Day hikes - What do you bring?

The Black Oil

What size backpacks do you guys generally bring on day hikes?

my3cents

The Black Oil wrote: »

What size backpacks do you guys generally bring on day hikes?

35l out with me everyday. I recently tried a larger pack and found it too big.

I think there is a lot of psychology involved in picking the right rucksack.

Too big and you carry to much and or the pack doesn't pack well (all sinks to the bottom) and too small and you don't carry what you really need. I also find a full small rucksack "feels" heavier than a part filled larger rucksack. I triage my stuff down to a minimum (still to much) and then add another 5-10l to the size of the rucksack.

An annoyance of too small a rucksack is having to unpack everything to get at something near the bottom with a larger one you can rummage around a bit more.

I'm looking for another rucksack for everyday use and 40l is what I am looking for.

Alun

I recently got a Lowe Alpine Airzone Pro 35:45 which is a 35l rucksack for everyday use but you can expand it "upwards" to 45l if I need to carry a bit more stuff for whatever reason. It has a side entry zip which at first I thought I wouldn't like but it's really handy for getting stuff out of the bottom when you need it without having to open everything up and start taking stuff out to get at it.

laoch na mona

going up diamond hill this week, my day hike pack normally consists of the following;
35l bag
a packed lunch (a few rolls usually)
flask of tea
snacks such as trail mix
water
first aid kit (always in the bag)
Compass and map (even on hikes that I know are well signposted it's better to have it and not need it)
Rope
Pen knife
rain coat
camp stove/ way to make a fire

all this doesn't even fill the bag, I could pack lighter but why sacrifice luxuries like tea unless absolutely necessary

The Black Oil

I've a 30 with 2 compartments and an internal pocket. Add a large rain jacket, rain leggings, a platypus, another water bottle (900ml), spare socks, a Leatherman, torch and lunch (no hot drinks) and there's not a whole pile of room for much else.

Depending on the time of year, I could probably get away with a soft shell and lighter rain jacket. The large one is quite bulky. I was in a rush the other day and forget my bivvy bag and a few other things. I started to wonder if the 30 was enough, but some good points above. Might do a mock pack one of these evenings just to see.

This is what I had for a recent solo long walk:

Coat
Fleece
Gilet
Over trousers
Map
Compass
GPS/Phone with Waterproof Case & Spare (charged) phone battery
First Aid Kit
Hat
Gloves
Spare socks
Waterproof liner/bag.
Buff
Head torch & Spare batteries
Whistle
Survival bag
Keys
1350ml Water/Bladder
3 bars
2 bananas
Rucksack - 35l - (1.23kg)
Gaiters
Walking poles

When you add in the pants, belt, base layer and 1.5kg boots it's a fair bit of weigtht to be hauling around the mountains but it's hard to skimp, especially if you're doing solo treks.

PS: If you start taking stuff out it's tough work getting used to the additional weight when you have to put it back in.

my3cents

RE: Weight, I find it a lot easier to carry a lot when its freezing cold than when its hot. In fact I'd say 10kg is unnoticeable on a good cold winters day and feels more like 20kg as the sun comes out and it warms up.

blacklilly

30l backpack
Compass
Fleece
Waterproofs
Gaiters
Socks
First aid kit
Water/fluids
Banana
Apple
Protein bar
Nuts
Head torch
Phone
Gloves
Hat/ear bands
Mirror & lipstick*



*ok joking about these 2!

my3cents

blacklilly wrote: »

30l backpack
Compass
Fleece
Waterproofs
Gaiters
Socks
First aid kit
Water/fluids
Banana
Apple
Protein bar
Nuts
Head torch
Phone
Gloves
Hat/ear bands
Mirror & lipstick*



*ok joking about these 2!

Essential items there, Mirror and Lipstick! Mirror for signalling (safety) and Lipstick for lip protection against the elements :cool:

If you have chapped lips anything to help protect them is welcome, no matter what the colour.

I'd always have a mirror of some sort, I found an old metal mirror from our parrots cage the best and normally have one of the nivea lip balms handy in the first aid kit. The lip balm I carry is a factor 30 sun block so doubles as sun cream

davycc

my3cents wrote: »

Essential items there, Mirror and Lipstick! Mirror for signalling (safety) and Lipstick for lip protection against the elements :cool:

If you have chapped lips anything to help protect them is welcome, no matter what the colour.

I'd always have a mirror of some sort, I found an old metal mirror from our parrots cage the best and normally have one of the nivea lip balms handy in the first aid kit. The lip balm I carry is a factor 30 sun block so doubles as sun cream

exactly lip/chapstick can be used as emergency firelighter too

falan

45L rucksack
Emergency shelter
2 Litres of water in platypus
1L empty bottle
Water proof first aid kit
Map and compass, pacing beads, pacing card.
phone plus spare battery and view ranger app (just in case)
Head torch
Spare change of clothes ,socks, trousers fleece and wet weather gear, hat, gloves and neck warmer in different colour coded dry bags.
Spare laces, cable ties (best thing ever in an emergency)
Food
Emergency Chocolate plus extra cos knowing me i'll eat it

SomeFool

falan wrote: »

cable ties (best thing ever in an emergency)

Genius! Going to add a lash of them to the first aid kit!

The Black Oil

Used a Lowe Alpine air zone quest on holiday recently - link. Didn't pack it completely each day, but I found it quite useful, might pick one up.

The Black Oil

falan wrote: »

Emergency shelter

What sort do you have? Seems to be a few versions of the same brand and capacity, but prices vary. Maybe it's the material.

falan

The Black Oil wrote: »

What sort do you have? Seems to be a few versions of the same brand and capacity, but prices vary. Maybe it's the material.

Sorry, i've been away...The one we take is not actually mine but i'll hopefully get one in future asit seems to do the trick with a small group. Its a Vango 800 i think. We would never go outdoors without it. I do have one of those cheap ass one man emergency shelters. I think it was only 8 euro or something. Its like a glorified orange bin bag. Not much good in extreme weather but better than nothing.

The Black Oil

Hah, I've just picked up a Vango 400.

falan

The Black Oil wrote: »

Hah, I've just picked up a Vango 400.

Good purchase, they warm up really quickly if there's a few of you. One of the lads broke his collar bone mountain biking so we used the emergency shelter to have a look at the injury and wait until help arrived.
They are also good to have lunch in, on a cold winters day.

my3cents

The Black Oil wrote: »

Hah, I've just picked up a Vango 400.

Whats the actual weight? Online it looks like 700g but you can't always trust what some sites say. I've been thinking about the Vango 200 which is about 500g but not sure if the 400 would be too big for one?

The Black Oil

The packaging says 560g. My kitchen scales said 547. Even packed down, they're not the smallest thing to carry around, fyi.

my3cents

The Black Oil wrote: »

The packaging says 560g. My kitchen scales said 547. Even packed down, they're not the smallest thing to carry around, fyi.

Sounds like that will fit into my system OK. I often carry a small tarpaulin and a good chunk of cordage which would weigh far more than that and take up a whole load of room.

The Black Oil

I ordered a LifeSystems one, but it was a Vango that arrived.