How to Hike Overnight Like a Pro

Gear Supply took new friends on an overnight hiking trip recently. It was the first time they’d seen a Barn Owl that wasn’t on a TV screen. We had great Australian Autumn weather with these wide-eyed hikers which was lucky. It turned out, while being excited, they’d packed the completely wrong gear and way too much of it for this overnight hiking trip.

With that in mind Gear Supply has created a definitive guide to packing for an overnight outdoor adventure.

1. Packing Right - there’s a fine art to packing your bag for optimum efficiency. The heaviest items should be close against your back in the middle of your backpack to ergonomically weight it for long hikes. Now work your way up to most used items at the top. This might be your water, camera, utility tool and any items that you’ll be reaching for regularly.
2. Tent, Sleeping Bag and Roll Up Mattress - You may think a night roughing it is okay but honestly this is such a worthwhile investment so you wake up fresh.
3. Flashlight/Headlamp - like the Led Lenser SEO series, they’re easily packed away sizes and even if you’re going on one hike every six months they are always useful. Make sure they’re charged ;)
4. Food - one dinner and one breakfast is all you need. Think hot dogs roasted on sticks in buns for dinner with granola, dried fruit and water for breakfast. Simple with minimal rubbish to carry home with you.
5. Clothes - always good to be able to change a layer of clothes if you end up swimming, getting rained on or just feel like a fresh start to the day.
6. First-Aid Kit - antiseptics, band aid, bandage, tweezers, scissors, pain medication, emergency blanket, insect repellant and sunscreen are a must in Australia - these can be purchased at all good camping/disposals stores.
7. Eye Protection - Keep it simple with a pair of glasses for the morning hike.
8. Multi-tool - The new Leatherman Signal has a fire starting flint, knife, saw, bottle opener and more that cancel the need to bring all cutlery but a Spork.
9. Reusable Water Bottle - 1 litre of water is enough for an overnight trip.
10. Get to know the area you’re hiking - Will it have phone reception? If not then bring a map and familiarise yourself with it.