Start Using These Backpacking Hacks TODAY To Improve Your Trips!
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- čas přidán 6. 08. 2024
- Are you looking for some quick, effective backpacking hacks to improve your next trip? Ive got 8 very easy tips to do just that!
GEAR IN THIS VIDEO
Platypus Quickdraw alnk.to/6bSM7kD
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Cnoc Vecto alnk.to/4BDXhWu
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Allmansright Stake Bag alnk.to/5udKc2Z
HYKLYF Bottle Genius Sticker alnk.to/fSes4bR
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Hilltop Packs
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The best improvement to my backpacking in the last year came from Bungzy's channel and involves a daily food bag. I used to spend a fair amount of time on the trail stopping to root around in my Ursack to replenish snacks. And I would stick empty packaging and wrappers into various pockets. I caught myself dropping more than a few of those wrappers on the ground. Now, at the start of my first day, I put all of my food for the day, including snacks and lunch-- into a single stuff sack. I put that sack in an accessible side pocket. Then I have all of my food in one place and don't have to go into my Ursack or even backpack to get anything out. The best part is that all of the trash and food wrappers ALSO go into that stuff sack. At the end of the day, I just have a sack of trash and I move the trash into whatever gallon-sized bag I'm using for that. I then refill the stuff sack with whatever I'll be eating for the next day. Sounds simple, but it's a gamechanger.
Pretty much exactly what I do with my food too! I hate digging through my food bag mid day. When I stop, I just want to eat.
Huge +1 to "be bold start cold" - it's actually so essential. My favorite goal is "10 before 10" meaning 10 miles before 10 AM.
I prefer crushing miles early in the day too
I'd be absolutely done if that was the total for the whole day unless with a daypack. You actually do that? Consider me impressed
That CNOC bag is legitimately one of the best pieces of gear ive ever purchased for backpacking!
Its definitely nice to have
I agree.
A long time ago I started putting highly reflective, 1" tape from 3M around my mini Bics. Not only does it stand out in the daytime but if you drop, misplace your lighter at night, finding it is super easy.
i dig that idea
I've found that leaving a Yeti water bottle filled with ice and water in the car will still leave you with plenty of ice even after sitting there for 3 days.
Instead of bringing a bear hang kit with a pouch for holding a rock, I just use my tent stake bag.
Titanium shepherd-hook stakes are one of the best to use in rocky soil. You can press them in by hand, feel around to push them past rocks, and they will hold just fine in high wind as long as you angle them properly, push them all the way into the ground, and use guylines. The only downsides I've found are that it's tricky to get them to hold if you're SETTING UP while there's high wind, and they're really easy to lose.
You can make an OPSAK into a bear hang bag by attaching a Tyvek tape grommet to it. Maybe use two if you're going to be carrying a lot of food.
Use your pack liner as a pump sack.
Use your tent footprint as a rain skirt. Wrap it around your waist and then use your pack's hip belt to keep it in place.
Long pants, a long-sleeved sun hoodie, bicycle gloves, and a head net will let you get away with carrying little to no insect repellent.
Bicycle gloves also protect your hands from sharp-edged trowels.
Waterproof socks are a thing. An expensive thing, but still a thing.
Replace your shoelaces with something like Lock Laces and you can turn your hiking shoes into slip-ons, allowing you to leave camp sandals at home.
Umbrellas offer more sun protection and ventilation than hats, and they're great for those times when you encounter rain that is light enough that you don't want to stop and get out your rain gear, but still hard enough to get you wet. A sun hoodie can cover the edge cases where an umbrella doesn't help, like in heavy brush or when the sun is very low in the sky. Can take some practice to figure out how to attach it to your pack in a way that keeps it in the exact position you want.
Baggy clothes allow more airflow.
One two-liter soda bottle weighs less than two one-liter Smart water bottles.
Bring an extra water bottle cap in your ditty bag.
A 10x10 tarp and a bug net can get you almost as light as as a Dyneema tent for a third of the price, offers more space inside, and can keep you just as protected from the weather when properly set up. Make sure to practice in a yard or park before taking it out into the wild though. It's easy to set up even in the wind once you have your process worked out, but it takes more work to learn and you'll need to learn multiple configurations for different weather conditions. You do not need trees or any environmental anchors to attach it to if you have trekking poles.
Putting your clothes or sit-pad underneath your sleeping pad will keep it from sliding around on your tent floor.
That is a good list!
Regarding drinks in your car. I live in balls hot Florida and have found that keeping an insulated bottle full of ice in your vehicle can stay cold for a very long time and lets you have very cold water for drinking or cooling skin. My 2L Ozark Trail can go almost a week and the worst that can happen is the ice melts; you still have water!
I'm sort of a freak when it comes to a clean tent or hammock. I always carry a small, dedicated ground sheet, separate from any tent groundsheet, for staging gear, eating area, vestibule, exit, entrance...very versatile. For me the very little additional weight is worth it. Thanks for the tips.
eating area in your shelter?
The Alpine Aire meals have lines on the bag that you can fold along to create a crease (so it's visible while filling) and then you just fill to the line. Super handy unless you're trying to boil the perfect amount of water to begin with
But then I'd have to eat alpine air, and I can't stand those...
Love the lighter tip and stuff sack one too, we will leave a cheap ice chest with a Mylar blanket in it with ice and drinks in the car, it stays ripping cold for days at the trail head.
Not much beats a cold drink when you get back to civilization!
Solid tips! Thanks, Matty!
Glad you enjoyed!
I replaced my tent guy lines with neon green glow in the dark cordage. I am slowly replacing all my small items with brightly colored equivalents or tying brightly colored cordage to them.
smart!
Thanks for the shout out! Glad I have something positive to contribute 😊
Everything you bring to the group is positive!
my favorite #7 Mountain Dew trail magic on the AT was gatorade and Mountain Dew. Made my day!!
ive had a mountain dew delivered on trail.. heaven!
I hammock, so I hang one stuff sack off the suspension and then put the rest of the stuff sacks inside that other one. It's in ain view so I don't loose it and everything else is contained inside. No missing stuck sacks.
when im in my hammock I do the same thing, everything goes in the double ended stuff sack
Absolutely agree with the drinks in the car tip. I hike in Florida, a hot place with no flowing water anywhere, and knowing you have something in the car is quite important. For organization I like to our the small sacks or bags in the same place on my pack that they come from. For example I keep a helinox chair in a side pocket, so the bag goes right back to the same pocket while I’m using the chair. That way I only have to keep one mental picture of where anything goes, packed up or not.
heat and no water? no thanks!
I recently bought a pack of bic lighters and thanks to you I know what color to choose for my backpacking trip! Never would have thought it would make a difference! Great tip!
Something super simple like carrying a pink lighter can make a big difference
#4 is not silly. I realised fairly recently that camping and hiking is about bag management, pulling stuff out and putting it back into bags.
You don't necessarily need to have posh dry bags or anything, but having dedicated food bag, a tent bag, whatever, and keep them together in the tent really helps.
Hey Matty. Thanks for reviewing my product!!
Thanks for making great products!
Re: Tip #4, keeping everything organized. I like to put all my stuffsacks in one stuff sack! Good way to keep everything together.
I keep organized by minimizing stuff sacks all together
For summer hiking, it’s okay not to bring a stove. As long as you’re comfortable with it, you can have all your meals be cold prepped meals and snacks.
not ok at all, cold soaking is gross
Have a standard routine when setting up camp and reverse the process when breaking camp. Mine is BASICALLY hang the tarp , hang the hammock , make the bed , set out the kitchen and critter proof the food. I hang my pack at the foot end of the hammocks center line. This way if something wakes me I can see my pack to check on it. Breaking camp everything is reversed which is really nice if it is raining. Returning to the vehicle I have a complete change of clothes in it. It makes good public relations when you stop at a dinner , motel or anywhere there are civilized folks. Day hikes I can have a cold lunch and drink when returning to the vehicle . I use a PACKIT Classic Freezable lunch box. It's a lunch box , cooler all in one package. Here in Florida anything cold at the end of a hike it a treasure.
packing up in the rain when ive got my hammock is so much nicer then with my tent
Good tips Matty and great video. I really like those bowls as a light weight option for my dog. Just curious what water filter system do you advise using? I've used water tabs for years as they're a very light weight option. What do you use for water bottles? I've always used basic Nalgene ones. Should do a video on back country meals.
For filters, i like the Katadyn BeFree or Platypus quickdraw. And I use smart bottles
One category that is discussed by some - but NOT enough - is trail hygiene. I think people are doing better, but there are many tips that aren't shared very widely. Some of my preferences:
use gloves when preparing trail meals at home to minimize food contamination. I use a BeFree filter with a 3L bladder that I leave on a rock or log at camp - then wash hands frequently while prepping meals and getting ready for lights out. I keep the bag at my tent at night so that I can do a good wipe down with a camp towel to remove 'most' of the trail dirt -& sweat - helps to sleep better and is very useful on long trips. Rinse the towel out in the morning (if not below freezing) and secure to the outside of the pack to dry. Wash hands or use sanitizer before lunch. Thoroughly wash hands with a small amount of soap (powdered) after using the latrine. Pack all latrine kit well away from food and water kit.
Navigation: I still use map & compass backed up by GPS. I do carry the GPS with me at all times. I mark each campsite, particularly if exploring any distance from camp. Helps to find camp again if out longer than planned and the sun goes down.
Tip #9 has to do with that lighter. Carry an electronic lighter rather than a flint-based ones. Why? Take a cup of water, and drop an electronic ignition lighter in it, along with a flint-based lighter. Let sit for a couple minutes then take then both out of the water, shake them off, and try to light them. The electronic lighter will take a few tries, but it will eventually light fairly quickly. The flint based lighter will not create any sparks for sometimes up to an hour or more. The electronic lighters cost a bit more, but they are all I carry now.
it actually takes less then a minute to revive a wet bic lighter.
hold it upside down, and tap the top of the lighter on your palm firmly for about 30 second, to get as much water out.. then blow into the top to get more out.. then a few cycles of the wheel, and she will light.
what is the netting around the hammock in the video, hammock palace looking thing?
cave creek pet palace
Nalgene have had measurements on their bottles for years both in mls. New ultrlight bottles often don't have these or if they do, they only have one of the types of measurements. I'm still a Nalgene user despite what the ultralight community say. I have never had a broken bottle or leakage in my pack. Nalgene for me.
dunno if anyone's ever said nalgenes leak or break. they're just super heavy compared to a smart bottle
Nalgene has a newer version that's quite a bit lighter than the old version.
This is accurate lol
For years I would find lost tent stakes... My solution, don't leave them or loose them... Color ccde, 4 red, easy to see & count, 4 blue, 2 gold... Most tents have 4 corners, so it's 4 + 4 + 2... It's easier to see count & not loose smaller batches
I wrap some bright colored duct tape around my water bottle. Duct tape comes in handy and the bright color follows the same principle you use with the lighter.
I tried this, but find it makes getting water bottles in and out of a pocket a little finnicky. And after being rained on, the duct tape doesnt work very well, and the glue tends to seep down the bottle making it sticky and gummy
Instead of that sticker, you could just put markings on your bottle with a sharpie
Did you miss the part where I explained why I stopped doing that exact thing?
I label various bottles with marker but cover them with scotch tape - keeps the marker from rubbing off. If I need to make a change, remove the tape and rub off the marker.
Drink enough water at the start of your day and at stops by water to carry less
sometimes gorging on water can have negative side effects, and leave you feeling bloated. You also may not run into as many water sources as expected, so its always a good idea to carry water
Carrying less small parts to your gear is less to remember and less to lose.
sometimes you need to carry small things though
I try to keep everything together in my tent I've lost so many stakes
ya, i keep it all together in my tent stuffsack now
It's like a water bladder
way more useful
Pronounced 'crohc' not 'k-nock'!
Im going to keep saying it like i have been
Your 8 mins of talk i could say in 45 seconds
Prove it champ.
Do any of you backpacking you tubers ever actually backpack anymore or do yo just rehash the same old crap that we have been seeing for the last few years ?
Do you need a hug?
I have been backpacking for 50 years. SO MUCH TO SEE and it avoids crowds (most of the time). 50 years ago it was kinda brute force - canvas packs, no hip belts, leather boots, jeans, etc. There has been a continual evolution, particularly in gear. The various videos are quite useful - to see new potential trail routes as well as to see new gear being demonstrated. Through experience, people do tend to learn tips like those shown here. I still periodically do learn something new.