Not a checklist. Not a certificate. A set of values I try to live by when I travel, hike and choose gear.
"The nature we love hiking through exists outside of the human realm. We should travel accordingly."
01
I hike past glaciers that are visibly, measurably smaller than in photographs from twenty years ago. This is not something I read about. I see it on trails I walk regularly. The Bernese Oberland is one of the most beautiful places on earth, and it is changing within a single human lifetime.
Climate change is not abstract to me. It is the reason I think carefully about how I travel to the mountains, what gear I choose, and what I encourage others to do. I am not interested in performative environmentalism or collecting green labels. I am interested in making choices that are genuinely less damaging than the alternative.
We practice "leave no trace" on the trail, and then fly in for the weekend without a second thought. That disconnect bothers me.
The outdoor community has a complicated relationship with sustainability. We are often the people who love nature most deeply and yet consume it most aggressively through the way we travel to it. I include myself in this — I am not claiming perfection. But I think the least we can do is be honest about the contradiction.
02
I lived in Copenhagen for nearly a decade without a car. At first it was practical. Over time it became part of how I think about movement through the world. When I moved to Switzerland, I discovered that a car is largely unnecessary here too — not because I am ideologically committed to inconveniencing myself, but because the public transport network is genuinely excellent.
Flying short distances around Europe is a luxury the planet cannot sustain. I travel by train around Europe. It is slower, yes. But slow travel suits hiking. You arrive already in the right frame of mind. You have read a book. You have watched the landscape change from city to valley to mountain. That is part of the experience, not a cost of it.
My friends find this a running joke. I find it a genuinely better way to travel.
03
The outdoor industry has an unfortunate culture of encouraging people to buy cheap, replace often, and chase ultralight at the expense of durability. A jacket that costs CHF 80 and lasts two seasons is not cheaper than a jacket that costs CHF 300 and lasts fifteen years. It is significantly more expensive, and it creates significantly more waste.
I do not do ultralight hiking. Most ultralight gear is not designed to last. I choose gear I expect to use for five to ten years minimum, gear that can be repaired rather than replaced, and gear made by companies that take some responsibility for what they produce.
I also borrow and rent gear I want to try before I recommend it. I do not buy things simply to review them. That would defeat the point entirely.
Repairability over replacement
I only recommend brands that offer genuine repair services. Mammut resoled my boots. Patagonia offers a lifetime repair guarantee. This is the standard I hold gear to.
European-made where possible
Shorter supply chains, better labour standards, easier to verify. Swiss and German-made gear gets preference on this site where quality is equal.
Natural fibres where they make sense
Merino wool biodegrades. Recycled synthetics are better than virgin synthetics but still shed microplastics. I choose natural fibres for base layers wherever performance allows.
No Amazon
I do not link to Amazon on this site. I link directly to brands and to Swiss outdoor retailers like Transa and Bächli who offer repair services and knowledgeable staff.
No paid placements, ever
Brands cannot pay to appear on By Train By Foot. If I use affiliate links, I disclose this clearly. My recommendations are mine, based on what I actually think is worth buying.
04
I am sceptical of sustainability certifications as a primary decision-making tool. Many certifications are better understood as stamped approval of above-average consumption practices, rather than genuinely low-impact production. A Bluesign-certified jacket is better than a non-certified one. It is still a jacket that required significant energy and resources to produce.
I pay attention to certifications as one data point among many, not as a shortcut to a clean conscience. What I care about more is whether a brand has a genuine repair programme, whether they are transparent about their supply chain, and whether the gear they make is actually designed to last.
This is why there is no certification guide on By Train By Foot. I would rather tell you what I actually think about a brand than show you a grid of logos.