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How to Start Backpacking

There’s nothing more freeing that filling a pack with food and gear and hitting the trail for a week. The places you can see backpacking are what we see in books growing up, dreaming of adventure.

There’s a lot of gear to backpacking but that doesn’t mean it’s complicated. Anyone can work their way through a checklist of gear and build up a kit that let’s them escape to the middle of nowhere for days at a time.

We’re building a guide to doing just that. Follow the sections below and you’ll learn everything you need to know about backpacking gear. Plenty to get you started on trips of a few days and working your way up to a week or more, off-grid, free to go anywhere you want.

Backpacking Gear for Beginners Course

The pages below are great if you are for everything on PureOutside.com on hiking boots or backpacks.

If you are looking for a complete walkthrough of all backpacking gear start to finish check out the Backpacking Gear for Beginners Course.

More ono How to Start Backpacking

Hiking Boots

You won’t be hiking barefoot so you need something on your feet? What do you start with? What can you wear day-hiking too? Should you just wear trail runners? We dig into hiking boots here.

Backpacking Packs

There’s no sherpa on these trails. You need to carry everything you bring. We look at how to get a pack that fits right and can hold everything you need.

Backpacking Tents

Tents are only one way to sleep backpacking but probably the most popular. What kind of tent should you get? We’ll sort that out in this section.

Headlamps

It gets dark in the backcountry, like real dark. You’ll need a way to see at night. This section covers the lumens, batteries and the best headlamps.

Stoves

Hot meals on the trail are one of the best parts of backpacking. We dig into different kinds of stoves and which one is best for you.

Cameras

You can certainly hike without a camera but it can be hard to remember all the beautiful places without them. Here’s our tips for buying a camera for backpacking.

More sections coming soon!

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