I'll start by saying we aren't hiking professionals, far from it. We have picked up a few hiking tips and tricks over the last few years which have helped us have a much better experience on our walks, recover quicker, and helped us discover the best trails. ### Gear We don't have any fancy gear, but we do use/ensure we have: * A decent pair of hiking boots; in the winter or rainy weather I wear a pair of Merrell hiking boots, and in the summer I wear a pair of [Barefoot Vivo shoes](https://www.vivobarefoot.com/uk/) * A big water bottle, with a packet of electrolytes * A decent rain coat; my North Face walking outer shell does a good job of keeping the rain out whilst giving the sweat somewhere to go too! ### Maps All of our walks are tracked on an App called [All Trails](https://www.alltrails.com/en-gb). The large community have left helpful reviews, photo's and recommendations. We pay yearly for the premium version as we find ourselves outside of phone signal a fair amount during our walks and hikes, and the peace of mind knowing we'll be able to still see a map is helpful. As a backup, we always download the local area we'll be walking of hiking in on Google Maps. This helps as a second opinion if we aren't 100% sure on a route, or the All Trails App crashes - Note: This hasn't actually happened to us, but it's nice to know there's a backup plan. As a backup plan for our backup plan, for larger walks we'll have a printed map of the local area stored in our backpacks somewhere safe from water. We've never had to use this, and hopefully never will. #hiking #walking #blog