Food Hacks Every Backpacker Should Know

My Favorite Food & Cooking Hacks I've learned over 9 Years & 14K Miles of Backpacking!

*** Gear Used to Shoot this Video! ***

- Camera -

- Lense -

- Sound -

DISCLAIMER: This video and description contain affiliate links, which means that
if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission at no extra
cost to you. This helps support the channel and allows me to continue to make
videos like this. Thank you for your support!

Musicbed SyncID:
MB01XY6ZLG6VU9D

[SydKam]

One of my hacks is, eating a backpacker meal on the first night of my trip and then use the packaging from that meal to rehydrate future meals like ramen or a knorr rice side. Keeps the pot clean and rehydrates well and easy to eat out of.

[josephmorgan]

It may seem redundant to you to always talk about the same types of things, but to many of us, we are hearing these little things for the first time, so please keep up the good work!!

[joshbeers]

I know they often don't do as well view-wise as gear vids, but for someone who already has a pretty dialed kit, tip videos really are where it's at. Much appreciated <3

[markperry]

For reducing the size of packaging and removing air. Make a pin hole, with either a pin or the tip of a knife, then slowly squeeze the air out, then fold up. A pin hole will let air out, keep moisture out, and keep food in, even things like powdered potato will no leak if you fold the bag so the hole is innermost/covered.
Saves on ziplocs, and the time decanting.

[FiraFlame]

My personal food hack is what I call Chicken Butter! It's a blend i make at home consisting of chicken bone broth powder, freeze-dried powdered butter, and iodized salt (sometimes I add black pepper). I use this to add flavor to any rehydrated dish as needed. The butter adds a nice creamy consistency, the chicken adds a savory flavor, and the salt is, well, salt. But it also adds about 100 calories per tablespoon, plus healthy gelatine and collagen, which is important for your aching joints out there. On its own, it can be a nice broth to stimulate your appetite. It's a winner for me.

[Wayondon]

At the risk of being too repetitive, I truly enjoy your posts. Appreciate it. Merci.

[wilsonov]

Thank you so much for these tips! I'm weird and autistic and have a lot of food issues, and also very bad at cooking and meal-planning at the best of times... But I really want to be outdoors, I have always yearned for longer trips in the wilderness and multiday hiking, and I would love to do the Te Araroa trail - it runs right by my house! But the few times I've tried basic overnight camping, I've found the food / cooking aspects, both before and during, to be so overwhelming that I've barely ever spent a night outdoors, in my 36 years.

I'm very excited to come across this video, similar videos I've seen over the years seem to overwhelm me even more, somehow... Haha that's life with autism, getting confused or stuck by things which everybody else seems to But I find these tips to be really very helpful and relatable. You've highlighted specific issues which I didn't even realise were significant barriers, and so I could never come up with a solution. So thank you very much, and I am looking forward to checking out your other videos now, cheers :)

[jennifer]

Thanks so much for this! I was literally just sitting with all my food spread out trying to figure out what I’m taking for a section of the PCT next week. Great timing! I never realized you divided food by each day with separate bags- I’m gonna do that! Much easier for my ADHD brain to bring what I need each day and keep it organized. To prevent myself from losing my spoon, I always keep it in the food cozy as opposed to loose in the food bag- so far I still have it! 😂 Once again, thank you! 🙂

[AD-bxfm]

I add olive oil to anything that can take it. Most decent foods can easily meet the 100:1 ratio so I personally prioritize protein. For example, gorp and nut mixes can take you close to 200 calories/oz and have a ton of protein. Using the fuel transfer adapter also reduces waste in the landfill which is particularly important to me.

[lilianm]

Most important lesson I learnt, bring food you like and want to eat. It might be different than from your day to day but you will learn over time what works and what not.

[Smitty-il]

I take a small dyneema made dog bowl and eye dropper with dawn dish soap for hand washing.

[backlogbrood]

The main reason this theme of video rocks is because it's about FOOD, GLORIOUS FOOD ❤

[Hunters]

I've been following you since you had only a few thousand followers, and then I thought to myself, this guy will get popular one day. Since then I haven't seen your videos recommended on YouTube, until now, and wow congrats on the 320k followers! It's so cool to see you doing what you love!

[gdx]

i tried the daily food bag idea once, no i prefer to package my food by meal type. brkfst, lunch, dinner, snack. this allows me to be more flexible on meal choices every day. if you bring 2 pieces of foil, you can use one for a lid and one for a wind screen. i weigh my small canisters after my trips to see how much i use. certain trips i will carry the medium size can, sometimes the small. on overnighters, i simply carry 2 partially empties and use them up. i have long taken freeze dried meals, open, dump in a bowl, add rice/ramen and dried meat, split in half and then put into food grade stand up mylar bags. one sided clear lets you see what you have but i also write on them the type and how much water to add. also, only heat coffee and hot chocolate water to as hot as you can drink. it doesn't need to boil. calories are great but make sure you get enough protein.

[Customcreationsllc]

I cut the bottom of my spoon hole to be a hook so I can pick up the pot lid.
I transfer my Skittles/snack into a small water/juice bottle then I can just pour them in my mouth no dirty hand contact.

[karlfonner]

When refueling that small butane canister – stick the small canister in the fridge and the large canister in the sun to warm up. You will thank me later.

[trumpeta]

Eating chips with your spork is genius! Immediately implementing this for my upcoming trip.

[kennethwedig]

I will take my flip fuel device on trail with me. Hiker boxes almost always contain partially used fuel canisters.

[joshualarue]

I also open all my food containers before packing. In addition to letting the air out. I like to toss the absorbing packet out, and have less trash to deal with on the trail.

[nancyst.john-smith]

I made covers for my water bottles and a liner for my tent floor out of the Reflectix 48” wide hot water heater insulation. We lived in Alaska and winter camped. A piece for under your sleeping mat can really cut the heat transfer from your body to the ground. It’s very light weight!