Pilgrim Tools
Within your pilgrim pack, a few basic tools are very useful to carry.
You will certainly not need everything on this list. What you should carry depends on the duration and distance of your journey. In general, it is better to not have something that you can acquire en route, than to carry for hundreds of miles something you didn’t need at all. So choose wisely.
Listed below: Staff - Torch - Multi-Tool/Knife - Fixing Kit - First Aid
The Staff
This is a primary tool. Read all about staffs here.
If you want to light up your staff for night safety, I recommend tiny wraparound LED torches.
Headtorch
A Torch is a very important tool to keep you stay safe at night. Walking in the dark can be fun, as it makes you invisible to other humans and wildlife. However, if you are walking on a road at any time other than optimal daylight, you’ll likely want a torch to be seen by. Wriggle it as cars approach so they know you’re not a lamp-post.
A headtorch is the best lighting tool for pilgrims, as this allows you to see wherever you look, keeping both hands free. This is basically an LED torch mounted on a stretchy headband. Some headtorches have three straps - one to go over the crown of your head - but this is for more extreme activities than walking, and a simple wraparound band mostly suffices.
If you are Coldharbouring or claiming Sanctuary, you may want a torch that offers a red lamp, as this is the shortest wavelength of visible light and thus travels a shorter distance, preventing your torch from being a beacon for local people to get worried about.
If you are walking in fading light on a footpath, delay as long as possible switching on your headtorch. Night vision is precious and delicate, and the longer you resist lighting up, the better you shall adapt. Once you switch on, your eyesight will be irrevocably stained with bright light, and you will require the torch ever after. Also, animals will see your torch and flee. However, sometimes your headtorch will be used advantageously by owls and bats who will watch for wildlife scared by your torch, to aid their supper-hunting!
The most reliable and well-made headtorches are from Petzl, and have built-in re-chargeable batteries, via micro-USB charging wire. Make sure you also have a plug and/or an external battery!
More extreme headtorches are available from Olight - with 2500 lumens for extreme brightness! Be warned - at full power these get pretty hot. This also features a rechargeable battery, but you have to use their own magnetic charging wire.
Yellow Jacket/Reflective Garment
Another important option for roadside walking is a yellow jacket. These are very lightweight, and could make all the difference between life and death! Definitely a safety item worth considering!
Multi-Tool/Knife
Having a multi-tool is crucial for all sorts of reasons - from buttering your bread, to opening packets of food, to whittling and champfering your walking staff, to clearing path obstacles.
In the UK, the only knife you can carry freely has a folding blade under 3”. This is OK. Most swiss army knives fit the bill.
It is up to you whether you believe your needs qualify as ‘good reason’ for carrying a blade over 3” (or a non-folding/locking blade). If you believe your pilgrimage justifies this (never ‘self-defence’, which makes any size knife an illegal weapon) you might want to carry some kind of documentation outlining the details of this need. If you laminate it, with a logo, this can be quite persuasive. At the very least, it shows you are taking the law seriously. Don’t forget to quote the Criminal Justice Act 1988, Section 139.
A multi-tool is a very useful item beyond the knife, with a saw, tweezers, pliers, scissors, and the all-important corkscrew. T
One further consideration in the ‘EDC’ (Every Day Carry) knife debate - you may be legal with a non-locking blade, but if you are going to whittle wood, or cut with force, a non-locking blade can be far less safe, and you will more likely cause yourself injuries. Locking blades function to protect the user, so consider whether the greater risk is a police stop & search, or cutting your hand open in the woods…
Saw
If you are making pilgrimage in winter, and intend to use fire for cooking and warmth (in safe locations only), you may want a saw to process fuel.
Some of the multi-tools above include a small saw, but these are not really practical for extensive use. The best saws for pilgrims are folding, designed as pruning saws. This keeps them safe to store in your bag. However, be warned, such a tool could also be deemed an offensive weapon, as any saw will need a locking blade for safety. So be careful how and where you use it, and ensure you are always ready to provide that ‘good reason’. Bahco Laplander or Silky Pocket Boy are the two best options.
Fixing/Mending
When pilgrims live in their clothes and kit, things get worn, abraded, and poked by sharp objects. In short, stuff breaks. So you should anticipate the weak points in your kit and carry tools to perform basic field repairs.
For clothes, this is usually a sewing kit. For tents and roll-mats, this is typically a patch and some adhesive. Most camping gear comes with its own tiny repair kit. A roll of tape that can be used on all devices is a good idea. McNett Tenacious tape is the best.
Rubbish
You’ll need to take all your rubbish away with you. I recommend a strong leak-proof rubbish bag. A dedicated dry-sack works well. Then you want a smaller rubbish bags - any plastic bag at all - for individual deposits, to place in the bin when you find one. Dog poo bags are a good option. Biodegradable is best.
First Aid Kit
A First Aid Kit is potentially the most important tool you will carry, and one you should hope to never use. Being prepared to deal with minor emergencies, or small wounds causing discomfort, is crucial to enjoying your pilgrimage and continuing in confidence.
It is a good idea to take a first aid course to ensure you are able to help yourself and others. It is very confidence-enhancing to meet a medical problem and deal with it. The body, after all, does most of the work. That being said, always be willing to telephone emergency services if an incident is beyond your capacity to patch up and carry on...
If you are making pilgrimage in a group, it is worth designating one of you as the primary first-aider, and carrying a bigger kit.
Good tweezers can be very useful, especially with a point for digging out splinters.
A tick remover is also very useful , as there is an increase in these little blighters and you want to remove them as soon as possible (and douse the area with myrrh tincture).
For all wounds and scrapes, myrrh tincture is my choice. Not only is it 90% alcohol, which is excellent for cleansing wounds, it also contains the ancient power resin Myrrh - as given to Baby Jesus at birth - which is a famous disinfectant and infection remover. You’ll want to decant this into a smaller dropper bottle, as a little goes a very long way.
I also always carry some soothing skin lotion, Calendula and/or St John’s Wort, as a wound cream that works for burns. Myrrh tincture is very drying and heating, and sometimes you want a skin medicine that is wetting and cooling.
If you need something specifically to help your hands from getting wind-chapped and rain-blown - as hands are always out and in the forefront of the action - a little pot of hand balm is a good idea. Metolius make an ecellent Climbers’ hand balm.
If you sometimes suffer from rubbing skin, chapped thighs etc when you walk a long way, a chamomile cream is a good idea to apply to clean skin before, during and after a day of miles travelled.
If you suffer from hay-fever, you might want to bring along specific medicines for this. I recommend HayMax, which is non-chemical.
A Lipsalve is also useful, although you can double up your other salves/creams as required. But something thicker, and beeswax based, will sit on the lips and offer longer protection, while a lighter cream may soak in more quickly.
For bruises and minor sprains, having a rub with a base in Comfrey (knitbone) and Arnica is very useful, especially when applied overnight. Even on aching muscles, this is a beneficial addition to the first aid kit.
Insects
Another of the perils pilgrims face (in certain seasons/locations) is insects. Mosquitoes in Summer and Autumn can be blighters, especially if you are sleeping near their home. If you are sweet-blooded, you might be their meal of choice, which can be debilitating. One remedy is to walk with someone who has sweeter blood. But they’ll end up moaning a lot. Another option is to eat a clove of garlic each evening, which makes your blood funky.
Herbal insect repellent is a good thing to carry and use, as having pungent skin encourages them to look elsewhere.
Sometimes, a herbal option is insufficient. If you suffer from very attractive blood, you may want to try something a bit more chemical. Smidge is a well-reputed option.
The Sun
A further hazard you will want to protect yourself against is the Sun. Over-exposure can be a serious health hazard, in the short and long term. So a decent sun-cream is important.
As you will cover yourself in this stuff, it makes sense to use something non-harmful.
To accompany suncream, it is worth bringing an after-sun - something to soothe the bite of sunbeams. Aloe Vera gel in its pure form is pretty much unbeatable (Buchu Gel from South Africa may be even better, but it’s hard to find).
Blisters
One of the most famous health problems for pilgrims is blisters. This is largely caused by the wrong shoes and socks, often in terms of sizing. Always ensure your shoes fit properly before launching into a long pilgrimage. The man I started the BPT with, when we began that charity, had never walked anywhere much at all - and the first time I took him for a pilgrimage he bought himself boots that were half a size too small. He had blisters within the first mile, and got through 5 packets of blister plasters over 4 days. Ouch.
If you feel the warm spot of a blister forming, take immediate action. Stop walking, remove your shoes and socks, and offer your foot to the sun and air for a while. Identify the area getting rubbed, and apply healing lotion. Then cover the area with a blister plaster, or a padded dressing and some tape. Try loosening/tightening your boots. Try changing your socks for a thicker or thinner pair. Then carry on, and repeat as necessary.
You may also want to apply larger dressings to blisters - or other wounds. The breathable and hypoallergenic tape used by the NHS is called MeFix, and it works very well indeed.
