The Shelf: gear for the Camino, and what walkers really say about it

Fit is personal. Some walkers call these true to size, some went up, a few found them narrow (a wide version exists). The pilgrim trick: order two sizes, try both at the end of the day in your walking socks, send one back (check the return terms on the Amazon listing first). Your feet on day twelve will thank you for the ten minutes.

These are meant to hug. Most walkers call the fit spot-on; a few with a high instep or fuller ankles find the cuff tight, and a few between sizes went down. Use the size chart, and if you’re between two, think about your ankle before your toes.

They feel odd for about two minutes and take a moment to put on; start with the little toe. They’re liners, not socks: wear them under your merino pair. And they’re thin on purpose, which is why some wear through sooner than you’d like. Pack two pairs and be gentle pulling them on.

This is physical-therapy-grade strapping tape, and the glue means it. Some walkers report a rash or irritated skin, and it can pull at skin and hair on the way off. It contains natural rubber latex and colophony (rosin): if you react to either, this isn’t your tape. So: test a small strip at home for a day. Put it on clean, dry skin before a blister forms; if one is already there, cover it with a blister cushion first. You’ll need scissors, because it doesn’t tear by hand.

Put it on clean, dry skin, with no cream or oil, and smooth the edges down well. Then leave it alone: it’s made to stay until it starts to come away by itself, which can take several days. To take it off, don’t pull it up: stretch it slowly along the skin. If you have diabetes, the maker says to ask a doctor first. A few recent walkers felt their pack was thinner and less sticky than the ones from the pharmacy, so buy from the brand’s own listing or a seller you trust.

Give it an evening at home: load it, walk the stairs, and move the back panel until the hip belt carries the weight. Most walkers call the fit the best they’ve had. A few didn’t get there, for different reasons (too roomy, straps too short, the harness in the wrong place), so check the return terms on the Amazon listing before you buy. 34 liters is plenty for a Camino if you keep to 10% of your body weight.

This is the cheap pair that some hikers use for years, and lately it’s also a bit of a lottery: a fair number of recent walkers got poles whose locks slipped under weight, and a pole that folds on a descent is dangerous. So test them the day they arrive: set your height, close the levers, and lean your full weight on each pole. If one slides, tighten the dial on the lever and try again. If it still slides, send the pair back. Once they hold, walkers say they hold for years.

One size, and it’s a big one: walkers under about 5′4″ say it swallows them, and that is exactly why it fits over a backpack. In wind it billows: a belt or a cord around your waist holds it down. The fabric is light and soft, not tough: some walkers tore theirs on the first outing, and others say theirs has lasted well, so keep it away from brambles and don’t yank it over the pack.

This is the cheap, very thin kind of liner. Walkers love the weight and the feel; a fair number had seams fray or the fabric tear, so wash it by hand and treat it like a silk scarf, not a bedsheet. Wash it before the first night: the colors run. It is sold as 100% mulberry silk; walkers are split on whether it feels like it. It is narrow and not long: several walkers, tall and short, found it a squeeze, and getting out at 3 a.m. takes practice.

Roll one into a thin, smooth cylinder with clean fingers, reach over your head with the other hand and pull your ear up and back, slide the plug in and hold it while it swells. Done right, walkers say the snoring turns into a murmur; nobody says it disappears. You’ll still hear an alarm, which on the Camino is good news. Ears differ: most walkers call the fit perfect, including several with small ear canals, and a few found them too small or felt them work loose. In the morning take them out slowly, with a twist: the maker warns that pulling them out fast can hurt your eardrum.

The weak point is the plastic: a number of walkers had the tilt hinge or the battery latch break, and some lamps simply stopped switching on, so open it gently, and use it for a week at home before you fly. The side of the lamp is touch-sensitive (a tap jumps it to full power): some walkers love that, some can’t stand it, and you can’t switch it off. Learn the lock before you pack it, or it may turn itself on in your bag. The maker says the red light comes on without passing through white first, which is exactly what a sleeping dormitory needs: practice that at home too. It is tested waterproof (IPX8), which Galicia will check for you.

It doesn’t feel like a bathroom towel: it is thin microfiber, not terry cloth, and several walkers say it felt odd the first time. It works best when you pat rather than rub; a few never got to like it. Wash it before the first use (the maker says the dye can bleed a little), and never with fabric softener: that is the maker’s instruction. For a pilgrim the Body size is the one: walkers say it wraps right around. The Hand size saves weight if you can live with less cover. In a damp dormitory it can take longer: hang it where the air moves.

Put it on clean, dry skin before you set off, and be generous: the walkers who were happy used plenty. Most call it invisible: no grease, no scent, nothing on your clothes. A few found it sticky or hard to spread, and a few said it didn’t help them at all, so give it a test walk at home. Walkers use it mostly on thighs, under the bra line and anywhere a strap sits.

It is a funny book about a serious decision. It won’t tell you that you can do it; nobody can promise you that. It tells you who is really out there on the trail, what it takes, and what it feels like, so you can decide for yourself. It is new, so there is little word on it yet. If you read it, an honest review on Amazon helps the next person who is still deciding.

This journal starts at home and ends at home: the training and the plans before you go, the memories and the stamps afterward. In between, there is a page for every walking day. One journal weighs 5.9 oz (about 170 g) on Amazon’s listing, so it can come along without breaking the book’s 10% rule. Four editions, so the friend you walk with can pick theirs. New, so no reviews yet.