Video summary

12 Signs You Don't Know What You're Doing on a Backpacking Trip

Main summary

Key takeaways

Lifestyle

Key “Don’t Do This” Backpacking Signs (pet peeves)

  • Bring “too much” / unreasonably optimized gear for an overnighter

    • Example complaint: carrying far more food/effort than makes sense for a short trip.

  • Use a Jetboil solo

    • Jetboils are considered unnecessarily bulky/heavy and inefficient for solo use (the fuel/weight tradeoff won’t make sense unless you’re in a larger group and/or reusing fuel across trips).

  • Use a gravity-feed water filter when you’re solo

    • The idea: it’s extra setup/bulk for water output you don’t need.
    • “Double” gravity setups (two bladders) are treated as especially pointless overkill for one person.
    • Alternative mentioned: quickly filtering with lightweight systems like Platypus QuickDraw.

  • Rely on a Katadyn BeFree long-term (durability critique)

    • Repeated experience cited: filters slowing down after a short period (sometimes only days), leading to problems like dehydration risk due to slow filtering.

  • Overspend on redundancy: add a tent footprint

    • Claim: footprint use often comes from being upsold/fear-mongered.
    • Counterpoint acknowledged: holes can happen, but are typically rare; footprints add cost and weight.

  • Don’t use trekking poles

    • Stance: poles take ~10–25% of load off knees/feet by redistributing weight to hands/elbows/shoulders.

  • Bring a tent with fiberglass poles

    • Warning: fiberglass poles are described as prone to breaking and hard/impossible to fix in the field (duct-tape “fixes” won’t restore proper structure).
    • Recommendation: choose tents with aluminum (or other more durable pole materials).

  • Treat blisters with old-school moleskin (vs modern tape)

    • Recommendation: switch to Leukotape for better staying power and performance.
    • Moleskin is described as often coming off once socks are put on.

  • Wear brand-new, unscuffed shoes (or shoes you haven’t proven)

    • “New and pristine” shoes are used as a red-flag sign of inexperience.
    • Clarification: shoes should be broken in; through-hikers are an exception due to needing frequent shoe replacement.

  • Hike with the same people who consistently overpack

    • Examples of the “wrong” vibe: whole jars of peanut butter, frozen cakes, excessively large/odd items (even jokes about toilet seats).
    • Punchline: you’re judged for repeatedly choosing the wrong partners.

  • Wear jeans on trail

    • Presented as an immediate “you don’t know what you’re doing” indicator (comfy/rationalization aside).

  • Buy backpacking meals while hungry in the city

    • Warning: choosing based on immediate cravings can lead to regret after eating it on-trail (spicy/greasy/too-unpleasant flavors after exertion).

  • Bring canned food to the backcountry

    • Cans at campsites are treated as a clear sign of bad preparation/inefficient packing (and an obvious footprint/weight choice).

Tools, Apps, and Planning Tips

  • Don’t trust AllTrails as “truth”

    • Use is okay for browsing, but trusting it for route accuracy is discouraged.
    • Issues reported: wrong/partial routes, incorrect distances, and difficulty grading that doesn’t match reality.
    • Mentioned comparisons:
      • FarOut: praised for bigger-trail intel (especially water/community notes).
      • Garmin: used without the same issues in the discussion.

  • Bear spray advice (context matters)

    • Claim: bear spray in non-grizzly territory is discouraged.
    • In grizzly territory, bear spray is treated as more justified.

Gear/Health Notes Mentioned

  • Leukotape vs moleskin for blister prevention/treatment.

  • Pillow critique (Trekology Mega Pillow)

    • Reported disappointment: uncomfortable; slides off the pad even with a strap.
    • Suggested workaround (if staying with it): add grippy dots to improve traction.
    • Swap mentioned: changed mid-night for a different trekking pillow.

  • Sleeping bag preview/review

    • Therm-a-Rest Parsec (20°F) discussed as an upgrade-ish option around the low-to-mid $300s on sale (up to ~$470 full price).
    • Notable feature: down pocket/extra warmth “toe oasis” targeting cold toes.
    • Weight: about 1 lb 13 oz for a 20°F version (size dependent).
    • Verdict: “5/5 for value/quality/thoughtful design,” with the caveat that sale pricing is preferred.

Travel/Logistics (air travel quick guidance)

  • What you generally can’t fly with:

    • Fuel for stoves, bear spray, and trekking poles (along with other common restrictions).

  • Batteries/electronics

    • Should go in carry-on (noted as a common “got dinged before” issue depending on practice).

  • How gear is packed

    • Backpack often checked inside a larger duffel (not brought as a carry-on).
    • Mentioned strategy to reduce checked-bag fees: watch trekking poles rules.

Notable locations / brands / speakers (end)

Locations / trails mentioned

  • Canyonlands
  • Colorado Trail
  • Collegiate Loop
  • GDT (mentioned for filter durability)
  • Washington (bear spray trivia context)
  • Prime / “mountain peaks” generally for summit flags

Products / brands mentioned

  • Jetboil
  • Gravity-feed water filters (Platypus QuickDraw)
  • Katadyn BeFree
  • Leukotape
  • moleskin
  • Osprey (pack mention)
  • tents/footprints (including references to Outdoor Vitals and an Outdoor Vitals single-person tent)
  • Trekology pillow
  • Therm-a-Rest Parsec sleeping bag
  • Mag Designs (Alpha 90 hoodie)
  • Summit Flags
  • AllTrails
  • FarOut
  • Garmin

Speakers / podcast hosts / guests mentioned

  • Jesse Mandato and Carl Mandrioli (co-hosts)
  • References to Eric Hanson and “Darwin” (someone hiking and shoe-related discussion)
  • A questioner from Instagram (Jack)

Original video