Hiking essentials list: 19 things to pack on every multi-day hike

Hiking kit lists vary depending on where you're walking, the time of year and the kind of terrain you expect to encounter. Regardless, there are a few hiking essentials that should make it into your pack wherever and whenever you plan to walk.

Our list of reviewed hiking kit essentials is designed for walkers who plan to camp on the trail, so includes camping and cooking gear, as well as walking boots, poles and other hiking accessories.

For more hiking kit ideas and options for your multi-day treks, take a look at our review guides on the best walking trousers, best walking shoes, best walking boots, best lightweight jackets and eco-friendly kit.

We've also rounded up our favourite Gore-Tex jackets, which are both waterproof and breathable.

From walking boots to the tastiest rehydrated meals, here is our expert guide to the best kit for multi-day hikes.

Hiking essentials

Zamberlan 320 Trail Lite Evo GTX Hiking Boots

Buy now from Sportsshoes (£199.99 £159.99)

These appealingly retro-styled boots are made from a single piece of leather – a bonus in leather boots as minimising stitches helps keep water out – and treated with Zamberlan’s own Hydrobloc water repellent. The Gore-Tex Extended Comfort lining is also waterproof, and designed to allow your feet to breathe in warm weather. Cushioning beneath the uppers is minimal – useful in warm weather, but less suited to freezing winter walks.

When lacing up, a ‘locking’ side hook helps you find a close fit; normal to narrow feet are likely to fit best. The outsole has triangular lugs designed to perform in muddy conditions.

Ankle support is more modest than a mountaineering boot, but on summer hikes that helps you stay cool. Nevertheless if you plan to carry heavy weights over rough ground, you may want to consider something with a higher and more supportive ankle.

Head to our guide to the best walking boots and find a perfect fit.

Helly Hansen Loke pants

Super-lightweight waterproof overtrousers, which pack down small and are great for stuffing into a rucksack. They provide good wind as well as water resistance and long side zips enable you to pull them on and off without removing your boots. They come a little small so be prepared to go up a size.

See our full roundup of the best waterproof trousers for more options.

Liner Coolmax Base Layer Boot socks

Sock liners are a great item for your multi-day hike pack, as they can help prevent blisters. Made of synthetic fabric that feels pleasantly cool, wear these Bridgedale sock liners under your walking socks for a dry and comfortable hike.

Jeep Cushioned Boot Sock

Your choice of socks is one of the most crucial kit decisions for a long-distance walk. For a multi-day hike, look out for heavily cushioned socks like these, to protect pressure points, and soften the impact of tens of thousands of daily steps.

Check out our roundup of the best walking socks.

Icebreaker Anatomica Boxers

There's no delicate way of saying this: after a full day's walking, you may find that you feel tender in places you hadn't expected to.

Again, soft fabric that wicks moisture away from your skin is ideal. Merino wool underwear like this does just that, and stays remarkably fresh for day two on the trail.

Even so, you might want to apply some petroleum jelly before you set off, to protect your skin from the effects of chafing. There: I said it.

In case you were wondering, while they are made of wool, I found that these boxers don't feel especially hot even in warm weather: the fabric is thin and breathable. It also retains its shape well.

Julbo Shield Polarized Sunglasses

Protect your eyes from the sun’s glare whilst tackling an incline with Julbo's Shield polarized sunglasses.

We found these hiking sunglasses to be lightweight yet both tough and grippy, and there's an optional adjustable cord to avoid the dreaded wobble. We were also pleased with the comfortable fit.

Browse our full roundup of the best hiking sunglasses for more options.

Buff CoolNet UV mulifunction headwear

Versatile, lightweight and breathable, the tubular scarf can be used around the neck or head in a range of combinations. The fabric protects skin from harmful UV rays, and feels cool in the sunshine. Perfect for climbers facing the rock, cyclists worn with a helmet, and sun-basking walkers. Available in dozens of colours and patterns; this one is ‘Harq Stone Blue’. JB

Komperdell Wild Rambler hiking poles

These light (260g per pole) and easy-to-use aluminium poles cost a fraction of the price of many others on the market. Twist to adjust – a simple turn of the wrist locks each joint. They retract to a conveniently short 64cm, tucking neatly tucked away when stowed on your harness. It's a shame the handles are not grippier: they are small, hard and a little too slippery for my taste.

For more walking poles check out our list of the best walking poles.

GP PowerbankMobile Charger MP05MA 5000mAh

A working mobile phone can be crucial on a multiday hike. This lithium polymer battery contains enough juice to charge an iPhone X twice (5000 mAh). It’s about the size of a smart phone, and weighs a modest 147g. (On longer trips, keep it topped up using a solar panel attached to your backpack.) You can also use it to top up a rechargeable torch or other device. The colour-conscious have a choice of four hues.

You can find more charging options in our roundup of the best power banks for camping.

Katadyn BeFree bottle/filter

The Befree from Katadyn revolutionised my trekking experience. The filter cleans water quickly – and not having to carry so much water is a real blessing. Note that the filter removes biological impurities, but not chemical ones, so it's only safe to use in wilder places upstream of agricultural or industrial areas. Nevertheless, with a little common sense, this is a useful addition to your pack. Available in 600ml, 1L and 3L versions. JB.

Joe adds: The BeFree has won a bunch of stuff – Product of the Year at the UK Outdoor Industry Awards in 2018, as well as an ISPO Gold Award - the outdoor industry's Oscar for new products.

Read our list of the best hiking water bottles.

Solo Stove Lite and Pot Set

Used with caution, stoves like this are a safe way to cook your supper... and there's nothing like a morale-boosting fire beneath the stars.

Solo Stoves are designed to burn twigs efficiently. A handful of dry twigs or other organic matter produces a surprisingly hot flame. The twigs burn fast, so you'll need to keep feeding the fire.

The Solo Stove Lite weighs 255g; the pot set (above) 660g, but to offset this, you will be saving a little weight by not having to carry fuel.

Both stove and pots – with pan/lid and gripper – are stainless steel, slightly heavier than aluminium, but it keeps your food hotter for longer, and there's no danger of corrosion.

Designed to fit all Solo Stoves, they pots are wobble-free even on my tiny Solo Stove Lite. They’re a compact set, though it’s a shame that the stove doesn’t pack inside the pots – you’d need a single Solo Stove Pot 900 for that. JB/JP

• Joe adds: Alternatively, go for a gas-burning 'stove sytem'. These are compact, include a pot, burner and other features in one neat bundle, and weigh between 400g and 500g (plus gas). They are good for boiling water or heating other liquids, so best suited to basic meals such as noodles or dried trail meals. Leading makers include Jetboil (see our review of Jetboil's Java Flash stove), MSR and Primus, whose prices range from around £110 to £150.

We've tried and tested stoves from several leading brands; see our full round-up of camping stove reviews to compare different models.

Firepot Dehydrated meals

Food may end up being one of the heaviest things in your pack. Dehydrated meals are an excellent way to save weight – and so easy: just add hot water. That may be all you feel like doing at the end of an exhausting day.

The snag is that while in most cases you may not expect much from a flavour point of view, you may still be disappointed. Most dried trail meals are at best a mediocre eating experience, at worst pretty disgusting, even with an appetite sharpened by hours of fresh air and exercise.

But not all. Firepot meals are a glorious exception and by far the most appetising we have tried – in fact they are startlingly good to eat. Meals include spicy pork noodles and porcini mushroom risotto (one of several tasty vegan options); they do breakfasts too.

If the price puts you off, there are plenty of cheaper low-weight alternatives to deliver those carbs you need to keep going.

We've reviewed lots of camping meals from leading brands; see our guide to the best camping food if you're interested in trying other packs.

Deuter Aircontact Lite 50+10

This fine-looking pack for women is neat, functional and comfortable, and with a volume of 60L, big enough for all you need on a summer backpacking trip.

Fit is very important in a pack. The belt harness should sit just above your hips, where it can take weight off your shoulders, while the pack should sit snugly over your back and shoulders. The Aircontact Lite comes in one size, but is easily adjustable, and finding the right fit seems fairly easy.

The well-cushioned harness has breathable padding, designed to keep your back cooler on a hot day. The belt is also padded and easy to tighten over your hips.

This comfort has a price in terms of weight: the pack clocks in at 1.75kg, not unusual for a substantial and well-featured pack like this, but a significant base weight to bear in mind.

The main storage area is divided into two, with a bottom compartment suitable for lightweight gear such as a sleeping bag. The zipped main compartment is easy to get into. Stretchy pockets at the sides and front are good places to stash wet waterproofs or water bottles.

For more reviews of walking backpacks head across to our guide to the best backpacks for walkers and hikers.

Gregory Octal 55 women’s lightweight pack

This superbly lightweight pack (from 1050g) is also extremely comfortable with a 12kg payload.

Miraculously, it includes most of the features of heavier packs, while weighing half as much as many others on the market. It retains an aluminium frame, a comfortable, ventilated panel to cool your back, a rain cover, stretchy external pockets for rainproof gear and water bottles, more pockets on the belt, and loops for stowing hiking poles.

Something has to give though and in shaving off grams the designers have inevitably made compromises: the main pocket can only be accessed from the top, so pack carefully.

The pack comes in three sizes to fit your stature (note that the pack volume varies from 52L to 58L according to size).

Jack Wolfskin Exolight 1

This excellent solo tent for backpackers is pleasantly light at 1.43kg, and highly wind resistant thanks to a rigid external pole structure. Extremely easy to pitch, the headroom is good inside at one metre. Although the inner tent is narrow at 60cm, there is room either side for storage, including a 70cm porch large enough for a big backpack. The inner tent is well ventilated for summer camping, its sides being mostly mesh.

Weight: 1.43kg
Pitch: inner tent first
Pole: Aluminium
Fly sheet: siliconised nylon 20D
Groundsheet: hydrofilm siliconised nylon 40D
Pack size: 43cm x 12/10cm

Travelling in a pair? See our guide to the best two person tents.

Terra Nova Competition Tarp 2

There are two reasons to take a tarp; either for some shelter outside your tent - somewhere to cook and east in the rain, for example – or to replace your tent altogether. They are far lighter and cheaper than tents. This quick-drying tarp packs down easily into a small pouch.

Although light at 290g, it is also strong and robust, and provides shade and protection from rain and frost. The eight reinforced rings allow it to be used to make a range of shelter designs (we tried six) in combination with cord and pegs (not provided) and / or walking poles. It also made a good groundsheet. JB.

Mountain Equipment Helium 400 sleeping bag

If you want one bag that will see you through nippy spring or autumn nights as well as cool summer ones, a three-season bag like this is ideal. This is pleasantly light at 855g for a voluminous bag with 385g of filling, of which 90% per cent is duck down – super-warm, super-light. It’s meant to keep you comfortable down to temperatures of -3C, although in practice 5-10C may be a more realistic limit for most mortals.

There are some thoughtful touches like the internal pocket and extra insulation at the box to keep your toes from freezing. And the feel is luxurious, with soft lining and enveloping hood. The waterproof stuff sack packs down to just 24cm x 20cm. JP

Read our roundup of the best sleeping bags for more expert reviews and advice.

Sierra Designs Night Cap 20

Sierra Designs' Night Cap 20 earned an impressive 4.8/5 score when we reviewed it, thanks in part to its roomy design and versatility. There are no zips, so you can treat the sleeping bag more like a quilt, wrapping it around you for extra warmth and slipping your feet out of the gaps when you're too hot.

For bonus points, both the fabric and fill are made with recycled plastic, so it's a sustainable option too.

Read our full review for more details.

Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XTherm NXT Sleeping Pad

Reviews by Joe Pontin, Julie Brominicks and Fi Darby. Photography by Steve Sayers and Getty Images