Staying well fuelled and hydrated while backpacking or on an overnight wild camp doesn’t have to cost the world. The Great Outdoors co-editor David Lintern shares his top picks of budget backpacking food alternatives to expensive and specialist dehydrated meals – all from his camp in the Cairngorms National Park, Scottish Highlands.
We also dive into his ultralight, minimalist camp kitchen set up – plus some of his hard-won backpacking food and drink hacks to make your life outdoors easier and more comfortable.
See the budget backpacking food a trail pro eats on a wild camp:
Chapters:
0.00 – Intro
0.37 – David’s Pick: Budget alternatives to dehydrated meals
6.30 – David’s minimalist camp kitchen
8.46 – The problem with single-use packaging
9.50 – Why you can trust The Great Outdoors
Weight, calorie content, and price all still matter. Dehydrated food is lightweight and packs in a lot of energy, but it can also be expensive. Alternatives such as those highlighted by David in the video above that are worth considering include home-dehydrating your own meals or cooking from fresh ingredients in the field. Both involve a far greater degree of preparation, although foodies may consider that a plus point.
If you do have a little more money to spend on densely calorific and lightweight food, our experts have taste-tested their way through the best backpacking meals on the market. They’ve also rounded up specialist vegetarian and vegan backpacking meals served up by the likes of Real Turmat, Radix Nutrition, LYO Expedition Menu, Bla Band, Adventure Menu and more.
