10 Unbelievable Hiking Hacks to Impress Your Friends

Wanna be the next hiking guru? Impress your friends with this expert list of unbelievable hiking hacks! From staying warm, dry, and comfy, to maintaining your gear, betcha there’s some hiking hacks on this list that will change your outdoor life forever.

1. Bring a lightweight water filter

What’s one of the heaviest things weighing you down in your pack? You guessed it: water. At 2.2 lbs per litre (or 1 kg/L), a couple litres of water for an overnight trip can weigh as much as your entire tent! On trails with ample water sources, such as lakes and creeks, consider taking less water and packing a small, ultra-lightweight filter, such as a Lifestraw or Sawyer Mini. Both will get rid of particulates and 99.99% of bacteria and parasites, and nothing tastes as good as fresh mountain water. However, if hiking in a more exotic location, be sure to read up on common local water contaminants, such as viruses, and how to safely purify water in these areas.

2. Stay warm on summits with moisture management

One of the core principles of cold weather hiking is moisture management. We all learned this principle from our mothers as children – go outside with wet hair, and you’ll be freezing! The same is true of your sweaty body on a mountaintop. No matter how miserable hot you are when you reach the summit, your body heat will only last a maximum of five minutes. Throw modesty out the window (or find some tree cover) and strip off that sweaty shirt as soon as you can. By changing into a dry shirt right away (and maybe throwing a jacket over that), you’ll keep all that body heat intact. Go ahead – enjoy that hour-long lunch on that cold, windy mountain. You earned it.

3. Eat oatmeal right out of the packet

I almost didn’t want to believe this one, because it means that I’ve been eating instant oatmeal wrong my entire life. But this might be the most genius of the hiking hacks. Instant, single-serve oatmeal packages have a waterproof lining on the inside of the package. This means that you can simply rip off the top of the package, pour hot water over the oats, and eat directly from the package! No more breakfast camping dishes!

4. Use candle wax to keep your zippers fresh

Stuck zippers have prematurely ended the lives of many a good piece of gear, whether a well-loved jacket or a cozy sleeping bag. But you can put a stop to the carnage by lubricating your zippers with candle wax. Simply rub a room-temperature candle on the zipper’s teeth to coat with wax. In short, no more gear death.

5. Properly store your sleeping bag

I know space can be a luxury in Lower Mainland homes, but by properly storing your sleeping bag, you’ll extend its useful life by years. Proper storage means uncompressed, either in a large, roomy stuff sack, or hanging free in a closet. Unfortunately, I’ve learned this one by hard experience. After years of storing my favourite summer sleeping bag in its compression sack, it lost all of its loft and insulation powers, and after many a cold night, had to be replaced. Very sad.

6. Preserve your headlamp for when you need it

I hope this has never happened to you: it’s getting dark, but, being the responsible, organized person that you are, you’ve thoughtfully included a headlamp in your hiking pack. You take it out, only to discover that the batteries are drained. While I can’t help you if you just didn’t bother to test it before you left the house, I can provide a hiking hack for this common failure: sometimes headlamps accidentally turn on within your bag and kill the batteries. To remedy what can be a major problem, turn one of the batteries around within the device until you actually need to use it. This prevents electricity from flowing, saving those batteries for when you really need that precious, precious light.

7. Line your backpack with a trash bag to keep things dry

Being West Coast locals, I trust you’ve done a wet hike or two. However, backpacks are almost never fully waterproof (unless you have a dry-bag backpack), and the waterproof pack covers that often come with bags have one fatal flaw: they don’t cover the shoulder straps. This allows water from the straps to wick to the rest of the bag and soak your stuff. Rest easy knowing your phone and dry clothes are safe by lining your backpack with a flexible trash or compactor bag. No matter how soaked the pack gets, the insides stay dry.

8. Use trick birthday candles as a firestarter

You know those trick birthday candles that everyone hates? Put mischief to good use by packing a couple of those bad boys for your campsite. Despite rain and wind, those things will keep on burning while you practice your fire stoking skills. Small, light, waterproof, cheap, and multipurpose, these are sure to win you some nods of approval from your hiking buddies.

9. Stay warm with a hot Nalgene bottle

Nalgene water bottles are the bottle of choice for hikers for a few reasons: they’re cheap, ubiquitous, have easy-to-find replacement parts, and those things DON’T LEAK. If you’re the type to get cold during a night of camping, this hack is for you. Fill a Nalgene bottle with hot (not boiling) water, and tuck it into your sleeping bag. Your bag’s insulation will retain the heat nearly all night, so you’ll be a happy burrito all night long. Two warnings: triple check you’ve screwed the lid on as tight as you can, and don’t use boiling water as that plastic can get very, very hot.

10. Try out a DIY washing machine

For long multi-day hikes, or perhaps muddy, super epic hikes, you might find that your clothes need a little cleaning. If you’ve become overwhelmed by your own smell, and if a bear canister or heavy-duty marine dry-bag is in your gear arsenal, you can create your own DIY backcountry washing machine. First, throw your dirty clothes and a couple drops of eco-friendly, biodegradable soap inside with some water and close securely. Second, give that thing a good shake. Afterwards, empty the water, and fill and shake with fresh water as many times as needed to wash out the soap. Let your wet clothes dry in camp (if it’s a lazy day) or clipped to your backpack (if it’s a trail day). Be sure to dispose of the waste-water well away from fresh water sources, and far enough away from your camp so curious bears don’t stop by for dinner.

Have any unbelievable hiking hacks of your own? Did you impress friends, or get some serious side-eye? Let me know your hiking hacks in the comments below!