Hillwalking kit lists

Equipment we supply

We will have a group first aid kit, group shelter and other specialist equipment needed for your chosen course. Depending on the course, we may split this equipment up amongst the team to carry.

Technical equipment we usually supply as standard on our courses is marked with a .

What you need to bring

We have some limited equipment available to borrow but availability isn’t guaranteed; it’s best to bring your own.

Items you may be able to borrow are marked with a in the lists below. If you need to borrow any of these, please get in touch; if we don’t have the equipment available, we may be able to suggest places to hire some items.

Note: Items that can be borrowed will be even more limited during the COVID-19 pandemic as we will wash/quarantine the equipment between uses.

Get started

 

Essential
  • Enthusiasm

Wearing:

  • Boots or sturdy trail shoes
  • Thick walking socks
  • Trousers (not jeans)
  • Wicking top (not cotton)
  • Warmer layer if it is cold (aim to be cool at the start of the day)

Carrying:

  • Rucksack
  • Waterproof top
  • Waterproof trousers
  • Any warm clothes you need; remember that the tops can be 10℃ colder than valleys.
  • Fleece or similar, that you are not planning on wearing. A duvet jacket works well.
  • Hat & gloves
  • Food (Ideally things such as bars, nuts, etc that you can have in your pocket and eat as you’re walking to keep energy levels high. We’ll stop for breaks when you can eat larger items, but if the weather is bad we may not stop for long!)
  • Full water bottle, at least 1L
  • Any medication you need
Useful
  • Map case & compass (Maps are map cases are usually supplied if needed. Feel free to bring your own.)
  • Watch
  • Gaiters
  • Camera
  • Sunglasses & sun cream (depending on conditions)
  • Midge spray and possibly a head net
  • Liner gloves (a thin pair of gloves to wear if your hands start to cool down in your main pair)
  • Spare gloves (In wetter weather, your first pair may get wet. It’s nice to have a dry pair you can change into.)
  • Small first aid kit for personal use (plasters, blister plasters such as Compeed®, common medications etc). Your instructor will be carrying a larger group first aid kit.

We will normally supply these items, but you may bring your own.
You may be able to borrow these items, subject to availability. Get in touch.

Learn essential hillwalking skills

 

Essential
  • Willingness to learn
  • Enthusiasm

Wearing:

  • Boots or sturdy trail shoes
  • Thick walking socks
  • Trousers (not jeans)
  • Wicking top (not cotton)
  • Warmer layer if it is cold (aim to be cool at the start of the day)

Carrying:

  • Rucksack
  • Compass
  • Map and map case
  • Waterproof top
  • Waterproof trousers
  • Any warm clothes you need; remember that the tops can be 10℃ colder than valleys.
  • Fleece or similar, that you are not planning on wearing. A duvet jacket works well.
  • Hat & gloves
  • Food (Ideally things such as bars, nuts, etc that you can have in your pocket and eat as you’re walking to keep energy levels high. We’ll stop for breaks when you can eat larger items, but if the weather is bad we may not stop for long!)
  • Full water bottle, at least 1L
  • Any medication you need
Useful
  • Small notebook and pen
  • Watch with stopwatch function
  • Head torch
  • Gaiters
  • Camera
  • Sunglasses & sun cream (depending on conditions)
  • Midge spray and possibly a head net
  • Liner gloves (a thin pair of gloves to wear if your hands start to cool down in your main pair)
  • Spare gloves (In wetter weather, your first pair may get wet. It’s nice to have a dry pair you can change into.)
  • Walking sticks (one is much easier to use than a pair and it leaves your other hand free for other things)
  • Small first aid kit for personal use (plasters, blister plasters such as Compeed®, common medications etc). Your instructor will be carrying a larger group first aid kit.

We will normally supply these items, but you may bring your own.
You may be able to borrow these items, subject to availability. Get in touch.

Go higher in the mountains (Mountain Skills)

 

Essential
  • Willingness to learn
  • Enthusiasm

Wearing:

  • Boots
  • Thick walking socks
  • Trousers (not jeans)
  • Wicking top (not cotton)
  • Warmer layer if it is cold (aim to be cool at the start of the day)

Carrying:

  • Rucksack, approx 30–35 litres
  • Compass
  • Map and map case
  • Watch with stopwatch function
  • Waterproof top
  • Waterproof trousers
  • Any warm clothes you need; remember that the tops can be 10℃ colder than valleys.
    Fleece or similar, that you are not planning on wearing. A duvet jacket works well.
  • Hat & gloves
  • Food (Ideally things such as bars, nuts, etc that you can have in your pocket and eat as you’re walking to keep energy levels high. We’ll stop for breaks when you can eat larger items, but if the weather is bad we may not stop for long!)
  • Full water bottle, at least 1L
  • Any medication you need
  • Head torch
Useful
  • Small notebook and pen
  • Gaiters
  • Camera
  • Sunglasses & sun cream (depending on conditions)
  • Midge spray and possibly a head net
  • Liner gloves (a thin pair of gloves to wear if your hands start to cool down in your main pair)
  • Spare gloves (In wetter weather, your first pair may get wet. It’s nice to have a dry pair you can change into.)
  • Spare base layer (If you get sweaty on the up, it’s nice to have a dry layer to put on once the main height gain is over. Ideally, we’ll control our pace though so you won’t need to use this.)
  • Walking sticks (one is much easier to use than a pair and it leaves your other hand free for other things)
  • Small first aid kit for personal use (plasters, blister plasters such as Compeed®, common medications etc). Your instructor will be carrying a larger group first aid kit.

We will normally supply these items, but you may bring your own.
You may be able to borrow these items, subject to availability. Get in touch.

Discover winter walking

Bring everything on the Go higher in the mountains list above, as well the items below.

Essential
  • Medium to large rucksack, approx 45–50 litres. (In winter we carry a lot of equipment. It is essential that all of this fits inside the rucksack with some spare space. Having items dangling on the outside or having to put things on the ground to get something from the bottom of your bag is a recipe for disaster in the high winds that are common in winter.)
  • Winter Boots (B1, B2 or B3: the stiffness of a winter boot is measured using ‘B’ numbers. If it doesn’t have a ‘B’ number then it’s probably not a winter boot. B1 is the softest winter boot, but this is still stiffer than the sturdiest summer boot. We can advise on where to hire these if needed.)
  • Crampons (C1 or C2, not C3). The flexibility of crampons is measured using ‘C’ numbers. A B1 boot can take a C1 crampon; a B2 boot can take a C1 or C2 crampon etc. C3 crampons are fully-rigid for climbing and are not suitable for walking.
  • Walking ice axe (no longer than 65cm. Don’t let shop assistants try to convince you that you need a long one. The longer it is, the more it acts like a walking pole and the less useful it is when you want to do other things with it.)
  • Ski goggles (In high winds these make the difference between a good day out and having to turn around early due to sheer unpleasantness. Wraparound sunglasses are not a substitute.)
  • High energy, easy to eat food: you get through a lot of energy in winter. Now isn’t the time to think about your diet!
  • Thermal leggings
  • Thermal baselayer top
  • Insulated gloves
  • Spare set of insulated gloves
  • Thermal liner gloves
  • Any medication you need
Useful
  • Helmet (Helmets are used when learning skills which contain a risk of falling over or if we look at self arrest.)
  • Balaclava, Buff or similar as face covering
  • Yet another pair of spare thick gloves
  • Heavier waterproofs (top and bottom) than summer waterproofs
  • Flask with a hot drink (0.5 litre works well)
  • Sunglasses and sun cream. On a sunny day, the reflection off the snow can burn especially if your skin has forgotten what the sun looks like over the winter. This is doubly true from March onwards.
  • An insulated jacket (also known as duvet jacket) in addition to your spare warm layer. In Scotland, these are best made out of synthetic, rather than bird-down, material as they stay warm when wet. You can wear them over your waterproofs when we stop for breaks for an instant snug and cosy feeling.
  • BONUS: No need for midge spray or headnet!

We will normally supply these items, but you may bring your own.
You may be able to borrow these items, subject to availability. Get in touch.

Prepare for qualifications

 

You should know most of what you need by this stage but a few tips can always be useful. The details will depend on which qualifications we’re working on. The needs of a Lowland Leader will be different to a Mountain Leader, and the Winter Mountain Leader adds another level again. We’re here to support you through your qualification so please chat with us.