Talk:Hiking equipment

message: A separate section specifying the contents of the medical kit might be a good idea, specifically for hiking (as opposed to first aid kit). DirkvdM 12:01, 29 October 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: Medical kit

message: The intro I originally wrote has been changed completely based on a difference in terminology. I define 'hiking' as going on an outdoors walking trip that goes beyond a simple day trip (although that distinction is a bit blurry) and 'backpacking' as traveling with a backpack (staying at places fittingly called backpackers').
For easy comparison, here's my original intro:
:Hiking equipment is what one needs to take along to go on an outdoors hiking trip. This list does not cover general travel equipment, such as passport, contact lenses, travel books or contraceptives (although those can be needed according to personal and local circumstances). What one should bring along depends very much on the type of hike, so one should make a selection of the following, based on that. Is it a daytrip or an overnight trip, what facilities can one expect, are there rivers and is the water potable, what are the expected weather conditions (check the latest weather report) and how quickly can conditions change (especially important in mountainous regions)? 
:Even for a day trip it makes sense to pack at least rudimentary solutions for staying the night, in case of emergencies. Also always let someone know where you are going and for how long, especially when hiking alone.  
And here's the new one:
:Hiking equipment is gear or equipment that one takes along on an outdoors hiking trip. While hiking is considered different than backpacking (overnight camping), the equipment is of necessity of a shorter term more practical nature for such a walk. However even for a day trip it is prudent to pack at least rudimentary solutions for eventualities that may arise including being forced to stay the night, getting lost, or accidents. 
This intro considers hiking to be a lightweight version of what I mean. Now I don't mean to go into a discussion about this terminology. But the list is meant for what I call hiking, which I believe in the US is called backpacking. In other words, it's more general than this new intro suggests. Maybe a solution could be to avoid the issue by renaming the article. But what should it become then? The Kiwi term tramping equipment would cause even more confusion. Backpacking equipment is also still available, but most people outside the US will misinterpret that too. Outdoors equipment doesn't solve it either because that doesn't necessarily involve hiking. Any other suggestions? DirkvdM (talk) 18:02, 12 August 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Intro - what is hiking? 

message: Some things I heard in an SAS survival thing on the BBC. 
*The condom for carrying water could be put in a sock to make it stronger. However, I assume it will hold less water then. See also discussion above.
*Alcohol whipes can be used as kindling or to clean wounds
*Tampons (torn open) can be used as kindling
*Glycerine mixed with potassium permanganate will cause a violent reaction which could be used to start a fire, albeit only in emergencies (says an SAS man!). Potassium permanganate can also be used to purify water. Tastes horrble but keeps you alive. Alas, in neither case were the quantities mentioned.
Two reasons I don't put them in the article yet are that I don't have much time now and that I'm not sure where they should go. There seems to be no separate article on survival gear, what a lot of the info I put in this article is about. So that needs to be dealt with first. DirkvdM (talk) 18:41, 29 January 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  A few more items 

message: Can this now be removed? Rwood128 (talk) 13:57, 16 February 2014 (UTC)
thread_title:  Banner: This article has multiple issues 

message: As part of my rewrite, I've requested the copy editor's guild review it. Alrich44 (talk) 17:50, 27 October 2014 (UTC)
replies: text: Hi Rwood128, Baffle gab1978 from the copy-editor's guild will also be removing non-encyclopedic sections. This will save some editing. Alrich44 (talk) 16:58, 28 October 2014 (UTC)
thread_title:  Copy edit 

message: === Knowledge ===
Knowledge with a positive mental attitude is the most important item to have according to some experts. One critical part of knowledge is understanding how the brain works to avoid being distracted while doing important tasks or making decisions based on feelings versus logic, such as while tying off a rope before belaying, or heading across the wrong kind of slope in avalanche conditions because it looks fun.
It is recommended that hikers and others engaged in similar outdoor activities know the recognized mountain distress signals. These are based on groups of three, or six in the UK and the European Alps. A distress signal can be 3 fires or piles of rocks in a triangle, three blasts on a whistle, three shots from a firearm, or three flashes of a light, in succession followed by a one-minute pause and repeated until a response is received. Three blasts or flashes is the appropriate response.In the Alps, the recommended way to signal distress is the Alpine distress signal: give six signals within a minute, then pause for a minute, repeating this until rescue arrives. A signal may be anything visual (waving clothes or lights, use of a signal mirror) or audible (shouts, whistles, etc.). The rescuers acknowledge with three signals per minute.
Knowing all the uses for each piece of equipment is like adding tools without adding weight. Having one piece of equipment that can replace two or more others can save weight.
Knowing what to take while hiking can be approached from two sides that work together. Nature has been supplying people with water, food, and equipment for thousands of years, so learning primitive skills is useful for emergencies and when civilized supplies run out. The basic formula of trading time and energy for something of value applies in both the natural and civilized worlds. When hikers have time, availability, and affordability, they can choose what items to take with them when they decide to go for a hike.
Then there is transiting from knowing to doing. Practicing with new tools and abilities in a safe location before they are needed is reasonable. Not everything can be done on the first try. So, walking into a potential survival situation with  new tools and only head-knowledge is an inherently more risky scenario.
::Baffle gab1978, Have you removed this entirely because you believe knowledge is not something you should take with you? Have you watched Tom Brown Jr's Wilderness part 1 on YouTube? What about some recommended field books as a way to indicate which knowledge is beneficial, or should this just go in the Hiking article? How else and where else can this be included? Alrich44 (talk) 19:48, 29 October 2014 (UTC)
thread_title: Removed text

message: Knowledge with a positive mental attitude is the most important item to have according to some experts. One critical part of knowledge is understanding how the brain works to avoid being distracted while doing important tasks or making decisions based on feelings versus logic, such as while tying off a rope before belaying, or heading across the wrong kind of slope in avalanche conditions because it looks fun.
It is recommended that hikers and others engaged in similar outdoor activities know the recognized mountain distress signals. These are based on groups of three, or six in the UK and the European Alps. A distress signal can be 3 fires or piles of rocks in a triangle, three blasts on a whistle, three shots from a firearm, or three flashes of a light, in succession followed by a one-minute pause and repeated until a response is received. Three blasts or flashes is the appropriate response.In the Alps, the recommended way to signal distress is the Alpine distress signal: give six signals within a minute, then pause for a minute, repeating this until rescue arrives. A signal may be anything visual (waving clothes or lights, use of a signal mirror) or audible (shouts, whistles, etc.). The rescuers acknowledge with three signals per minute.
Knowing all the uses for each piece of equipment is like adding tools without adding weight. Having one piece of equipment that can replace two or more others can save weight.
Knowing what to take while hiking can be approached from two sides that work together. Nature has been supplying people with water, food, and equipment for thousands of years, so learning primitive skills is useful for emergencies and when civilized supplies run out. The basic formula of trading time and energy for something of value applies in both the natural and civilized worlds. When hikers have time, availability, and affordability, they can choose what items to take with them when they decide to go for a hike.
Then there is transiting from knowing to doing. Practicing with new tools and abilities in a safe location before they are needed is reasonable. Not everything can be done on the first try. So, walking into a potential survival situation with  new tools and only head-knowledge is an inherently more risky scenario.
::Baffle gab1978, Have you removed this entirely because you believe knowledge is not something you should take with you? Have you watched Tom Brown Jr's Wilderness part 1 on YouTube? What about some recommended field books as a way to indicate which knowledge is beneficial, or should this just go in the Hiking article? How else and where else can this be included? Alrich44 (talk) 19:48, 29 October 2014 (UTC)
thread_title:  Knowledge 

message: A person can drown when swept into deep water with a heavy pack and boots, suffer from hypothermia from falling into cold water, or from hyperthermia by overheating in a few hours, dehydration in a few days, or starvation in a few weeks. There may not be enough oxygen if buried in deep snow (avalanche), or sealed in a cave.  
 Cheers, Baffle gab1978 (talk) 13:04, 29 October 2014 (UTC)
thread_title: From "Planning and checklists"

message: 
			
 Baffle gab1978 (talk) 13:03, 29 October 2014 (UTC)
thread_title: Images removed from "Some possible hazards" section

message: Hi Baffle gab1978, I've restored the Additional Equipment section. You've cited this section as not supported by references. Yet, the one specific one you mentioned did have a reference, the umbrella. In my undo comment, I noted that I'm willing to provide a reference for each one if this is what it takes to keep them. If you read the references, I believe you will find them. Thanks, Alrich44 (talk) 21:10, 1 November 2014 (UTC)
thread_title: Additional equipment

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thread_title:  External links modified 

message: — Assignment last updated by Eaturvegeez (talk) 19:26, 10 February 2024 (UTC)
thread_title: Wiki Education assignment: Technical and Professional Writing

message: Hi all, I am working on this page and plan to edit for organization, grammar, and other aspects. This article contains great information regarding what one should bring on a hike, but there are some instances when it mimics a user guide. The present information can be reorganized to look less like a checklist. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:What_Wikipedia_is_not Looking forward to working together on this. MountainsCalling (talk) 17:57, 20 February 2024 (UTC)
thread_title:  Introduction of New Edits  

message: This article was flagged for containing “instructions, advice, or how-to content,” which violated WP: NOT. Along these same lines, it also violated WP: NPOV because it presented the checklists as objectives instead of one of many ways an individual could select equipment for a hiking trip. Furthermore, based on WP: V, the article needed citations in multiple places to appear more reputable. Lack of citations, especially with the nature of the subject matter, implied original research (i.e., The original writers likely were hikers themselves and this is what he/she brought on their hiking trips that may have worked for them), which violated WP: NOR. Different parts of the article were cut based on WP: Manual of Style/Clarity, in an effort to maintain relatability to topic and promote concision (readers come to the article to learn about equipment, not external topics). Portions were also cut based on WP: Notability. For example, there was a portion about a British army bergen backpack being 120 liters; that is interesting, but not notable in the general topic of hiking equipment. Much of the information contained in the original article was used in the final draft, but it was reframed to try to exclude language that suggested it to be a how-to guide. However, I did delete large portions (although I was wary to do so at first) because the primary topic (equipment) was getting lost in nuance. Lastly, portions of the article were reorganized based on subject (e.g., clothing was mentioned towards the beginning of the article then mentioned again in another section). 
The following is a brief edit summary (not comprehensive): 
* Called for citation for opening sentence; what is provided is common information, but as a proxy for the reader, what is this based on? Where did this definition come from? 
* Removed “Hiking is usually divided into…” because it does not relate specifically to equipment; could be better housed in a parent article that contains information about hiking as an exclusive concept (See WP: Relevance)
* Combined lead sentence with second paragraph within initial lead (the separation was unnecessary since the second paragraph expands on the former sentence) 
* Removed “the” before “environment” (article already provided)
* Removed “Additional factors that impact…” (Weight and preparedness of whom? Preparedness based on what? See WP: Manual of Style/Clarity)
* Removed comment about weight that was at the end of the now first paragraph (see WP: Relevance)
* Removed comment about “Leave No Trace” (see WP: Relevance) 
* Called for citation regarding the government regulations as a consideration for hiking equipment selection (there was a citation, but the relevance of the previous one was unclear; citation needed for examples of government regulations impacting equipment selection specifically)
* Removed “and Checklist” from second subtitle; the article has been flagged for containing “how-to information” and “Checklist” is terminology that implies how to do something (removed throughout the article) 
* Made various surface edits (e.g., changing word order in sentences to align with WP: Manual of Style/Clarity)
* Removed “Hikers may take with them equipment ranging from a stout knife to ultralight backpacking (10–25 pounds), to the heaviest, most durable gear a hiker can carry. Checklists help to minimize the chance of forgetting something important. ” (See WP: NOT; a case cannot be made to make the article into a guidebook because that is not what Wikipedia is)
* Revised photo captions to increase specificity and relevance to the topic 
* Revised lists to increase specificity and relevance to the topic
* Revised lists to read as considerations and information on equipment available instead of an objective guideline to follow
* Removed list of medications under “Protection from Animals” (the medications listed were treatments, not initial protections; needs to go somewhere else to be included) 
* Changed mentions of “lists” to “examples” or researched, proven facts (see WP: NOT; most of the same information can be presented as options instead of guidelines)
* In planning section, changed contents of parentheticals to be separated by commas instead of & and / (makes listing format consistent instead of varied) 
* Removed the measurements/capacities of certain equipment (see WP: Relevance)
* Stylistic decision made to use the Oxford comma (some portions of the article were using it and others were not) 
* Cut information that was not notable based on WP: Notability (e.g., readers likely don’t need to know every fabric that exists) 
* Removed peacock terms (see WP: Manual of Style/Clarity)
* The shoe portion needs more information (Specialized in what?)
* Insert citations for Overnight Shelter portion
* Removed and/or adjusted pictures to  to the information being discussed
MountainsCalling (talk) 03:11, 20 March 2024 (UTC)
thread_title:  Follow Up on New Edits