We’ve just got back from another long-distance, multi-day trek, on this occasion walking Hadrian’s Wall in eight days. We do it the comfortable way, with a baggage transfer company taking our main bags between B&Bs, but we still need to carry our day-to-day essentials with us. I know you’re always interested in what gear we use when we’re out walking, so today’s blog is all about the hardware we use on a multi-day walk like this: the boots, poles, packs and what’s inside them.

Let’s start with the boots.

I need to start with a mention here that I did make a big mistake in the footwear I took along for our Hadrian’s Wall Trek. I have talked about not using mountain running shoes for the hills, but I reckoned that I might be able to get away with a pair of La Sportiva Ultra Raptor 3 Mid as this walk was about 50/50 on tarmac roads and pavement and the other half on tracks. On day one from Wallsend back into Newcastle, which was 7.3 miles on pavement, I was ok but not feeling the love and I thought that my feet might suffer a bit before I reached Bowness on Solway 92.7 miles away (as measured on my watch). Luckily, I passed LD Mountain Centre coming back into Newcastle and, the following day, was able to sort out a different pair of boots. With my skinny feet, C/D width fitting and with a medium minus volume there are not too many options for me, but they had a pair of Zamberlan Salathe Trek GTX RR, 2 pairs left and one of them a pair in my size. These fit me well and they were in the sale, result! They are based on the Salathe Approach shoe and have a solid and snug fit over the fore and mid foot. This holds my foot down well and stop it slipping around inside the boot. They are high enough to give ankle support and enough tortional stiffness to support the fore foot and take the hit from small rocks and stones under the boot. They were a very lucky find and I will have a closer look at Zamberlan in the future. The La Sportiva boots will not go to waste and are perfect for shorter walks locally and will be ideal for dodging about in snowy ski resorts in the winter. LD Mountain Centre also do mail order, so I was able to ask them to send the old boots back to me too and save me carrying them for 8 days!

What about walking poles?

We’ve got a few different pairs of walking poles, but on multi-day hikes it is useful to have something that is lightweight and folds up easily, particularly for flat sections where you may not even want to use them. Our choice of walking poles for multi-day treks such as Hadrian’s Wall are the Black Diamond Distance Carbon FLZ Trekking/Running Poles. They are a well-balanced pole with a nice light swing weight. They fold up really small and fit in the wand pocket on the outside of our packs (or, can easily go in the main luggage bags if you really don’t think you’ll need them one day). Often when checking into a B & B on our walks we have been asked to put our poles in the cloakroom, which is always a bit of a risk because many poles look the same and can easily be picked up by someone else by mistake, but with these attached to our packs they can easily just stay there and be taken up to the room. There’s nothing worse than trying to track down something that has gone missing from a B&B half-way through your walk.

Choosing the right pack

When it comes to choosing a pack, it can open up a whole world of options. The key is just like the rest of your kit, choose one that fits you well. You will be spending a long time together so choose wisely. It’s important to think about the fit of the pack on you – everybody’s different and what is comfortable for someone else might not be comfortable for you. If you are replacing a pack, take your old pack with you to your favourite outdoor store, filled with what you want to take on the trail. A good retailer will then be able to help you find a pack that fits you and the amount of gear you want to carry too.

A pack should sit comfortably on your hips, which is your first point of contact whilst trying a pack on. Check out the fit of the shoulder straps next. Put some weight in the pack to simulate a loaded pack, see how it sits on your body, wander round the store wearing it. You are going to spend a lot of time together as I say, so make sure you choose the best fitting pack. Again, a good retailer will be your friend here.

There is no perfect size as you need a pack to fit you, not the reviewer in your favourite outdoor magazine, no matter how well a pack is reviewed. Many manufacturers make two sizes of back lengths, I have not found one that fit us yet but they may fit you so try out different back sizes. Often a decision on size and fit is down to your previous choices. I wore Berghaus packs for years when I worked there and now almost always choose a similar sized back length. I had the Berghaus Rockstar 30 for summer and the Ice Star 40 for winter adventures. Both were really great sacs.

We currently use a selection of packs made by Deuter. They fit us both well and we have a 15 litre, 28SL, a 30 litre, a 32SL and a 34 litre. The SL in the Deuter Range signifies a lady’s pack, according to the manufacturer, though if it fits go with it regardless of gender.

The 15 litre is for local walks where we might need to take a waterproof along in case it rains. We take these for anything up to about 12 miles. For long distance walking we have the Speed Lite Pro 28 SL and the Speed Lite Pro 30 litre. These have all the bells and whistles that we want for hiking. Wand packets for our poles, an inner sleeve for a large water bladder, lightweight and just the right size for all our gear. One feature of this rucksack is the “Air Mesh” back which is Deuter’s take on a suitable back for hot conditions. The whole sack is built round the concept of a running vest with pockets for everything and as such helps ventilate a hot and sweaty back. It holds the rucksack close to you to bring the weight down through your hips and keep the load stable. Some companies use a back system which holds the weight off your back allowing the wind to keep it cool. I think this is a better solution as it keeps the stability of the sack as its main consideration.

For long distance walking if you go for a smaller pack than around the 30-litre size, you will struggle to fit it all in. You may be able to very neatly snug your spare gear, lunch and water bottle all together inside but if the rain comes on and you need to rummage around to find a fleece or waterproof then you do need a bit of space to move things around without having to pull everything out to retrieve that jacket from the very bottom of the pack. We find its better to have a slightly bigger pack that is not filled to bursting point and has room to rummage around in, rather than one that is a bit smaller which is full to the brim – if you want to remove a layer of clothing there is nowhere for it to go with that solution. Also do buy a drybag to keep everything dry inside and make sure you buy one big enough for your new pack. You can buy a waterproof cover for your pack, but these can blow away in a strong wind leaving your kit exposed to the elements so, if you have a external cover, make sure you buy one that fits nice and snug. Even so, we have found that the rain always gets in somewhere, so an internal dry back is definitely going to keep your kit drier.

For hillwalking we go for a slightly larger pack to allow for both a bit more warm kit and for an ice axe and crampons in the winter. Here we have the Deuter Guide 32+6 SL and the Guide 34+6.

What else is inside? Well, an Osprey 2.5 litre water bladder to keep us hydrated, which on long walks allows you to keep drinking easily throughout the day, rather than a bottle that is inside the pack. For hot drinks, we have Camelbak insulated flasks for a hot tea or coffee. Camelbak seem to have discontinued these, a real shame as these flasks have a proper mug sized cup to drink from. It’s a good job we have a couple of spares! Regardless of type of walk, we always like to have a hot drink with us. At the bottom of my pack is a drybag with an old Patagonia synthetic puffy jacket, I store it in a small drybag to keep it compressed, neat and tidy – it’s always there just as a spare layer. I also have any kit I’ve taken off as I warm up.

Our recent trek along Hadrian’s Wall was just at the end of the heatwave in England, and we had a forecast of absolutely no rain every day. It left me with a small dilemma as I’d spent all my days wandering the Scottish Hills where you do need to be self-sufficient with spare warm kit, plus an extra pair of gloves or hat and definitely some protection from the elements. I would normally have waterproof trousers, waterproof jacket and a spare fleece, a couple of pairs of gloves and a warm beanie or two along with a baseball cap to keep the sun off. Here, there was no need to carry a waterproof jacket, waterproof trousers, or a fleece which left me a bit uncomfortable (mentally at least) for a day or two, until I got used to the idea. I took along my Mountain Equipment Aerotherm Men’s Vest and Aerotherm Men’s Hooded Jacket. These are lightweight and ideal for keeping the wind off with just a tad of insulation. I think they would be ideal for an evening jacket for your beach holiday too so double trouble at the outdoor shop!

So, I hope that’s been some help in sorting out what to have with you on a multi-day trek.

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