today i want to share some of my all-time favorite pieces of hiking gear and clothing
and just the things that i love on the trail a lot of these things i've had and been using for years
some of them are a bit newer to me but they really are just my all-time favorites first up we have
my current day hiking backpack and i love this backpack it is the gregory jade 38 and i got this
because i wanted a day hiking backpack that was a little bit bigger than what i was using previously
and this one has more than enough space for day hiking and it is so dang comfortable so it has
this nice mesh in the back that really keeps your back cool and then the thing that i love the most
is just these really thick wide hip belts with big pockets and i have pretty significant scoliosis
in my back which is just a curvature of the spine and if i don't have these really supportive hip
straps my back just really hurts so that's kind of a key factor for me when i'm looking at a backpack
but it just has pockets everywhere that i want pockets really nice area for the water and then
this top pouch easily accessible and then this bottom part there's like a mesh here which is
great but then this also opens so if you wanted to access stuff quickly that's in the bottom of your
backpack you could do that without having to come in through the top and take everything out i just
like the easy access in this backpack i think it looks great it's super comfortable and it has more
than enough space for day hiking especially since i carry a lot of camera gear and when i'm hiking
in the colder seasons i have even more layers in here and so just having that extra space has been
really really nice next we have my bedrock sandals i get so many questions about these in videos and
also in person when i'm out actually like hiking and doing stuff people stop and are like wait
what are those sandals so here we are yes okay this is what feet should look like in the summer
but these are the best and only sandals that i use in the summer and yes i do hike in these
which i know can be quite controversial but they are so comfortable and they have really good
sole which can be resold which i actually probably should do that this winter you can send them in
and they'll put a new bottom on for you forget about the tevas and the chocos these are the
only sandals i think are worth getting incredibly comfortable and minimal which i really really love
i don't like clunky thick sold shoes so these are great i can go from the trail right into the
water with these and nick has a pair he also loves them you could tell i have a tan line
because i wear them all the time so these are really adjustable as well so you have over here
and over here and then in the back so you can really get them fitting exactly as you want and
like i said they're just so comfortable so this is nyx he actually got his resold and you could see
they put a little patch on there so he he got this bottom part replaced and i just love being able to
to get this stuff replaced and instead of having to buy a whole new shoe so it's pretty cool
once you go with the bed rocks you're not gonna go back next we have a garmin instinct
watch now this is relatively new for me nick has had the instinct watch for years now and i
have wanted it for so long but they didn't start making a women's version until this year and the
women's version is basically exactly the same but a smaller watch face which i really need because
my wrists are very small so right when this thing dropped i pretty much bought it and i love it
it's just rugged enough it is great for outdoor activities i'm not worried about it getting strap
scratched or broken or anything like that but it still looks i think nice just for everyday
watch wearing it is so customizable so you can customize all the buttons the watch face and all
the data that you want on here but i love it for hiking because i can see my heart rate i can see
the elevation i can see the sunset and the sun rise it's great even just for camping
knowing that information the time i can track my route and just see how
like see my pace for example when i'm hiking which is again a good thing to know so it's such a great
watch and they make it in all sorts of colors you can get a solar version of it if you get the solar
version it can kind of charge while you're outside i did not get that because it was quite a bit more
expensive but yeah the garmin instinct watch is fantastic speaking of garmin the next thing on my
list is the garmin inreach mini and this is just a satellite communicator so it's really nice to
have that peace of mind knowing that if there is an emergency with me or someone i'm hiking with
that i can communicate in an emergency and get some help to me so it really is just nice to have
that peace of mind there are gps units that they make that have this inreach technology built into
it so you can kind of get two and one if you want but this does come with a subscription service
so just kind of be aware of that and this is not the only satellite communicator option so i would
definitely look at options and subscription plans and see what features that you really
want when it comes to communicating i use the very basic minimal plan and i just like this brand so
that's why i went with it in reach i also use this if i'm camping let's say by myself which
i don't really do that much anymore but in the fall i did go camping by myself and i was able to
get to my campsite where i didn't have cell service and i could send nick a message through
this communicator and i told him hey this is where i'm going to be for the night so he knew
that i was okay and he also had a gps location of exactly where i was camping so it's a really handy
device just to have for a lot of different outdoor activities not just hiking so next i want to talk
on clothing just very briefly i have the shirt the pants that i'm wearing so first off the shirt
this shirt and this shirt i love i've talked a lot about this yellow one they are upf50 so they have
sun protection which is huge and they also keep you pretty cool or at least they're not hot when
you're wearing them this one is patagonia and this is one i found on amazon for a lot
cheaper i will link to both of them below the material is slightly different but i love them
both and these are great for just hot sunny days on the trail when you have had enough sun and
you just want to keep yourself protected without taking on a ton of sunscreen which i don't like to
really use anymore i'd rather cover myself up they also have these hoods which if i'm wearing a hat
which i normally am this hood stays on really well again protecting my ears and my neck and it's just
they're the best shirts ever you also could get them wet and then they will keep you really cool
on hot days so i wore this one in the grand canyon and i got this wet and it just helped cool me down
when the temperature was over 100 degrees it just saved me and then i also want to mention these
pants that i'm wearing these are from athleta and they are the greatest pants i have ever found
for hiking i have them in the green and the black they have three pockets on each leg zipper pockets
it's nice and high waisted they don't fall down i think they're so flattering so comfortable they're
made of this nice material that's like not going gonna rip easily so they're not just some legging
they actually have a little bit of roughness to them that is great for hiking so these are amazing
i think they might be out of stock right now but i think they're something that they they bring
back maybe in the colder months or in the fall so check on that and i will link to everything
that i can in the description below so these are just some of my favorite clothing items but
if you want me to do a deep dive into some of my favorite hiking clothes make sure to comment below
next up we have the trusty old trekking poles now i won't go too deep into these here because i have
a whole separate video on why you need to get yourself some trekking poles and i will link to
that here if you want to watch that but trekking poles make your hikes so much easier there's so
much less impact on your knees and your hips and so when i'm going on a longer hike where there's
pretty significant uphill and downhill i love to have the trekking poles and there are a bunch
of other uses as well that i go deep into in that video but these are by cascade mountain tech i'll
link to them below they're not that expensive i've had these for years we have three pairs actually
and they are great next up is a fixed blade knife this is by benchmade nick got this for me for i
think christmas one year i love it it's such a great size it's got this beautiful wood handle
and a fixed blade knife is just going to be so much stronger than a knife in a leatherman for
example so i do have a leatherman but if i really needed a knife you really want a fixed blade knife
that has the steel that runs all the way through the handle and this one is just so beautiful it
feels just so nice in the hand and i just love it next up are relight electrolyte packets
i have the bigger container that i actually drink these every single day even when i'm at
home i take the bigger container camping and then i have these little packets that i take when i'm
hiking electrolytes are so important they are a big factor in helping you stay hydrated when
you're actually out on the trail these taste great and they are super salty which i love
they're made with redmond real salt which comes from utah it's the only salt i use these come
in all different flavors and they are just a must for me when i am out hiking next on my list is a
sam splint which might surprise you if you're not familiar with this there are a lot of uses for it
which is one of the reasons that it's on my list essentially it can be used to create a splint in
the backcountry when you're out hiking if someone rolls an ankle or breaks a bone or something
it comes out like this it's made of aluminum and then this kind of cushy padding but you can bend
it in all sorts of ways and mold it to whatever you're trying to splint so it's really handy to
have for that and it really weighs like nothing it takes up hardly any space in your pack so it's
a great thing to have in there now this also can be used for potentially some survival situations
you could take off this foam part and use the aluminum as a signaling mirror or you could maybe
make yourself a little bowl with the aluminum if you needed to hold some water or something
so you can get really creative with this one thing and i think it's just a cool thing to
have i've actually even used this as like a a seat cushion before so i'd love to have this in my pack
for just those injuries out on the trail i like to be as prepared as i can when it comes to first aid
and this is just one of those simple things to carry that has a ton of uses last but not least
we have the trusty sawyer squeeze so i put my dirty water in here screw this on top and then
push it out and then i have drinking water there's also different ways that you can yeah i put this
on top and then i can put this right into my water bladder i have been using the sawyer squeeze for
years and i really love this nick also carries one on a day hike yeah you probably can carry
all the water you're gonna need but what if you need more what if you stay out longer than
you think what if it's hotter than you think you're sweating more and you're drinking more
having a way to get drinking water when you're on the trail for me is super important so i'm always
carrying this you know one of the downsides i guess to this uh is that you never want to let
this freeze i will say that so that's an important consideration when you're storing and when you're
carrying this thing in different seasons but in general it's just been the best way i've
found to filter my water it's small lightweight reliable and i just love it alright so there you
go these are my current favorites i want to know what you are loving when it comes to hiking gear
and clothing let me know in the comments below and make sure to hit that like button if you
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