Hacks you just learned even after years of backpacking

Resurrecting this old thread with a few hacks I just learned, and one I knew but haven’t used in a while.

New to me – use a small tote bag with handles to put over the head of your air mattress, to keep the pillow from sliding off. I haven’t tried this yet.

Another new one – use two small bungees with cord locks to attach an umbrella to the pack strap, when you don’t have daisy chain. Haven’t tried this yet either, but with an upcoming hiking trip to Ireland, I might need it!

Old one – keep a short bulky hemp or cotton braided rope attached to the front of your pulk; put it underneath it when you have to go down a steep hill, to help slow it down as a brake. Flip it back into the sled when you start back up hill again or on the flats when you ski.

Happy new year 2024!

a bit of silicone applied to bottom of sleeping pad keeps it from sliding around on slick silnylon floor

when taking your pack from TSA as carry on, chopsticks work really well as stake replacements.

If you carry anything outside your pack (i.e. such as a tent) and that item is in a sack with a drawstring, tie the drawstring to your pack so if it slips out you have a “safety tether” that can keep you from losing it.

“I hate the word “Hacks””

I see that others have responded.

One doesn’t “hack” a backpack. One hacks a computer. Unless you’re a hack, this usage is ugly and confusing. Oh alright, just ugly; I get the meaning. I don’t like seeing language hijacked by hacks.

“Hack” in the above sense is a fad that’s doubtless already passed.

“alterations” or something like that is what’s meant. I like ‘re-jiggerings’ but that’s not technically acceptable by strunk and white.

You already said that jscott. Language changes. I think that’s sick!

“You already said that jscott. Language changes. I think that’s sick!”

sick as in, I think that ‘hack’ is groovy and great (yeah language changes)

or, sick as in, I think the term hack in backpacking is horrible, or;

you think what I wrote was appalling…?

Kelly C this has saved me more than once. Tents, fishing nets, and a rain jacket in stuff sack.

@AK Granola thanks for bringing this back.

At night, I take the insoles out of my shoes. Makes them easier to slip on for midnight forays.

Down pants (fall/winter) yeah, nice at camp and VERY nice if it gets unseasonably, stupidly too cold for yer 30 F. bag. But yer light down jacket/hoodie also is needed.

I spent a 25F. at 8,000 ft. on an August (yes) night on the PCT in my 30 F. Western Mountaineering mummy with ALL my clothes on but my GTX parka. I had my mummy cinched up to a blowhole and only then was I “warm” enough to sleep all night. Good thing I was in a solo tent which gave me another 10 F.

Oh, yeah, I had no down pants or jacket on that trip, just a 100 weight fleece vest, long pants and long sleeved shirt plus T shirt and a 2nd T shirt over my head Beavis & Butthead style. A light fleece balaclava ALWAYS resides in my sleeping bag since then, no matter the season.  Later on the trail we saw 16 F. on both our “zipper pull” thermometers. We hiked with spare socks on our hands. UNFORGETTABLE!

HOT SUMMER NIGHTS TRICK: T shirt slipped over the :head” of yer air mattress so I can use my fully unzipped sleeping bag as a quilt, foot hooked over the foot of my mummy-shaped mattress. Now my face does not lay on my mattress and gradually ruin it with sweat, sunscreen or mosquito repellant. (don’t ask)

sweat, sunscreen or mosquito repellant

That is why I don’t hike/camp in the summer in the SE US :)

Don’t apply sunscreen just above your eyebrows, or below. This can be surprisingly hard to remember to do! It’s natural to simply smear sunscreen on your forehead and face. Sweat will bring the sunscreen into your eyes.

If you DO smear sunscreen into or above your eyelids, carefully wipe it off with a towel or sock, in a pinch.

(sorry to belabor the obvious.)

If you neglect to bring a spoon, at least always bring a knife to make a spoon.

“I see you’ve played knifey-spoony before.”

>”when taking your pack through TSA as carry on, chopsticks work really well as stake replacements”

+1

Chopsticks are available for free at the Asian take-out inside the airport, reducing your pound-miles prior to your flight.

Or bring aluminum knitting needles and a decoy ball of yarn.

At night, I take the insoles out of my shoes. Makes them easier to slip on for midnight forays.

If you neglect to bring a spoon, at least always bring a knife to make a spoon.

I can relate to both of these suggestions!

I have my gear so dialed in now that I can use Silpoly instead of DCF for my shelter

Lower volume and you can stuff it!

I use Platypus® water bags for all of my thru-hikes and after thousands of miles I’m almost embarrassed to say that I used my MSR Titan cooking pot to dip and fill it. Then I saw another hiker using a kid’s sippy bag, so I started using that. When I lost the sippy pouch I grabbed one of my one quart size Ziplock baggies and I was amazed at how fast I could fill up my 2-liter Platypus bag! I’ve tried using the Cnoc bags with the big open face but just couldn’t get used to them and they are heavier than my Platypus bags too. Never stop learning!

You can buy individual packets (like ketchup or mayo packets) of olive oil – wish I knew it sooner! Upped my cooking game by a lot.

Ditto Tamari sauce (better than soy), balsamic, and many many others.

Or you can make them yourself.

I just learned a ton of amazing hacks right now.  Thanks Guys!

Here’s one I just learned recently from youtube.  You can buy these mini pill bags from CVS.  They seal nicely and can be labeled.  I use one for storing toothpaste chews and precut floss and one for storing medical pills and one for vitamins so I don’t mix them up.  They weight nothing really so I don’t mind carrying three.

This one I learned not recently but might be useful.  If your body is warm but your breathing in cold dry air, instead of sticking your head in the sleeping bag, I take my unused hiking shirt and with a string that’s permanently attached to my inner net, I tie the shirt so it floats about six inches off your face.  This lets you breath fairly warm slightly more humid air, but still wont trap enough moisture that it gets wet.  Its like a head tent.  Also, to make tying fast, I leave a slip knot in the string and put a pebble in the shirt.  The pebble forms a lump that the slip knot can quickly go around.

A pee bottle is useful at night, but can be bulky in your pack. Instead, try using an empty freeze dried meal packet – the volume is large, the gusseted bottom makes it stable, the opening is huge, it can be “flicked dry” in the morning and then flattened/folded for easy storage. My wife uses a P-Style device with hers, so neither of us have to leave the shelter during the night.

put on a down jacket when going out of your tent to pee at night, old school style. Why? at altitude, the stars are spectacular if the moon hasn’t risen. but it’s cold out! you may want to spend some moments taking it all in. without the down jacket, you’ll dash back into your tent and bag to get warm.

I’m unsure if this is a ‘hack’.

Oh that’s a really good tip and I never do that. Thanks!

Some 8oz (size 13) camp shoes I made for ~ $5 by adding 3mm shock cord and a toggle that make them stable on rocky ground, good for still water crossing, and much more protective than something like mayflys

DIY Camp Sandal (Old Navy)

Joe P – for the night bottle Nalgene or similar, I want to handle it by feel, not sight, esp when sharing the tent. I found some oversized silicone bands are perfect. Back in the day, a piece of cord under a layer of Duct Tape did the trick.