Camino Backpacking Gear
Best Gear for Hiking the Camino de Santiago
This is a list of all the best gear you may want to consider purchasing when pulling together your packing list for the Camino de Santiago. This list is designed for those walking rather than biking. It is also designed for the traditional routes that assume you will have an Albergue to stay at each night. This packing and gear loadout is designed for Spring through Fall and not for Winter hiking.
Osprey Ultralight Dry Sack
You need to keep your clothing dry with a secondly method other than a backpack rain cover. The Osprey 3 liter dry sack allows you to keep you pack organized and your clothing dry.
Frogg Toggs Poncho
There are a lot of poncho and rain suit options on the market, but Frogg Toggs is one of the most affordable and maintains high quality consistently. This high breathable material does not stick to you while your Camino hiking causes you to sweat.
Microfiber Towel for Camino
There are a lot of different towel options to choose from when it comes to a good shower. The Camino offers many opportunities to shower and having a fast drying towel is needed or you will have it drying on the outside of your bag everyday. This is a great option and has a variety of sizes to help you reduce your pack weight as needed.
Aegismax Down Sleeping Bag
The perfect Camino sleeping bag that is ultralight, comfortable, and warm. It is rated to the ideal temperature of an Albergue so that you can stay warm without getting too warm.
Granite Gear Crown 2 (Women)
Introducing the all-new Granite Gear Crown2 60 (Women's Fit), an ultralight yet ultra-comfortable multi-day pack. This new and improved successor to the classic Crown V.C. 60, boasts Granite Gear's patent-pending fully adjustable Re-Fit hip belt, Granite Gear's new and innovative Air-Current Mark 2 compression molded PP frame sheet with molded foam back panel, and bonus lid (removable), all while weighing in at 2.2lbs.
Leukotape Blister Treatment
Every Camino hiker will experience hot spots on their feet that eventually turn into blisters if not treated properly. Athletic tape doesn't have the appropriate amount of stick to stay on for days at a time. Multi-purpose medical tape for your Camino hike.
275 Paracord
It is important to have a little bit of paracord on every backpacking trip. They are useful more specifically on the Camino de Santiago for a clothing dry line as well as a for tying pieces of clothing to dry on the outside of your backpack.
Black Diamond Storm 400 Headlamp
Black Diamond's Storm 400 is engineered for epics in all conditions, featuring a robust waterproof/dustproof housing and 400 lumens of bright light. With a new, compact body, the Storm 400 is more ergonomic, and the updated user interface includes a secondary switch for easy mode selection.
Granite Gear Crown 2 (Men)
Introducing the all-new Granite Gear Crown2 60, an ultralight yet ultra-comfortable multi-day pack. This new and improved successor to the classic Crown V.C. 60, boasts Granite Gear's patent-pending fully adjustable Re-Fit hip belt, Granite Gear's new and innovative Air-Current Mark 2 compression molded PP frame sheet with molded foam back panel, and bonus lid (removable), all while weighing in at 2.2lbs. (regular torso without lid).
Deuter Camino Backpack
The foundation of any great trekking pack is in a great carry system. For Deuter’s Aircontact Lite trekking packs, this is achieved through a body contact philosophy where stability and effective energy transfer are optimized by bringing the weight of the pack close to the body and therefore close to the center of gravity of the wearer. This results in full control and an efficient carry of heavier loads.
About the gear list designer
It's always good to know who is designing an optimized backpacking list since you should be getting information from experienced backpackers that have not only done wilderness backpacking, but also the Camino itself. There are distinct differences between wilderness backpacking (i.e. Appalachian Trail or Pacific Crest Trail) and then walking the Camino de Santiago.
About the Camino Gear List Designer:
Caleb has hiked the entire Camino Frances in the fall of 2016 and has done many wilderness hikes along the Appalachian Trail, Superior Hiking Trail, Machu Pichu, and other smaller week-long treks. His hiking style tends to be a lightweight backpacker rather than an ultralight backpacker. His pack base weight for wilderness thru-hikes tend to be around 15-18 pounds rather than ultralight backpacking weighing below 10 pounds. He also does not recommend the base pack weight above 22 pounds. In general, the Camino is unique because you can cut out some heavy pack items such as a tent and substitute more hygiene products or clothing. The Camino is different from other thru-hikes since it has higher hygiene expectations in it's hiking culture. This list allows for a handful of luxury items and targets the necessities for a Camino hike. If you are planning on doing the Camino in the winter or the Primativo, make sure to read the description of each product to see if you should get it in those circumstances.
Great camino Movies
A father heads overseas to recover the body of his estranged son who died while traveling the "El Camino de Santiago" from France to Spain. As he mourns his son, he finds himself on an unexpected journey picking up where his son left off.