Camping

“You need special shoes for hiking – and a bit of a special soul as well.
” -Emme Woodhull-Bäche

Hiking gear, the gear you wear while hiking. Hmmmm, well some hikers make do with a pair of training pants and tennis shoes, some prefer shorts in the summer time . . . . gives a kind of “safari” feel to the hiker, and others go the whole hog and buy the very best hiking gear they can afford in their local outdoor store. What’s best? Is it necessary to spend a lot of money on hiking gear when you’ve got a perfectly good raincoat hanging behind the closet door? Is expensive hiking gear worth the money? In fact . . . what’s so special about hiking gear?

So many questions dear hiker . . . a little patience please . . . . all will be revealed!

Hiking gear has been designed over the years in a very similar way to everything else which backpackers stuff into their backpacks . . . lightweight, tough, durable, and above all, to do the job it was designed for. If your idea of a hike is a couple of hours walk with a picnic on three sunny Sunday afternoons throughout the summer on a well trodden trail which doesn’t ask too many “hiking questions” (unlike those at the top of the page), then no, you probably shouldn’t spend lots of extra cash on specialized hiking gear . . . but if your idea of a hiking trip is to disappear into the back country for a few days in all weathers then you’ll soon begin to appreciate the difference between an Insulated Ski Jacket and that raincoat hanging behind the closet door (even if you do wear an extra sweater).