I am by no means an expert on gear. I'm not even sure I rise to the knowledgeable level. Let's just say that I have some gear that works for me and here I will share my experiences. For expert advise, there are numerous books on the subject that are available at most good bookstores. Some outfitters have good sales people who may know what they are talking about. In my opinion you are more likely to find knowledgeable sales people in the small family owned stores than at the large mega sporting or outdoors stores.

Packs:

Even if you are just going on a short walk in the park you need something to hold your stuff; your bottle of water, a snack, car keys, inhaler. You don't want to be a mile from your car when that asthma attack hits you. If it looks like it might rain, you may want to take along some rain gear. All though a mile or two walk back to the car in the rain can be a pleasant experience. On longer day hikes you will definitely want to take along plenty of water, food, sun screen, bug repellant, rain gear, first aid kit, camera and gps. If you have to have your tunes, then throw in an MP3 player. Depending on how well marked the trail is and how familiar you are with the trail, a map and compass may be a nice thing to have along. For a complete list of things to take, consult one of those books I told you about. For overnight or multi-day hikes, you are going to want all the stuff mentioned above plus about a ton of other stuff. So here are some ideas on what to put your stuff in.

Belt Pack:

For those short hikes when water and a few other items are all you need, a belt pack is ideal. They usually have two or three compartments to keep dry, wet and valuable things separate. I generally don't like to put my water bottle in the same compartment with my camera. Better yet, give me a pack that allows you store your water on the outside. These usually have bottle shaped holders made of net that the water bottle is held in. These packs come with provision for one or two bottles. Not all bottle holders are created equal, so make sure that the holders are large enough to hold your water bottle of choice. Some even come equipped with a water bottle.

Day Pack:

Day packs come in a range of sizes and with an assortment of features. Basically a day pack should be large enough to hold water, food, rain gear, and emergency and personal items you may need while on your hike. If there is the potential for getting wet, then a change of clothes may be needed. A change of shirt and socks is always a good idea. A good hiking book will provide you a list of "essential" items you may want to pack. Your day pack should be large enough to accommodate the stuff you need, but not so large that you are carrying a half full pack. That just adds weight and no one needs that. Day packs can range in size and price from the $12 book bag at the X-Mart to a multi-compartment, gadget laden designer pack that costs over $100 or even more. The "right" day pack is probably somewhere in between.

Larger Packs:

For overnight or multi-day hikes a larger back pack will be required. There are many styles and sizes in a range of prices, so you really want to do your research. The first thing to do is determine what you will need to take with you. If you don't know, get that book I keep tell you about. It will give you some good hints on what to take based on length of hike, terrain type and weather conditions, over night accommodations and other variables. A good outfitter is also a good place to get ideas, but do your homework before you go there. The first question they will ask is "what are you taking with you on your hike?" And remember, light is good. Heavy is bad.

Shoes:

Coming soon.

Trekking Poles:

Coming soon.

Other Gear:

No list is complete without the "other" category. So here we will talk about some optional gear you may want to take on your hike. However, since this page is about hiking and not camping, I will only be writing about hiking gear. You will need to seek out another source if camping gear is what you are interested in.