Essential Clothing/Gear

Its all how you wrap the tape on your feet. Moleskin, athletic tape and/or Blistoban pads. Blister triangle: heat, friction and moisture. Get rid of one leg and you will get no blisters. As soon as you feel a hotspot starting, stop and tape it. Also benzoin tincture on feet before hike ( a few treatments on spots you know blister) toughens the feet (runners use it) and helps adhesive stick better. I carry all but my feet are tough....hike in cotton/poly socks as well as merino wool/silk blends (more comfortable)
 
Nick said:
I do/did too and it's not even close to as good.
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in which way is it different?
I would guess the leukotape is softer.

I usually use a combination of what Bob recommends and then attach duct tape on top of it to secure it. Lucky me I rarely need to use any of it because I rarely get blisters. But if I do, I never feel them and usually discover them by surprise at the end of the day.
 
Howdy @Mast3rShake!
All these answers so far are fantastic. My experience over the past two decades is mainly here in the west with a little time spent in Washington state. I don't have any experience back east. I know that the humidity is much greater there and that can change, not a lot, the strategy a little. Layering is the key but be sure that your gear is consistent with the region. For example, the day we exited the John Muir Trail in the Sierra Nevadas a lone backpacker was organizing gear at our community table. Everything had its own bag, and he had a lot of cold weather gear. I asked where he was from back east and he said, "Is it that obvious?" We chuckled a little and then I said yes. The reason: the majority of the west is dry enough that we don't have to fight humidity with our gear or our apparel. So in general I go pretty basic with my layers. Humidity cuts to the bone and gets into everything.
I'll just say it again, all the advice here is great and should be respected. Just throwing it out there to double check with regional nuances.
Anyway, have fun. I love talking about, looking at, debating, and collecting gear...mainly because it means I'm getting outside.

Salud!
 
I agree with Tanner that it depends on where you are... here in California it almost always cools off at night and our humidity is nothing where as in the Midwest where I'm from in the summer it's hot and humid 24 hours a day, the East coast is probably similar. I would think that no matter what though you can't go wrong if you layer. In the desert it's ok to wear cotton because during the day you want your clothes to stay wet. In the mountains "cotton kills" because it never dries and it sucks the heat away from your body. Fleece is good because it will keep you warm even when it gets wet but it's heavy. I wear Smartwool shirts as my base layer all year round because they dry quickly and don't stink even after multiple days on the trail, next a lightweight polyester shirt, as the sun goes down... a down sweater, and top it with a lightweight rain jacket. On the bottoms I just wear hiking pants and rain pants if it gets really cold or if it rains. I wear a tilley hat and take a beanie for the evening oh and wool socks. I wear capilene to sleep in and a beanie. On really cold nights I wear everything.

I think we're all gear junkies... love to talk about it, love to get new stuff. Just when I think I have the perfect system I see someone with the next best thing and I have to have it! Gives me an idea for a new thread...
 
Vaseline. My background is distance running & I would Vaseline every every
part if my body that could rub or chaff. Now I do the same thing for hiking & backpacking.
NEVER had a blister. Rub the stuff all over feet - feels good too :)

As far as gear ... high quality knife.

I recently got a backpacking chainsaw that I have really loved - think of a chainsaw blade with
handles at the end. Cuts logs like butter - but that is a luxury.
 
DrNed said:
I recently got a backpacking chainsaw that I have really loved - think of a chainsaw blade with
handles at the end. Cuts logs like butter - but that is a luxury.
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I had one of those for a season or two. Great fun to see how well that thing could cut but the blade didn't last long.
 
DrNed said:
Vaseline. My background is distance running & I would Vaseline every every
part if my body that could rub or chaff. Now I do the same thing for hiking & backpacking.
NEVER had a blister. Rub the stuff all over feet - feels good too :)
Click to expand...
I've always worried what all that Vaseline would do to my socks and shoes..
 
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