Best Hiking Gear

You are on a quest for the best hiking gear. You’ve scoured the internet, you’ve read every hiking magazine on the rack, you’ve “asked the expert”, and you’ve driven from hither to yon and trod through every quality outdoor store you can find. It seems the more you learn, the more uninformed you feel.



Where Do I Start?

There is a reasonable explanation for your quandary. In order to find the best hiking gear, you have to leap off the cliff, make an educated guess and simply try some out. There are more opinions than facts out on the trail. As my Dad used to tell me, “do something, even if it’s wrong.”




What is the Best?

The search for the best hiking gear is a personal one. What might be my “best” may not fit you at all. Using the information you have gleaned from the rest of this website and numerous other venues, choose what your gut tells you might be “best” and give it a try. You might find that you hit a home run the first time at bat. You might find out what you didn’t like. Sell that piece of equipment, and try again.

Edison said with every failure that he knew one more way how something didn’t work. Chalk it all up to experience. I promise you it will be a marvelous adventure and you will build lifelong memories. How do you think all of us get those great camp stories that we tell? Yep, by finding what didn’t work.

I can see you fidgeting. You'd be shaking in your hiking boots if had any. You’re afraid to take a stab at it. Okay, here’s a bit of help. I’m going to offer some ideas for some "bests" that have been recognized by authoritative sources to help you begin your journey.

Here They Are

In the following section, the “best of’s” will be listed and explored. The items in this compilation are by no means the only “bests” out there. However, they will give the new hiker (and maybe an old-grizzled one too) food for thought and a place to start. I reiterate—there is only one PERFECT choice. And that is the choice that suits YOU best.

BEST SLEEPING BAG

I always recommend that a new hiker begin with a good quality sleeping bag. Therefore, my first attempt at helping you build your best gear repertoire will be getting you into a bag that will serve you well for a long time. To that end, follow this link to my suggestion for the best sleeping bag.

BEST BACKPACKING TENT

Now that you have chosen your sleeping bag (either the one suggested above, or another) it is time to contemplate a place to spread it out at night. Follow this link to reveal my selection for best backpacking tent.






BEST BACKPACKING STOVE


Choosing a backpacking stove for an ultralight adventure presents certain challenges such as space allocation, weight, and ease of use. Follow this link to reveal my selection for best backpacking stove.




More to Come

Check back often. I’ll be adding more best hiking gear suggestions regularly. Agree, disagree, and chime in with your opinion. At the bottom of each “best of” suggestion, I’ll add a place for your comments. Share your favorite. Tell us your camp story related to the suggested item. It’s always fun to hear how someone else learned what didn’t work with what they thought was their most recent best hiking gear purchase.

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