GEAR UP

There is a wonderful children’s book called Storm – Stina written by the Swedish author Lena Anderson that tells the story of Stina, who is often out and about to find things. One day she sneaks out despite an upcoming storm and is lost until her grandfather finds her. Instead of scolding her he equips her with the things needed to face the weather and still be outside, finding things.

I love the book, even at the age of 55 which is partially due to the wonderful pictures but mainly because of the message which can be seen as very literal but also in a more philosophical way.

Now, this blog is also about both aspects but in the following few articles I will focus on the equipment that I am using to be able to do my hikes.

Once I started coming back to long distance hikes, I made some bad choices and suffered hugely. My first longer hike after many, many years was on Corse and though it only took seven days I basically made every mistake in the book. I had horrible blisters, was cold every night, my muscles hurt like hell and despite the beautiful spring landscape I was not able to enjoy the hike.

Over the years I learned a lot and that partially due to wonderful people who share their experiences and tips on YouTube. One of the best advises, that they give time and again, and I full heartedly agree with, is that you have to find the equipment that fits you personally best.

But where to start?

If you are a newbie and not sure whether you are up for the long-distance hiking game the choices might be overwhelming. And let’s be honest the prices of good equipment are steep.

There are different ways to approach this. Best case scenario is that you know someone who has some good gear that they are willing to share for you to try out. If you know someone who is hooked on long-distance hikes you can be sure that they have some spare equipment that they are willing to let you use.

The next best option is to rent gear for a while figuring out what you need and like. Here is a list of places where it is possible. I have never tried it, but I think it might be worth a shot if you do not want to start hiking and investing about 1200.- Euro (yep, that is a big price tag) for good gear in one go.

Dein Gipfel: from my research I would recommend them as they also offer full packages that have some well-known brand names in it. Though it is not especially ultra-light.

Globetrotter: the tents are on the heavy side, but they have some decent lighter backpacks.

Eddy’s Adventure: wide range of things, also light weight tents andcomplete bundles.

Outzip: rather new and they seem to focus on more stationary outdoor activities.

Vaude: I added it because they do offer a rental service, but they are not known for very light equipment. Sturdy yes.

There might be many more out there, but I am sure you are able to use one of the many search engines out there 😊.

And then there is buying cheap gear to start with…. The only thing I can say is: DON’T. It will cost you more in the end.

The next entry will be about my experiences with different backpacks, as that is the piece of equipment most crucial to your well being while on trail.