MOUNTAIN EQUIPMENT

Minimal and recommended mountain equipment

Hiking and Trekking

What do you need for hiking and trekking? Mountain equipment generally depends on the difficulty of the itineraries; indicatively it is necessary to have: mountain equipment

• head, always useful to be curious and appreciate what you are doing;
• backpack, a backpack of 15 lt can be enough for easy excursions, a 30 lt backpack is enough to hold everything required for day trips and organized trekking. Only for trekking in autonomy, with tents, mats, sleeping bags, pot cookware and food backpacks from 45 ÷ 50 tl are needed;
• first aid kits and usual medicines, it is not important to have everything, but to have what you know how to use, or to know well how to use what you bring;
• hiking shoes, can be high or low, our favorite are the “mid”, or the “pedals”: almost as light as low shoes, they give more protection and support to ankles. When you talk about mountain equipment, you can not talk about footwear. Most important is to have a sole wich is suitable for a use in the mountains. Secondly the shoe must not hurt. Running shoes may be suitable, although after a few hours they can be less comfortable and be less performing on scree and rock;
• rain jacket (Gore-Tex), the so-called “shell”, protects from wind and rain, but still transpires;
• water and food, not all sources in the mountains are reliable, having a liter of water avoids the danger of dehydration. Dried or fresh fruit, snacks or the classic stuffed sandwich allow us to walk for days without having energy drops;
• sunglasses, hat, sunscreen and lip balm, the sun’s irradiation is higher than at sea level, there is less atmosphere to act as a filter and over 2000 mt we do not even have trees for shade;
• softshell and cap, in other words something warm to wear- The weather changes quickly and a few minutes can cause the temperature to drop even about ten degrees. For multi-day trekking, even a pair of gloves and a down jacket can guarantee comfort while we admire the sunset or the stars;
• trousers, short or long? It’s an old dilemma, you can use zippered trousers. For trekking it is better to have both and change if necessary. Modern technical fabrics dry quickly, many models have a water-repellent treatment;
• phone, allows to take pictures and videos, to share emotions immediately with friends, also allows you to call. Be careful, there are also emails and phone calls, sometimes it is better to turn it off;
• front lamp, a must for trekking, but even when you go hiking it happens you want to explore caves, tunnels or dark ravines.

What else is useful?

• A pair of trekking poles help reduce the effort of the steepest climbs and save your knees downhill;
• waterproof trousers can be comfortable and useful, especially during trekking it is possible to face one or more rainy days or storms; but they can remain unused for years in the back of the backpack;
• a camera allows you to freeze an emotion, but many current phones snap beautiful panoramas and excellent close-ups;
• a map of the area (who guides you certainly has one) to learn the places where you pass and the names of the peaks you see, but especially to evaluate how the next stage will be;
• a spare t-shirt, not to have the annoying feeling of sweaty back;
• The head, is the most important equipment when you travel in the mountains, so it is good to repeat that walking with your head is always useful to be curious and appreciate what you are doing.

MTB

Mountain biking equipment varies a bit, some things are hooked to the bike frame, others in the backpack. mountain equipment

• head, always useful to be curious and appreciate what you are doing;
• MTB, we recommend a “full”, the cushioned frame helps uphill not to lose grip, avoid a bit of back pain and downhill helps to overcome even the most difficult obstacles;
• helmet, essential to preserve the most fragile we have;
• first aid kits and usual medicines, it is not important to have everything, but to have what you know how to use, or to know well how to use what you bring;
• gloves, we recommend whole gloves, so as to protect not only the palms of the hands, but also the fingertips. Tailors and surgeons have the job in their fingers, but even those who spend their days crushing buttons on the PC keyboard is better if they avoid corns and abrasions;
• inner tube, tools and pump, the first must be right for the wheels of your bicycle, tools and pump are part of the equipment of the group, it is good to have 2 or 3;
• backpack, in MTB we rarely use large backpacks, if the water bottle is on the frame a 10 ÷ 20 lt backpack is often enough;
• rain jacket (Gore-Tex), the so-called “shell”, protects from wind and rain, but still transpires;
• water and food, not all sources in the mountains are reliable, having a liter of water avoids the danger of dehydration. Dried or fresh fruit, snacks or the classic stuffed sandwich allow us to walk for days without having energy drops;
• softshell and cap, in other words something warm to wear- The weather changes quickly and a few minutes can cause the temperature to drop even about ten degrees. For trans-alp and multi-day tours, even a pair of heavy gloves and a down jacket can guarantee comfort while we admire the sunset or the stars;
• trousers, snug or baggie? It’s an old dilemma, the important thing is to have a good padded liner to avoid irritation;
• phone, allows to take pictures and videos, to share emotions immediately with friends, also allows you to call. Be careful, there are also emails and phone calls, sometimes it is better to turn it off;
• shoes, must be suitable for MTB, it may happen we need to push the bike or run in a field chasing marmots: it is better to have a sole that allows a bit of walking.

What else is useful?

• spare t-shirt, not to have the annoying feeling of sweaty back;
• knee-pads, downhill, avoid barrel (against the frame) or peeling (if you fall). They have the added advantage that downhill they keep the knees warm;
• leg warmer, in the middle seasons they keep legs warm in the morning, in summer at high altitude they are still useful and take up little space in the backpack;
• a camera allows you to freeze an emotion, but many current phones snap beautiful panoramas and excellent close-ups;
• a map of the area (who guides you certainly has one) to learn the places where you pass and the names of the peaks you see, but especially to evaluate how the next stage will be;
• headlamp, a must for trips of several days, but also useful when you want to explore caves, tunnels or dark ravines. If you want to do a night ride, it is good to have one or two powerful spotlights;
• the head, is the most important equipment when you travel in the mountains, so it is good to repeat that walking with your head is always useful to be curious and appreciate what you are doing.