Weekend hiking packing list

On a weekend hike you carry everything, so pack by weight rather than by category. Your pack, sleep system and shelter decide the load; everything else is grams around the edges.

58 items · 2-day hiking, mild weather · tick them off, print, or adjust the list to your trip below

The big three decide your weekend

Pack, sleep system and shelter typically account for more than half your carried weight. Trimming 200g off your toiletries while carrying a four-kilo tent is optimising the wrong end. If you're borrowing or buying anything, that's where the decision matters — and where it's worth going out for a night close to home before committing to a real route.

Layering, and never cotton

Base layer to move moisture, mid layer to hold warmth, shell to stop wind and rain. Cotton absorbs sweat, stays wet, and then actively cools you — which is a comfort problem on a warm day and a genuine safety problem on a cold one. Merino or synthetic throughout, including socks and underwear.

Plan food per meal, not as 'snacks'

Two days is four or five eating occasions. Name each one and pack for it, and you'll carry the right amount instead of the vague amount. Add one emergency ration that stays in the bag no matter what — the day that runs long is exactly the day you've eaten everything.

Carry the things you hope to waste

A head torch on a day hike, a first-aid kit you don't open, a whistle, a fully charged phone with offline maps, and a note of your route left with someone at home. These are the items whose value is entirely in the scenario where the walk goes wrong — which is why they get cut first and matter most.

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Frequently asked questions

What are the big three in hiking gear?

Pack, shelter and sleep system — the three heaviest items you carry, and the ones that decide both your comfort and your total weight. Getting these right matters far more than optimising the small stuff, because everything else on a weekend trip is a rounding error by comparison.

Why should you never wear cotton hiking?

Cotton absorbs sweat and rain, holds it against your skin, and then pulls heat out of you as it evaporates. Wet cotton in wind is how mild days turn into hypothermia cases. Wool and synthetic base layers keep insulating when damp and dry out while you walk.

How much food should you take on a weekend hike?

Plan per meal rather than packing a bag of snacks — breakfast, lunch and dinner for each day, plus what you will actually eat while moving. Then add one emergency ration you do not intend to touch, for the day the walk runs three hours longer than the map suggested.

Each one is a full list with advice specific to that trip — and the generator underneath it, so you can adjust it to yours.

Weekend hiking packing list

The big three decide your weekend

Layering, and never cotton

Plan food per meal, not as 'snacks'

Carry the things you hope to waste

Your list