An Expert Guide To Hiking & The Products To Know

Level Things Up

“Walking is a brilliant full-body workout. And while walking and hiking are one and the same, hiking tends to be more rural and on trails, woodland or mountains. With more challenging terrain, expect to work more muscle groups, especially in your legs, glutes and core. If you’re using hiking poles, you’ll also work your arms and upper back. Hikes can be as short as an hour or as long as a full day. If you’re fit but new to hiking, aim for a two to four-hour hike. For your first hike, it’s worth seeking out well-known routes that have something special about them – a beautiful view or a great pub or café at the end always makes for a good walk. These kinds of hikes will give you a buzz and allow you to test your kit in relatively safe and well-trodden places. The more confident and practised you get at route-planning, and the more stamina you build up, the longer and more adventurous hikes you'll be able to achieve.” – Katy O’Neill Gutierrez, founder of Blaze Trails

Be Respectful

“One of the biggest rules when hiking is that you should leave no trace. Even a banana skin takes six years to decompose. When hiking, you may also see stone stacks on certain routes or trails, especially in the hills. These are official stone cairns, which provide essential guidance for lost walkers, especially in thick mists and low cloud. Sometimes people build their own stacks, which may look nice and mean something to the builder (or keep children occupied), but they can mislead walkers.” – Andrea Harris, hiking expert from CEP

Ease Yourself In

“It takes 20 minutes for muscle groups to warm up and for the cardiovascular system to start working efficiently, so start your hike at a gentle pace. It you start fast, you’ll be exhausted a quarter of the way into the walk. This is particularly relevant if you’ve had a long car ride to the start.” – Andrea 

Schedule In Rest Stops

“However fit you are, make a conscious effort to schedule in rest stops for refuelling, even if you’re not hungry or thirsty. If you don’t, you risk your energy levels crashing halfway through your hike. At the same time, you should always schedule in an extra hour on a full day’s hiking – over-estimating duration ensures a stress-free hike, especially if you’re walking with others who aren’t as fit as you. Other hike route features that will slow you down include inclines, boggy land and rocky terrain. Triple your expected time for those stretches of the route.” – Andrea 

Don’t Forget About The Way Down

“If you’re walking up hilly terrain, remember that reaching a summit means you are only 50% through your walk. You still have another 50% to go and remember that walking downhill can be just as tiring on the legs and knees.” – Andrea 

Think About Kit

“The most fundamental piece of kit, regardless of season, is your walking shoes or boots. Boots for rocky ground are essential. Both shoes and boots should be comfortable and non-restrictive, as any pressure points will only get worse as your feet swell. Appropriate footwear should be complemented with breathable, seam-free, stay-put hiking socks. A multi-pack of cheap sports socks will guarantee sweat, blisters and discomfort. In winter, breathable layers and gloves are a must, and in the summer, apply SPF (even when the wind is cooling), and wear a hat or high collar to protect the back of your neck. Waterproofs are also essential – the higher tech, the better.” – Andrea 

Start With Hiking Trainers

“There’s no need to spend lots of money on fancy hiking boots when you’re just starting out. Lots of brands do hiking trainers, which work as a great hybrid that you can wear for low-level walks as well as on more mountainous terrain. If you’re going for a local, low-level walk on even ground in good, dry weather, regular sports trainers will often be okay, but if you are embarking on wilder hikes on rougher terrain or in more inclement weather, shoes with good grip are essential.” – Katy 

Ditch Cotton

“Nothing will ruin a hike more than getting cold and wet. Multiple, thin layers are better than fewer, puffy layers – you can add or remove layers as you need to throughout the hike. Wear wool or synthetic layers next to your skin to wick away moisture and sweat so you don’t get damp and cold when you stop walking.” – Katy 

Be Prepared

“Make sure you know where you're going, that you understand the route and terrain, how long it's going to take you and that it's within your limits. Let someone know where you're going and when you expect to be back. Take a map and know how to navigate with it. If you're using a map app on your phone, make sure you have sufficient battery, a battery pack, and a paper map as back-up.” – Katy

Go Light

“Pack as lightly as possible when heading out for a hike. It’s important to be prepared but try and minimise taking unnecessary or heavy things – everything that goes in your day pack creates additional weight to carry. As you hike more, you’ll realise what kit you can’t be without, and if it becomes a proper passion, you can invest in higher spec (and often lighter) pieces of technical kit.” – Katy