Camino de Santiago: Gear

Gear I carried on my first camino

My most important lesson about gear for the Camino: LESS IS MORE, ALWAYS. I have always been mindful of pack weight for every adventure. However, I had never walked 5-8 hours a day for 30+ days with a pack on my back. I now have an appreciation for the increased comfort and enjoyment for every ounce/gram I am not carrying on my back.

Instead of carrying just-in-case-items or bringing large quantities of toiletries, I found it very easy to buy whatever I needed along the way, whether it was additional gear (e.g. poles and gloves at very reasonable prices) or personal toiletries, which I replenished as needed.

If I wanted to offload gear, there were several options available. One option was to ship extra gear ahead along the route (or directly to Santiago) and pick it up there. A second option was to use a daily courier service that would pickup backpacks each morning and deliver to the next stop. I used this service on one occasion when I was having back pain. A third option was to leave things behind somewhere and come back after the Camino to pick up.

Since my walk was part of a longer trip in Spain, I had brought things such as a laptop and extra clothes that I was not planning to carry on the walk. I left things behind at a hostel in Pamplona, where I stayed the night before taking a bus to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, France, the start of the Camino Frances route. The hostel was happy to hold on to my things for several weeks while I walked. After finishing, I was already planning to head somewhere near Pamplona, so picking up my things from the hostel was convenient.

My total pack weight at the start was approximately 9 kg (20 lbs) without food or water. When I passed through Pamplona again on day 3, I stayed overnight at the same hostel and left behind a few more things that I didn’t need, bringing the weight down to about 8 kg. After a more few weeks of walking, I realized there was much more (primarily electronics) that I was not using enough to justify carrying the weight. I was considering shipping the extra gear ahead to Santiago or back to the Pamplona hostel, but I never ended up doing that and carried it to the rest of the way. If I had shed that stuff, my bag would have been around 6 kg (13 lbs), which would have likely helped my tendonitis, which I was experiencing in the final 2 weeks.

Below is a complete gear list of everything I carried while walking my first camino, the Camino Frances, along with what I would have done differently. On subsequent caminos, I brought similar items more or less. The main rule remained “LESS IS MORE”.

Essentials

• Backpack: Osprey Kestrel 38 & rain cover – Perfect size (38 liters) for the Camino and very comfortable. I have used this for several other adventures including hiking Mount Kilimanjaro and the Grand Canyon Rim-to-Rim. If I was shopping for a new pack, I would likely buy the Osprey Exos 38, which is similar but much lighter. Also, the rain cover was unnecessary and using a trash compactor bag inside the backpack as a liner would better serve as protection from rain.

• Sleeping bag: REI Co-op Helio Sack 55 – I was originally going to take just a silk sleeping bag liner instead of a sleeping bag. Since I was walking in early season and expected cold nights, I decided last minute to purchase an inexpensive light-weight sleeping bag. The bag I already owned would have been too warm (and too bulky/heavy) for the Camino. I am very glad I took a sleeping bag and would do it again even if walking in summer months, as it also provided a solid physical (and psychological) barrier from potential bed bugs. I also treated both the backpack and sleeping bag ahead of time with Permethrin, and fortunately had no bed bug issues. Other pilgrims I met were not so lucky.

• Walking shoes: Brooks Cascadia 11 Goretex Trail Running Shoes – Hiking boots would have been overkill for the Camino. I have used Cascadia’s for many years for trail running, light hiking, and traveling, and they have always served me well (until now). The series 11 of these shoes had a narrower toe box compared to prior years. After walking 25km+ every day, my feet would expand and my toes had little room to move. In addition, I bought the Goretex version this time thinking a waterproof shoe would be great. Big mistake. The Goretex did not allow the shoe to breathe very well, resulting in sweaty feet. These two issues caused me blisters throughout the Camino. Lesson learned. After the Camino, I replaced them with the new series 12 non-Goretex model, which no longer has the narrow toe box and are working out much better (so far).

• Evening shoes: Olukai Ohana flip flops – At the end of each day of walking, I looked forward to taking off my shoes/socks and putting on flip flops. These flip flops are not very lightweight, but provide good arch support, which served me well, as I ended up walking a couple of days in them (instead of my trail shoes) when foot blisters were bothering me.

• Trekking pole – Since I was flying with only carry-on luggage, I did not bring my hiking poles. Instead, I purchased one pole in Saint Jean-Pied-de-Port for €20 and am very glad I did. It took strain off my knees, especially when going downhill. When I had tendonitis in the final 2 weeks, I borrowed a second pole from a friend, which helped significantly.

Clothing

The key was to dress in layers (and not be bothered with wearing the same clothes every day). I would start each day wearing multiple layers (t-shirt, thermal long sleeve, down jacket), and peal off layers as it got warmer. I was also glad I had separate walking and evening clothes, so I would have ‘fresh’ clothes after my evening shower.

It was easy to do laundry along the way, either in washer/dryer machines or bathroom sink/line dry in albergues/hostals, so there was no need to bring extra clothes.

• Walking clothes

  • convertible pants – zipped off legs into shorts only on really hot days, otherwise wore pants daily for sun protection

  • merino wool t-shirts (2) – my favorite tees that I take with me on every trip

  • long sleeve thermal top – wore most mornings

• Evening clothes

  • Prana Brion pants – comfortable and versatile hiking pants without side cargo pockets that function well as slacks.

  • wool sweater – I am obsessed with merino wool lately and slowly converting my entire travel wardrobe. Biggest benefit is that it doesn’t smell even after wearing many times without washing (unlike cotton or synthetics).

  • cotton t-shirt – wore in evenings and also for sleeping, probably should have brought two. Cotton felt great after wearing wool or synthetic fabrics all day.

  • thermal pants – for sleeping (& on cold walking days)

• wool socks –  2 pairs for walking (should have brought thinner socks), 1 pair for evening

• ExOfficio underwear (3 pairs) – i have replaced all my underwear with these. very comfortable, and quick dry after washing in a sink.

• Mountain Hardware Ghost Whisperer down jacket – lightweight and warm, wore almost every morning and evening

• OR Helium II rain jacket & pants – super lightweight

• wool gloves – bought along the way during a week of cold wet weather

• baseball cap – should have taken a full brim sun hat for better sun protection

• head buff – used this daily as a beanie, head band, neck gator

Electronics

In the end, an unlocked smartphone, headphones, and a charger is really all I needed to bring. I would have saved considerable weight by not bringing the rest, which I rarely used.

• iPhone 6 (unlocked) + headphones – My US T-Mobile sim includes free international roaming but only at 2G speeds, which was way too slow and frustrating. I ended up getting a local Orange sim card which worked well (€15 for each 2GB of 4G/LTE data).

• Sony RX100 IV camera + case – did not use as much as I should have. If I had the iPhone 7 (which I now have), I probably would not have taken the camera, as the iPhone 7 camera is sufficiently good.

• Kindle Voyage E-reader + case – rarely used, except during my injury rest day in Sarria. In the evenings, I spent time with my Camino friends and didn’t read any books. In a pinch, the Kindle app on the iPhone would have sufficed.

• Apple Bluetooth keyboard – I brought this thinking I would write/journal/blog on the iPhone. After day 3, I left it in Pamplona, as it added considerable weight and realized that I wasn’t likely to write much along the way.

• Anker USB battery pack – rarely used as power outlets were ubiquitous.

• Anker Dual USB wall charger and charging cables, power plug adapter

Miscellaneous

• toiletries –  Dr Bronner’s soap, deodorant, toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, q-tips, lotion, lip balm, sunscreen, hand sanitizer, nail clippers, ear plugs (essential!)

• first aid kit – ibuprofen, acetaminophen, bandaids, blister kit, first aid tape, allergy meds, and later inflammation/pain creams

• pack towel – quick-dry and lightweight.

• prescription sunglasses + case

• wallet – credit card, atm card, cash, copy of passport ID page that I used to check into albergues/hostals so I would not have to pull out the passport from my hidden money belt.

• money belt – contained my passport, extra credit/atm cards, emergency cash, etc. I did not wear this around my waist under my clothes, but rather kept it out-of-site in my backpack.

• pilgrim credential – used to collect daily stamps en route, my favorite Camino souvenir!

• pilgrim shell – attached on outside of backpack, not entirely essential as it was obvious I was a pilgrim but it made me feel part of the community.

• water bottle – I bought a plastic 1L bottle of water in France and used it for the entire Camino, refilling it multiple times each day. I’m glad I didn’t take a water bladder inside my backpack, it would have been a pain to take out of my backpack and fill up multiple times each day. Carrying only one liter was sufficient as there were tons of public fountains/places to refill.

• stuff sacks & packing cubes – kept everything organized inside the pack

• rest – safety pins, sewing kit, extra ziplock bags, duct tape (wrapped around a pen)

Would not bring again

Below are things I rarely/never used and would not bring again.

• electronics – (mentioned above) kindle, camera, usb battery pack, bluetooth keyboard

• headlamp – only used once for a pre-dawn start. iPhone flashlight was sufficient in the dorms.

• stuff sack pillow – pillows in abergues/hostals were fine

• clothes pins – for drying clothes on a line

• notepad and pen – primarily used iPhone for notes

• eye mask

Should have brought

• Swiss Army knife – Since I was flying with only carry-on luggage, I did not bring a knife. I bought a small kitchen knife which came in handy, however I wish I had a Swiss Army knife, as I often needed other tools (scissors, can opener, bottle opener, corkscrew, etc).

• physical maps or guidebook – I used a few mobile apps for route maps and descriptions, but often I wished I had physical maps or a guidebook to lookup route information, instead of constantly checking my iPhone.

• full brim sun hat – instead of a baseball cap

• extra cotton t-shirt – for evenings