Equipment for geophysical fieldwork:
This page is mostly meant for my own use, but I guess others can benefit a bit on the information here, I am always interested in feedback
Also in my blog I try to tag blog posts that somehow are relevant for geophysical fieldwork which might also be useful for others, probably mostly those that are new to this kind of work

Important equipment:

Hiking boots:
Boots are the most important piece of personnal equipment when doing fieldwork, they are what takes all the beating along the day, they keep feet and ankles safe. It really is worth the effort to pay special attention to your boots in.
Preferences vary when it comes to boots, in my eyes it is worth the extra cash to go for the higher priced boots, but then again I have co-workers being quite happy with boots they found at supermarkets and such.
A breathable water tight membrane can be a good thing, but once it is worn down it isn't worth much. The good thing about not having that membrane is that you can use Sno Seal to water proof the boots, with the membrane you risk that the boots rot from the inside, so if you use Sno Seal on boots with a water proof membrane only use it in small areas.
For some reason my feet seem to fit well with Lowa boots, the combat/patrol line of boots are my favorite right now.
If I am away for more than 2-3 days I always try to bring 2 pairs of good hiking boots, getting into a pair of wet boots in the morning is not a good thing, not for the boots and not for you.
Take good care of your boots, they need to be cleaned in the evening, dry in a place not to hot and if they are very wet fill the boots with curled together news paper. Do make sure to grease the leather now and then (working on sandy earth or something similar to that you probably need to treat them every time you have used them for a day).

Outer socks:
I prefer wool for this. Laugesens Erhversbeklædning in Århus has some nice tough socks at a decent price made from spare wool/cotten so the colours ar a bit random, but I sure don't care, I actually think it looks nice and even if I didn't the socks goes inside the boots so no one sees them. Always wear two pairs of socks, the inner socks arent all that important in my experience, most kinds of thin socks will do, just try and make sure they don't have to big seams in nasty places.

Trousers
Make sure they fit or are worn in before taking them on field work that requires walking long distances.
You need some kind of tough fabric, but make sure there are no stichings or tough fabric where there it is in contact with your skin, especialy if you are wearing something on top of the trousers. The best pair of trousers I have had for this purpose is Fjällräven G1000, they are a bit pricy, but they have been worth every cent.
Another thing about trousers that can come in handy when the weather is changing fast is zip off legs so you always have a pair of shorts with you.

Undergarments:
This is one place where I from painful experience have learned that it really pays of to find something that is suitable. Under garments gets worn quite fast so I hate spending to much money on them, but do pay attention that what might seem comfortabele when they are dry isn't necesarily pleasent to work in wet (they never stays dry if you work hard). I have not found anything at a sensible price that works well yet, right now I am supplying up with some white tights from JBS, but I have all kinds of stuff here, experience has taught me what is good for which days. My best advice is to go ask some experienced field workers what they recommend and then try it out, I think this has a lot to do with personal preference, wearing the wrong undergarments sure can be painful, so be careful.

Gloves:
This is again a totally personal preference. Personally I prefer never to work without gloves, I have (and try to keep) pretty sensitive skin on my hands.
My present preferred gloves are from OX-ON and the model is called Nippon. I usually buy them what others would think of as being a size or two too small, but when they are that size I am able to still use my fingers for precision work without taking of the gloves.
My preferred size: 9

Tips and Tricks

Sweatshirt:
Often the work cycle in geophysics fieldwork is composed of intensive work with shorter or longer breaks in between. Being all sweaty after having worked hard and coming to a total halt for x minutes, there is a big risk of especially the upper torso becoming cold, even more so if the weather is cold.
So for dry weather bring a sweatshirt or fleece shirt, carry it along with you but do not wear it while working, that way when you have a break in the work cycle you can put it on and not get too cold.
If it is rainy then a rain coat will work as well, only problem is that it gets wet from the inside, but it is still better than freezing when sitting still.

Leggings:
I always bring leggings to the field, they are fast to put on and take off. Even if your boots are totally water proof there is still a hole on the top of the boot, leggings closes this hole and let's you keep dry feet even with the heaviest morning dew lying in high grass, they can also come very much in handy when moving through unpleasent terrain, like for example thistles, the lower legs are put through a lot.
A little warning: Make sure that your trousers underneath the leggings are straightened and without big stichings, otherwise you risk getting some nasty scrabes.
When you have a break of sensible length take of the leggings and let them dry.

Perfection:
Working with geophysics you will often have to repeat the same thing over and over again. I have found that the best way to improve yourself and gain more speed, after you have reached a point where you overall are used to the cycle, is to focus on one or two movements during each cycle and try to perfect it as much as possible, don't think too much of all the other things but keep focus on what you are trying to perfect right now..
It pays of to pressure yourself, you will be wasted the first few days, but your body will get used to the high speed of working and and with every day you pressure yourself you will pick up extra speed. Do be careful not to do it to much though, experience tells me that especially on day 3 of a field assignment you will be very tired, fight through it and you will come out stronger on the other side.

Plan ahead:
Don't let what needs to get done tomorrow wait for tomorrow, spend as much time as you can looking through the maps, finding the best way of doing things. The better you are prepared the less time you will be wasting on having to change plans when doing actual field work. Keep notes on the maps, whenever you see anything that might cause problems somewhere ahead put it on the map, some people have a great memory for these things and do not need the notes, I am not one of them.

Athletic Tape:
Ankles are a weak point for me, remembering to bring athletic tape is a must. If I should twist my ankle I need to tape it as soon as possible, when the ankles have been weakened there is always a bigger chance that the ankle will sprain. It is better to have the weak ankle taped for a day to many than a day to few.

Keep feet in shape:
It is a tough for your feet to be inside hiking boots all day, so be sure to be good to them.
If there are any blisters make sure to puncture them and treat them.
Bring a pair of lighter shoes of sandals for when you are done with the fieldwork and go get groceries or whatever.
Have your feet out in the open air as much as possible, don't wear socks when relaxing in the evening, keeping the feet warm is better done with a blanket if you are freezing.

Field food:
Always bring some food for fast energy if your blood sugar runs low, I have learned that I loose pace big time as soon as my blood sugar goes down. Apples, bisquits and other kinds of fruit is great for this purpose. Snack bars with nuts anf fruit pieaces or something similar also works well.
Make sure to bring a big food pack, don't leave it in the car but eat in the breaks in the field if you know they will be there. Always make sure to consume so liquid when you are eating.

Liquid:
Make it a habit to keep track of how much liquid you consume, set a goal of how much liquid you want to drink each day and keep it. Make a check now and then if you are ahead or behind your liquid schuedule, use any chance you get to take in more liquid. It is better to take it in small sips than drinking a lot at once, but at times you just have to drink 0.5 liters at once to keep up with the planned amount of liquid. Running low on liquid is dangerous!
Depending on how hot it is I usually drink between 2 and 4 litres on a day of hard fieldwork, do not drink much more than 4 liters, make sure you get plenty of salt. A little bit of flavor in the water serves two purposes, it makes it easier to drink enough and your body can easier take in the liquid because of the ion balance in the water, that will allow the water to easier pass into you blood where it is needed instead of just being disposed of as urine.