Safety, comfort… how are high-tech innovations changing the hiking experience?

At an altitude of 1,800 m, the Arbarétan refuge offers a moment of respite to hikers, in the heart of the Savoyard mountains. Édith and Pierre sit on a bench in the shade to savor the breathtaking landscape with their eyes. Around an immense plateau of greenery, the high mountain ranges cut the sky.

This retired couple is out for a short walk for the day, but their sophisticated equipment is the envy of others. Edith places telescopic poles and a seat cushion around her, light and practical for insulating against the cold. Pierre proudly wears his waterproof shirt, treated against mosquitoes, and his anti-UV cap with a neck warmer.

“Thirty years ago, when we were hiking, no one had all that,” recalls Pierre, 71. “We often walked in jeans, with leather mountain boots, which had to be stretched with wear. Industrial poles didn’t exist!” Lovers of the great outdoors at altitude, the duo gradually invested in a real range of equipment. Like them, thousands of French people now set off on the trails, dressed in waterproof clothing from head to toe, an ultra-light bag on their backs and carbon poles in their hands.

Hiking equipment is so successful that walking has almost become a cultural movement, with its own codes and style, like surfing or skiing. This craze for increasingly technical and high-end equipment may seem paradoxical. Because beyond a simple leisure activity accessible to all, hiking symbolizes a quest for spirituality, promising an experience of stripping down and reconnecting with nature.

Brands in the race

But the image of hiking has evolved, it is becoming trendy. Its practice increased by 14% in France between 2019 and 2021 (1), like many outdoor sports since the Covid pandemic. Among new walkers, a young and urban population has developed a taste for nature escapades. “People between 20 and 35 years old are looking for adventure in a somewhat structured way,” explains Cécile Pont, from the French Hiking Federation (FFRandonnée).

To attract this audience, more amateur than specialist, brands compete in technicality. They rely on innovation laboratories and present each purchase as a quality investment. The strategy is paying off, because the sale of outdoor sports equipment is exploding. In 2021, this market was worth 6.2 billion euros for 240 million items sold in Europe (2). Institutions in the sector now attract all age categories. These brands offer an enticing range of innovative products, from the essential ultralight bag to the solar battery, including the waterproof logbook.

This diversity of offers reassures novices, looking for more comfort and security than old adventurers. Well equipped, they are more easily tempted by bivouacs. In 2019, Stéphanie, originally from Aix-en-Provence (Bouches-du-Rhône), decided to reconnect with the hikes of her childhood.

But the 35-year-old has chosen to pay the price for quality equipment to tackle the Corsican mountains and Mont Blanc, while roaming. “My windbreaker jacket costs 280 euros, it’s really worth it in the mountains,” explains Stéphanie. “In my bag, I have waterproof pants in case of rain, insulating underwear that I can wear under my fleece and a connected watch that has GPS so I can find my way.”

Beware of gadgets

Stéphanie is committed to keeping a certain amount of comfort in her travels, but she has also learned to get rid of gadgets. “The stuff you see in ads sometimes makes you want it and you can make some pretty disappointing purchases,” she continues. “I bought a great solar battery, which I attached to my bag all day on a path in the full sun. It was a failure! It barely charged my phone.”

To avoid mishaps, forums entirely dedicated to “gear” advice are flourishing on social networks. These exchanges of good tips give walking enthusiasts the feeling of belonging to a community. Everyone can also develop an intimate relationship with these objects, and assert their identity – smart, environmentally conscious, sporty…

The technicality of the equipment has become such that even the most experienced sometimes feel like they are no longer one with it. “I have a very light hiking bag that was designed for women and fits the shape of my hips,” describes Émilie, who lives in Haute-Loire. The 40-year-old teacher pays little attention to new brands, but her partner regularly falls for the latest innovations. “To find our tent, he compared the products and prices of a good number of stores in the Loire. My daughter couldn’t stand hearing about this tent anymore!” she jokes.

Gore-Tex (waterproof), ripstop (tear-resistant)… a new technical lexical field is applied to hiking equipment and is appealing to consumers. This equipment allows them to anticipate the weather – capricious in the mountains –, to prevent risks on isolated paths and not to suffer too much during the effort. At the risk of losing sight of certain elementary rules in nature?

“When you go on a trip, you have to be equipped, but above all you have to learn to master the environment,” emphasizes Pierre-François, 62, and originally from Yvelines. “You have to know where to find sources of drinking water to avoid having to use a water filter, for example.”

The retiree, who walks in the Alps with his wife Marie-Odile, does not always look favorably on new hiking trends: “People now walk with ultra-light trail shoes, because this sport has developed a lot. But they don’t have crampons for walking on snow, it’s crazy in the mountains!”

Is the irruption of technology in nature such a bad thing? At a time when traveling on the move is becoming more popular, good equipment seems essential to be autonomous and to face sometimes hostile terrains. However, we can also choose to preserve the “hiking spirit”, by ensuring sustainable consumption. And reconsider the purchase of microfiber clothing, manufactured by highly polluting petrochemical industries.

“I always recommend buying less but more expensive and qualitative, by investing in eco-responsible brands,” explains Cécile Pont. Instead of leaving with four T-shirts, we take two and wash them in the river to wear them again quickly.” If the equipment is improved, good habits remain. Returning to the simplest is always the salt of hiking.

1. According to the company Eco-Compteur.
2. According to the European Outdoor Group brand association.