I am putting together a collection of my Camino hiking tips and tricks and will keep adding to this page.
Weight Saving
- Don’t take anything you don’t need!!! On my second 1000km Camino I took only what I thought was absolutely necessary and after 2 weeks took out another 800 grams of things I did not need. Will upload my packing lists on another page soon.
- Footwear – I am not going to get into the boots verses trail runners argument. Whatever you wear you need to be aware that One unit of weight on your feet (500 grams) equals five on your back (2.5 Kilos). This old backpacking thumb rule holds true, according to a 1984 study from the U.S. Army Research Institute. They tested how much more energy was expended with different footwear (boots and shoes) and concluded that it take 4.7 to 6.4 times as much energy to move at a given pace when weight is carried on the shoe versus on the torso. In practical terms, this means you could carry 2 litres more of water if you buy boots or shoes that are a 500 grams lighter, which isn’t hard to do; and that’s a lot of water. Now imagine the energy savings of backpacking in light trail running shoes rather than heavy, leather backpacking boots over the course of 34-day Camino or backpacking trip.
- Toothpaste – squeeze out of tube in rows on aluminium foil and allow to dry. Cut into individual daily brushing lengths and put into lightweight container or small sealable bag. Saves toothpaste tube weight and water weight
- Cut off all unnecessary labels – seems a bit to much? every gram counts!! cut off clothing labels and labels on equipment, packs and storage bags.
- shorten all cords to the absolute minimum length, cords on pack and drawstrings on storage bags.
To be continued…….