiker. The North Face Animas 12[^] red backpack was and is oustanding for the mountains, so resistant and long lasting. The backpack is equipped with a three liter plastic bag for drinking from a tube. I then removed this tank due to the need for space and because the water stored in this type of plastic, as well as in water bottles, is not good and not easily digestible. My faded The North Face Animas 12 is still useful today to carry what you need for a trip.
In winter, I walk trails with a The North Face Borealis on my back, the model now called Classic, which is good anywhere and for various purposes, in the city, in the mountains, for school and for a laptop. Like the other two, it is not waterproof. Its 29-liter capacity fits heavier clothing, a 1.5-liter plastic bottle of water and even a windbreaker; I appreciate the numerous pockets and breast pockets, the resistant bottom, that allows a balanced load, and the stabilizing straps. If necessary, I push in the boots that I will use in deep snow.

References

1. "How to choose your hiking backpack". Salomon. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
2. "Backpack Material". In Backpack Construction. White Mountains. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
3. "How to Choose and Use Trekking Poles and Hiking Staffs". Rei. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
4. Bresler, Neal (30 April 2012) "Gear: Personal review of The North Face Animas hydration pack". Tech Trail Runner. Retrieved 22 March 2022.