Gear Checklist Generator
Pick an activity, a season and a budget tier. Get a filtered, Scotland-specific kit list grouped by category with essential-vs-optional priority and example products. Print the result to a single page and stick it on the fridge.
Your kit list
Day hike · Summer · Mid-range
27 items · 21 essential · 6 recommended or optional
Base layer
- Long-sleeve base layer (synthetic or merino)Essential
Never cotton. Long sleeves year-round for sun, wind and midge protection.
Example: Montane Dart long-sleeve — £35
Mid layer
- Fleece or grid fleece mid layerEssential
Active warmth while moving. Packed in the rucksack in summer, worn in spring/autumn/winter.
Example: Berghaus Prism half-zip — £35
Insulation
- Synthetic insulation jacket (packed)Essential
Never down for first-time Scottish use — synthetic works wet and dries fast.
Example: Rab Xenair Alpine — £180
Waterproof shell
- Waterproof shell jacketEssential
Fully taped seams, 20,000mm+ HH, proper hood, pit zips. Non-negotiable.
Example: Rab Kangri GTX — £340
- Waterproof overtrousers (full side zips)Essential
Full side zips so you can pull them on over boots in a storm.
Example: Rab Downpour Plus Pants — £100
Trousers
- Softshell walking trousersEssential
Never cotton. Never jeans. Synthetic or softshell only.
Example: Montane Terra Stretch — £85
Footwear
- Three-season walking bootsEssential
Ankle support, Vibram-type sole, fully waterproof, broken in. Spend here first.
Example: Scarpa Terra GTX — £160
- Merino walking socks (×2 pairs)Essential
Never cotton. Always carry a spare dry pair for the walk out.
Example: Bridgedale Hike Midweight — £18/pair
Head and hands
- Fleece beanie or hatEssential
Carry year-round — summer summits can drop below 5°C in wind.
Example: Buff Polar Hat — £18
- Sun hat or capRecommended
Wide brim or cap. Scotland has real UV exposure in summer.
- Light fleece glovesEssential
Carry year-round. £10 pair weighs nothing and saves fingers.
Example: Rab Power Stretch Pro — £30
- Buff / neck gaiterRecommended
Most versatile bit of kit on the list. Ear warmer, face cover, wrist warmer.
Example: Original Buff — £15
- Sunglasses (Cat 3 or Cat 4)Recommended
Cat 3 year-round. Cat 4 glacier glasses essential on snow in winter.
Pack
- Day pack (30–40L with hip belt)Essential
Proper hip belt for load transfer. 30L minimum for Scottish hill day kit.
Example: Osprey Talon 33 — £140
Navigation
- Paper OS map (1:25k or 1:50k)Essential
Phones fail. Paper always works. Buy the sheet for your area and learn to read it.
Example: OS Explorer sheet — £10
- Baseplate compassEssential
Silva Field 7 or similar. Learn to take a bearing before relying on it.
Example: Silva Field 7 — £20
- Phone with offline map appRecommended
OS Maps Premium (£34.99/yr) is the gold standard for Scottish hills.
Example: OS Maps Premium — £34.99/yr
- Waterproof map caseRecommended
Example: Ortlieb A4 map case — £15
Food and water
- Water bottle or bladder (1.5L+)Essential
Minimum 1.5L for a day walk. 2L for summer or long days.
- Day hike food (lunch + 2 snacks + emergency)Essential
Calorie-dense. Pack more than you think you need. Always carry an emergency bar.
- Hot drink flaskOptional
Optional but morale-boosting on wet or cold days.
Example: Stanley Classic — £30
Emergency kit
- Head torch + spare batteriesEssential
Carry year-round — even in June. The Daylight Hours Planner shows why.
Example: Petzl Tikka — £30
- First aid kitEssential
Plasters, painkillers, antihistamine, blister kit, bandage.
Example: Lifesystems Trek — £25
- Emergency foil blanket or bivvyEssential
Carry two foil blankets or one orange survival bivvy. Weighs almost nothing.
Example: Lifesystems Survival Bag — £12
- WhistleEssential
6 blasts = international distress. Attached to pack strap, not buried inside.
Midge kit
- Midge head netEssential
Weighs 20g, costs £5, saves a trip. Non-negotiable May–September on the west coast.
Example: Sea to Summit Mosquito — £8
- Repellent (Smidge or DEET)Essential
Smidge (20% picaridin) is the default. 50% DEET for peak July west-coast conditions.
Example: Smidge 75ml — £7
Product examples are representative, not paid placements. The full tiered recommendations with model comparisons live in the Hillwalking Beginner's Kit List and Wild Camping Gear List articles. This tool is a filtered summary of those, not a replacement.
How it works
The tool filters a master list of around 70 Scotland-specific kit items by your selected activity and season, then groups the result into 14 category sections (base layer → mid layer → insulation → shell → legs → footwear → head/hands → pack → navigation → food/water → emergency kit → overnight kit → activity-specific → midges).
Each item has a priority — essential (green), recommended (amber), or optional (grey) — and where possible a tier-matched example product drawn from the kit recommendations in our existing articles. The budget tier shows Decathlon / Mountain Warehouse picks; mid-range shows Berghaus, Rab, Osprey, Scarpa; premium shows Arc'teryx, Hilleberg and similar.
Product examples are representative rather than paid placements — the full tiered recommendations with model comparisons live in the Hillwalking Beginner's Kit List and Wild Camping Gear List articles. This tool is a filtered summary — not a replacement.
Scotland-specific touches you won't get in a generic UK kit list generator: synthetic sleeping bags preferred over down for the first bag (Scottish conditions get things wet), midge head nets and repellent flagged as essential on summer overnight trips, winter kit explicitly calls out B1/B2 boot ratings and ice-axe fitment, sea kayak kit includes drysuit or wetsuit as essential outside summer because Scottish sea temperatures sit at 6–14°C year-round.
Related tools and guides
Naismith's Rule Calculator
Walking time estimator. Pair with this kit list to check both "what to pack" and "how long it will take".
Midge Forecast
Check midge risk for your destination. If the forecast is bad, the midge kit section of this checklist becomes essential.
Hillwalking Beginner's Kit List
The full tiered kit list with model comparisons, priority spend rankings and the HonestTake on where to save money.