10 Multi-Use Hiking Items I’ll Bring on the PCT

As I’m preparing for my upcoming PCT thru hike, I’m reviewing all my hike items to ensure I’m bringing only those that are absolutely required and that I’ll use. If I haven’t used it multiple times on past hikes it’s just extra weight. As any experienced hiker will tell you, each item a hiker brings on a thru hike has to be worthy of the ride because no one wants to carry dead weight for a couple thousand miles. This is an area of planning that most long trail hikers really focus on and with good reason. We all have stories about suffering under a heavy pack until you lose your mind and just start dumping stuff in hiker boxes.

When I started my backpacking trips in 2006, my pack was an 85 liter pack and weighed in at a hefty 55ish lbs fully loaded. I thought extreme suffering was just part of the grand experience. It wasn’t all my fault though, this was an era before the ultra light movement really started and gear weight wasn’t as big a design consideration. Eventually, I found out I really didn’t need the extra batteries, extra headlamp, camp stool, camera, book, multi-tool, and a medical bag that probably weighed over a pound. What really motivated me to trim down was I noticed that the lighter my pack became, the less blisters I would have. I suffered major blisters until I started getting the weight down. Things really got better when Keen boots came out with the wide toe box but that’s material for another post. On my journey to reducing pack weight, I found the holy grail of weight reduction was to find items that had multi-use thereby eliminating redundant items and weight. So with that thought in mind, I thought I would share my top 10 favorite multi-use items I have come to love and plan on bringing with me on my PCT thru hike. I have listed them in order of the multi-use value to me and have omitted the major items like cook set, tent, sleeping gear and pack, while focusing more on the auxiliary stuff.

The 85L Gregory Pack

Number 10 – Vaseline Cotton Balls

Most thru hikers will be rolling their eyes at this one and would be critical of this choice. But I have used them through the years so I put it on the list. The Vaseline is useful for lip balm, wind burn areas on the face, anti-chaffing lube in your butt cheeks and private areas (although be sure you don’t use the same cotton ball for lip balm!) and for what I use it for most, starting fires. It’s an excellent fire starter because it burns for a few minutes giving time for the fire to really get established. It’s doesn’t weigh much but I will warn it is a little messy so be sure to store in a good zip lock bag. It ranks low on the list because it would be considered a nicety.

Number 9 – Hiking Poles

While this item doesn’t have a lot of multi-uses, it does have a few important ones like it’s designed use of helping with balancing, uphills and reducing stress on knees on the down hills. But it has also replaced my tent poles reducing tent weight and space, can be used to assist with squatting in the woods and is used to store your tape getting it out of the bag. And, if you’re trying to scare a bear they make you look big. It ranks lower because of its limited multi-uses.

Hiking poles replaced my tent poles saving weight

Number 8 – Camp Shoes

On one of my early AT section hikes, a group of friends were planning on hiking the AT Smokey Mountain section on our week vacation from work. We were all very excited about it and had been planning the trip for months. On the first day of our hike, I put duct tape on my heels before we started hiking as a precaution because I had a history of getting blisters there. I had new boots with new inserts that misaligned my heel in the boot. Long story short, half way up the first climb I felt hot spots starting on both heels. The duct tape was loose so I started pulling it off. Turns out it was loose because my skin was stuck to the tape and pulling off my heel! After I finished getting the tape off I saw I had quarter sized ripped blisters on both heels, it was ugly. The other guys were looking at me like I had been in a terrible accident and no one wanted to tell me I was missing my lower half and certain to die. But I was determined I was not missing this trip. After some contemplating, I came up with a plan. My camp shoes were a pair of Teva sandals that had straps securing them to my feet. I loosened the back strap and with socks on I could walk in them without much pain. I hiked about 3 days in them until the skin grew over my heels enough to let me get my boots back on. I made some boot adjustments and survived the hike. The sandals saved my trip and the good memories I made. Camp shoes have come a long ways as far as weight goes and I now have a pair of super lightweight sandals that could get me into town if required. Besides being an emergency backup, my camp shoes are my evening camp shoes, town shoes, shower shoes and they are also good for fording streams to keep my shoes dry.

My lightweight Teva camp shoes also are my emergency backup hiking shoes

Number 7 – Needle and Thread

Again, not a lot of multi-uses but very handy to have and weighs nothing. The primary purpose of course is for sewing rips in clothes or missing buttons and I’ve even seen people repair shoes until they could get in town and replace them. Another important use is they are good to have in the medical kit for picking splinters out and draining blisters. A thru hiker showed me a trick that changed how I address my blisters that won’t go away. You run the needle and thread through the blister and leave the thread in all night so the blister can stay drained and stop refilling. It worked wonders for me and others on the trail.

Disclaimer. Every health care person reading this is probably screaming at the screen “Don’t do that!” They will tell you there is a chance of infection, I do it at my own peril. I actually knew a fellow hiker that got MRSA from a blister in 2023 and almost lost his foot. I take precautions as best I can to prevent infection by wiping the needle and string down with alcohol and make sure my tetanus shot is up to date. Also I keep open wounds clean and covered. My fellow hiker that got MRSA believes he may have gotten it in a hostel shower so you never know where germs are coming from.

Needle and thread used to drain a blister

Number 6 – Medical scissors

If you have a really good set of mini medical scissors you really don’t need a knife in my opinion. I use scissors for cutting everything from mole skin, medical tape, repair patches and can even be used with food. Also, can be used to cut annoying nose hair and finger and toe nails. They have lots of uses and I find I use them a lot.

These little medical scissors have lots of uses

Number 5 – Advil or Ibuprofen

Ahh, the hiker drug of choice for anyone over 40. Advil saved my hike in 2023. I pulled my back out at Shaw’s hostel before the 100 mile wilderness and lived on Advil until I summitted Katahdin. It also saved my son’s hike one time when he developed a tooth ache. It helps with pretty much every thing associated with muscular pain on the trail, and headaches. And you can vary the amount for minor issues up to prescription level doses (ask your doctor about prescription levels you can take before the hike) when needed like throwing a back out. I would throw in Benadryl as an honorable mention in this category as it can be used for allergy reactions, colds and as a sleep aide for occasional sleeplessness.

Another disclaimer. I am not a health professional and have not even slept in a Holiday Inn Express. Even though these medicines are over the counter they can have adverse interactions with other medicines or you may have a condition that is not compatible with them. Be sure to talk to your doctor about what you should and shouldn’t bring when it comes to taking medicine on the trail!.

Advil and Benadryl are useful for my medicine kit

Number 4 – Large Handkerchief or Neck Gaiter

Large, oversized handkerchiefs are great multi-use items and I always bring one with me. One use is to include utilizing as a sun shade. I put mine under my hat to keep sun off my neck and the side of my face. Another use is wrap around your head and over your eyes when you’re sleeping in shelters or hostels to keep light out. Be careful when combining with ear plugs because it’s easy to oversleep. They also make great washcloths because they are lightweight and dry quickly. You can use them as masks for filtering dust or germs. And, some even have wording on them to help you communicate you’re a hiker and need a hitch into town. I also use neck gaiters for the same purposes and these are particularly good for added warmth around the neck and face when pulled up.

Sgt Pepper sporting the handkerchief neck shade

Number 3 – Poncho

I love my poncho, it was a game changer for me. Up until I purchased my Dyneema poncho from Zpack, I had never found a rain jacket/pants/backpack cover combo that kept me dry. If wet-out didn’t get me wet, sweat under them did. The advantage to this poncho is the Dyneema doesn’t wet through, it’s loose so it stays cool, I don’t need a separate pack cover (Pack covers don’t cover straps and they never keep the pack fully dry), I can use it as a tarp, and I use it under my sleep pad to keep from puncturing my pad when sleeping on the ground or in a shelter. I can also wear it as an outer layer for warmth as it covers most of my body. And it’s incredibly light, only 4.5 oz. I do bring a pair of light rain pants but that is more for outer shell warmth when needed. The only drawback is it’s a little “blousy” and I’ve been told I’ll never win any fashion contests in it. The main drawback is it’s very expensive. For me though it’s been worth every penny when I know I can hike in comfort in the rain. It’s one of my favorite items I pack.

The Zpack Dyneema poncho

Number 2 – Leukotape

The invention of this stuff may rank right up there with the invention of Velcro. I didn’t really know Leukotape until my LASH AT hike in 2023 but turns out this stuff was like gold on the trail. Most stores along the trail had run out it but I managed to buy a roll while off trial. When people found out I had a full role of the stuff it was like I had a pack of cigarettes in prison. Suddenly I was everyone’s best friend. Luckily, I had plenty to share. What makes this stuff so great is it will stick to everything and holds on like crazy, plus it’s generally water proof and sweat proof. It’s great for medical tape on feet, replaces band aides and can be used to repair things like tents and other torn items. The general thinking in the past was you would wrap several bands of duct tape around your hiking pole for things like temporary repairs but this does a lot better job than duct tape and has more uses.

Leukotape, the wonder tape

Number 1 – Smart Phone

Ok this is no surprise but my number 1 multi-use item is my iPhone. It changed the game. Think of the things it replaced from when I first started hiking. No separate camera needed, no separate iPod for music needed, no separate book needed, no physical maps needed, it’s my backup flashlight and soon it will replace my PLB (Personal Locator Beacons). Its impact on hiking has been nothing short of amazing.

Well, that’s it for my favorite multi-use items as I prep for the PCT. Hopefully maybe it’s given you some food for thought. I’m always interested in feedback on my blog and would be interested in any good multi-use items you’ve discovered, so feel free to leave a comment.

The smartphone is the ultimate multi-use hiking tool