Learn everything you need to know about hiking on a budget in this article. So, you want to start hiking without money (or on a tight budget)? I will start by saying that if you are going to do some extremer hikes, like high altitude hiking, you will have to spend some money. However, if you are interested in hiking in mild conditions, you really don’t need that much.
Note that when I’m talking about hiking, I’m talking about multiday hiking (spending at least one night in the outdoors).
Conditions
Before you leave for your hiking trip, you should think about where and when you will be hiking. If the conditions are rather extreme, you do not want to bring low quality gear. However, if the conditions are not that extreme, you can almost always get away with budget gear.
If you want to start hiking without money, it would be a good idea to avoid extreme conditions. Try to go to an area where it will not drop below freezing point during the night. Therefore, you are going to want to avoid very high altitude hikes.
Note that hiking under milder conditions does not necessarily make it less exciting or less challenging.
The hiking essentials
When hiking on a budget, the first thing you should do is forget about all these fancy hiking accessories. Simply focus on the essentials. What do you absolutely need on a multiday hiking trip and how can you get those items without any money.
Water
Water is obviously very important on any hiking trip. The good thing is that it can be found almost everywhere and it is completely free. Simply make sure to find some streaming water and you are good to go.
However, even clean streaming water is not completely safe to drink. The easiest way to filter this water is to use a water purifier. But then again, a water purifier costs money. Therefore, you might be interested in boiling your water. It’s less convenient, but it’s completely free. Simply boil 2 liters of drinking water in the morning, at noon and maybe even some more in the evening.
That said, even when you are hiking on a budget, I would recommend to carry a water purifier. It’s just very inconvenient if you always have to boil your water. I will make a budget friendly suggestion later in this article.
Food
The next essential is obviously food. Now, this will cost some money, but you would have to pay for food anyway, even when you are not hiking. So it’s not really an additional cost. Just make sure you don’t pay too much for your meals if you want to be successful at hiking on a budget.
However, these hiking meals can be more expensive than regular meals. Therefore, you should be careful with what meals you buy. You can basically buy a completely pre-prepared meal, where you only have to add boiling water and you are good to go.
A more budget friendly approach would be to buy dehydrated ingredients and make your own meals. You could even dehydrate entire meals at home and bring those meals with you on a hike. It’s the cheapest and healthiest approach (assuming you already own a food dehydrator).
You can learn more about hiking meals in this article: The best hiking meals you can buy.
You can bring a camping stove, but once again, that costs some money. If it’s allowed in the area you are camping, a regular fire would be more budget friendly.
Clothes
As long as you don’t hike in extreme conditions, you can probably wear clothes you already own. Generally, any clothing from synthetic material (regular sports clothing) will do. Bring a fleece or something similar to keep you warm and find a good waterproof jacket.
You want to avoid cotton clothing as much as possible. You can find more information about hiking clothes in this article: Hiking clothes: proper hiking attire. Keep in mind that this article is written for more extreme situations as well. This means that you might not need everything on this list. That said, it will give you a good understanding of what’s important when it comes to hiking clothes.
Shoes
A good hiking boot will last forever, so chances are you (or one of your relatives/friends) have one lying around.
If you have some money that you can spend, a good hiking boot is a good investment. It will cost some money now, but it lasts a very long time.
If you don’t want to spend any money on hiking shoes and you cannot borrow a pair from a friend/relative, you could use regular sneakers. A good pair of sneakers with a good sole can be used on a hiking trip. Make sure that they are comfortable, even after walking multiple miles. Note that sneakers still have certain disadvantages and they will not be optimal on every type of terrain.
For more information about high quality cheap hiking shoes, check out this article: Budget hiking shoes: the best cheap shoes.
Camp setup
Next up, bring a proper camp setup. You can bring a tent, a hammock, a bivy, a tarp, etc. Once again, as long as the conditions are rather mild, you don’t need a high quality (=expensive) setup. You can get away with a regular tent. I did create an article about the best cheap hiking tarps, just in case you are interested.
Do some research and find out how low the temperatures will drop during the night. Always bring a sleeping pad and a sleeping bag. Make sure that the sleeping bag is made for these temperatures.
Note that cheaper gear will often be heavier, but this is one of the sacrifices you will have to make when hiking on a budget.
Another thing you could do is build your own shelters. I covered some of these shelters in this article: Hiking without a tent: tent alternatives. However, I would not recommend this, especially not for beginners. Also, note that this is often not allowed either.
Others
There are a couple of other essentials, some of them are situational.
- Matches (or something to light a fire)
- Headlamp (especially if you plan to hike in the dark)
- Sun protection
- First aid kit (you can be creative and bring an improvised aid kit to save money)
- Knife
None of these have to be expensive and can perfectly fit in your budget hiking plan.
How to get the hiking essentials without money
Now that you know what you absolutely need to have on a hiking trip, let’s talk about how to get these items without money. The first thing you should do, is go to your attic and go through your old stuff. Once you have done that, you can either ask friends/relatives or you can try to get some festival leftovers. This is probably the most effective way to start hiking on a budget.
Ask friends/relatives
Chances are very high that you can lend, or even get some gear from friends or relatives. You should be able to find a tent, a sleeping pad and a sleeping bag (make sure to check the temperature) fairly easily.
Additionally, you should be able to borrow some hiking shoes (as I said before, they last forever).
Festival leftovers
No luck with friends/relatives? There is another way to get some camping gear for free. Simply walk on the camping fields of a festival when the festival is over. People will leave all kinds of stuff. You should especially keep an eye out for a good tent.
Keep in mind that you will have to go to these camping sites the day after the festival is over. Certain festivals will also not allow this, some luck might be required.
Budget hiking gear buyers guide
You have checked the attic, asked relatives and went to the camping grounds of a recent festival, but no luck? There is no other option than to actually buy this essential hiking gear. In order not to waste too much money on these items, I have done some research and made a selection of the best budget items.
Keep in mind that if you are planning on doing a lot of hikes in the future, you might consider buying more expensive gear. In the long run this could save money.
If you have to buy stuff, make sure you get the best price! Easiest way to be sure? Use Honey, this extension will automatically compare prices and check for all possible coupon codes.
Tent
A good value for money 1 person: ALPS Mountaineering Lynx 1-Person Tent
A good value for money 2 person tent: ALPS Mountaineering Lynx 2-Person Tent
Hammock
Budget option: WINNER OUTFITTERS Double Camping Hammock
Budget option with mosquito net: IDEALUX Camping Hammock with Mosquito Net
Keep in mind that you will need to combine this with a rain fly (tarp).
Tarp
A cheap and large tarp: Unigear Hammock Rain Fly Waterproof
A high quality tarp: Eagles Nest Outfitters ENO ProFly XL Rain Tarp
Bivy
Cheap waterproof bivy: Tennier Woodland Camouflage Waterproof Bivy Cover
Sleeping pad
High quality and very durable sleeping pad: Therm-a-Rest Z Lite Sol Ultralight Foam Backpacking Mattress
Air sleeping pad: WellaX Ultralight Air Sleeping Pad
Sleeping bag
Cheap 35-40 Fahrenheit sleeping bag: WINNER OUTFITTERS Mummy Sleeping Bag with Compression Sack
Shoes
Cheap and durable hiking boot: Columbia Men’s Newton Ridge Plus II Waterproof Hiking Boot
Water filter
Good water filter from a trusted brand: Sawyer Products Mini Water Filtration System
Note that this is not really one of the essentials, you could also boil your water to filter it. It’s very convenient to have this gadget, but when you are hiking without money, you could consider not bringing this.
Clothes
If you have to buy hiking clothes, simply stick with synthetic fabrics. A full buyers guide on budget hiking clothes is not within the scope of this article. I already mention that you should read Hiking clothes: proper hiking attire if you want to learn more about good hiking clothes.
Having a good knowledge about a proper hiking attire will make it possible to look for cheap hiking clothes that are not necessarily low quality. Once you know what’s important when it comes to hiking clothes, you can search the internet for the best deals.
That said, when on a tight budget, you should try to use the clothing you already own whenever it’s possible.
Conclusion
Hiking on a budget might be a bit challenging, but it’s definitely possible. You simply don’t need that much stuff when you are going on a hiking trip, as long as you don’t hike in extreme conditions.
I tried to answer the question “How to start hiking without money?” as good as possible. Fair enough, in certain situations you will need some money. But even then, you should think about how you can limit your expenses.
A quick overview to how to start hiking without money:
- Check your attic and try to find stuff that you can use on your next hiking trip.
- Try to lend stuff that you don’t have from friends and relatives.
- Check out abandoned camping sites from festivals.
- If you have to buy stuff, make sure to do proper research. Only buy products that are good value for money.
The bottom line is, if you want to go hiking, money should not be an excuse not to do it. You might have to sacrifice some comfort and convenience, but that shouldn’t spoil your trip.