Hiking Equipment: Are You Ready to Commit to Your Hobby?
Everybody knows that hiking is good for your health. But do you know how good it actually is? The many benefits include an improved cardiorespiratory system, improved muscular fitness, low risk of high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke, better quality sleep and so on. It puts into motion your entire body, helping you remove negative thoughts and reunite with nature.
Experts say that being active at least a few hours a week doing moderate intensity exercise is enough to reap these health benefits. However, in order to have a safe and pleasant hike, you need to obtain some necessary gear. Hiking requires some financial commitment and after a trial run or two, you’ll have a clear idea of what you need to buy for future hikes. First you’ll need to purchase the essential hiking equipment for your camping trips and then you can start looking up optional items to enhance your experience. Here is a list of all the necessary items for any hiking trip.
Backpack
A hiking trip would be very hard to complete without having everything you need organized and stored in a backpack. A good backpack to invest in is one that has an internal frame which offers more flexibility and gives you the feeling of it being closer to your body. A well designed backpack will have a chest and waist belt, as well as a special compartment for water bladders.
Sleeping Bag
This is an absolute must-have – you will need to keep yourself warm when sleeping out in the open as it can get cold during the nights while on a hike. Down bags are much lighter than synthetic bags and are easier to pack. A sleeping bag should be rated for 0 degrees in order to keep you warm when the temperatures fall down to freezing.
Tent
Sleeping inside a tent will protect you from the weather elements and it will keep critters away. Mice, spiders, snakes, mosquitoes and similar “undesired guests” are quite common out in the open and sleeping in a tent will protect you from them. For hiking, invest in a pop up tent that is lightweight and designed for backpacking or hiking.
Other Essentials
Other pieces of essential hiking equipment that you should have in your backpack at all times are a first aid kit that will help you in case of injury. A sunscreen to protect you from the UV rays if you are hiking during a sunny day, and a water bottle to have fresh drinking water at all times. A pocket knife can be useful in many unexpected situations too.
