I just completed the Camino Frances-Sept 25-Oct 10. I've drawn some equipment perspective from what I used and in talking with many other Peregrinos. Here's what Ive found.
Backpack: I used a Granite Gear Blaze. 60 liters, 2lbs14oz, waterproof, top loader, excellent harness system. This is designed as an ultra-lite pack. It's made of lighter materials overall and would not be a good choice for brush busting, however, for a Camino type walk I can't rx it highly enough. The belt and shoulder straps are fully padded and the harness is fully adjustable. bsolutely comfortable for the 20 pound load I carried. It has 3 outside pockets which worked perfect for storing rain gear and other misc items. Many of the others used the standard array of packs and all were at least half again heavier than mine (size for size). IF I were to do the Camino again I might look at the Granite Gear Aji which is a panel loader at 2lbl 9oz 50 lt.
I packed all my interior gear into Silnylon bags. This allowed extra waterproofing for my clothes and great organization.
Footwear: I used Solomon FastPacker mids. These are medium duty gore-tex fully synthetic trail boots. I choose a gore-tex boot based on the time of year (cooler) and anticipated rain. These boots have a firm (not hard) sole to distribute the rock spots. You will be walking on miles of cobble, pebbles, and rocks. I had absolutely zero foot issues other than tired feet. IF I was going in the summer I would have used my Lowa Tempest mids-non gore-tex. THERE IS NO MORE IMPORTANT PIECE OF EQUIPMENT THAN YOUR FOOTWEAR. Hopefully I emphasized the importance of footwear selection. Footwear includes the sock selection. I used Wigwam medium cushion warm weather socks. Why? Because I already tested various socks, liners, cushioning, etc. with these specific boots and found a single pair of these socks worked best. The most injuries I saw (and there were many, many injuries) have been due to poor footwear selection. Insufficiently firm soles (walking shoes, running shoes), not tested or broken in footwear, wet feet caused most of the injuries. The injuries included; blisters, Achilles tendon pulled, pressure points on the foot.
As you select your footwear put on your pack fully loaded and walk several 5-10k hikes over street/trail. Do not show up to the Camino without doing this-you will regret it!
Clothes: I took 3 pair of Mountain Hardwear zip offs, 3 Under Armor T shirts, 3 pair Under Armor Boxers (not briefs), 3 pair Wigwam socks, 1 REI quarter zip medium, 1 North Face Apex jacket. I could have dumped one pair of pants, however, the extra pair allowed me to use them exclusively at "camp" shorts. ALL of the above are fully synthetic. Synthetic washed easily, dries quickly, doesn't maintain smells, and stays warmer when wet. Do not take cotton anything. I did not use brief underwear- Ive found they rub.
Rain gear: I took lite weight gators, lite weigh TNF rain pants(side zips) and lite weight Mountain Hardwear rain jackets. I know some folks use a poncho. I watched them get soaked. Besides my pack is waterproof, so I don't need to cover it with a poncho. My system allowed more choices based on the amount of rain AND allowed extra layering in cold weather. The Gators were a last minute decision that turned out to be worth their weight in gold. Gators protect socks from getting wet. Wet socks guarantee blisters. Merino wool glove liners. Fully synthetic would have worked too, but, these were on sale.
Walking poles: Absolutely need IF your doing St Jean, otherwise, not so much. Let me say I'm a user/believer of poles. I use them on every mountain trail I hike. However, I found I didn't need them for 80% of the Camino. Its a toss up.
Headlamp: People wondered how I completed the 490 mile Camino in 16 days. I'm just an average walker, however, I found snoring would wake me up, usually at about 4-5am. Since it got light at 8am at the time of year I went, I started walking at 4-5am and would walk until 4-5pm. This was NOT pre-planned. No big deal. Some would say "but you miss so much by walking in the dark...". I would simply describe the magic of walking the Meseta on a moonlit night, or walking through a midevil 'witches' forest by headlamp light. I can assure you I missed nothing. Use a headlamp with either AA or AAA batteries, so you can replace them easily.
Sleeping bag: I used a Go-Lite 45 deg down bag that weighed 1lb 2 oz. I usually used it unzipped as a blanket. Absolutely perfect choice! I heard many complaints about the various 'bag liners'. Folks were cold. The time of year I went the weather was turning cooler and blankets were not a guarantee. I will be contacting Go-lite and giving them a design mod for a Camino specific bag. Full zipper, down, 1 lb, 50 deg.
Misc: REI towel, IPOD, Camp Suds. Flip Flops (Lite weight sandles or even ultralite Tshoes would have been better).
Backpack: I used a Granite Gear Blaze. 60 liters, 2lbs14oz, waterproof, top loader, excellent harness system. This is designed as an ultra-lite pack. It's made of lighter materials overall and would not be a good choice for brush busting, however, for a Camino type walk I can't rx it highly enough. The belt and shoulder straps are fully padded and the harness is fully adjustable. bsolutely comfortable for the 20 pound load I carried. It has 3 outside pockets which worked perfect for storing rain gear and other misc items. Many of the others used the standard array of packs and all were at least half again heavier than mine (size for size). IF I were to do the Camino again I might look at the Granite Gear Aji which is a panel loader at 2lbl 9oz 50 lt.
I packed all my interior gear into Silnylon bags. This allowed extra waterproofing for my clothes and great organization.
Footwear: I used Solomon FastPacker mids. These are medium duty gore-tex fully synthetic trail boots. I choose a gore-tex boot based on the time of year (cooler) and anticipated rain. These boots have a firm (not hard) sole to distribute the rock spots. You will be walking on miles of cobble, pebbles, and rocks. I had absolutely zero foot issues other than tired feet. IF I was going in the summer I would have used my Lowa Tempest mids-non gore-tex. THERE IS NO MORE IMPORTANT PIECE OF EQUIPMENT THAN YOUR FOOTWEAR. Hopefully I emphasized the importance of footwear selection. Footwear includes the sock selection. I used Wigwam medium cushion warm weather socks. Why? Because I already tested various socks, liners, cushioning, etc. with these specific boots and found a single pair of these socks worked best. The most injuries I saw (and there were many, many injuries) have been due to poor footwear selection. Insufficiently firm soles (walking shoes, running shoes), not tested or broken in footwear, wet feet caused most of the injuries. The injuries included; blisters, Achilles tendon pulled, pressure points on the foot.
As you select your footwear put on your pack fully loaded and walk several 5-10k hikes over street/trail. Do not show up to the Camino without doing this-you will regret it!
Clothes: I took 3 pair of Mountain Hardwear zip offs, 3 Under Armor T shirts, 3 pair Under Armor Boxers (not briefs), 3 pair Wigwam socks, 1 REI quarter zip medium, 1 North Face Apex jacket. I could have dumped one pair of pants, however, the extra pair allowed me to use them exclusively at "camp" shorts. ALL of the above are fully synthetic. Synthetic washed easily, dries quickly, doesn't maintain smells, and stays warmer when wet. Do not take cotton anything. I did not use brief underwear- Ive found they rub.
Rain gear: I took lite weight gators, lite weigh TNF rain pants(side zips) and lite weight Mountain Hardwear rain jackets. I know some folks use a poncho. I watched them get soaked. Besides my pack is waterproof, so I don't need to cover it with a poncho. My system allowed more choices based on the amount of rain AND allowed extra layering in cold weather. The Gators were a last minute decision that turned out to be worth their weight in gold. Gators protect socks from getting wet. Wet socks guarantee blisters. Merino wool glove liners. Fully synthetic would have worked too, but, these were on sale.
Walking poles: Absolutely need IF your doing St Jean, otherwise, not so much. Let me say I'm a user/believer of poles. I use them on every mountain trail I hike. However, I found I didn't need them for 80% of the Camino. Its a toss up.
Headlamp: People wondered how I completed the 490 mile Camino in 16 days. I'm just an average walker, however, I found snoring would wake me up, usually at about 4-5am. Since it got light at 8am at the time of year I went, I started walking at 4-5am and would walk until 4-5pm. This was NOT pre-planned. No big deal. Some would say "but you miss so much by walking in the dark...". I would simply describe the magic of walking the Meseta on a moonlit night, or walking through a midevil 'witches' forest by headlamp light. I can assure you I missed nothing. Use a headlamp with either AA or AAA batteries, so you can replace them easily.
Sleeping bag: I used a Go-Lite 45 deg down bag that weighed 1lb 2 oz. I usually used it unzipped as a blanket. Absolutely perfect choice! I heard many complaints about the various 'bag liners'. Folks were cold. The time of year I went the weather was turning cooler and blankets were not a guarantee. I will be contacting Go-lite and giving them a design mod for a Camino specific bag. Full zipper, down, 1 lb, 50 deg.
Misc: REI towel, IPOD, Camp Suds. Flip Flops (Lite weight sandles or even ultralite Tshoes would have been better).
