2022 Thru-Hiker Survey
2022 Thru-Hiker Survey

Top Stoves, Filters, and Power Banks on the Appalachian Trail: 2022 Thru-Hiker Survey

Each year here at The Trek, we ask long-distance hikers on the Appalachian Trail (AT) about the stoves and water filters they used on their 2022 thru-hike. This year we added questions about power banks hikers used.  In this final post of the series, we’ll cover the most popular cooking systems, resupply strategies, water filters, water- and tickborne diseases, and power banks.

The Hiker Sample

In 2022, 403 hikers participated in the survey, all of whom hiked on the AT in 2022. Almost 90 percent were thru-hikers, and the rest were section hikers. For more details on hiker demographics, check out our first post with general information from the survey.

The data were collected from October through November 2022 via our social media platforms, Backpacker Radio, and TheTrek.co. Some clean-up of the data was done only when necessary, mostly involving start/end dates. (There were a few time travelers who claimed to have started their hike in 2023 while still completing it this year.) No obvious duplicates were found.

Continue reading the full article by Kate Richard here.

Media Mentions

Why use a plastic bag when you can simply screw on this end cap, specifically designed for Sawyer water filters?

Zoe Gates
Editor at Backpacker

Media Mentions

In future, I’ll use gravity when I can, and squeeze when I have to.

Richard, aka "LowRange
Hiker

Media Mentions

For longer hikes, it’s convenient to carry a small backcountry water filter, such as a Sawyer Mini or Micro, which allows you to replenish your water from natural sources like streams or ponds.

Philip Werner
Author and Backpacker