Now more and more people are traveling around our country. One of the actively developing areas of tourism is hiking tours. Many travel clubs organize trips to remote corners of our country. It is there you can see untouched nature, fill yourself with energy, relax, distract yourself from everyday life. And even test yourself for strength and endurance.
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The first thing you need to pay attention to is the choice of equipment. It will help to make your adventure comfortable and safe.
What to pay attention to when choosing
Difficulty and duration of the hike
Beginners should not immediately go on a two-week trek to remote regions. Therefore, you should not buy expensive equipment.
Go on a weekend hike near your town. It’s also a good opportunity to test your equipment. And for such a hike, everyday items are usually enough. But if you’re going on a long hike, you should take your outfit seriously.
Climatic peculiarities
What you pay more attention to depends on where you are going. For a winter or mountain hike above 3,000 meters, warm clothes, membranes, thermal underwear will be necessary. A summer or southern trek will require a completely different set of things.
Cost
For the first hikes, you can do with budget things with limited functionality. So you will understand what suits you better and what to pay attention to when buying more expensive, branded things.
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Backpack. In long hikes, the volume of men’s backpack is 70-90 liters, women’s – 60-70 (there are special models that take into account female anatomy). It should be comfortable and customized for you. With a backpack on your back, you should feel as comfortable as possible. Pay attention that the straps were padded with soft elastic material, do not dig into the shoulders and do not rub.
Footwear. This is the key to healthy and dry feet. Choose trekking boots of a trusted brand with Gore-Tex technology – you will be comfortable in them. But be prepared that in a difficult trek your feet may be wet.
Raincoat. Choose a cape made of dense material. Cellophane will turn into rags after the first use.
Membrane jacket and pants. Will help to comfortably overcome the path in difficult weather conditions. Membrane allows air to pass well to the body and reliably saves from wind and moisture.
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The most important thing in the choice of outfit
- Practicality and wear resistance. As a rule, these are synthetic things that dry quickly and do not wrinkle.
- Impermeability, waterproofness and good thermal insulation. Things that will protect you from wind and rain. These are raincoats, jackets, windbreakers.
- Reliability. Choose things made of good material, and they will not fail on a trip, where opportunities for repair are minimal.
- Weight reduction. It is now very popular to reduce the weight of clothes thanks to new technologies. But this is not always the optimal choice. If you are not a light walker, it is unlikely that you will be saved a few hundred grams. But such things will cost much more. And the functionality may be reduced.
- Price reduction. With the popularization of active tourism, a large number of tourists with different experience and income went to specialized stores. Under the demand appeared a lot of offers of simple and cheap clothes. But be careful, such clothes are suitable for beginners, but not for experienced tourists. Although there are things with a good price-quality ratio.
- “Golden” rule – three layers. It helps to feel comfortable not only in a hike, but also in any physical activity outdoors in difficult weather conditions. The first layer is thermal underwear that will draw excess heat and sweat away from the body. The second layer is warm, usually fleece, which will keep you warm. The third layer is windproof, it’s membrane clothing that will help keep the heat from blowing out and protect you from moisture.
And there is such a rule that with each difficult hike, a person discovers the limit of his level of discomfort. So there’s no need to be afraid to go hiking. Try it – you will love it!