backpacking

I am looking at creating my backpacking kit. I just wanted to know what people consider their top items in their backpacking kit that might not be considered "essential" (tent, clothes, cookware, etc) or what they'd recommend looking into to improve the (already great) backpacking/camping experience.

Note : alcohol is supposed to be 'non-essential' !

I've had an absolute overkill vault for years and intend to switch to a sack (obvs unless the area has aggressive bears and/or the park specifies vaults are required).

What would you add as a luxury item to take up the newly available weight and volume? Currently leaning towards a lightweight backpacking chair. Getting up off the ground and having a backrest after a long days backpacking sounds great.

I have a 36L bag, so the vault takes up A LOT of the volume. And I shoot for midweight, say <20lbs dry weight.

Option 2, but vetoed by my frequent adventure buddy, was harmonicas for some nighttime jams. I can't play harmonica, so backwoods camp seemed like a good place to practice.

I'm mostly a day-hiker. I'd rather hike farther than carry more.

I'm slowly Passage-hiking the Arizona Trail, and there are stretches where overnights will be unavoidable.

I'm not going to cut down my toothbrush, but I do want to carry as little as possible.

I hear positive things about backpacking bidets, but the concept seems (to put it delicately) "optimistic" to me.

I may attempt the "try it afterwards in your shower at home" advice I've seen elsewhere, but that seems...gross.

Am I missing something, or is my risk tolerance misaligned with the reality of roughing it?

What are some of your favorite foods to bring/make for backpacking?

Some of mine: As an easy-to-cook grain, I recently discovered fonio, which looks and tastes a bit like tiny couscous. I combine a serving of fonio with a packet of ghee (Kroger sells those under the Simple Truth brand) and whatever dehydrated vegetables I'm in the mood for, and I have a great just-add-hot-water recipe for the back country.

Also, I learned from backpackingchef.com that you can make palatable dehydrated ground beef by cooking it with some bread crumbs, or in my case rice panko, before dehydrating. That little change alone has substantially improved the texture of my back country chilis, as dehydrating ground beef on its own turns it into something between a pebble and a piece of old gum.

i don't want to make advertising, but i found an affordable product for backpacker : a 12 inch tablet with a weight of 520g.
When a 10 inch tablet is 400g, and a 13.3 inch laptop is nearly 1kg, a 12 inch/520g is a good screen size weight/ratio. What do you think ? (Note : no direct advertising for a product, only features and why it could be a good product for backpacker)

You don't know where to backpack in peru?
Vinicunca, also called Montaña de Siete Colores (literally: Mountain of seven colors), is a mountain in the Andes of Peru with an altitude of 5,200 metres (17,100 ft) above sea level

Do you want to see more content like this? let me know.

First significant post since coming over from Rexxit. Photos from a recent two-night trip through the Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area in Western Colorado. We nailed the timing; biting bugs weren't too bad and while it was starting to get warm, the heat wasn't overwhelming yet.

a good community should always have a mascot : our mascot will be this little girl with her backpack, just because a backpacker is not always a big man with beard !

So here is the challenge : post a picture of your backpacking trip with the mascot

there are other camping/hiking/thru-hiking communities and i would like to know what kind of content you want to see : long-term travel with a backpack? hiking only? what's for you the difference between backpacking and hiking?

in 2022, a french hiker who hike the PCT decided to create the first 3000 km trail in europe. you can follow an introduction in this youtube video. Enjoy : https://youtu.be/wzy8DzsSu5k Note : i'm not the girl on the video, don't send me personal message !

I created this community 3 years ago, expecting more users. Of course, it was the birth of lemmy, with no real niche communities i'm happy with the reddit exodus : i hope more users will join. If you want this community to grow, don't forget not to promote directly gears : no affiliate links, just your honest opinion about gears. By the way, i'm french, my english level is as low as my budget to buy ultralight gears 😬

Did an overnight trip in April, camping at what the state considers a wilderness site on the tea-colored Batsto River.

The New Jersey Pine Barrens is the largest wilderness on the East Coast between Boston and D.C. It's a unique environment, with a lot of cool ecosystems. No virgin forest here, as industry had its way with the land and resources for centuries.

This trip was something like 20 miles through Atlantic white cedar swamps and pitch pine forests.

It might not dazzle like the west at first glance, but it's a place I love more than most.

Hi, anybody in Lemmy backpacking these days? Could be a great community here, hope it gets content, I’ll try to add something.

Backpacking the Tecumseh Trail in southern Indiana

Durmitor, montenegro
you can hike through durmitor national park and camp near the lake. Montenegro is a country so diverse and stunning.

One of my favorite youtuber about backpacking is "Darwin On The Trail'

The quality of his video is good and he do not promote too much gears for money.

Always informative. A good source

Just discover this video. You go away for 15 minutes. excellent !!

I just create a community for backpacking. Hope you will enjoy and you will bring your ideas and comment.