Overnight backpacking gear leaves room for some trial and error, which means it’s a great time to hone your system. If you have enough to stay warm / sheltered for one night, food, and a way to treat water, you’ll be fine. No need to get all fancy and ultralight. While longer trips necessitate a deeper dive, overnights have some wiggle room. If you hate what you brought, you’ll likely have an uncomfortable night and then be on your way the next morning with another life lesson in your back pocket. Obviously there are some caveats—a winter overnight without adequate gear is a recipe for disaster, but as long as you’re reasonably prepared for three-season outings, you can play somewhat fast and loose with your overnight gear.
Overnights are also a fun place to add in extra goodies. You’ll be back at the trailhead the next day, so throwing a few fun items in your pack will have less impact. I use overnights as a chance to bring cooking gear into the backcountry—normally I can’t be bothered to cook while I’m backpacking. I also always bring a pillow and camp shoes, small items that I forgo for longer trips where my pack weight matters more. If I’m testing new gear, overnights are the place to do it. Jeff brings containers of salsa, bags of chips, and once, a cast-iron skillet.
Additionally, overnight backpacking trips are one of the best ways to get into backpacking. We have a lovely list of routes under 50 miles, and a roundup of overnights across the country under 30 miles. Here are my recommendations for gear to take on an overnight, as well as some specific items I’ve been carrying.
Overnight Backpacking Pack
45-60 liters is fine. You don’t need to stuff it to the brim if you’re taking a larger pack, but you also won’t need to carry as much food, so a smaller capacity like 40-45 liters is great. For an overnight, anything you have in your closet is fine. I’ve done an overnight with a day pack that I carry my laptop around in. It wasn’t the most comfortable experience, but it worked.
LiteAF 46L Curve: This is my newest pack, made from DCF and printed with my insane cat’s face on it. Go for the optional hip belt and shoulder pockets. The roll-top means it’s waterproof, and the padded shoulder straps and hip belt are very comfortable. You’ll have a long lead time with the DCF, but the new XPac is only a few weeks lead time.
Gossamer Gear G4-20: This is another 45L pack. Easy to get off the shelf, but I recommend sizing up in the torso. I’m usually a small, but the women’s small was much too short for me. I love the variations on hip belt pockets, and the small zippered pocket at the top. Can you tell I love pockets on my packs?
Sleeping Bag and Sleeping Pad
This a three-season article (you’ll need more specialized gear for winter), so most hikers will be fine with a 20-30 degree bag. I like this temperature range because you can find lightweight models in both quilts and enclosed bags, and if the temperature drops, throwing on an extra layer or hat should do the trick. Look for a bag with treated down to protect from condensation.
Therm-a-Rest Hyperion 20: I’ve had this unisex bag since 2018, and it’s my three-season go-to. It weighs 20 ounces, has a decent hood, and packs down super small. I had a quilt for a while, but I found it too drafty and the temperature rating to be quite generous. I like a fully enclosed bag, which is a non-ultralight hill I’ll die on. I am testing a new women’s sleeping bag this year (I think) so I’m looking forward to a bag with less foot space to heat up.
Sea to Summit Ultralight Insulated Air: The name is clunky as hell, but this sleeping pad is terrific. I switched to a more durable, slightly heavier inflatable pad after popping THREE NeoAir X-Lite pads this past year, and it’s been a good swap. This model weighs a few ounces more than the NeoAir and it doesn’t have the same height, but it takes only 9-10 breaths to inflate and it’s more than warm and comfortable enough for a three-season overnight.
Overnight Backpacking Tent
Once again, comfort is king here. Typical overnighters aren’t pushing huge miles, and you might be spending a lot of hours enjoying yourself at camp. I recommend a freestanding tent for newer backpackers. They’re often easier to set up correctly, and can be pitched on a variety of surfaces. I like tents with at least 27 square feet of interior space for two people, and definitely look for models with two doors and two vestibules. No thanks to crawling over each other to get in and out of the tent all night.
Big Agnes Tiger Wall 2: I’ve had this tent for years, and it’s my go-to with my partner and by myself. It weighs 2.5 pounds, has the two-door, two-vestibule design, and pitches super fast. It’s smaller than the Big Agnes Copper Spur, but also weighs less. This is a reliable tent from a company that seems to have nailed the space-to-weight ratio for freestanding backpacking tents.
ZPacks Free Duo: This was another fantastic freestanding tent (albeit quite a bit more expensive than the Tiger Wall), but it met an untimely demise taking a windblown tumble off a cliff. RIP. For people looking to seriously invest in high-tech DCF tents with low weight, this is a great freestanding option. You won’t get the full protection of the Big Agnes models, and the single-wall design does mean more condensation, but it’s a sleek design and doesn’t need to be staked to maintain structure.
Basic Overnight Backpacking Necessities
These are the basics you’ll need for both a shorter and longer backpacking trip, so it’s good to have them at the ready. A basic backpackers stove or integrated cookset like the JetBoil is great for trips of any length … just be sure to have enough fuel to boil the water you’ll need for cooking. Always bring water treatment in the form of a filter or drops. No matter how clear the stream or source looks, you never know what’s upstream. My headlamp recommendations are simple: lightweight, at least 300 lumens, and make sure you have the battery life sufficient for potential night hiking as well as finding your way around in the dark.
Sawyer Squeeze Water Filter: This has long been my go-to filter, and the filter of backpackers all over the country. These ubiquitous filters are easy to use, fast to clean with backflushing, and incredibly reliable. They thread onto many standard water bottles, and they cost just over $30 for the filter itself. Go for the full-size Original model. Sure the dimensions are a little bigger than the Micro or the Mini, but the added ounce or two is totally worth the faster flow rate and longer life span without slowing down. Alternatively, you can use drops like AquaMira. These won’t get the grit out of the water and you’ll have to wait about 30 minutes to let them work their magic, but they also don’t take any filtering effort.
MSR Pocket Rocket Stove: I’ve had some iteration of this stove for years. It weighs just a few ounces and boils one liter of water in 3.5 minutes. You can count on it to start each time, and the flame is adjustable. We use a variety of lightweight pots like this one from Toaks. We’ve become fans of the JetBoil model recently (yay for all-in-one!) and are looking forward to trying the MSR WindBurner package this season, which works a lot like the JetBoil with an integrated stove and insulated pot unit.
BioLite 330 Headlamp: I mistakenly brought the 200-lumen version on a late-fall thru-hike last year, and it didn’t last at all. I upgraded to the 330, and the added ounce is totally worth it. This headlamp is super comfortable, rechargeable, and 330 lumens is more than enough to find your way around camp. The light is also dimmable, which is nice to save batteries. Jeff swears by this model from Nitecore, which has a longer battery life and is just as bright.
LT5 Trekking Poles: I’ve made a big stink about quitting carbon trekking poles, but in reality, these super light, comfortable, springy poles are some of my favorite gear items. I like poles for anything with elevation gain or loss, and if you don’t end up using them, they fold down to your side pockets.
Overnight Backpacking Clothes
Realistically, this should be its own article. But for now, just be sure to have a rain / wind layer, a midlayer for hiking, and an insulated jacket for camp. I also love to bring a thin pair of base layers for sleeping, and, of course, your hiking clothes. Camp shoes are a total yes for overnights as well. Crocs are supremely overpriced, but you can find similar foam clogs at a gas station or Payless Shoes. I always bring a light beanie and liner gloves. We aren’t going super ultralight here, we’re going comfortable.
Patagonia Down Sweater: This is a classic, and will work equally well in town or on the hike. The face fabric is tough enough to withstand being crammed into a pack and then worn through underbrush, and the fit is a mid-cut, which means it layers well over or under other layers.
Outdoor Research Helium: This is a sub-6-ounce rain jacket with no bells and whistles, but a sleek design and a longer hemline so you don’t get rain dripping down your back. Even if the forecast looks clear, I always throw a lightweight rain jacket into my pack. It’s an added wind protector even if there’s no precipitation.
Fun Stuff You Can Bring Because the Trip is Short
I love taking a few extra fun things on overnights. We’ll pack in containers of salsa and big bags of chips, actual books, a deck of cards, or a magazine. The more fun and relaxed you make it, the more you’ll enjoy yourself. Jeff always packs a Rawlogy massage ball, and I bring an actual book.
Pillow: OK, I bring a pillow no matter how long the trip. I just can’t hack it with a greasy stuff sack or my ripped puffy coat. This inflatable Sea to Summit pillow is my go-to. I use one of these on every trip and they last for season after season.
Camera: If you aren’t into the full-on photography game, your smartphone probably has a pretty good camera attached. If you are fully immersed in photography, overnight trips are a great opportunity to spend extra time on the trail and at camp photographing the experience. Look for camera clips, protective cases, and be extra careful with this *precious cargo.*
Cards / Game: It’s an overnight! Let it be fun! A small, waterproof deck of cards is a perfect way to pass the time at camp, and our cofounder Andrew (trail name Pawn) carried a tiny chess set on his Appalachian Trail thru-hike a few years ago.
