The first multi-day trek with a tent is the moment when most people pack either too much or too little — they rarely hit the middle. After years of walking the Swedish mountains I have come to see that what you leave at home is often more important than what you take with you. Below is my list — without excess and without gaps.

Shelter and sleep — without these there is no trek

The tent is one of those things on which it is not worth saving. For a few days of trekking in changing conditions you need a proper three-season tent, with solid pegs and good ventilation — the vapour from your breath at night can be a bigger problem than the cold from outside. Choose a sleeping bag for the temperature in which you will actually sleep: in Lapland even in full summer the nights can drop close to zero, so a model rated around zero, with a margin of a few degrees below, works for most summer trips.

Underneath an inflatable mattress, and additionally a thin foam pad below it — together they give an R-value of around 5, which is the kind of insulation that really cuts you off from the cold, damp ground. The ground in these regions is hard, wet and considerably colder than it seems when you step into the tent, and saving on what you put under yourself is a classic beginner mistake.

The whole sleeping system, meaning the tent together with the sleeping bag and pads, is good to close around three, four kilograms. Every extra kilogram you will feel on the climbs, especially toward the end of the day.

Clothing — the rule of three layers

A proven set is a thermal base of merino wool or synthetic, in the middle something insulating — a down jacket or a fleece — and on top a wind- and waterproof jacket, preferably with a membrane. To complete it trekking trousers and separate waterproof trousers, also membrane — in Lapland this is not a luxury but a basic, because the rain can fall for hours, and wading through wet brush or rivers without them ends with being soaked from the waist down. A hat and gloves also go into the pack, even in the middle of summer.

It is worth taking two pairs of spare socks and a separate set of clothes for sleeping, which you do not use while walking — nothing improves the mood in the tent like dry clothes in the evening.

Cotton stays at home. Wet cotton chills the body faster than the rain itself and does not dry on the body in any reasonable conditions.

Kitchen and water — the minimum that works

For cooking, a gas stove with a large canister, a one-litre pot, a spoon and two lighters are entirely enough — one in the pocket, the other packed separately, because lighters have a way of breaking exactly when they are needed most. For water a filter or disinfection tablets — the sources in the mountains often look crystal clear, but that is not enough to drink without any safeguard. Plan food toward freeze-dried meals, nuts, energy bars and porridge for breakfast. Roughly count about five hundred, seven hundred calories for every ten kilometres of walking with a pack — in practice it comes out a good deal more than it seems when planning at home.

Navigation, safety, communication

A topographic map and a compass are basic equipment, regardless of whether you carry a GPS and a charged phone. The first-aid kit should be simple but complete: bandages, blister plasters, a disinfectant, a foil blanket, basic painkillers. To this a whistle, a head torch and spare batteries. If you are going into terrain without coverage, add a satellite communicator — I travel myself with a Garmin inReach and to anyone who heads into the mountains alone I recommend exactly the same.

Checklist — twelve points to check before leaving

What to leave at home

A heavy photographic tripod, an expanded first-aid kit calculated for thirty people, spare clothes taken „just in case”, a hardback book. The pack should not weigh more than around twenty percent of your body mass — if you exceed fifteen kilograms, it is worth going through the contents once more and asking yourself what you will really use.

The first trek with a tent is, to a large extent, learning through your own mistakes. It is better to take a little too little than to carry unnecessary weight for a week. And if something is really missing — you will remember it much better than any list.

Back to tips