Tips for packing effectively for treks!

My first trekking/camping trip was horrible. All my stuff were stuffed everywhere in the trekking bag. Over time, I have learnt how to pack more effectively, and how to distribute the weight so that you can maintain balance, especially on slippery treks!

Here are some tips!

• Pack the big items first!
• Pack heavy items as near to your back as much as possible.
• Long items like tent poles can be strapped to the side of the bags.
• For things that you need to access every time you put your bag down, put them in top or side pockets that are accessible with 1 zip. Consider carrying a separate waist pouch if you plan to use them while you are trekking. For my camera, I invested in a pouch which hung from my backpack strap, so I could access it anytime!
• Bulky items like your sleeping bag should be at the bottom. For sleeping bags, make sure you waterproof them! A wet sleeping bag is totally useless. It will not only be cold to sleep in, it will be heavy to carry!
• First aid kits must be accessible! Consider getting ones which you can strap to a waist strap, so you can bring your kit along wherever you go
• Late night items like your uncooked food and clothes that you change into only in the evening can be stored right in the middle, they don’t have to be accessible. After all, you have all the time at night to take them out.
• Water is very often one of the heaviest things in your bag. If you have one big bottle of water, its going to make balancing your weight difficult! Use three 500ml bottles instead of one 1.5 litre bottle. Such a practise is also useful for treks like Mount Kinabalu where you need to set off with a day pack for the summit. Your small day pack will probably take the 3 small bottles better than one huge bottle.
• Make your rain cover accessible! Thunderstorms can come without much notice!
• Last but not least, waterproof everything! And invest in good waterproof plastic bags! I once had a friend who put his passport in a “waterproof bag” and into his waist pouch. It was a wet trek where the water level was up to the hips. He got his passport soaked in water!

Tags: first aid kits, packing for treks