I asked 15,000 hikers for their best tips

✅ Join thousands of hikers now - Master the outdoors with tips, tricks, and stories

Most hikers make simple mistakes that can ruin their hike—or even get them lost—but these game-changing trail tips will help you hike smarter. After 34 years of hiking and guiding, I’ve seen what really works, and today, I’m sharing the best hiking advice from real hikers like you.

*⏱️ TIMESTAMPS*
00:00 The One Simple Habit That Could Save Your Life
01:04 The Mistake That Gets Hikers Lost
01:57 The Waterproof Boot Myth Exposed
02:59 The Secret to Climbing Without Burning Out
04:24 No Camp Shoes? No Problem!
06:04 The Bumbag Hack That Saves Time and Effort
07:08 Three Small Fixes That Make a Huge Difference
08:42 The End-of-Day Trick That Saves Your Legs
10:20 Hike Your Own Hike – Why It Matters
10:59 The Most Liked Tip That Every Hiker Should Remember

[mowsertas]

✅ Join thousands of hikers now - Master the outdoors with tips, tricks, and stories

[ricochetphoenix]

Three tips I’ve learned that save a lot of time and pain are:

1. When leaving a camp site or after taking a break make a sweep of the ground from the edge of the area working toward the center with a little overlap of your path. This will help to ensure you leave nothing behind.

2. Always carry a tube of O’keeffe’s healthy feet. Use this anytime your feet spend excessive amounts of time being wet. This will help to prevent your feet from drying out and cracking after a long day. Apply when your feet are still moist and be generous. Your feet will thank you.

3. Always stop at the last water source before camp and fill all of your available water containers. I personally bring a 3L CNOC bag along with two 1L smart water bottles that I fill up at my last source. This gives me 3L of water for dinner/breakfast and 2L for the hike to the next source in the morning. It also comes in handy if you have others with you who end up needing more than they planned for.

*Bonus - Put your phone in Airplane mode when out of the service area to conserve battery otherwise your phone will drain the battery trying to find a signal.

[raylenihan]

You asked 15000 hikers and I wasn’t one of them. How on earth do you expect to get any decent answers? 😅

[philipoakley]

For single day trips, take a simple lightweight rectangular tarp (~8ftx4ft), a single walking pole and a few guys to make a simple wind/rain/drizzle/snow break. Works really well in windy areas [Scotland]. Mine's been going 30 years. Hand made! Makes the weather go away while having lunch/rest.

Invert the walking pole for keeping tarps up (spike at the top)

Add hand loops to the corners & centre of long edge of tarp or "tent main guy points" to give multiple instant pegging and holding points (i.e. end with 15cm+30cm loop lengths - borrowed from old Hilleberg tent from before they had modern adjustable tensioners).

Take a small monocular for checking the route ahead on the far slopes. Good for spotting where the route goes, other people on far hill tops. If dusk/night walking, get a larger front lens to capture more light (7x50 are really good as night vision goggles! 8x42 are still good. 10x22 are useless! )

[OneWeekGetAway]

I start early and finish early so that I have down time at the end of the day - which helps with cleaning and prep; but also ensures I am super excited to get started again early the next day. My favorite pace is be on the trail by 05, stop for an hour breakfast at the 2-3 hour mark, do another 2-4 hours, and be done. It is not the 12 hour day many do, but I find it keeps me fresh and motivated.

[AshleyMultiAdventures]

The thing with looking behind to familiarise yourself with the view for when you return the same way, is to do so at any junction, or steep climb- on a climb if you have a steep ascent to a ridge, when I reach the ridge stop and look back down to have a clear sense of the best way down, it can be dangerous to get that wrong on descent.

[Roybatty]

My personal tip would be:
Know Thyself.
I've been hiking for decades. It didn't take long before I realized that I could get lost almost anywhere I hiked. It's not something I'm proud of. But at least I acknowledge the fact to myself and others even though it's embarrassing. Allowing me to take the necessary steps to prevent it. Know your strengths and weaknesses. Don't lie to yourself. It could get you permanently deleted.

[RememberCorrichie]

Solving problem of drinking very cold water from your bottle whilst walking in Winter (to preserve core body heat) when you don’t have a hydration bladder in your pack: Tip - Drink a mouthful of the chilled water without swallowing and leave it to swill in your mouth for at least a minute until lukewarm. A UK Parachute Selection Forces trg tip.

[brockbutz]

Bring a small lightweight tarp. It can be really miserable on a trip w bad weather and you have nowhere to go but your tent. Having a tarp to cook your dinner, relax, make breakfast. Can make a big difference. So you’re not getting pounded by the elements. Just my 2cents.

[mzimmerman]

I was in the army for a few years. Well polished boots can become somewhat water resistant but the real trick is just to use wool socks and accept that your feet are going to get wet.. Regular leather boots dry relatively quickly and wool socks keep most of their insulation even when completely soaked .. For comfort we would wear cotton socks inside our wool socks to wick away moisture but you would normally remove the cotton socks in wet conditions (as they do not insulate when wet and dry slowly .

[tryntoc]

Found a full size plastic garbage bag as a life saver. So many uses for many different unique scenarios. As a liner inside your pack to ensure dry contents, especially sleeping bag. Hypothermia repellent. In rain wet brush etc. use by turning upside down and cutting a hole for your head and two out the side for your arms. Also can be used if you need to bivy and keep feet and legs dry...so I always bring two. They also help contain enough heat when in sud zero conditions to help you survive. Many more uses, but those mentioned quickly come to mind from personal experiences.

[martinforrester]

I'm now 81 yrs old, have been hiking/scrambling/climbing for 60 yrs. I've always hiked in boots made specifically for the job. I'm from the UK where it's always wet, cold and rains frequently. If you buy the proper items from recognised companies, wet feet in your boots would never be a problem. Mine are made in Italy or elsewhere in Europe. I wear or carry full length gaiters. The socks that now suit me most are from the USA, DT, and with a lifetime guarantee !

[mongo]

I'm a recent convert to the poncho rather than a rain jacket on spring/summer hikes. It weighs very little, is more breathable, covers my pack and doubles as a footprint for my one-person tent if required. No zips to break.

[kristaps]

trully good tips. Love Peter Dombrovskis quote "Take nothing but photos, leave nothing but footsteps", even better this one "When you get out there, you don't get away from it all, you get back to it all".
I did Cape Wrath Trail in remote Scotland, 14 days of rain... 14 days of wet feet. Every evening in tent I washed my feet, dried it, applied talcum powder and put sleeping wool socks on. In morning applied vaseline, put HILLY pulse compression socks on (they are easy to dry in matter of hours) and Sealskin water proof socks but not those with a "cling film/shopping bag material" in between. There were days (apart from river crossings) when my feed were dry. I like Bridgedale wool hiking socks for regular hikes. I had another thin compression trailrunners, socks X-Bionic from 2018 but they just would not get dry for a day or two. Advise always do a test hike on terrain you're expecting to hike on. Don't trust weather forecast in Scotland.... Be aware of mist, 99% at times you might get lost.

[karlsnowsill]

Wear a rashtop for your base layer, it wicks if its hot and it makes the pack straps feel more comfortable hot or cold. Very light and easy to wash and dry.

[Storm_v.]

Carry a small waterproof notebook and pencil. Make notes of what worked well and what didn't work at all, observations and personalized maps about that hike to review once arriving home and lastly leave trail reports for others if possible. This is especially good if you are new to hiking or want to share helpful experiences on social media after the trip.

[claudeclawsonne]

In that moment when hiking back and you realise you're not sure if you went left or right, I find turning around and walking backwards a little ways sometimes helps. Try both choices and see which looks the more familiar. At least you saw your path once before from this direction. Looking at it this way may jog your memory. If the problem is night's now fallen and *nothing* looks familiar, waiting in place until the sun comes back up is very much preferable to wandering off the wrong way for miles in the dark, driven by panic.

[mindexplorer]

The tip with looking back is very precious and so easy!

[joekrusec]

I tried three different things on my last long walk, two were a disaster (and the same bit of kit), but bringing a chux rag to slop out a wet tent was a huge success. It is definitely better than a sponge. It is thin, soaks up a lot of water, can be wrung almost to damp (way better than a sponge) so it can get a tent to a good point to dry out and it will dry if hung up (which a sponge won’t do). Also you can wash it repeatedly.

[TheLoreofBushcraft]

Sorry mate, but waterproof boots do work as long as they are tall enough to wade in water, and if it’s raining one needs to wear rain trousers, otherwise the water will soak your trousers and eventually leak into your boots. You also have to wear gaiters if you were going through wet brush .I wear Lowa Hunter Evo Extreme High boots and my feet never get wet. I do however coat them in Granger’s wax every few months to twice a season. I’m always walking through creeks in them and have no issues whatsoever and I’m a man of extreme activity. Too many people wear ankle boots and expect rain not to get into them.