10 STUPID but Common Beginner Backpacking Mistakes (just stop)

Love @Sintax77 🤩

Thought and wish for future... a robot to carry the load...

Ounces equals pounds and pounds equals pain.

I am a pack cover user. But my pack cover philosophy is a bit different. The pack cover is intended for my pack. Not the gear inside it. I protect the gear inside with lightweight roll top dry bags. 1 for my clothes, 1 for kitchen, food, toiletries, smellables (especially for bear country, that makes it easy to throw in bear bag.), 1 for any electronics/maps/etc, And dry bags for any other items in the pack. Keeps my things organized and dry.

Why you have so many views but so few subscribers? Subscribe for this dude people. I was one of you, watching a lot of his videos but realized today I was not subscribed. Did so today! 👍🏼 Kyle deserves your subscription! He puts a lot into his channel.

❤ I'm loving the exchange so far, and I just got passed the clothing discussion, so I wanted to chime in (helps with the algorithm, right?)

So let me preface this by saying that I haven't been hiking/camping since I was in my teens (~2 decades ago), and that was with cadets, but I'm planning on getting back out there to go small game hunting and some weekend warrior stuff.

So my first time going to a weekend hike and camp, I packed like for all weather and possibilities - like Richard Tyler in "the Pagemaster" movie. I realised after that day that I didn't need 80% of what I had brought to camp in my own yard, and the cadets provided most of the other 20% of my gear.

This meant that I really only needed to bring clothes. So I would pack: 2 pairs of wool socks, 2 boxers, a t-shirt and a wooly sweater for the winter chills, and I usually only needed 1 pair of socks and underwear. The others were in case of accidents or bad weather.

When went winter camping (Southern Quebec, Canada) where you get well below -20°F, I'd wear extra thermals and mitts all day and night, and a balaclava and tuque at night.

We learned quickly that excess gear weighs you down, can get lost or stolen, and makes packing a rucksack a major chore.

So I think I would be somewhere between both guys. I'd sleep in my underwear and clean dry socks, but only carry a warm sweater and seasonally appropriate jackets for rain or snow. Rain ponchos are also a great choice for a water repellent layer you can shove in a cargo pocket that also somewhat covers your pack, or wool blankets if it's cold and your loaded with cash (dang expensive!), but super cool looking

😮 Sintax77's story at the end, with the fuselage emerging from the inky darkness, had me thinking of the videos we see of scuba divers and deep sea explorations: it's all dark then suddenly a shark is right in front of you!

I wouldn't have been brave and/or crazy enough to do that😅

5 mins have passed and the video still hasn’t started! Goodbye from me.

Stupidity flex right here, but it ultimately led to my full understanding of essentials on the trail and how little I can get by with. Never gone backpacking , or even done longer hikes, hell, I had never even been to the Adirondacks before, one day after work, I grabbed a hand me down Gregory daypack and a bottle of water with a bag of spicy peanuts and hitched a ride out towards mt Marcy. Made it to the trail head at 2am and just went for it. Luckily I still had my flashlight from work on me, and a knife .Took me 3 days to hike to summit and back, refilled my bottle where I could, which is nowhere past a certain point, slept in the dirt when I could no longer move forward, and did the entire hike in worn out adidas sambas, hard lessons learned the hard way, but it left me jonesin’ for more and with a lot more respect for the mountains, oh yeah, and I found out that a combination of dehydration, stress, and overall exhaustion can and will lead to auditory and visual hallucinations!!! Definitely added some next level excitement to the experience

You guys hit the nails on their heads!!!😂😂😂
As a two time thru hiker of the AT and going out every year for a month or two I see so many new prospective thruhikers making all these mistakes and more...good advice!!!

You could drop the word 'STUPID' from your video title. They're not stupid mistakes but either uninformed or unknown mistakes.

i learned very early on in canoeing or kayaking to put my sleeping bag inside one plastic bag seal it and t hen put that inside another plastic bag and seal it. Ditto for my clothes and anything else I wanted to be sure stayed dry even if immersed in water or subjected to torrential rain for a long period of time.

I think that a REALLY big mistake a lot of beginners make is not checking the way their gear works before they embark on a trip to use it. Practice setting up your tent in a backyard or area that you can access. This will let you know how your tent sets up and also will let you know if anything is missing. Ditto for stoves. So you know how to use it and to know that its working properly use your stove before you set out on your trip.

Check all of your gear to be sure none of it was damaged in storage or transit.

Here's another mistake I've seen beginner backpackers make. Taking a lot of CANNED goods.Also carrying too much water or not enough water.

I am considering a pack cover because although my gear is secured in dry bags, the pack absorbs water and gets really heavy!

fantastic

I started my outdoors journey car camping, and when that turned into "I have to get away from this crazy world, backpacking seems awesome!" I was watching SO many videos that I grew panicked. (I do have a panic disorder as well so that was rough)
After a while I realized that I don't have to do or buy all those things,
I can enjoy myself the way I am comfortable with and use the gear I enjoy, and I started viewing the videos in a more relaxed manner.
These days I use the gear videos as inspiration, or discovering new gear I didn't know about yet,
and the hiking videos as fuel to keep me going on this new goal in life while waiting for next summer to get started.

I don't have it all figured out, or even bought yet, but I am getting closer to figuring things out. I have a lot of time still to chill out and prepare.
It's OK to need a mega pillow to sleep, it's OK to be a side sleeper, it's OK to only hike a few miles, and it is absolutely OK to feel worried about your first solo hike.
And I've accepted that I will make mistakes, as long as I am careful and use my brain before and during the hike I will make it out of any mistakes I make and can learn from them.

I walk with my stick as a cane I do put my hands up through the strap though before placing the top of the stick in my palm

Who sleeps in clothes ? Ick.

I’ve always carried a plastic trash bag in the bag to stay dry and then put it over the pack at night. However, it offers no resistance to squirrels - do pack covers resist rodents? LOL

Here's mine: Quick drying > Waterproof. You're gonna get wet or moist regardless.

Life long hiker, and I call my hiking pole "a stick", which I usually acquire from a personal favourite outlet "the ground". 😂

Of course the straps are used your way. Look at any skier

So I been backpacking for a few months now. I've done shake out were go on 14 or 15 mile hiles with all my gear. By time I'm done om tired and hurting and ready to be done. But I still am having fun. Even when I'm done I'm usually in a lot of pain.

Yet every time the next day I'm sitting at home wanting to get back on trail. I love the pain and the exhaustion.

This is how I know I could thru hike.

Here my advice on the whole buy right or buy twice. I agree with him that this bad say. Buying gears is hit or miss. However one piece of advice I would give to brand new hiker. Don't buy online go in to some place like REI or some place that sales backpacking gear. Get help with narrowing down your gear.

I bought my tent, backpack and my sleep system all online and it was bad. The backpack was to small for what needed and didn't fit right. The tent was okay but a bit small. And my sleep system was horrible.

Having some one who knows how gear works and what not can really narrow down what you should get and better the odds you will try it rigjt on the first try.

As you learn more about backpacking and gain experience then you can order things online. But to start off find some one who can help you find the right get and can advice as you look.

REI is store I recommend going.

On Base Camping - How do you secure your stuff? I often worry about someone coming along and taking it. As for buying best gear. For me, I'm a very casual hiker. I have phisical limitations due to chronic pain...the one thing I would say investing in right off. Especially if you have issues with back / shoulders. Invest in a good pack. I invested in a nice Osprey pack. It meant a world of difference for me. it fits like a glove, and the way the waist belt is made, it actually makes my lower back feel good if that makes any sense. Prob gives the lower back support. It also takes the weight off my shoulders. My old, cheap packs caused my problem areas to get much worse.

My Dad was 10th Mountain Infantry Ski Trooper during WWII. Told me about collecting "dead bugs" at end of the day. All guys w 80-100# packs, exhausted, who fell backwards onto their packs in the snow and couldn't get up! I started out that way too! Go easy!

I don't regret buying cheap gear I don't like. Having a lot of the negatives let me know which ones I could live with and which ones I couldn't, so I know what kind of tradeoffs I prefer.

If there's anything I've taken away from preparing for a few day hike it is - don't watch gear review videos, watch people that actually go on a 4 or 5 day trip and observe what types of equipment people use. Gear reviews can be them shilling or whatever the case may be. Watch and observe what people ACTUALLY use on their hikes.

On the ultra light thing. It is like with basically everything. The last 10% will take 90% of the effort. Perfection is always the thing that takes the longest and costs the most.

Kyle, I'm a long time ADK hiker. I just started using trekking poles last year. I use the straps like you do, they feel steadier and I can control them better based on incline and terrain.

Hiking in the mountains in Idaho is unpredictable for weather. Summer time can be very hot but there are times it was super cold. I don’t pack for every day but I do pack for all weather types because it has snowed in August.

I moved and had some 6mil trash bags that I cut one down for a pack liner. Better than the 2mil trash compactor bags.

This year in spring, I bought two trekking poles for £4.99 each. I took one of them on a trip to the Peak District. I promptly left it at a bus stop. 🫤 When I got back, I replaced it. A few weeks later, I went on a 3 week trip to Holland and Germany and took both of them along. Lost one in Holland. 😵‍💫
Last month, I saw that you could still get those poles for the knock off price, so I bought another one.

I have always struggled to not lose umbrellas. Maybe I'm the same with trekking poles. I'm glad I didn't spend more money.

Bet he regrets thats girlfriend move these days

I’ll tell you rn you weren’t the only 16 yo watching sintax lol

And there is a way to get conditioned for all that weight on your back it's called a weighted vest it can go all the way up to 200 lb you can use that for training the military does it all the time

I didn’t watch this video because i didn’t like the title. A beginner of anything, when it comes to gear, doesn’t do stupid things. It’s called the learning process. Doing something stupid when you know better is being stupid.

I put my hand down through the pole strap, and basically rest my wrist on the strap. Get that same support like youre talking about and still allows the pole to fall off my hand if needed.

My biggest barrier to enjoying it anymore is not the gear, it's sleep apnea. It has nearly destroyed my enjoyment.

I would never skimp on sleeping gear, rain gear. I dont camp because I am a hiker. I hike to get to the area i want to camp at. The Paka is a sweet pack cover. It goes over your shoulders and includes a hood.

Good information but to much talking, more showing and breaking it down

Buy right doesn't mean buy expensive. So yes buy right even if is cheap so you can have a better experience.

Always amazed by the fact of how stupid Americans really are.
Like 95% is common sense.

Isn’t it a good idea to have banging outside your pack to let bears know you’re coming?

Thinking that lighter always means more expensive and going to places like REI to buy everything

I like the idea of base camping but what precautions need to be taken so you don't come back to stolen items or animals having their way with your site?