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8 Pieces of Gear I'm Glad I Bought in My First Year of Hiking | An Honest Best-Buy List

2024.12.30

Once you start hiking, the list of things you want never stops growing. I started in 2024, and over that first year I bought a genuinely surprising amount of gear. When I added it up, the total came to about ¥270,000 (¥269,474 to be exact). Seeing the number written down made me say something out loud.

In this post I'll go through the eight purchases that, after a year of actually using them in the mountains, I'm certain were worth the money — from someone who bought everything from hats to cookware as a beginner. If you're starting out with a limited budget, I hope this helps you decide what to spend it on first. Further down I've also written up what I got wrong, and the three essentials worth buying before anything else.

What a year taught me: proper gear is not optional

When I started, I honestly thought any old kit would do. A year of walking different mountains taught me otherwise: hiking needs gear made for hiking. Purpose-built equipment doesn't just make you more comfortable — it raises your margin of safety.

Which is exactly why where you spend first matters so much. The eight items below are the ones where I could feel the difference between having them and not having them. Here's each one, with what using it was actually like.

1. Hiking boots (Merrell Moab Speed 2 Mid GORE-TEX) — my number one

No contest: boots were the best thing I bought in year one. Mine are the Merrell Moab Speed 2 Mid GORE-TEX.

I'd assumed shoes were shoes. That was a big mistake. On my early hikes I slipped and fell repeatedly on descents. The moment I switched to proper boots, the falling simply stopped. The GORE-TEX waterproofing and the durability protect your feet, and they're still light and easy to walk in. They also happen to be lovely to look at, and I caught them on sale for about ¥10,000 off, which I still feel good about. They taught me how much safer a mountain becomes when your footing is stable. If you're just starting, this is where I'd put your money first.

2. Rain shell (Patagonia Granite Crest Rain Jacket) — the thing I wore most

Over the year, this is probably the piece I wore more than anything else.

People think of a rain shell as a rainy-day item, but in practice it's as much about wind as water, and it does a lot of the work of regulating your temperature on an exposed ridge or a chilly stretch. My favourite detail is the pit zips: open them when you're damp and starting to overheat and the air moves through, which takes most of the clamminess away. It's light enough that carrying it costs you nothing. I still don't own a proper hard shell, and so far this one jacket has covered rain, wind and cold for me. It's made me understand how important a rain shell really is.

3. Headlamp (Montbell) — the one that raised my safety margin

Second on my best-buy list is my Montbell headlamp. Montbell is Japan's best-known outdoor brand.

After the three essentials, this is what I felt I needed next. It earned its place on a hike that ran long and left us descending in fading light. It's light, the brightness adjusts to the situation, and because it straps to your head, both hands stay free. Simply being able to see your feet changes how you feel entirely. I learned first-hand that a headlamp isn't only for when it gets dark — it's for when it *might* get dark, and it belongs in your pack every time.

4. Merino wool base layer (Montbell Super Merino Wool)

The layer closest to your skin does more than you'd think. I use Montbell's Super Merino Wool line: the lightweight U-neck T-shirt and the MW tights.

Merino is warm, dries reasonably fast, and doesn't leave you chilled when you sweat. The lower body gets cold quickly, and just adding the tights changed how the whole day felt. They're so comfortable that I wear them off the mountain too. For midsummer sweat, though, I'd point you at Montbell's synthetic Wickron fabric instead — it dries extremely fast, and I was genuinely startled by the absence of the sweat marks and stickiness you get with cotton. Merino for warmth, synthetic for drying speed, chosen by season and temperature: that combination keeps you comfortable year-round.

5. Trekking poles (Montbell Alpine Carbon Pole)

Poles spread the load on both the ups and the downs, and these are the ones I use.

I bought them fairly early on. I told the staff at Montbell that above all I wanted something light, and they recommended this carbon model. It's light and strong at the same time, and I've used it ever since. Poles give you drive on a steep climb and take some of the impact off your knees on the way down. It's an unglamorous piece of kit, but it changes how much fatigue you're carrying at the end. If you're stuck on how light to go, just ask in the shop.

6. Hydration bladder (Montbell Trail Water Pack 1.5L)

This one completely changed how I drink on the trail.

I only adopted it recently, and my main feeling was that I should have done it much sooner. Before this I was carrying three plastic bottles, which took up an absurd amount of room in a 30-litre pack. With a bladder, the space problem disappears and you can sip steadily through the tube. Because you can drink while walking, you're not stopping every time you want water. It solved packing space and hydration in one go.

7. Lightweight stove system (Jetboil Stash)

This is the piece that buys you time to sit still on a mountain.

I bought it because I liked the idea of sitting in a chair and taking my time up there. It's very light, and the fact that everything — burner through to cup — nests into a single unit is the real convenience. Carry this and you can boil water, make something like instant ramen, and eat straight out of it. Afterwards it packs back down into one compact piece, which suits anyone trying to keep their load minimal. A hot drink or a steaming meal at altitude is the sort of thing you're still thinking about after you get home.

8. Folding sit pad (Therm-a-Rest Z Seat)

Last is a small, excellent thing that improves the quality of every break: the Therm-a-Rest Z Seat.

You unfold it, put it on a jagged rock or wet ground, and sit down. That's all it does, and yet breaks are meaningfully more comfortable with one than without. It keeps you off cold ground and hard stone, so the moment you sit down actually feels like rest. It folds up very small and weighs nothing. For the price, the satisfaction it delivers is out of all proportion to its size.

What I got wrong: a pack is about size and fit

Of everything I bought, the one I'd call a mistake was how I chose my pack.

I picked a women's model I liked the look of, but I'm 168 cm, which is on the taller side. The size didn't match my frame, my shoulders ached the whole time I walked, and I could never get the weight to sit on my hips the way it should. If a pack doesn't match your torso length, even an excellent one can't do what it was designed to do. So please don't choose a pack on looks or the size on the label. Go to a shop, put it on, load it up, and have someone fit it to you. That mistake was the single most useful thing I learned all year.

If you're just starting: the three essentials

After a year of buying things, these are what I'd tell a beginner to get first — what hikers in Japan call the "three sacred treasures."

• Boots: Stable footing is safety itself. The most important piece for preventing falls.
• Rain shell: Covers rain, wind and cold. You'll use it constantly.
• Pack: Get fitted, and choose the size that matches your body.

These three tend to be expensive, so use the sales the way I did when I got my boots for about ¥10,000 off. Beyond that, add things gradually as the mountains and seasons you're heading for require them. There's no need to have everything perfect from day one.

Final thoughts

Looking back, my first year was one long lesson in how much purpose-built gear changes both comfort and safety. Every one of the eight above reliably raised how good a day out felt.

If you're wondering where to start, my answer is boots, without hesitation. Stable footing changes the safety and the enjoyment of a mountain entirely. Build out from the three essentials, then go at your own pace. Taking up hiking at this stage of my life has made my days genuinely richer. I hope choosing your mountains and your gear turns out to be just as good for you.

🛒 See the gear from the video as a list → The quiet workhorses in my pack

※As an Amazon Associate, Yoshimi Iwasaki earns from qualifying purchases.

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