Camping Gear – Testing your gear and clothing before hiking camping

Hiking can be physically demanding especially with the extra camping gear that you need to carry around with you. Wearing hiking clothing and boots and carrying a backpack while hiking on uneven ground and climbing and descending long inclines can wear a man down if he’s not ready.

Not only do you need to get your body in shape, you also need to try out your camping gear. Taking short practice runs close to home is a good idea. Make sure your hiking boots, backpack and clothing are comfortable.

Familiarize yourself with new pieces of equipment and make sure you know how to use them. Also check that everything you will fits into your backpack.

This is probably the most important way to prepare for a hiking camping trip. You will be carrying a heavily loaded backpack and that puts extra stresses on your foot. Your feet are of the upmost importance when you’re out hiking. If you don’t take care of your feet you will have trouble reaching your destination.

For that matter you feet and hiking boots should be able to co-exist in comfort and harmony so you need to break in your boots before you go hiking you are likely to suffer from painful blisters.

The safest way to break-in your hiking boots is by wearing them on short hikes so that it becomes softer and at the same you toughen your feet a little bit. Make sure your wear them around the house first to check the fit before you break them in.

Force your feet to bend in different directions by walking on uneven ground. Wear thick socks to add cushioning and avoid blisters. Wicking socks helps to remove sweat which could contribute to blisters.

Fully load your backpack with all the camping gear that you’re going to need. Try to properly pack your gear into backpack. Pack the heavy camping equipment or camping supplies like food, utensils and camping stove not including your camping tent close to your back for better weight distribution.

Take some day hikes with your fully loaded, properly packed backpack and make sure it fits comfortably and it doesn’t rub. See if it hurts after a short hike. Try all the straps and find out which ones helps to shift the load more effectively.

The goal is to discover the problems associated with your backpack before you go for a long hiking camping trip. Hiking with a fully loaded backpack also puts a lot more stress on your feet than it’s used to so it may also reveal problems that you might have with the fit of your hiking boots.

Do the test run with the complete camping gear on uneven ground so that you’re also really testing your hiking boots while strengthening your ankles.

While you’re taking your hiking boots and backpack with all your camping equipment it’s a good idea to test you hiking camping clothing as well.

You’ll notice if your hiking clothes rub against your skin or if your pants ride up and cause your thighs to chafe.

You’ll also notice if your clothes are too hot or not warming enough for as you test in on similar conditions to where you’re planning to hike.

Testing your hiking camping equipment early on prevents you from only finding out in the middle of the hiking camping trip that the equipment is faulty.

Some hiking camping equipment may require a little of time to learn how to use. For example camping equipment such as GPS, camping stove, camping tents and water filters are usually not as straightforward to use as you might want it to be.

Test all your camping equipment especially gadgets make sure everything is in working order. Practice using the camping equipment so that you can use them even in conditions that may not be optimal.

Just to be sure, pack the manual for the camping equipment just in case.

Once you’ve tested your camping gear and camping equipment you’re almost ready for the adventure of your life. The next thing to do is to get your body in shape.