Hey there, I just have gotten into backpacking and would love ANY advice. I have been camping many times and have studied wilderness survival since i was just a lad. I am 18 now getting ready to leave for the Army in about six months. I am in good shape athletic, not like marathon athletic, but I have the will to push my self to extreme limits mentally and physically.

I want a pack around 20-25lbs for trips anywhere from a weekend to possibly a month. I don't have resources to spend like $200 on a pack or tent. I plan on going to spruce knob ,WV or shenandoah valley. Most of my trips i plan to do by myself during spring, summer, or fall (I'm Egyptian I don't do snow haha).

Also what type of clothes should i wear, obviously not cotton.

A list of what i should get would be awesome.

how do you guys think military MRE's would work...?

Thanks

HI Lias

You'll get lots of good advice here...and the best advice would be to go out and do it. You don't need expensive gear to have fun backpacking!

The most important things are to stay warm, dry, and well fed. After that, everything seems easy.

If you're interested, our website has a ton of suggestions, as well as a lot of easy solutions to the situations you face when you go backpacking.

A few ideas: First, the home page of this website, articles listed in the left hand column. Second, Mark Verber's website, with the link to "Backpacking for Cheap." In addition to this link, his articles on "preferred gear" contain inexpensive options for each category.

For food ideas, try Sarbar's website, with lots of easy ideas for food using mostly supermarket ingredients, which can be rehydrated with hot water poured into a freezer bag kept warm in a cozy. It's a lot lighter than MRE's for which you have to carry the water. You'll get enough of the latter in the military!

It's a good idea to practice using your gear and other backpacking skills (such as regulating your body temperature and testing limits of your gear) close to home at first--in the back yard, car-camping or at least close to the trailhead so you can bail out easily if things go wrong. Especially practice setting up your shelter multiple times before your first trip so you're not trying to do it for the first time on a dark, cold, windy, wet night with flashlight in one hand and instructions in the other!

A short course in first aid (contact the American Red Cross, or do it through the military) would be a good idea, too.

Clothes in general are easy to find and do not need to be expensive. You can generally find good base and insulating layers, along with gloves, hats and socks in your local thrift or surplus store for next to nothing.

The three items that I would spend money on are: pack, tent and boots; although the latter can be an old pair of running/trail shoes (depending on your location/time of year). I do admit, that I am not knowledgeable enough to know what the best combination for under $200 is, for your specific area-- but I am sure more experienced members will be along shortly to give you better information.

Other good places are Craigslist and Ebay for used/affordable gear.

Hi, Lias:

First of all, wilderness survival and recreational backpacking have only tenuous connections (at least here in the Eastern US, where I hike.) Don't expect to go out for a couple of weeks (or even a weekend) and live off the land.

Having said that, why don't you tell us what gear you've already got, and we'll go from there. Start with the big stuff: tent, sleeping bag and pad, stove and pots, and water purification. We can deal with clothing, too, though the specifics aren't as important as the concepts of "no cotton" and layering.

I'm sending you a private message (PM) regarding a couple of equipment items.

I'll say that MRE's are great for overnighters and great for beginners. They will help you focus on everything else you need to learn, and then when you are ready, you can learn more about cooking while backpacking. And, if you strip then down, you can get them a lot lighter.

I agree that MREs are OK. I never carry them, partly because I don't have a ready source, but mostly because I like the freeze-dried selection available at my local backpacking store. (I'm also a little reluctant since my brother-in-law, a retired Army officer, once defined MREs as "Meals, Ready to Eat - three lies for the price of one.")

I went this last weekend with a twenty pound pack, but did not spend under 200 for the gear. (Nor did I spend more than $500, but we all have our preferences and priorities...) I also did not pack MREs which are heavy....

But. If you're starting out and you haven't gone before, it's early to talk of pack weight and budget - borrow some gear and go out. See how it feels.

Going lighter is a compromise - safety and (sleeping) comfort vs. lightweight (hiking comfort), and you will probably start out with some gear and end up with a very different set of gear in a few years. While you're figuring things out and getting experience in your needs and your preferences (different for everyone) don't worry much about weight. Go out with more experienced hikers if you can find groups in your area, and watch how they do things and ask why they take the gear they have. Keep reading the forum, check out the gear lists on this site, and think about the conditions you're heading out in.

I suspect you will have a very different experience in the Army. They don't do lightweight at all....

"They don't do lightweight at all..."

...nor are they particularly concerned about low impact.

(The Air Force had a saying that we never bombed the same target twice, because after we bombed it the first time, the same place didn't exist any more.)

Hello Lias,
There are several threads in this same forum that address this topic. You could also review the Beginners forum for similar threads.

Lots of good reading, you just have to sit down and peruse the material.

Sometimes I take MREs. They are easy cheesy, but heavy. The trade-off is that you don't need a stove for a warm meal, and most of the food is pretty good, provided you aren't eating them 3 times a day for 3 months.

From Wikipedia:


I feel the same way about most commercial freeze-dried backpacking meals, which is why I cook and dry my own. Cheaper, too, although more work.

If you're only out for a weekend (one or two nights), fresh food is just fine, as long as it will keep (freeze the meat for the first night and use one of those foil packs of chicken or tuna the second). Or MRE's or the commercial equivalent of the same. I wouldn't want these for longer trips, though--just too heavy. As mentioned earlier, check out Sarbar's web site for ideas using supermarket ingredients.

In my opinion MRE's are not that bad unless you are eating them all the time. Then they all taste the same.

You will love the 10k and 15k road march with full battle rattle.

Watch out for the omlet MRE that one is the only one i really try to avoid. If you are hungry enough it will taste good.

MRE good: No prep
MRE bad : To much weight.

If you don't mind eating them cold, they're awesome (MRE's). I hate, hate, hate, hate, hate cooking.

I break down the meals, toss the crap I don't need, and throw the meals into my pack. Its quick, easy, you don't need any re-hydrating water, and the empty bag it was in is flat, and easily compacted down in a trash bag.

That said, every once in a while, the metalic taste of the packaging will be so stomach turning that I just can't eat em after a few days.

But, to each his own. Try em, try other stuff, see what you like.

They're a great option for folks like me who hate to cook so much that even boiling water is a chore.

Just last week I was out for five days. Using a base camp for most of the excursion, it was a good opportunity to finally use up some aging MREs that had been lying around for too long.

They were pretty darn easy to heat up and they were surprisingly good. Definitely on the heavy side. I can get lighter meals right out of my local supermarket.

The spirited renditions of the MRE acronym are just a feature of military culture. Bitching about the chow is every GI's eleventh general order. My dad did it. I did it. My son did it. But the quality is really pretty darn decent.

You will eat substantially the same thing if you ever find yourself working on a fire line.

I will use an MRE for dinner on an overnighter just for the convenience. I don't have to plan, prepare, or cook. To each his own.

Must clothing made for running is polyester, which wicks away moisture. Running clothing can be found at the local megastores and thrift stores. Nylon pants would be more durable, since pants are subjected to more wear. Wool and fleece are great for cooler temps.

Don't let lack of gear keep you from getting out. Read about Grandma Gatewood and watch Ray Mears on youtube for inspiration.