Backpacking Gear Maintenance Checklist
Backpacking gear is expensive and you need to take care of it to extend it's lifetime. Here's a checklist of gear maintenance tasks I try to do the morning after I get home from a backpacking trip:
- Air out my sleeping bag and make sure it's dry before storing un-stuffed.
- Wash my dirty trail clothes.
- Inspect clothes for any rips or wear. Repair or replace.
- Let my boots and insoles dry.
- Hang up my tent, tarp or hammock and make sure it's completely dry.
- Replenish my first aid kit, particularly my Ibuprofen supply.
- Replenish my hand sanitizer.
- Replenish my DEET and sunscreen.
- Replenish my gear repair kit, particularly my duct tape and extra headlight batteries.
- Replenish any screw-eyes or tent pegs I might have lost on the trip.
- Uncap my water filter/purifier to let it dry out. Address any clogs or leaks.
- Throw out all my accumulated trash.
- Stash any uneaten leftover food to prevent our house mice from eating it.
- Inspect my waterproof stuff sacks and backpacking liner for leaks, and replace, if necessary.
- Store any unused fuel in a safe place and dispose of used fuel canisters.
- Wash my cook pot and long handled titanium spoon.
- Sterilize my water bladders with Efferdent.
- Put everything away, so it's easy to find for my next trip.
Admittedly, this is a long list, but taking care of it after your trip when you can still remember what went wrong or needs to be replenished will save you a lot of time and hassle, especially if you leave packing for your next trip until the last moment.
I am chagrined to say that I blew this off after coming home from my last backpacking trip, 2 weeks ago, and only got around to some of these things this weekend, . Luckily it wasn't too late and I avoided mildewed gear, but only just. Never again.
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Great picture of your office! so much more organized than mine. As you appear to be, I don’t uses lists for things like this – if I didn’t most likely I would spend most of my time trying to find the list I lost.
robin
Once again you have published a great list. Post trip clean up is so important. I am working on my own system right now and I have a front hall that looks a lot like your picture. I have a couple of things to add to your list…
*Take a close look at everything carried and decide what was REALLY essential.
*Make a list of the meals that were trail wonderful.
*Make a wish list for gear improvements and a research plan.
I also have a question about fuel. I have an MSR whisperlite stove and I wonder about the shelf life of the fuel. Also, how do you know when the fuel is too old to use? I don’t use the super-refined fuel. Do you or any of your readers know about this?
I suppose it’s ironic that I’m drowning in gear at home but can get organized when all I have is a tiny backpack. I’m going to be selling off a bunch of gear in a few weeks so I can get to my office windows again.
No idea about the shelf-life of liquid fuel. If it’s white gas, it’s just super-refined unleaded gasoline, which will probably last forever as long as it doesn’t absorb water.
It’s tiring and a hassle but post trip kit sorting is essential if you’re not going to ruin good gear.
I lent a an old but perfectly serviceable backpack to a non backpacking friend, who’s son was doing a DOE taster trip. The weather was wet and when i finally got the bag back it was ruined because they hadnt thought to hang it up to dry. He hasnt offered any compensation – grr!
Thanks for the tip on the Efferdent. I had never heard this before.
Truth be told I dry the tent sometime during the week. I wash my kit when the wife says it is smelling too much in the laundry basket, and I clean out my pans when I am planning the next walk. I do wash the trail shoes straight away and dry them, as I like using them walking the dog. The sleeping bag is aired and put away ASAP. Some good, some bad. Good list from you.
I have two rules….NO LISTS and NO EXTRA GEAR. Simplfies my life and no list required to put things PROPERLY away after a trip. Years ago I gave all EXTRA gear to the Boy Scouts. Too much consumerism is ruining this past time/hobby/lifestyle of ours also! Get ONE kit and only buy more as gear is WORN out or USED up!
Oh…..also, I refuse to buy or use a stove, more simplification, but hey, that’s just me. Hike your own hike.
Steve. Simplification is optimal, but so is experimentation. You were able to eliminate extra gear, I assume, because you are a backpacking samurai and figured out exactly what works for you. I’m still a student…and like it that way.
Baz – that sucks – being a good samaritan should be rewarded with positive karma. Maybe it’s just a bit delayed.
Luckily we have a huge conservatory where drying or airing kit is an easy matter to do. In the past I had to be more creative with hanging the tent up
You need bins
In my office I have 3 of them in one corner that contain just my cooking gear – the pots, pans and stoves that I use currently for the blog/website (there are about another 3 bins in the garage as well with the stuff I don’t use often!) Then the other thing I have is the food bins – one is just containers of dried veggies/fruit/carbs, another is single serving packets and flavorings/seasonings, another is shelf stable meats, cheeses and everything else. I keep my hiking food separate from the house food. Makes it easier to grab and go!
We have a lot of gear since there are 3 of us – so the large Rubbermaid bins are well featured. Our garage has IKEA shelving that holds the bins. Bike gear, kayaking, hiking, etc. The shelves have the tents and snowshoes as well.
Maybe someday I will post a photo of my office of shame
I use stacker boxes (plastic crates). I have a ready box that has all the stuff that we need for a trip out, a second options box (stuff that may or may not go) the rest of the stuff is squirreled away in a double wardrobe, under the bed, in the garage, in a chest of drawers, in the loft… I think I need to donate, throw out or sell some of it
And like Sarah I also have a couple of these crates for food stuffs.
The photo is a few months old – since then it’s gotten better and worse at the same time. Behind the chair and out of view is a hanger rack with all kinds of gear hanging and piled on top of it. In addition, I have 12 big plastic drawers which are stuffed with more clothing and gear (water filters, stoves, socks, hats, mittens, pants, maps, etc). I store shelters in the basement along with most of my kayaking gear, except my boats (3) which are in the garage. Every time I clean up it just gets messy within 2 weeks, so I don’t clean up that often. But – maybe it would be worth straightening things out a bit and doing and audit of my gear. I know there are things that I have that I’ve forgotten I own.
Baz – I like the ready box idea. I’ve done something like it in the past and it’s good because you can see everything.
You can see everything and re-check the stuff before stashing your kit in your rucksack. Before I used one I’d often find that something I thought I’d packed hadn’t been.
um…oh dear. I am one of those people who chucks the stuff in the corner and worries about it over a period of weeks….
I wish I was more organised !