11 Essential Items For Any Backpacking Checklist

The thought of backpacking can be a little scary. Stepping out on a 100-mile trail or taking an overseas flight to a far-off land, with nothing but a rucksack on your back and dreams in your head, might not be for everybody.

It takes a little bit of nerve and determination to commit to such an idea. I was a little bit intimidated my self when I thought of doing my first solo trek across Iceland back in 2016. I didn’t know what to expect, or more importantly what to bring.

All I knew was that I wanted to do it and I needed to grab up some important pieces of gear. First was a backpack, I knew that. Then clothing, ok check, grab some clothing.

Uh oh, what type of clothing? Should I get rain gear? How many pairs of socks? Which types of socks? Hmmm, now it’s not as easy as I thought it was going to be. Maybe I should look into this a bit more.

Backpacking is an exhilarating and wonderful experience! I love it, but it requires careful preparation. Having the right gear and essentials can make all the difference between “This is the greatest thing ever!” and “I never want to even look at a backpack ever again”.

That’s where this blog post is going to come in pretty handy for you. In this article, I’ll go over the ideal backpacking checklist and give a few suggestions on what to get and where to get it.

So follow along as I cover the essential items you’ll need to bring with you as you set out into the great unknown. I wish you the best of luck and hope you experience some of the greatest things this beautiful planet has to offer!

1. Backpack

I’ll start with the most obvious item you’ll need for your backpacking checklist and that’s of course a nice and rugged backpack! One that won’t let you down in the middle of an arduous trail. Getting this right is priority number 1.

Size is key. Too big and you’ll be lugging around extra weight that’ll enrage your lower back on about day 3. Too small and you’ll be forced to choose between bringing an extra jacket or extra food. Not an optimal scenario.

How to Choose:

It’s all about the distances between your replenishing stations and your provisions for this one. If you plan to backpack across Europe and will be frequently within a stone’s th