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Nothing Special Here
Just a quick rundown of what I like to have with me on a day hike during the winter.
Trekking Poles - Even on a quick mile or two hike, I like to carry some essentials with me. During the winter months, one essential is using at least one trekking pole.
As I mentioned in the above video, during the summer months I'm pretty hit or miss on using them. I will use them on a more challenging trail, like the Superior Hiking Trail, but unless I have a heavier load out for an over night or longer trip. 95% of the time or better I don't give taking trekking poles with me much consideration.
It's much different for me in the winter. The local trails, while fairly flat and easy, get icy and rutted with use. With the colder temps, I also tend to carry a heavier pack. Using trekking poles on the slippery more treacherous trails keeps me from flat out crashing.
I've been using one piece poles from Black Diamond, the Expedition One, for years now and have been very happy with them. I don't think they are available anymore.
I prefer a solid one piece pole for winter. Less to go wrong by removing possible failure points, and no dealing with cam locks or friction locks with cold hands.
Essentials Pouch - A mainstay in my packs is an essentials pouch I put together years ago. It a collection of the small items one tends to bring with on the trail. Boo boo kit, spare batteries, fire starters, etc, etc.
Above is a quick bag dump of it's contents I made a few years ago. Most of the contents remain the same, while a few have changed as this kit evolves with use over time.
The logic behind this kit is since I have several packs, I don't wont to have multiples of the same items to always have in a pack, kept in the packs build in pockets and keepers for items like them. I realized, like many other besides me, that if I tried to pick items out of one pack to use in another eventually items get scattered, lost, and not with you when you need them.
So I decided to keep most of the small items I bring out in one pouch. Transferring one pouch of from pack to pack works great for me. Items no longer get left behind in a small admin pocket anymore.
I still keep some essential items dedicated to my most used packs, items too bulky for the pouch, or require faster access than digging into the pack for this roll up pouch, like gloves, medical items, head lamp, etc.
Clothes & Shelter - I glanced over it quickly in the video because, well, its kind of obvious. Even if it's relatively warm out, I bring with extra layers and some type of shelter with. I also like to bring a puffer jacket and heavier gloves and cap along. The shelter is usually a lightweight bevy, sometime a tarp. Something to break the wind on a break along the trail can be a godsend. Not to mention if you end up in a position where you have to spend more time out than planned.
Pack Considerations - With the extra clothing, a larger pack than summer day hikes is with me. For winter use for me the smallest pack I take out is a 20 liter. I'm also mindful not to over pack the pack for the hike. Larger packs if I'm bringing a cook kit, radios, etc. Sometimes a chest pack is used with the smaller 20l day pack.
I make sure to leave plenty of room in the pack incase the day ends up being warmer on the trail than I expected, so I have room to stow away an unneeded layer or two without stressing out the pack's seems and zippers.