Day Hike Packing List

As avid day hikers, we have spent so much time and energy finding the best gear to support our day hikes. Generally, our day hikes range between 3-10 miles in length. Before each hike, we always run through our gear checklist to make sure we have all of our essential items. Even on shorter hikes, it’s important to make sure you have the right clothing and gear in case something unexpected happens.

You have probably heard of the ten essentiails for hiking. We expand that a little further with some things we like to bring in addition to the main safety items. Below, we have the packing list we go through before each day hike. Reminder: this is not a backpacking (overnight) gear list, but rather a list to support a couple hours, or an all-day mountain adventure. We suggest printing this list and checking off each item as you prepare for your hike!

Pack

Day Pack Backpack
Water
Food
Headlamp
First Aid
Sunscreen
Bug Spray
Fire
Knife
Emergency Blanket
Navigation Tool

Clothing

Short Sleeved Shirt
Long Sleeve Layer
Hiking Shorts
Hiking Pants
Hiking Shoes or Boots
Hiking Socks
Down Jacket
Rain Shell Jacket
Baseball Cap
Sunglasses
Winter Hat
Gloves

Photography

Camera
Lenses
Lens Cleaner

Miscellaneous

Emergency Beacon
Hiking Poles
Hammock
Toilet Paper
Microfiber Towel
Bear Bell
Bear Spray
Snow Traction

Our Recommended Day Hike Gear

Let’s be honest, if you walk into an outdoor gear store it can be extremely overwhelming to know what to get! We have been hiking in the mountains for several years and have a pretty good system down of knowing what gear to bring that performs well. We narrowed down the items we recommend and take with us 95% of the time we go on a day hike.

We always aim to be transparent and never recommend gear we do not use ourselves and fully believe in. We participate in the Amazon Services and REI Affiliate Programs which are designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to products. Some of the items we love are not sold on Amazon or REI and the links to appropriate sites are still found below. 😊

Clothing

Short Sleeved Shirt

His: Columbia Thistletown Park Crew

Hers: Columbia Radiant Glow Tank Top

Hers: Nike Pro Indy Sports Bra

Honestly, any short sleeved T-shirt will work most of the time. We often wear cheap older cotton shirts unless it’s really cold outside. When it’s cold, and you are working up a sweat, make sure to wear something that will wick the sweat off of your body. Avoid cotton!

Long Sleeve Layer

His: Patagonia R1 Pullover Hoodie

Hers: Smartwool Base Layer Top - Merino 250

Clark absolutely loves his Patagonia thermal quarter-zip hoody. He wears it on hikes, skiing, running to the grocery store and hanging out with friends. It’s one of the most versatile pieces of clothing that he owns. Rachel sticks with a Smartwool base layer (doubles as a good skiing piece, too!).

Hiking Shorts

His: Marmot Arch Rock Shorts

Hers: Lululemon Hotty Hot Short

There are many different types of hiking shorts for men and women. Clark likes the small zippered pocket on the side of these shorts for his wallet so he doesn’t have to have it in his back pocket while hiking. Rachel only wears shorts on a really warm day, otherwise she sticks to leggings.

Hiking Pants

His: Marmot Arch Rock Pant

Hers: Lululemon Align Pant (warmer days) / REI Merino Midweight Base Layer Tights under Columbia Saturday Trail Pants (winter days)

Similarly to the Marmot Arch Rock Shorts, the pants also have a zippered pocket on the leg which is a great hideaway for Clark’s wallet. Make sure to wear something stretchy (not jeans) so you’re comfortable. Rachel wears the Lululemon Align Pant really often on hikes… her black pair is pretty worn out due to it. These leggings aren’t exactly recommended for hiking as their not made very durable and are mainly for yoga, but they are so comfortable that she does it anyway. On colder days, Rachel wears REI Midweight Base Layer Tights as a baselayer under Columbia hiking pants (they have tall sizes!).

Hiking Shoes or Boots

His: Brooks Cascadia GTX

Hers: Saucony Peregrine 10

Men’s Hiking Boots that Rachel wears: Asolo Men's Thyrus GV Hiking Boot

We love wearing trail running shoes over boots most of the time. The Brooks Cascadia GTX are great because they’re waterproof, which can be extremely helpful in the Pacific Northwest. Rachel wears Saucony Peregrine 10’s. However, those are not waterproof. Rachel (unfortunately for her) is a size women’s 12 Narrow in hiking boots and it can be very hard to find any big enough yet narrow enough. Rachel stumbled upon Asolo Men’s hiking boots and they are amazing - very comfortable, narrow enough for women, and light, which makes them good for basically all season. If you want to hike through the spring and fall in the Pacific Northwest, the Asolo’s are a great investment.

Hiking Socks

His: Smartwool PhD Outdoor Medium Crew

Hers: Merrell Zoned Low Cut Light

Arguably one of the most underrated clothing items! There’s nothing worse than hiking in terrible socks. We tend to prefer the thinner side and both Smartwool and Merrell make great hiking socks.

Down Jacket

His: Arc'teryx Atom LT Hoody

Hers: Patagonia Nano Puff Insulated Hoodie

Hers (colder weather): Arc’teryx Cerium LT Hoody

We are both obsessed with these lightweight down jackets. Clark wears his Arc’teryx Atom LT Hoody everywhere. It’s surprisingly warm for being so lightweight and it packs down nicely for storing in your day pack if you get hot. Rachel feels the same way about her Patagonia Nano Puff jacket. If you walk down a street in Seattle, you’re bound to see a handful of people in both of these extremely popular jackets.

For colder weather, Rach loves her Arc’teryx Cerium LT Hoody. It’s rated to go down to 17 degrees Fahrenheit while still maintaining comfort!

Rain Shell Jacket

His: Arc’teryx Beta SL Hybrid Jacket

Hers: Mountain Hardwear Stretch Ozonic Jacket

A nice waterproof shell is so important for hiking. We believe rain shells are worth spending a little extra money on to make sure you get a great comfortable, durable, 100% waterproof shell. Rachel loves how the Mountain Hardwear Stretch Ozonic does not have the normal crinkling feel that most waterproof shells have.

Baseball Cap

His: Arc'teryx Multi Crest Ball Cap

Hers: Columbia Coolhead II Ball Cap

Sunglasses

His: Rayban New Wayfarer Polarized

Hers: Warby Paker Percey

Clark swears by polarized sunglasses, while Rachel prefers non polarized because they are cheaper and she tends to let them stay behind in the mountains at times…haven’t actually lost them yet though! :)

Winter Hat

His: Mountain Hardwear Dome Perignon

Hers: North Face Beenie

Gloves

His: REI Co-op Fleece Gloves

Hers: REI Co-op Fleece Gloves

We wear different gloves depending on the weather, but we’ve found that we wear these REI lightweight fleece gloves 90% of the time. They are perfect for hiking when it’s brisk outside.

Pack

Waterproof Day Pack: Mountain Hardwear Rainshadow 18 OutDry

We both use Mountain Hardwear Rainshadow 18L packs. It’s so nice knowing that these packs are waterproof, especially living in the Pacific Northwest. In general, we have found that 18L is a perfect size for most of our day hikes and have done hikes between 3-18 miles with these amazing day packs.

Water: Platypus Water Reservoir 2L

In the past, we loaded up on 2L Nalgene water bottles, but have more recently grown to love these Platypus Water Reservoirs to we can drink water on the go. There are many types of water reservoirs, but Platypus offers some of the most lightweight and minimalist designs which are great for longer hikes.

Food: RX Bars, Trail Mix, Autumn Gold Grain Free Bars

We usually bring a variety of snacks on our day hikes which compliment our normal PB&J sandwiches. We try to stick with healthy snacking options and RX Bars and Autumn Gold’s Grain Free Bars are both great options for healthy calorie replacement while hiking.

Headlamp: Black Diamond Spot Headlamp

We always carry headlamps, even while hiking during the day. You just never know when something will happen and you will be out later than you expect. The Black Diamond Spot Headlamp is great since it has a locking feature which will prevent the headlamp from turning on and draining the battery when it’s stowed away in your pack.

First Aid: Adventure Medical Kits Ultralight Watertight

We use this Adventure Medical Kit, and replace items we use after each hike. It’s important to know your first aid kit well so in the case you need to use it, you’ll know exactly what’s inside. We also pack Benadryl with this kit in case we have an allergic reaction out in the mountains.

Sunscreen: Alba Botanica Sunscreen SPF 45

We have read a lot about the dangers of most skin care products, and have done a lot of research on sunscreen products that are made with non-harmful ingredients. We highly recommend the Alba Botanica sunscreen as it’s made with non-harmful ingredients and wears nicely throughout the day.

Bug Spray: Coleman 100 Max 100% DEET

Fire: BIC Lighter Classic

Knife: Kershaw Leek Pocket Knife

Emergency Blanket: Swiss Safe Emergency Thermal Blankets

Navigation Tool: Gaia Maps

We love Gaia Maps. For $20/year you can have access to their pro version which allows you to download regions for offline use. We do this before every hike so we know we can find our way even without cell phone service. This paired with Rachel’s Apple Watch gives us a pretty good idea of distance and elevation as we track out hikes.

Photography

Camera: Olympus OM-D E-M1

Micro four thirds is the way to go! Compact, lightweight, and ready to go anywhere without sacrificing quality. We take our cameras with us everywhere and having small compact camera and lenses is one of our top priorities! That being said, we shoot high resolution imagery and do not want to sacrifice quality. We highly recommend Olympus’ mirrorless micro four thirds family of cameras and lenses as they nail the size/quality ratio that we look for - especially for day hikes.

Lenses:

Primary: Olympus M.Zuiko ED 12-40mm f2.8 PRO

Secondary: Olympus M.Zuiko ED 40-150mm f2.8 PRO

Extra: Olympus M.Zuiko Digital 2x Teleconverter MC-20

It’s often difficult to decide on lenses! If we had to pick one lens, we would 100% recommend the Olympus M.Zuiko ED 12-40mm f2.8 PRO. The 12-40mm paired with the Olympus 2x Teleconverter is a great way to cover a variety photo opportunities while hiking.

Peak Design Clips

Peak Design Capture Clip

Peak Design Dual Plate (ARCA and RC2 Tripod Compatible)

We are obsessed with Peak Design! Based in San Francisco, they make creative photography accessories from bags to clips. The Peak Design Capture Clip has been a game changer for us. With the Dual Plate connected to the bottom of our cameras, and our Capture Clips connected to our backpack straps, we can hike with our cameras out near our chest and ready to shoot at all times.

Lens Cleaner: Microfiber Cleaning Cloths