Hey y’all. I’ve been wanting to get into hiking for some time now (roughly two years) and I thought now I would start going ahead and doing that. Now I don’t have the best paying job as I am in the process of doing culinary school and working a job (Graduated in May). If you have any recommendations for someone who wants to try and dip their toes into hiking that would be amazing.
And thanks for taking the time to read this post. Cheers!
What kind of recommendations are you looking for? Pop on some shoes and walk. That’s basically hiking lol
Finley said:
What kind of recommendations are you looking for? Pop on some shoes and walk. That’s basically hiking lol
Something boot related tbh. The weather is cold almost year-round where I live.
@Ren
This is going to vary based on how hard you intend to hike, the conditions typical of your region, your experience level, etc., so I’m going to give some general advice assuming you’re hiking in roughly freezing temperatures.
Firstly, be safe. Don’t overestimate your abilities, and don’t underestimate mother nature.
So, if your budget is limited, winter will present issues. There are a lot of ways to cut corners in warmer months, but winter can go badly if you’re unprepared. I would advise that you start small with trails that have an easy way to get out and back home should things go south.
You’ll need layers, and you’ll need to experiment to find the right layers for your body’s temperature regulation. You need baselayers, into insulation layers, into weather layers. Everyone needs a different layering scheme. I overheat and sweat easily, so I use very few layers while active. You want to avoid sweating. When you go static, you want layers available to retain the warmth you’ve generated through activity. When you head off again, strip the layers back down.
Baselayers can be synthetic (cheap and durable) or merino wool (expensive but insulates when wet). Insulation can be fleeces (cheap and durable, quick-drying) or down (synthetic - cheaper and more resilient, or genuine - expensive and more fragile, provides more warmth). Weather layers can be softshells (weather-resistant) or hardshell (weatherproof).
You need merino wool socks. Smartwool and Darn Tough are both great. They fit differently, so try both on.
Boots? I’d recommend leather, then, but it’s not cheap. It may be well out of your budget. It is, however, best for cold weather because it naturally insulates to a degree without artificial insulation, making it a more versatile option. Leather boots are often resolable, and the upper of a good quality leather boot will last many years.
Leather boots: Asolo TPS 520 GV Evo, Scarpa Kinesis Pro GTX, Meindl Comfort Fit Hiker, Extreme, or Hunter, Hanwag Tatra, Hanwag Lhasa II, Hanwag Tatra II, Kenetrek Mountain Extreme, Zamberlan Vioz Lux GTX RR, Zamberlan Vioz GTX.
Those are some of the best ones, but they’re all pretty pennies. The alternative is military boots, preferably leather with a Gore-Tex membrane, but a high-quality one without Gore-Tex can still be waxed to be highly water-resistant.
If you can’t afford or find that, you can look into synthetics with insulation if you’ll be static at freezing temperatures, but this again depends upon your body’s temperature regulation. You may be fine with a synthetic without insulation at freezing with the right socks, like me, or you may need insulation. It just depends.
You need a pack to carry your layers and the 10 essentials.
https://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/ten-essentials.html
Scale these items up or down based on budget and how hard you intend to hike, keeping in mind that it’s your hike. You don’t have to scale a mountain in the winter to prove anything, and you certainly shouldn’t have that as your starting goal. Just get out there and have fun, but be safe. 
@Charlie
Thank you so much! This is exactly what I needed! A family member wants to take me out shopping for hiking boots (Kinda Christmas gift) so money is a semi limiting factor. I have a lightweight coat that I use year-round (It still gets pretty hot in the summers ~70F) and I’ve started combing that with my heavy coat as I still have lots of room for flexibility. I’m not too sure how well it will perform in wet conditions as I haven’t tested it in that way. I’ll take a look at the boots sometime in the next few months to see if I would like to continue doing this. I have taken a look at the LL Bean Urban Storm (Men’s Snow Boots | Footwear at L.L.Bean) and thought it looked nice but held off on it.
@Ren
Go to a store and ask what hiking boots or shoes they have, buy for your budget, make sure you’ve broken them into days ahead of your trip, and carry bandaids for blisters anyway.
Start with a day hike, of two-four hours, if you feel you need to go gentle
For a day hike, carry a backpack with water and food, dress for the weather, and have navigational aids, don’t set a schedule that’s too tight to return to your mode of transportation, tell friends and family where you’re going. And hit the trail.
Edit: For multi-day hikes, prepare more seriously, read guides like
https://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/hiking-for-beginners.html
@Bevan
Carry the 10 essentials. https://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/ten-essentials.html
@Bevan
Thanks so much! I’ll take a look at these!
@Ren
Ahh that’s more specific. If you’re just getting into it really anything works. You definitely don’t need to go out and buy all sorts of expensive gear. Even some cheap Walmart hiking boots often come insulated. I still hike in the winter around here and I throw on some sneaks and a hoodie.
I’m not sure where you’re based, but many people dive into hiking and camping only to lose interest just as quickly. This makes the second-hand market a fantastic option for finding quality gear at a fraction of the price and cutting costs significantly.
@Val
Any suggestions? I live in Indiana and plan to go down to red river gorge sometime next year.
Ren said:
@Val
Any suggestions? I live in Indiana and plan to go down to red river gorge sometime next year.
Marketplace or eBay. I live in Sweden so don’t know what’s available in US.
To start just wear whatever you have now and start walking. If it’s cold wear what you would normally wear when it’s cold. You’ll figure out what does and doesn’t work for you as you go.