Backpacking is a fantastic travel experience to have, but it can quickly go south if you’re not careful. Having the right essentials with you can make things a lot easier, but what exactly should you prioritise? After all, we don’t want to make our bag too heavy, so it’s important to carry the right equipment and the right amount of supplies. To help you out, here are our suggestions for essential backpacking supplies that you shouldn’t forget to bring.
Health and skincare essentials
There are a number of health and skincare essentials that you should bring with you to make things a lot easier. For example, hand cream can keep your hands in good condition and will help with dry weather and lost oils that might come from spending a lot of time outdoors in the sun. To complement this, we suggest bringing some kind of sunscreen that is SPF 15 or higher. This will help protect your skin from sunburn, but you need to make sure that you’re reapplying it every 60 to 90 minutes depending on the weather.
For health essentials, remember to bring any medication that you need and also a small first aid kit that includes bandages, something to disinfect wounds with, and also some painkillers in case you get a headache.
Gear to ensure you don’t get lost
Getting lost while backpacking can be incredibly scary, especially if you’re in the middle of nowhere. While your phone can be a great option for directions, you might not get reception in certain areas and you might find that your battery really doesn’t last long.
To prevent a situation like this, make sure you bring some gear to help you find your way without a smartphone. A map and compass are the perfect pairing, but you’ll want to get a bit of experience with learning how to read a map so that you don’t get lost. A physical map might also be hard to find depending on the area that you’re backpacking in. If this is the case, it might help to print out some maps while you’re at home so you can be prepared when you visit the area.
Tough and sturdy backpack
You’ll want to try and bring a tough travel bag with you whenever you go backpacking. While some people prefer a much lighter backpack since they’ll be walking a lot, others may enjoy having a bigger backpack to carry more supplies with. You’ll need to find the right balance so that you’ve got plenty of space for supplies, but it’s not heavy to a point that you’re struggling to walk around.
This can take a bit of trial and error, and it’ll also depend on the length of your backpacking adventure. For shorter trips, a small and light backpack is usually enough. But if you’re planning on backpacking for a week or longer, then we highly recommend a tough and sturdy backpack with plenty of space inside.
