Articles Tagged with: backpacking

Are you planning on backpacking Southeast Asia and have a limited budget. Below are a few ways to get the most out of every dollar and still provide you with a great experience.

Discount Airliners: One of the most unknown things in Southeast Asia is how cheap air travel can be. Sometimes, it is marginally more than the cost of taking a bus. Both Air Asia and Bangkok Airways offer cheap airfare around most of South East Asia. Fares are regularly USD or lower. If you have limited travel time, it is highly recommended that you investigating flying between destinations.
 
Don’t pay in US currency: One of the biggest mistakes that travelers often do is try to pay in US currency. Pretty much everywhere in Southeast Asia accepts US Dollars, but the conversion rate offered by merchants is terrible. A lot of times, you can end up paying 30% more than you would have if you used the local currency. For the best rates, try to exchange some money before you leave. You can also exchange money at most major banks in South East Asia.

 
Watch Out for Scams: If it sounds too good to be true, you are probably being scammed. There are all sorts of scams in Southeast Asia that are aimed at taking you money, and returning an inferior product to what you should be getting. This can come in the form of lower quality tours, transportation that doesn’t take you where you want to go, or paying significantly more for a product than you should be charged. To avoid the scams, talk to travelers at your hostel to see what they did. When booking tours or transportation, try to book only from reputable companies, so you get the trip you are actually paying for. If you are taking a Taxi in some countries, request that they run the meter. Most drivers negotiate fares, and in most cases are way greater than if the meter is used. Some drivers will refuse to take you, but eventually you will find one that will use his meter. This can save you a lot of money. 

For those backpackers who are hardcore enough to enter the realm of lightweight or ultra-light backpacking here are some techniques that can lighten the load on your next trip. Some of these do tend towards the extreme and will test your skills in the wilderness so be aware that if you don’t know what you are doing you can get into more trouble then you might think.

The heaviest items on any backpacking trip are your tent, sleeping bag, and sleeping pad. The first thing to consider going without is your sleeping pad. Knowing the environment where you intend to backpack will allow you to determine if there will be materials available that will allow you to build a natural mattress.

Dead leaves, pine needles, dead grass, and dry bracken ferns can be used to create a pile large enough to set your tent or bivy sack on. This gets you up off the hard cold ground and provides insulating value much as a sleep pad does.

When you break camp be sure to scatter your mattress materials and leave your site in its natural state.

A Wilderness Survival Course can also help you reduce the weight of your backpacking treks because the knowledge gained can help you make better more informed decisions on what to take. For instance if you know which berries and other fauna are edible you can get by with packing less food. You can also leave your stove at home if you bring ready-to-eat foods to go along with foraging off the land.

Take a look through all your gear and look for ways to save weight there. Do you need full on rain gear or will a lightweight poncho suffice. Cut the handle off your toothbrush and silverware. Do you really need that bowl and cup or can you drink your hot tea or soup from your cooking pan.

You can also update your gear with the latest and lightest equipment.

Down sleeping bags that weight less then 2 pounds but are good down to 15 degrees and lightweight backpacking tents can save pounds off your load. This lightweight gear is not cheap but it is well made and will last through many backpacking seasons.

Combining lightweight backpacking gear with some of the above techniques will allow you to truly enjoy the benefits of lightweight backpacking.

By understanding a few simple facts you will find the best sleep system on a backpacking adventure. It is able to bring you a great night’s sleep and fully prepared.

Backpacking is great fun and if you are planning on a trip that requires camping out then you will need to understand which is the best sleep system for you. Even for the most experienced backpacker there are so many options available to choose from that could potentially confuse.

There are quite a few factors that determine how to choose your sleep system such as the weather – ie cool or warm, the terrain – ie rough or smooth terrain. So a lot depends on the area where you will be going to, the time of the year and the climate.

You really do need to have a good idea of the climate where you will be camping and have a good idea where you will be backpacking too. By being aware of your location will help decide what equipment and what material it is made from in order to make your sleep comfortable.

How much do you want to spend? Always go for what you can afford and there really is a wide range of sleeping gear available to suit all budgets.

If you can afford it buy goose down sleep equipment as it is a great insulator. For those on a budget then more affordable synthetic based gear is still a good choice too. Decide what level of comfort you want, For example, whether you want a mattresses or sleep pads in order to get a good night’s sleep.

On a backpacking trip you will be concerned about weight as you will have to carry everything. As some materials weigh more than others then it is important to choose not only the most comfortable and most insulating, but a lightest too.

Whether you are a first time backpacker or an experienced one, planning for an up-coming trip is essential. One of the best ways to do this, is to start with a backpacking checklist. Creating a checklist of items to take on your trip is an important part of the whole process. A well executed checklist should stand you in good stead for the trip ahead.

Compiling a good list will not only get you thinking and planning your trip, but it would also get you prepared as well. You will need to be thinking about what to take, and what situations will arise, that you might need to take a certain piece of equipment.

Another reason why a backpacking checklist is important is because before packing your kit, you should have checked it off your list to see if you have a particular item. This will enable you to inspect each item in turn to make sure that it is fully functioning, and up to the task ahead.

This is especially important if you are trekking out in the back country or off-trail, as you may need to rely heavily on your backpacking equipment. For your equipment not to work in this situation, would not only make simple tasks become very labour intensive, but could also be quite dangerous as well.

Backpacking has become more and more popular in recent years as people are turning to alternative ways to enjoy their vacation time, especially with the economic climate as it is. So a well executed hiking or backpacking trip can be a very rewarding and even humbling experience. It can also be great for family bonding, as spending quality time with your family, away from all the hustle and bustle of everyday living, can be very precious. Once you have experienced this, you will be back year after year.

However remember, the key to a great backpacking trip which you and the family will fondly look upon for years to come, is all in the planning and preparation. This all starts with a backpacking checklist.

It is a lot of fun to go backpacking. But then there are certain things that can go wrong and cause all the joy and excitement that comes with backpacking to turn into a very bad experience. This makes it imperative for a person going backpacking to always carry some essential items that can come in handy when situations turn adverse. One of these is a compass that qualifies very much as an essential.

When you go into territory that is unknown a compass can be of great help to go through it. There are times when the weather turns nasty and visibility gets hampered and it is difficult to see any landmarks. This is when a compass can turn out to be a real friend.

It is never the intention of any backpacker to stray away from a trail when he goes hiking. But there are times when there is some distraction or unintentional oversight that can cause a backpacker to take the wrong turning on the trail. And even when they do turn around they find it difficult to get back on track. This is when the backpacker can feel lost and lose all sense of direction and orientation. But if there is a compass at hand and the ability to read it, finding the way back can become fairly simple. A map is always a guide to getting back on track, but with a compass on hand the task becomes that much quicker and easier. A lot of attention and alertness is a must for backpackers, but when you have been on the trail for a number of days, there are chances that you can get distracted. And when you feel this moment of distraction, there is every chance you could lose your way. You can easily find your way back and avoid having to spend long hours in the wilderness if you have a compass.

A map can always help you to get used to the trail on which you are hiking or backpacking, but it is the compass which will ensure that you are on the right trail. There are times when you come to a crossroad and are not sure of which way you should go. At such a time it is best to work out your position on the map and then take readings on the compass so that you can be sure which is the right trail to go on. It is not necessary that every trail that you go on will be clearly defined. So when you go backpacking or hiking, make sure of the direction in which you are traveling by referring to your compass. 

Very serious situations can be avoided when a backpacker uses a compass. There are times when you can lose the trail when there is snow, rain or heavy fog and this can quite often be fatal. While there is a lot of fun and adventure when you go out in the wilderness, there is also an ever present danger. You can come across waterfalls or cliffs suddenly and this can cause a life threatening situation. A deep forest is also one place when you can easily lose your way. In these circumstances a compass can be of great help. So make sure that you carry a compass and know how to use it. You will then be doing yourself a big favor when you go out hiking and backpacking in the wilderness.