Hiking is a great way to get some exercise, relieve stress, and take in some sights. Wearing the right clothing and packing the proper gear is crucial for making sure that you spend your time enjoying the hike rather than being uncomfortable or worrying about your gear.

Below is a go-to guide for what to wear and pack for your hike. 

What to Wear on a Hike

High Quality Footwear

It’s so obvious that it often gets overlooked, but hiking puts more stress and strain on your feet than any other part of your body. Look after your feet and they’ll look after you. When it comes to hiking shoes, you want to make sure they fit perfectly to prevent blisters while also providing excellent traction and response to prevent slipping or falls. Something like the Xero Xcursion is great for the waterproof outer and lightweight build.

For socks, it depends on what kind of weather you are hiking in, with cold weather favoring thicker, warmer socks and warm weather favoring breathability and moisture-wicking. In either instance make sure your hiking socks fit well—if they are too loose then rubbing will likely cause blisters on longer hikes.

Dress for the Weather (and Worse)

Experienced hikers know it’s best to dress for the both the current conditions and to be prepared for unexpected weather. As the old Scandinavian saying goes “there is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing”.

Over the years this knowledge has developed into a system of layering your clothes, with each layer performing a different function.

• Base Layer – The base layer should control your moisture levels by wicking/moving the moisture (read sweat) from your body to the outer layers. Base layers are often synthetic or wool materials with excellent wicking properties.
• Mid Layer – This is the layer that helps keep your body heat in, and you warm and toasty. Depending on the situation/weather this can range from a light wool jumper in cool weather to a lightweight down jacket if it’s a little chillier.
• Shell Layer – The shell layer is there to protect you from the elements – primarily wind and rain. A good shell layer should prevent external moisture from seeping into your clothing while also providing some degree of breathability. Depending on the conditions this can range from a lightweight rain jacket with DWR (durable water repellent) coating or a heavy hard-shell jacket made with Gore-Tex.

The general principle is that you should always carry the three layers. The beauty of the system is that you can regulate your body heat (i.e. shed layers when it is too hot), yet protect yourself if the weather conditions deteriorate (i.e. put on extra layers). If it’s extra cold, then you can consider wearing two mid-layers, and turning it into a four-layer system.

Don’t forget extras like gloves and hats in the winter or sunglasses (and hats) for UV protection from the sun’s harmful rays.

What to Pack for Your Hike

Navigation

Outside of an injury that prevents you from walking, getting lost is one of the worst and most frequent problems hikers can face. Make sure you bring a map of the area and familiarize yourself with it ahead of time, charting the course you want to take.

In addition to the map, always take a compass (and know how to use it). GPS devices and mobile phones are great, wonderful tools to help you find their way. However, there are myriad ways for them to fail (batteries die, dropped in a stream, dropped on a rock).

Should such a fate befall them, your trusty compass will lead you back home.

Food and Water

Between these two, water is by far the more critical, and a good rule of thumb to use is to take one cup of water per person for every hour of hiking. Depending on the length of your hike, you may be able to take such a volume in a flask, bottle or hydration bladder. Though, for longer trips where you need to source water from nature, make sure and take some methods of purifying the water.

Though you can go longer without food than water, you still do not want to get caught with low blood sugar while out on the trails. Trail mix lives up to its name as it is easy to carry and offers a range of different micronutrients to keep your energy up without slowing you down. Other options include sandwiches, freeze-dried meals, and other calorie-dense foodstuffs.

First Aid

Assuming you are off on a short day hike, there is no need to bring a big, heavy first aid kit. That said, there are several common issues you may encounter on the trails which can quickly and easily be dealt with a couple of items. Assorted bandages and antibacterial ointment are the most obvious items along with an over the counter pain reliever. Bug spray helps solve another common problem, but be sure to bring antihistamine in case you get bitten or stung.

Safety

Depending on how long you plan to hike, there are a couple of items that can make your sojourn safer and a couple you should take with you anyway. For the standard fare, something to signal visually, like a reflective mirror, as well as audibly, like a whistle, are musts.

It is important that you pack a light source such as a bright LED flashlight or a headlamp. You may plan to be well home before dark, but we’ve heard countless stories of hikers taking a wrong turn, miscalculating the length of the trip and having to walk the trail in the dark.

Tools

Though you are likely not planning to work on any serious projects on the trail, things can always go wrong. This is where having a couple of tools handy can make a broken strap or torn seam turn from an exhausting pain to a minor inconvenience.

A capable swiss army knife or some other multi-tool that has a blade attached to it is the easiest solution to many different problems. For fastening, you want to bring duct tape or some other type of tape that is waterproof with a strong adhesive to form a water-tight seal on any torn clothing should the weather turn on you.

Backpacks

Most people tend to choose a backpack first before gathering the rest of their gear, and indeed you are probably wondering why we are tackling this essential piece of kit last.

Well, let me explain…

Bear in mind that you’ll be carrying everything yourself. We find it best to look out all of your equipment and food/water first, and then find the smallest pack that will just accommodate it all. Choosing a pack first. Then packing, generally leads to taking additional (unnecessary) weight on the trail as extra items make their way into your bag because there is space.

With the right clothing and the right gear, your next hike should pose no more difficulties than the challenge you are looking for.

Of course, it always pays to be prepared, so make sure that you wear the right clothing for the weather. And do not forget to bring a solid pack with all of the necessary implements to account for the unexpected on the trails.

—Karen Connelly, My Open Country

As a Masters All-American sprinter (57.5 years old when I’m posting this), I’m often asked what a sprinting workout looks like.

There are a number of them, but here’s one that I did for the first time today: Wicket Drills.

“Wicket Drills” are supposed to improve maximum velocity running and “front-side mechanics.”

Here’s my first time doing a wicket drill (just bought a bunch of them on Amazon).

SUPER fun and VERY interesting.

Oh, it’s 40 degrees out (hence the clothing), and I’m wearing the Xero Shoes Speed Force shoes (yes, a different color on each foot).

The Speed Force is our lightest, most minimalist, closest-to-barefoot shoe yet.

We designed it as a “racing flat,” but it’s so comfortable that people are wearing it all-day, every day.

They’re also taking it on trails, to the gym, on roads… you name it.

Speed Force is named after my favorite comic character, The Flash (okay, my favorite is a tie between Flash and Spiderman, but anyway…) and when you put it on, you’ll feel almost as fast as Barry Allen (Flash’s real name).

Find out more and get your Speed Force here:

When you run, you can hit the ground with anywhere from 3-6 times your body weight.

That’s a lot of force!

Clearly you need a LOT of cushioning to deal with that force, right?

Well, this is the argument that underlies all non-minimalist shoes, but it’s really the premise behind so-called MAXIMALIST shoes, like this one:

The equation, if you will, is something like: TONS of cushioning = less shock = safer running = fewer injuries

I’ve talked about whether this idea holds up here and here.

But now Science Daily reports on another study that concludes:

Despite transition period, maximal running shoes may still increase risk of injury

“A six-week transition period did not help wearers adjust to ”maximal” running shoes, indicating that increased impact forces and loading rates caused by the shoe design do not change over time.”

This was published recently in the American Journal of Sports Medicine. The lead author is J.J. Hannigan, a post-doctoral researcher in the FORCE Lab at Oregon State University’s Functional Orthopedic Research Center of Excellence (FORCE) Lab.

The shoes, which feature increased cushioning, particularly in the forefoot region of the midsole, affect runners’ biomechanics, leaving them at increased risk of injury, said Christine Pollard, director of the Bend campus’s Functional Orthopedic Research Center of Excellence (FORCE) Lab and a co-author of the study.

Usually reading about scientific studies doesn’t make me laugh, but this line did:

“These shoes may work for certain people, but right now we just don’t know who they are good for,” said Pollard

Some people wonder why adding cushioning INCREASES loading forces.

Let me toss out two theories:

1.  Many maximalist shoes also have elevated heels. Harvard’s Daniel Lieberman has shown that having a high-heeled running shoe can make even a habitually barefoot runner land on their heel, with the foot contacting the ground further out in front of the body, with the leg straighter.In short, when you land, you’re “putting on the brakes” and not relying on cushioning instead of the springs and shock absorbers built into your body, also known as, well your whole body! (but mostly your legs and feet)

   Any foam works best at a particular speed of compression and amount of force, and the odds that your body and running style match the characteristics of the foam isn’t very high.

2. Your feet are supposed to FEEL the ground. That’s why you have over 200,000 nerve endings in your soles — more than anywhere but your fingertips and lips.You use the information you get from feeling the world to know how or what to step on, or in… or what not to step on or in. It also helps you balance.

   When your brain isn’t getting that info from your little piggies, it may have you hit the ground harder to try to get the information it needs.

Let me make a prediction about what this latest study will do to the sales of maximalist running shoes.

Nothing.

Sadly.

Every few years, for the last 50-ish years, running shoe companies come out with some “new and improved” form of cushioning. And despite repeated studies with results like this one, each time they launch a new foam, a new gel, a new air pocket, they’re able to convince the majority of runners that this time is different, this one will REALLY work.

It’s like they’re the shoe company that cried “Wolf” but unlike the villagers in the story, who stop rushing to save the sheep and shepherd from the non-existent threat, we keep running to our nearest shoe store for the latest, greatest, thing.

It seems like you can’t change people’s mind with, well, uh, facts.

It is, of course, our hope and our goal for more and more people to explore the “radical” option — let your feet do their job. Let your feet be feet.

Let them bend, and move, and flex, and FEEL the world.

Use the natural springs and shocks that you carry with you all the time. In short…

Live Life Feet First!

If you decide to do that in a pair of Xero Shoes, we’re here to help.

If you want to have real fun and venture out barefoot, we’re here for that, too.

Let us know what you think. Leave a comment, below.

The content of this post does not constitute and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of a physician or other qualified health provider with any questions or concerns you may have about your health or a medical condition.

By Allison Goldestein

Think about the last time you went to the gym. You likely planned your outfit in advance. (How much will I be sweating? How good do I want to look? What’s actually clean?) However, unless you are a competitive weightlifter, you probably did not think much about your footwear. You just wore your sneakers, right? The same shoes you wear to run, elliptical, play basketball, soccer, volleyball, or anything else.

If you did, you’re compromising your strength workout.

When you swing a kettlebell, snatch a barbell, or lift a dumbbell, it feels like you’re using muscles to pull upward, against gravity. What most people forget, however, is that when you do these exercises, you’re also pushing down with your feet, into the earth. That downward force, which originates in the soles of your feet, is the foundation of your exercise, so if you want to reap the most benefit from the exercise—enlisting all the correct muscles and generating the most force to lift the heaviest weight that you can—that foundation has to be stable.

For stability, you need two things: sensation (i.e., you need to be able to feel the ground) and muscular control. Think about how difficult it is to walk on stilts, or even platform shoes (sorry ladies)—it’s hard because your feet are so far off the ground. You don’t get as much feedback from the proprioceptors—a fancy word for a type of neuron—in your soles, and you can’t enlist as many intrinsic foot muscles as you would if your feet were flat on the ground. The same goes for lifting wearing shoes with lots of cushioning: your foot is farther off the ground, which means you can’t feel the ground or generate force into it as uniformly and effectively, which compromises your stability.

The obvious solution is to lift barefoot—your feet can’t get any closer to the ground than that! However, most gyms won’t allow you to walk around barefoot, and you might not want to, given the risk of stepping on something sharp. Minimalist shoes like the Prio offer the closest experience to going barefoot. The sole is 5.5mm thick, which raises your foot less than a quarter of an inch off the ground, with no heel drop, meaning your heel is level with the rest of your foot, unlike the slight forward tilt you get in traditional running shoes. The shoe’s wide toe box also let your toes spread out, which adds stability, since it gives you a wider base.

If you’ve never worn minimalist shoes before, you’ll want to introduce them the way you would any new exercise or gear—slowly. Those little muscles in your feet that are used slacking off will need time to acclimate and strengthen. And yes, it’s hard to be patient, but your body will thank you. In the long run, making the switch will pay off.

The content of this post does not constitute and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of a physician or other qualified health provider with any questions or concerns you may have about your health or a medical condition.

I don’t know why “take a hike” is something we say when we want someone to go away, especially since hiking can be so good for you.

Shouldn’t we say that to people we like, and then go with them?!

Here are 5 reasons why you might want to take a hike:

And, of course, we hope you enjoy your hike in a pair of Xero Shoes.

The content of this post does not constitute and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of a physician or other qualified health provider with any questions or concerns you may have about your health or a medical condition.

If you’re looking for a lightweight but aggressive trail shoe, our new TerraFlex should do the trick.

Fans of our best-selling running shoe, the Prio, said, “I love this shoe, but need something more trail-friendly.” And that’s the TerraFlex.

Made with our same commitment to Natural Movement™, in the TerraFlex you’ll find:

• Natural Fit — wide toe boxes let your toes spread and relax. A non-elevated (zero-drop) heel for proper posture.
• Natural Motion — super flexible to let your feet bend and move naturally. Low-to-the-ground for balance and agility.
• Natural Feel — the patented FeelTrue® soles give you just-right protection while still giving the ground feedback your brain needs for efficient, natural movement.
• Light weight — the Men’s 9 is only 9.8 ounces, and Women’s 7 is only 8.4 (each)

Plus the super-luggy sole for great grip. And the soles are backed with our 5,000 mile sole warranty.

Find out more about the TerraFlex by clicking on one of the links, below:

We can’t wait to hear what you do when you put on your TerraFlex and Live Life Feet First!

Endurance running guru, Phil Maffetone, took the Xero Shoes Prio for a run in the desert… listen to what his feet have to say about it 😉

All footwear was minimalist prior to the early 70s. Every shoe was, basically, a “barefoot shoe.”

But now we’ve had over 40 years of heavily padded, motion-controlled shoes. And when you combine 4 decades of time with billions of dollars of marketing, everyone thinks that you NEED those shoes… even though there is no evidence that they provide any improvements in performance or injury reduction.

So, Xero Shoes is in an interesting position — we’re telling the TRUTH that everyone used to know and believe, in a whirlpool of deliberate misinformation. How does one do that?

How does one communicate a simple point — it’s better to USE your feet naturally, and Xero Shoes let you do that — against the tide of “more and bigger is better”?

I (Steven) talk about that, and many other things with TJ Walker, an expert in communication and public speaking who, it happens, I went to college with not too long after the invention of “foot coffins.

I hope you enjoy our chat…

So, what do you think?  I look forward to your comments, below…