Why do you need dishes? 

You probably want to eat while you’re backpacking, right? That usually requires something to eat on and with. 

This section covers cups, plates, bowls, sporks and spoons. And whether you should bring them at all.

Remember that more dishes means more to clean. The more you can eat out of a bag, the less you have to clean. 

The absolute minimum you’ll need if you are boiling water for drinks and food is a small pot. Use the pot to boil water for your bag meal and then boil again for a hot drink. Eat out of the bag and drink out of the pot. 

To eat from a bag, bring a long spoon or spork. The bags are usually tall so a taller utensil works better. Most utensils are short and result in sauce all over your hands. 

For cups, it depends on what you drink. If I’m not having anything hot to drink, I won’t bring a mug and just drink from my water bottle the whole time. I love a hot coffee in camp to start the day though so I almost always bring a lightweight mug. I boil water for coffee and then boil again for oatmeal in the pot. 

For plates and bowls, it depends on what you’re eating. If you’re eating bag meals or something in your 1 pot, you won’t need them. If you are sharing food, you might need something to put it all in. 

Only bring what you need

Once you know what you’re eating, you can plan your dishes. Only bring the necessities. If you are sharing food with someone else, share the weight and let them carry some of the dishes. 

Just eat in the bag

If you are eating dehydrated meals in the bag, you won’t need much for dishes outside of a pot and a long spoon. This means less dishes and easy cleanup. Many of the meal bags have some sort of foil or liner inside and can’t be burned. Pack garbage out.

Different materials

Most backpacking dishes are made out of metal or plastic. Both are durable and last a long time. Try to get lightweight where you can. 

Long spoon for bag meals

The bags made for dehydrated bag meals are usually quite tall. Some companies are catching on and making short, wide bags. If you only have a short spoon, you end up with a lot of food on your hands reaching into the bags. A long spoon or spork solves this problem. 

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Why do you need a water bottle? 

On day hikes and multi-day adventures, you’ll need a water bottle. Humans can survive without food for longer than we can go without water. It doesn’t need to be expensive, but we need something to hold our water. 

For backpacking, you’ll likely be refilling it along the way at lakes or streams. Water is heavy so it’s difficult to carry every drop of water you’ll need for multiple days hiking. For this we can use a water filter or purification drops but we’ll be discussing those in a different section. 

Another option for carrying water is a water bladder which is the next section. I find carrying both a water bottle and water bladder works best for me. The bladder is my main water that I drink from during the day because it’s convenient. Then the water bottle is the emergency water if I run out while drinking from the bladder and great for around camp, using it as a hot water bottle for cold nights and the measurements for cooking.

What fits in your backpack?

Where are you going to carry this water bottle? Many backpacks have water bottle pockets on either side of the outside. Your pack might carry Nalgene 1 litre bottles well.

Does it have measurements?

Many dehydrated backpacking meals require a certain amount of water like 300 or 500 milliliters. Having a water bottle or pot that can measure this amount of water is helpful in cooking your food properly. Even if you are using a cheap disposable water bottle, you can draw the cup and millilitre markings on the side with a permanent marker at home.

What fits on your filter?

Many water filters like MSR or Sawyer screw onto a particular water bottle. They are different size. MSR water filters typically fit on 1 liter Nalgene-type bottles. Sawyer filters tend to fit on smaller disposable water bottles like Smartwater bottles. 

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Time to get onto the food portion of this guide. You need to eat, right?

Cooking is an activity that you probably don’t need on day-hikes. Throw a sandwich and granola bar in your pack and you’re done for a day hike. We need much more food for backpacking. On top of just staying in the woods longer, hiking all day requires more calories than you normally need. 

In this section we look at:

• Camp Stove
• Fuel
• Pots
• Dishes
• Coffee Maker

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Why do you need a repair kit?

Stuff happens. Gear can wear out on the trail or accidents can happen that breaks gear. A repair kit is like your first aid kit but for gear. 

List all your gear and possible issues

Make a list of all the gear you are taking and list out issues you can see happening with it. For example: 

• Tent
  • Hole in the fly or mesh
  • Zipper breaks
  • Pole breaks
• Jacket
  • Hole
• Hiking boots
  • Lace breaks
• Trekking poles
  • Pole breaks
• Backpack
  • Fabric tear

Once you have a list of your issues, look for items that can help fix it. 

Look for multi-use

Since we don’t want to take a lot of weight on the trail, try to find repair items that are small and can do multiple things. Duct tape and thin paracord are good examples. They can do many things and don’t take up much space. I like to wrap duct tape around a water bottle or trekking pole so it’s always available.

Common repair kit items

Some common repair kit items are: 

• Duct tape
• Need and thread
• Thin paracord
• Tent pole sleeve
• Safety pins
• Batteries
• Stove repair kit
• Air mattress repair kit
• Cable ties/Zap straps

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Now you know enough to get into some gear and get out on some trips. Take it slow, learn as you go and hike with people that know more than you. You’ll be exploring beautiful remote areas on multi-day trips in no time. 

If you have any suggestions, questions or feedback about this guide, we’d love to hear! Shoot us a message through the contact form.

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Why do you need a water bladder? 

A water bladder is a plastic bag of water that sits in your backpack with a tube that hangs over your shoulder. Whenever you need a drink you just drink from the tube. You don’t have to find the water bottle hanging from your pack somewhere or take your pack off. I find I drink a lot more water on trips where I have a bladder in my pack.

It’s not absolutely necessary. Many people just use a water bottle. But it is very convenient. When you refill a water bottle, you can put the water in the bladder first then fill up the bottle if needed.

Get big opening for cleaning

Some older styles of water bladders had a very small opening for filling and cleaning. These make it tough to get in there and clean it out. The big openings are easier for filling from the tap or water bottle too.

Get a detachable hose

Some bladders have a hose that unclips from the bladder. This makes it easier to leave the hose threaded into your backpack with all your gear when you fill up the bladder. Unclip the hose and just pull the bladder out.

Get a closable bite valve or cover

Some have bite valves that screw shut or turn off for travelling. Sometimes the bite valve gets stuck under another bag and opens on the car or bus. This makes a mess and wastes your full bladder of clean water from home.

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Why do you need a stove?

There are 2 ‘camps’ when it comes to bringing a stove or not hiking. Some like hot meals that a stove can make, others prefer the simplicity of cold-soaked or cold food without a stove. I personally love hot food after a long day hiking and hot coffee to get moving in the morning so I always bring one. 

In the stove camp there are 2 parties. The water-boilers and the gourmet chefs. Water-boilers just boil up water for bag meals and oatmeal with a coffee. You don’t have to have exactly these things but it’s quick and easy. 

The gourmet chefs like to simmer their food and prepare more complicated recipes with the 1 pot they have. This requires more time preparing and cleaning. I recommend starting with boiling water for quick bag meals and moving up to gourmet after a few trips if you want to.

Boiling water is also important in case your water filter breaks. You can still make water safe to drink by boiling it. Filter the water with some clean fabric to get the chunks out. Then a rolling boil for 1 minute can make it safe to drink.

Canister or liquid fuel stove?

Stoves are separated into 2 broad categories: canister and liquid fuel. 

Canister stoves screw onto a small iso-butane caster (like propane). They are easy to light. Just turn it on and light like a bbq. They boil water well, are inexpensive and can be very small and light. We recommend getting a small and light canister stove to start backpacking. 

Canister stoves won’t hold large pots well and don’t work well in the cold but we can work around those. 

A remote canister stove is a slightly different type. It has a fuel tube from the canister to the stove so the pot can sit on a lower, wider base. These are good for bigger pots. 

Liquid fuel fuel stoves are good for the cold or refilling with different kinds of fuel like kerosene or diesel. These are larger, heavier and harder to light. We don’t recommend these to start unless you know you need it.

Get multiple lighters

Getting your stove going for food or boiling water is important. Always have 2 ways to light your stove. A BIC lighter is the most convenient but can fail if it gets wet. I usually bring a lighter and a metal ferro rod (makes sparks) to use if the lighters fail.

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Why do you need stuff sacks? 

Jamming everything you need to hike for 4 days or a week into 1 big backpack can make it hard to find anything. 

Stuff sacks are clear or coloured bags of various sizes with a roll or clip top. Organizing everything in a stuff sack reduces the small items floating around in your pack and makes it easier to pull out the bag you want. 

I usually organize my pack with a bag each for:

• Tent
• Sleeping bag
• Food
• Cooking gear
• Day clothes
• Night clothes
• Other stuff

When it’s time to pull everything out at camp, it’s only pulling 7 bags out instead of 100 separate items. 

Colored or Clear bags

Color code all your bags by getting different sizes and colours. When you pull out the large yellow bag, you know that’s always your food. Some bags even have a clear window which lets you quickly see what’s inside. 

Fleece lined

Some stuff sacks come with a fleece lining on the inside. What’s that for? Flip it inside out, stuff full of clothes and you have a pillow. I like to put soft things like clothes or sleeping bags inside so the fleece doesn’t get dirty.

Waterproof

Some kinds of stuff sacks are waterproof. I like having a couple of these around just in case you have to hang food in a tree or keep something dry. 

Go lighweight

Thick stuff sucks are more durable but they’re heavier. Use the lightest weight stuff sacks you can to save some weight. 

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Why do you need gaiters?

Gaiters are like jackets for your hiking boots. They wrap around the top of your hiking boots and up your legs a bit. They keep the mud, branches and dirt out of your boots. If you’re quick, they can also keep the water out. If you’re wearing shorts, they can protect your legs from brambles and branches as well.

Gaiters prevent you from having to empty dirt and mud from your hiking boots if you’re on a muddy trail. They can be taller up to your knee or shorter and just cover your ankle. No matter the height, they cover the top of your boots and keep the crud out.

Waterproof is best

Some gaiters are waterproof and some aren’t. Waterproof ones will make your legs warmer but will keep the rain and mud out the longest. 

They do make your legs a bit warmer

If you want to keep the gunk out of your boots but don’t want the heat, look for a smaller less water resistant pair. They will be more breathable.

Just like a jacket, gaiters can be different materials

Some gaiters are water resistant, some are waterproof, some just keep the dirt out and not any sort of moisture. Just like jackets, waterproof will be the least breathable, water resistant will be more breathable and just fabric will be the most breathable.

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Why do you need fuel?

Stoves need fuel to burn. What kind of fuel you need depends on your stove. 

Canister stoves use iso-butane canisters. These are small pressurized canisters like a propane canister for your bbq. They can burn hot and fast when the canister is new but they slow down as the pressure inside gets less and less. They don’t work well in freezing temperatures. These canisters aren’t refillable. Just buy a new one when it’s empty. If you are traveling, you can’t fly with these.

Liquid fuel stoves use a fuel bottle with some sort of liquid fuel. Most stoves use white gas available from any camping or outdoors store. Some special kinds of stoves can use kerosene or diesel but most can’t.  They are refillable so you can take as much fuel as you need. You can fly with empty fuel bottles but make sure you have some documentation with the bottle to explain what it is.

Fewer large canisters, or more small canisters

For gas and liquid fuel bottles you can bring 1 large or 2 smaller containers. It’s the same amount of fuel. I prefer 2 small ones since you can split them between people and are easier to fit in between other items in your pack. 

How much do you need per day?

You’ll need to find out how much fuel to bring. We need to do a bit of math for this. We’ll multiply how much water you need by how long it takes for each boil then divide by the burn time of your stove. 

(Total liters * Boil time per liter) / total burn time of the canister = % fuel used

Let’s unpack this a bit.

First, how many liters of water do you need to boil? Add up all the water you’ll need to boil between breakfast, lunch, dinner, coffee, and tea for each person for all the days. You might end up with 3 liters each for 2 people. So 6 liters total. 

Second, multiply your total number of liters (6 liters) by how long it takes your stove to boil each liter. Stoves usually take around 3 minutes to boil a liter, say our stove takes 3.5 minutes to boil a liter. 

(Total liters * 3.5 minutes/liter)

(6 * 3.5 minutes/liter) =  21 minutes (total burn time required to boil 6 liters)

Third, we need to see what the burn time on your stove is like. For the popular MSR Pocket Rocket 2 stove, they will burn for 60 minutes on a 230 gram (8 oz) fuel canister. Take your required burn time in the step above and divide it by the total burn time for a canister. 

21 minutes / 60 minutes = 35%

So this percentage is how much of the canister you’ll need for your trip. Multiply this by the canister size to get the weight of the fuel used. 

35% * 230 grams = 81 grams of fuel for this trip.

Add a buffer

There are a lot of factors that affect how much fuel you are going to use. It’s never going to be exactly the same. Air temperature, wind, and elevation all can increase the amount of fuel to boil a liter. 

It’s always good to have a buffer of fuel. Conveniently, gas canisters can’t be refilled so I always make sure I have enough fuel in a new, full canister and then bring a small used canister to start with. This makes sure you have a buffer of extra fuel and uses up the remaining fuel in old canisters.

Test at home

Always test your stove at home. Ideally you can test an entire small canister and see how many liters of water it boils at home. Then you’ll have a good idea of how many liters it will boil for your next trip. You don’t want to find out on the trail that it doesn’t boil the same number as the manufacturer says.

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