Decent gear is one of the important things on the trail. I’m not a materialistic guy. Over the years I have evolved from buying cheap gear many times to buying sturdy, qualitative gear once and taking good care of it – much of the gear I’m using, I have been using for several years already. So these are my all-time favorite gear.
Table of Contents
Icebreaker shirts and jackets
Icebreaker is currently my favorite clothing brand. My Icebreaker Softshell Ice Jacket is one of my favorite jackets ever, for both hiking and casual jackets when I’m at home. Their wool underwear is brilliant for multiday hikes. And I’m just in love with their purpose and oneliners like “Plastic against your skin? Really? We believe there is a better way and nature has the answer”.
Sea-to-summit e-vent compression bags
Sea-to-summit e-vent compression bags (my review). I dedicated a whole separate post on these works of genius. Compression bags do not only keep your clothing, sleeping bag and tent dry but also compress its size to a minimum. Two hyper-super essential qualities for multi-day hikes in one.
Black Diamond Alpine Carbon Cork trekking poles
For many years, I thought trekking poles were for older men and women doing Nordic Walking (how was I wrong). But during my solo hike of the Kumano Kodo in 2016, when a host of a local ryokan handed me a bamboo hiking pole and assured me it would make hiking easier (and I indeed experienced that), I truly started to appreciate hiking with trekking poles. After hiking the Amalfi coast (when my kid brother Sem first laughed at me but later made a make-shift trekking pole out of a branch) with its many climbs, I was sold. Since then, I have been testing different poles and pole-setups (I only took one pole when hiking the Laugavegur trail), before settling on the Black Diamond Alpine Carbon Cork for my Jordan Trail hike from Dana to Petra.
Sleeping pad Thermarest Xtherm.
Sleeping pad Thermarest Xtherm. After a long hike, I usually feel I could sleep anywhere, but that is the moment I appreciate a good sleeping pad even more. The Xtherm is not only super comfortable but also really light, sturdy and has great isolation – something, I only realized after most of the people on the Laugavegur trail were complaining about the cold during the nights, something I had not experienced (because of the great isolating qualities of the Thermarest Xtherm).
Other gear
- My favourite pieces of gear for business travel in 2020
- Keeping your pillow in place with a spare t-shirt
- My all-time favorite travel hacks (for hiking)
- My all-time favorite gear (for business)
- How IKEA became one of my favorite travel brands
- Rimowa: why I paid 800 euros for a suitcase that is easily dented
- My all-time favorite travel brands
- My all-time favorite gear (for hiking)
- Zero waste on the trail
- Sources for hiking gear inspiration
- Cut your toothbrush in half
- Thermos bottle to save time, water and gas
- Garmin GPSMAP 64s: robust navigation in all weather circumstances
- IKEA plastic bag as a liner for your pockets
- Hairclip as a multi-purpose tool
- The best cooking gear while hiking – according to me
- How to use GPS navigation with your iPhone
- The best way to prepare food on your hike – according to me
- Icebreaker: probably my favorite hiking clothing brand
- Carrying duct tape on trekking poles
- My favorite pieces of gear for hiking in 2019
- My favourite pieces of gear for business travel in 2019
- Garmin InReach Mini: simple things remarkably well, under harsh circumstances
- Compression bags for business travel and life on the trail
- Plastic hairnet for your shoes
- Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) when your hike turns into trouble
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