General Kit Advice for First-Time Backpackers
Things to Take & Consider on the First Backpacking or Trekking Trip
Aug 26, 2009
When everything necessary has to be squeezed into 60-70 litres of rucksack, it isn't easy to decide what to leave out. For the first-time backpacker, it can be even harder knowing what to put in in the first place. This article isn't a definitive list, but highlights some general issues that those new to backpacking should consider.
General Advice For First-time Backpackers
It's a fine line between not carrying enough gear, and having so much that its weight significantly reduces the pleasure of the trip (or worse, becomes downright impossible to carry). First-time backpackers should acquire the lightest and least bulky options of everything they need – that will do the job sufficiently well not to cause undue discomfort.
So, for example, a sleeping bag that is extremely comfortable and warm but takes up two-thirds of the space and weight of the rucksack, is just as poor a choice as one that is extremely lightweight, but in which the backpacker fails to sleep at night in through coldness. The exact choices made will depend on a number of factors, not least personal adaptability to heat or cold, and physical strength and fitness, but in general the smallest and lightest that works for the individual is the best choice.
However, backpackers should also consider a compromise where accepting a small level of discomfort in use of an item can pay big dividends in terms of reduced weight! For example a small travelling pillow may be a necessary "luxury" for some, but many backpackers find a comfortable compromise by leaving out the pillow and folding up the daytime (or clean) set of clothes into the sleeping bag hood as a make-shift replacement. This saving on the weight and bulk is, to many, worthwhile for the small discomfort overnight. For others, it means a failure to sleep – each individual has their own preference which can only be discovered by trial and error. However, if an individual can cope with the lighter option, then that is their best option for a more enjoyable trip.
Maximum Rucksack Weights For First-time Backpackers
Quite simply – the weight that a trekker can carry, without straining, for the full duration of the trip is the right weight. That's difficult to figure out at first, but as a general rule of thumb even a third of body weight is usually far too heavy for all but the strongest. This works out at roughly 20 kg for a female and 25 kg for a male. So in simple terms, if the rucksack is close to the weight limit of most airlines' hold luggage, it's too heavy to carry backpacking!
In practice, according to Australian backpack specialists White Mountain, only a quarter of body weight (i.e. no more than 15-20 kg) is often the upper backpacking weight limit for adults of average strength and moderate (but not high) fitness. Don't forget to allow for items carried in hand-luggage (or intended to be bought locally if flying) – disastrous starts to trips have happened when backpackers have forgotten to allow for e.g. the weight of water that would need be added to the rucksack on arrival in the destination country!
Backpackers should also remember that it's often no one individual thing that makes a rucksack overweight and unwieldy – but a combination of many things that are each just a little bit extra than the bare minimum that's absolutely essential!
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