10 Hiking Tips I Wish I Learned Sooner

In this video, I share 10 important hiking tips that I've learned over time. When I started out, I used to make a lot of mistakes as a beginner hiker. But several hikes (and thru-hikes) later, I'm now more experienced. I want to share these backpacking hacks so that you don't make the same hiking mistakes that I did.
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Osprey Backpack ➜ (Amazon: amzn.to/3KJpOO3)
Sawyer Micro Squeeze water filter ➜ (Amazon: amzn.to/3riXlDf)
Decathlon Forclaz Sleeping Mat ➜ (Decathlon: www.decathlon.com/collections...)
R.E.I. Flash Air 1 ultralight tent ➜ (Rei.com: www.rei.com/product/168564/re...)
Decathlon Forclaz MT 100 Trekking Poles ➜ (Decathlon: www.decathlon.com/collections...)
Columbia Bugaboot Snow Boots ➜ (Amazon: amzn.to/3OxPT3K)
▼ TABLE OF CONTENTS
00:00 - Intro
00:05 - Load Lifters
01:03 - Hydration Pouches
01:41 - Shortcuts
02:14 - Sponsored
03:30 - Weather
04:34 - Group Hiking
04:56 - Sleeping
05:44 - Attaching to Backpack
06:19 - Trekking Poles
07:00 - Snow Boots
07:28 - Navigating Offline
08:54 - Final Words
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[@lizzaangelis3308]

It is also important to remember regarding the slowest member of your group. To allow them extra time to rest. While you have been there for a while longer they have been moving. And If you get up to start again when they arrive then they get no rest.

[@tadeas6728]

I have been using a water bladder for 4 years and it has many advantages. Osprey Hydraulics is made of quality plastic without toxic chemicals and it is inside your backpack protected against the sunlight. Plastic bottles aren't the healthiest solution with water under sunlight for longer period of time. Water stays colder inside the bag + it colds a bit of food stored in the centre of the bag (e.g. cheese, meat, chocolate, ...). Heavy water also stays the closest to your back. My experience and some others I talked to is also that you don't drink regularly from bottles because it's not so comfortable (so laziness). People also tend to drink more at once from bottles. I clean and dry my bladder quiet precisely and it is definitely worth my time :) The 3L water bladder fits into my 12, 24 and 85L Osprey backpacks so no problem at all :)

[@gudgengrebe]

I agree. Not that I’m an expert or anything but I have walked a lot. I appreciate a water bladder especially on long , steep hill climbs in hot weather. Having to stop , take off a heavy bag and then drink is in itself exhausting and because it’s such an effort, I would tend to drink less often and that’s counterproductive. Plus saying that carrying water bottles doesn’t add to the weight of the bag doesn’t make sense because his water bottles were in side pouches of the same backpack, which obviously he’s carrying. I agree with you that plastic bottles leak chemicals into your water and you can taste this. So yes, a decent bottle that doesn’t leak BPA is my choice too. Water is heavy isn’t it. Even 5 litres is a hearty lump. I was looking to get a larger bladder and I’ll take your suggestion of a 3 litre one now. Thanks.

[@tadeas6728]

​@@gudgengrebe You are welcome! I am far from being an expert too :) If I need more water I also carry some 0,7 water bottle from some special "not toxic" plastic. And the best is to fill up and carry the rollable water bag from the sawyer filtration system if I need even more water. So I filter 3,7 l (3 l osprey + 0,7 l bottle) + fill up 1 l in the sawyer bag (and store it in my backpack) which I filter when I need to later. And then - roll the bag back :)

[@gzoechi]

Same here. The compartment in the backpack makes the bladder comfortable to use. I also wouldn't drink that often if I had to take the backpack off. In hot weather the 3L bladder is ideal. My wife uses the 2L bladder.

[@MrKuken911]

I’ve used water bladders for a while but now use a combination of water flasks and bottles. I have a shoulder pouch with a 500-800ml flask, and 1 or 2 1.2l bottle in the side pockets of my backpack. My backpack was chosen so that my bottles are accessible without having to stop and take off the backpack. The things that made me choose this solution are what Oscar says in the video: not knowing how much water is left is a major drawback, placing the bladder back to its compartment is SO annoying with a full backpack, it’s annoying to clean (even with the best systems on the market to make it easier). I don’t mind the water being « hot ». In fact, it’s preferable for the body to have a water temperature close to the body temperature, although I don’t think using a bladder makes it prejudicial in any cases from that respect.

[@Richard-rk1ru]

I've got a bladder with quick disconnects. So I can take the mouth piece off and connect my sawyer squeeze to it so I can fill it up even without taking it off my back. Super useful, highly recommend.

[@jonijaaskelainen8278]

As a wilderness guide I must say that there should be at least 1 person in the group who knows how to use a map and compass. And that should be the primary way of navigation. Your phone should be reserved for emergencies. Maps and compasses are cheap and easy to use with little training. You dont want to be in a situation where you run out of battery and need to call for help. In winter it is good to keep your phone inside your jacket next to your body. That way the phone stays little warmer and the battery lasts longer.

[@gudgengrebe]

Good advice. Thanks

[@philsmith2444]

The biggest problem with phones/GPS, IMO, is the screens are so small. You can’t see anything but the 1km or so around you with any detail, nowhere near enough to plan a route. Plus you can use resection or terrain association to help you if you get lost, just make sure you know to convert magnetic north to grid north if your compass doesn’t have a declination adjustment. Learning map reading in basic training way back in 1986 and doing a LOT of it during my 12 years in the army still means I’m more comfy with a map than an app.

[@patrickgiles4800]

Thank you, an enjoyable video and sound advice. Another tip - not to go to far or to fast on Day 1 - easy to do with fresh legs and enthusiasm but pay the price the following day....

Buff works as a pillow case. If you bring a chair, a foam pad adds warmth and protects your heinie from the cold wind. When travelling, a duffel bag is superior to a hardshell luggage. Get your backpack last. You’ll be surprised how much smaller pack does the job (~40-50L). Always carry more water than you think you need. If you feel thirsty, you are already 1-2% dehydrated. You’ll go to shock at 10%. Body loses water faster than it can absorb. When cameling up, you can also pre-load salt. Clothing doesn’t have to be from premium brands, focus on the materials. Don’t skimp on loading electronics to full. Stretch. No need for bushcrafty extra firestarter like ferro rod. Just bring another lighter. Covering your pot saves fuel & boil time. Mesh bags are lighter and you can see inside. They can also be used to dry/hang stuff and even for bug protection.

[@iatbif]

Bring extra socks and air dry them on your bag while you’re wearing another pair. Invest in topographic maps in case something happens to your phone.

[@phillipnunya6793]

I always use a head bug net to put my shoes in whenever I take them off. It lets them dry out and keeps animals out of your shoes.

[@Zadok8611]

#8 worst advice to give any hiker is to buy something cheap to test it out. You're likely to buy junk that makes your experience worse. And then either quit or spend more money to buy something that works. If you really want to test something, rent it or borrow from a hiking friend. Then buy once, cry once.

[@galiadel]

paper (ish) map for areas you're not familiar with. I sometimes take a note of my expected route on a piece of paper ("go left onto yellow trail, then right into green", etc). maps are good when you meet someone, good to ask about state of trails, open/closed/crowded/bad weather/etc - you may need to deviate from what you planned. tech wise - phone on gps will last 4-5 hrs. maybe a little longer in airplane mode (I didn't test), decent garmin watch will last 2 full days on gps (expensive toy but I learned to love it)

[@ripple_on_the_ocean]

I had so much trouble falling asleep (because I was hyperfixating on every nighttime noise and thinking everything was a bear), that I finally tried earplugs. They do help me fall asleep somewhat faster ( although now the new fear is 'I didn't hear the bear coming until it tore my tent open' 😆)

[@halleeccher1209]

A stop every 30-60 min? Are you climbing the Everest? Bladders allows you to actually avoid keep putting up and down the backpack, u can drink and walk, thing that will also help you in avoiding taking a huge sip every time u stop because u will arrive super thirsty at the break, best if bottle and bladder are used together for easy refill.

[@DP-bw4ti]

I don't get why you have so few subs? You always make such an awesome content, thank you

[@MrTechpro123]

Offline mapping! Tip 10 is exactly what I needed, love these videos. Keep it up

[@Swalkerfilm]

If you use a smartphone for navigation and communication and go far into the wild than investing in a secondary cheap smartphone (without simcard) that is securely stored in your backpack would be a good safety measure. Store maps on a memory card that you can swap around. I once tripped and destroyed a compass that I was holding in my hand. A smartphone is even more susceptible to damage from falls, dropping and water.

[@DerBjjjg]

In addition to good boots what helps me is extra socks. If your socks are soaking wet just change them on the next break. It helps not only to keep your feet warm when it's cold, but also helps (not necessarily prevents) with many other things like blisters, athlete feet and other hygiene related illnesses after all warm wet and dark places are good breeding grounds for bacteria.

[@vincentworm491]

Plastic bottles are bad for health and the environnment so I dont' use them. I feel the only downside to water bladder is that it's tough to keep the tube clean.

[@oOBlahBlahOo12345]

Tips 1,7 and 10 are golden.

[@SanaurRehmanShahmir]

Really helpful tips! Lots of love and respect from a solo mountain hiker from the Hindu Kush Mountains Lower Chitral District of Pakistan!

[@rihardssniegs9523]

Love the tip about water. Yoy saved me some money. Thanks

[@OscarHikes]

You bet!

[@P6009D]

GPS in the phone is great. To a drowned phone, you also need a map and compass.

[@dylanpausic5026]

Love the wealth of great advice you bring without adding filler to the videos. Very appealing in a society that focuses on getting people to watch longer videos all the way thru without much true content in it.

[@simpledisorder]

Great real world advice.

[@vozmediano1981]

Thanks Óscar

[@justinmorgan5282]

Always bring an extra filter bag!

[@dajo2824]

Great video. Concise. Mucho info

[@Swalkerfilm]

I use a 1/2 liter water bottle in the low side pocket of my backpack that I can reach while walking. The other side pocket has my hat and gloves on winter days so I can easily put them on or off if I get cold or heat up. Replace those water bottles regularly, after a while a kind of slime builds up on the inside. They're cheap anyway. Put heavy stuff high up in your backpack so you don't have to lean forward as much to be in balance.

[@titangamer6824]

I discovered issues at the height of my hips, something to do with the muscles that raise my legs, on the 1st night of a 3 day hike in winter with friends. On night 1, when lying down on the shelters wooden bed, i wanted to lift my leg... but it was way too painful. The next day, my pace slowed a 6hr hike down to 10hrs because of my injuries. It would have been much longer without trekking poles!!!! I have analysed the issue and concluded it was likely from the waist straps of my backpack. - The backpack was handed to me, i did not buy it, it was for the opposite gender...

[@calebe16]

I'm going through many of your videos. Really enjoying this content. As someone who wants to start, there is a lot of valuable information here. One curiosity remained: what was the bad experience at night and how did you deal with it? The one thing that scares me the most is being attacked by an animal, specially at night.

[@OscarHikes]

Wild Boars when camping in Pyrenees. A herd of them, trying to break into our tent. :D Loud noises and flashlights eventually scared them away, but they tried to come back another time after about 20 minutes. After the second time, I gathered all food, hung it up on a tree 50m away, and have been doing it ever since. I've seen tracks of wolves, boar, deer coming up to the tent countless times since then (wolf, singular, only one time. :D), but never have I been even woken up, because the tent was empty of food. They just come up to the tent, it looks weird, they sniff it and it smells like humans and weird stuff, but no food, so they just simply go away without causing any problems. They're just curious, so if you don't have any food, you should be all safe!

[@calebe16]

@@OscarHikes 😲 If I wake up with wolves outside I think I'd a little scared hahaha The one thing I had was coyotes around my tent on a campsite at Yosemite. Opened up the door to look outside and saw just the eyes glaring at me. Only recognized than later because of the sounds they make. But they didn't get to close to the tent either.

[@kristofsportingdogs3549]

how can you take shortcuts trough water and cliffs several times??? They are shown on a map... And elevation lines on your map are also there for a reason, so after one time, you should have learnt to actually study your map. but I have an additional tip in this regard (because by using shortcuts, you can come across other problems that were not shown on the map (like for instance a private road with a big sign not to enter...) I also use strava, and strava has heathmaps of all users (trails that are use frequently are lighted up more, trails that are almost never used are not lighted. That way you can easy see if your shortcut is used a lot or not at all by other people, I always study my hikes on stave before I start and I also look at possible shortcuts at home also already on strava... second, I like waterblatters more then bottles, I don't stop every 30 to 60 minutes 🤷‍♂ And taking the whole time little sips is way better then half a bottle when you finally stop (sometimes because you are thirsty, which is actually a sign you are actually already a bid to late with your hydration...)

[@gudgengrebe]

I agree. I was once travelling regularly up mountain trails in scorching weather and I only had bottles and wished I had a bladder that I could sip from without having to stop, which became exhausting quickly.

[@MrHumlebaek]

Interesting thought, you don't carry a waterbag but a powerplant is okay... Otherwise lots of great great info as usual. Thanks.

[@OscarHikes]

Ahh, that was the sponsored segment. I don't usually carry it around while hiking. But it's great for car-camping, which is what I was referring to. You know, when you do a long roadtrip to a Natural Park or a mountain range, do shorter hikes each day, and sleep in the car (or near it) during the night. I do those with my wife all the time. I'm mostly using it in my weekend cabin though, where there isn't any electricity atm. ;)

[@Josephlance111]

Great video 🎉thank

[@NilsNone]

Tip Nr. 1 should be ALWAYS let someone know that you are out on a hike, in which area you are going and if possible send them your planned route. Its a easy thing to just get the .gpx file and mail it to your mom, friend, dad or whoever likes you. So if you don't contact them after some time they call in pawpatrol to get you

[@Vireca]

Do you recommend fitting your backpack fully loaded or empty?

[@LyndzieBearrrr]

Is there an ideal tightness for load lifters or is it based on personal comfort?

[@philsmith2444]

Granite Gear says tighten them so there’s about an inch of strap between where the strap is sewn to the pack body and where it’s sewn to the shoulder strap. But that’s a good starting point for you to adjust for personal comfort. I like to loosen my shoulder straps a bit once I get the sternum strap and load lifters adjusted. The waist belt should be carrying the vast majority of the pack weight, the shoulder straps basically just keep the pack against your back and should be putting more pressure on your chest than your shoulders.

[@johnfrancismacaluso]

good tip on caching map data on your phone

[@OscarHikes]

I've done it for years and still do it! Have never paid for Gaia GPS and Locus Maps. :)

[@johnfrancismacaluso]

I did the same thing when i was too poor to pay for the membership. Now I have one through another membership. It's worth it for the slope angle, weather, and ability to print custom maps, though. especially the printing custom maps. everyone can have the same maps that they used for scoping out features as they use in the field. It's a nice reduction complexity.@@OscarHikes

[@larsfredriksson2218]

Mapp and compass!?

[@DarkDao]

Bad experience once? Time for a new video! ;)

[@OscarHikes]

I think I briefly covered it once. A bunch of wild boar tried to break into our tent in the Pyrenees because we had a baguette and some cheese laying around in the tent. :D

[@DarkDao]

@@OscarHikes Well, I guess those were Les Sangliers. And who can resist such combination anyway.

[@Losangelesharvey]

@@OscarHikes In California it is drilled into us the danger of food in tent due to bears

[@Elkatook666]

why are you connected to the power bank through a wall charger? 100w usb-c output is probably way more than your phone wall charger puts out

[@lbjay8914]

do not bring water bladder, too hevvy. but do bring laptop and generator. noice.

[@jefftickleschitz1265]

I hike quite often, 1500km last year, also backpack when I can, 18 days last year, and I've used a bladder for 95% of my hikes. I get 5-10 kms per liter, so up to 30 kms on a 3 liter bladder. Makes more sense than carrying several bottles.

[@terryneedham5519]

Let me get this right water in water bottles adds no weight to your rucksack whereas water in a water bladder does, I use a bladder 2 litres of water weighs 2 Kg no matter what it is carried in

[@OscarHikes]

Water bladder + hose is heavier than a bottle. But you already knew that... 😉

[@MissMatic]

negligable.@@OscarHikes

[@ordinarypeople801]

I really would like to know what was your once bad experience? :)

[@TheQuartzScepterMinerSIO2]

Wait until you have a family of Sasquatches coming into your campsite and screwing with you, it's a terrifying experience and it's best to get out of there ASAP leave everything and save your life. Nothing is worth staying in your tent and waiting for them to tear you apart

[@MrFowl]

If you have to take your backpack off to reach your water, I would get a new backpack. That's just horrible design

[@philsmith2444]

Shoulder mobility problems make it impossible for me. Plus I’m not running a race, I like to stop, sit down, enjoy the view, get some pics, etc. A 5 minute rest every half hour turns a 6-hour day into a 7-hour day, nothing that’s going to ruin your plans. I generally carry 1 or 2 empty Nalgene-types in the side pockets, and a 1l Katadyn BeFree in my pants pocket. I fill it and drink when I’m thirsty or whenever I come to a water source (there are a lot where I hike/backpack.) At the last water source before my campsite I fill and drink, then fill my 2 bottles and sometimes the BeFree as well. That gives me 2-3l for 2 meals and drinking that night and the next morning.

[@tweq91]

I agree with everything you mentioned, except for the idea of ​​a plastic water bottle. This is unhealthy, and even unhealthy

[@youtischia]

Great video. But the title isnt quite right. If you are interested in correct English it should be "10 tips I wish I HAD learned sooner".

[@TarikVann]

The amount of weird faulty information in this is odd. It's not that you are saying things that are wrong per set but instead more like you are saying things that are based on other information. For instance, Water bladders aren't used by experienced hikers. Well that's just wrong as there are many advantages. But water bottles are the easiest when time and weight distribution is not a huge concern or if you need to be filtering constantly. Also no you will not be stopping and taking your pack off every 30-60 minutes if you're fit enough. I regularly do 2-4 hours before a break on mountainous regions BECAUSE I have a water bladder I can drink from and walk and hip beds with snacks. Shortcuts are a viable option if you know what you're doing. You need to know how to use topographical maps and orientate and know your capabilities. But yes, if you are a novice and only have Google maps, DO NOT take a shortcut. Instead go get some training. You got rain in your pocket because you bought a karimoor product, they are glorified countryside walking jackets. Get proper hiking jackets from reputable retailers with weather sealed pockets and you'll be fine. If you are losing navigation because you lost your phone then you are not hiking safely. When it comes to life saving resources, one is none and two is one. The sleeping tip is a weird one because it's really personal and maybe not useful for others. Hiking poles aren't for the hike, they are for prevention of knee wear. Also don't create waste by buying shitty things first. Borrow friends or buy second hand. So you're saying buy winter boots for winter... OK. Great tips for the load lifters and group hikes.

[@jcblum1507]

[@yanipro3978]

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