One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned from multi day hiking isn’t about fitness, climbing hills or how many kilometres you can cover in a day.
It’s about your gear.
For our Shikoku hike in October, I’m making three significant changes: my backpack, my boots, and my hiking poles. These are pieces of equipment that will affect every kilometre we walk, so getting them right matters.
My Backpack: Smaller and Lighter
My Macpac 32L backpack did exactly what I needed it to do on Kumano Kodo, but it also gave me plenty of room to carry things I didn’t actually need. And if there’s space in a backpack, I will apparently find something to put in it…
For Shikoku, I’m downsizing to a 20L pack. It’s smaller, lighter and should force me to be far more disciplined about what earns a place inside it. I’m not giving up the features that matter. It still has good back ventilation (which is absolutely not negotiable when you’re hiking for hours) as well as space for a water bladder and tubing, as well as enough room for all the safety and comfort essentials.
It just doesn’t have room for half my house.
The goal isn’t to have the lightest pack on the trail. It’s to have a comfortable, practical pack that carries everything I genuinely need, and nothing I don’t.
My Boots: A Scary and Different Change
My boots are probably the biggest change. Rather than sticking with a traditional hiking boot, I’m moving towards a lighter trail-hiking style while still keeping the ankle support of a boot. They have much more cushioning through the sole (handy when you have Morton’s Neuroma symptoms in one foot) and, importantly, more room in the toe box.
That extra space becomes incredibly valuable after hours on the trail. Feet swell, toes move forward on descents, and even a small pressure point can become a big problem after several days of walking.
Changing boots is very nerve-racking. My old boots are trusted friends. I know how they behave in the wet, where they might rub and how they feel after 8 hours on your feet. A new pair has to earn that same trust, so there’s absolutely no chance I’m waiting until a mountain trail in rural Japan to find out whether these ones are right.
My Poles: Smaller Can be Better
My new hiking poles aren’t necessarily much lighter than my current pair, but they pack down to a much smaller size. That might seem like a minor change, but when you’re travelling internationally and trying to keep your luggage compact, it makes a real difference.
They still need to provide the strength and stability I rely on, particularly on steep climbs, rocky descents and slippery trails, but they’ll be much easier to transport and store when they’re not in use.
Years ago, I thought hiking poles were for people much older than me. It turns out, those people were just smarter than me.
These days, I don’t hike without them.
Testing, Testing and More Testing
None of this gear gets an automatic ticket to Shikoku. The backpack, boots and poles will all be tested repeatedly during our training hikes before October. Not just one comfortable walk either. They need to prove themselves over longer distances, on hills, across different terrain and during back to back sessions.
I need to know:
- whether the backpack remains comfortable after hours of walking;
- whether 20L genuinely provides enough room;
- how the boots feel once my feet are tired and swollen;
- whether the cushioning holds up over longer hikes;
- whether the toe box provides enough space on descents; and
- whether the poles are easy to assemble, adjust, use and pack away.
Training hikes aren’t only about training my body. They’re where I test the entire system.
Because “brand new” doesn’t necessarily mean “better”, and Shikoku isn’t the place to discover that something doesn’t work.
Three changes. Plenty of testing. And hopefully, a lighter, more comfortable and much smarter setup for every step through Shikoku.
See you out on the trails.
PJ 🙂
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