With thousands of miles on foot between us, and a lifetime of backpacking, camping, and traveling, we’ve hauled a lot of gear through the woods and around the planet.
Here are reviews of products sent to us, products we purchase, and products we use every day we are outdoors, from technical clothing to the electronics that help us do the job of keeping you updated.
These include not just items for hiking and backpacking – while that is Sandra’s main focus – but also for biking, paddling, and camping, for which John has lifetime expertise in selecting the proper gear.
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Gear Checklists
For Day Hiking
Day pack. Water bottles. Snacks. Map. Insect Repellent. Sun Protection (sunscreen, sunglasses, hat). Custom first aid kit. Rain jacket. Small flashlight. Camera and spare batteries. Cell phone. Whistle.
For Backpacking
Backpack. Hydration bladder. Tent. Hiking poles. Sleeping bag. Sleeping pad. Headlamp. Food in food bag. Water filter. Water bottle. Extra socks. Dry clothes to sleep in. Toilet paper. Lightweight folding trowel. Custom first aid kit. Trash bag. Insect Repellent. Sun Protection. Map. Rain jacket. Camera and spare batteries. Cell phone. Whistle. Bandana. Hand sanitizer / soap. Camp shoes. Plastic bags to keep electronics dry. Optionally: Bear canister. Camp stove and fuel plus matches or lighter. Fleece. Extra shirt. Pack cover.
How to Pack for a Florida Hike
The Ten Essentials and More: a checklist for items to bring when day hiking and backpacking in Florida, to plan for the differences you’ll encounter in Florida’s unique conditions
Selecting the Right Gear for Florida
If you have not hiked, camped, or backpacked in Florida before, our extreme humidity and wide swings of temperature mean you need to be ready for anything when you plan a trip during hiking season.
Hiking season runs October-April. Paddlers and cyclists can enjoy the outdoors year round, but our sultry, rainy summers make camping tough. As do the mosquitoes.
Things to think about when choosing what to carry on your outdoor adventures in Florida:
- Hydration is a must.
- It is always humid in Florida, which makes it less likely you remember to hydrate.
- Insect repellent and sunscreen are essentials year-round. A hat is a smart idea.
- You WILL get wet. Either your feet will get wet or your whole body, in the rain.
- It will get hot. It can get very cold in the winter. Sometimes within 48 hours of each other.
- Treat your feet right. Sand + water = abrasion and blisters.
Hiking Boots For Florida?
This question keeps popping up: what are the best hiking boots? John explains how, through trial by trail, he figured out what works for him. His advice? Keep trying.
Hiking Sandals: Light On Your Feet
Can you go lightweight on your feet when hiking? John explains his trial and error with lightweight options and preferences for when to wear lightweight shoes and sandals
Backpacking Gear for Florida
These are our personal preferences for backpacking gear, including Florida-specific considerations you need to keep in mind while backpacking in our state. Florida’s prime backpacking months are January and February.
How To Prepare For A Backpacking Trip
What does a hiker need to spend a week, or a month, or three months on the trail? Here are trail-tested suggestions for backpacking in Florida for trips of a week or more
Choosing Gear for a Florida Trail Hike
Our detailed recommendations and reviews of the best hiking and backpacking gear for your thru-hike or section hike of the Florida Trail based on our own successful use of certain tents, sleeping bags, backpacks, and more.
A more general discussion about balancing comfort vs. weight when backpacking.
Backpacking: The Weight Of Things
Planning a backpacking trip? One thing to consider – very carefully – is what things weight vs. their importance to you, especially on a trip of more than a week.
Once you have your core gear established, keep in mind it has other uses as well. The things you carry on a backpacking trip can do double duty in times of emergency, such as when the power is knocked out by bad weather.
Backpacker Tips for Hurricane Prep
Backpacking skills are survival skills. Use your knowledge and gear to make personal preparations for hurricane season power loss and evacuations in Florida.
Gear Reviews
Select a particular category to see all gear reviews for that topic.
What’s In Our Gear Closet?
Specific reviews of items we have used in the past or are using today, including gear for hiking, camping, biking, and paddling.
Some of this gear was with us on our Appalachian Trail hike, and all of it has seen time on the Florida Trail. Over time, we replace or upgrade our gear to lighten or strengthen what we carry.
Backpacks
John’s first backpack is now a museum piece. Sandra went through a parade of packs before settling on an Zpacks Arc Blast. Here’s what we carry and why.
Big Agnes Cabin Creek double
For a couple of backpackers that want to share a sleeping bag, the Big Agnes Cabin Creek turns out to be an economical but bulky solution.
Columbia Omni-Freeze Zero T-shirt
John trail-tests the Columbia Omni-Freeze Zero T-shirt after being introduced to the new fabric by a Columbia rep at the grand opening of REI Jacksonville.
Dirty Girl Gaiters
If it’s tick season, or if it’s going to be wet and muddy, we break out our Dirty Girl Gaiters. Here’s why we don’t leave home with this piece of gear.
Hydrapak
Hydrapak has served us well as an extremely compact day pack and hydration for both hiking and bicycle rides. Whenever one of us wants to “go light,” we pull the Hydrapak from our wall of packs and go.
Jetboil Stoves
After trying an array of camp stoves over the years, from Whisperlite to Zip and Esbit, I found the Jetboil. Now I feel comfortable cooking in the woods again.
Lightheart Gear Tents
A fan of lightweight backpacking tents (not tarps) since they first became available, my favorites are those produced by Lightheart Gear. We have two. Here’s why
Sawyer Micro Squeeze Field Test
On a field test along a long stretch of the Florida Coast to Coast Trail with no potable water sources, the Sawyer Micro Squeeze proves itself a worthy backup plan
Tilley Hats
When we met, both of us owned Tilley hats and wore them for most of our outdoor activities. Sandy’s had the same one for years; I’ve gone through several. Here’s why.
Xmas with Zpacks
A field trip, Florida Hikes style, to a lightweight backpacking gear manufacturer creating great products – and jobs – on Florida’s Space Coast.
Field Tests
Our field tests of gear in Florida.
