Ultralight Backpacking Gear
If you have been backpacking for a long time and want to transition to ultralight, you are
going to have to replace some of your gear and spend some money. On the other hand, if you
are just starting out in the backpacking thing, start out ultralight. You can start from
scratch and get an ultralight kit for less money than a traditional setup!
My ultralight guru, Anson says that he has gotten his base weight
down below 10 pounds and carries less than 20 pounds for a 4 day 4 night backpack.
For me this is a concrete goal, achieved by a real person I know and have hiked with.
The Big Three
First things first - get rid of that heavy pack, heavy sleeping bag,
and heavy tent (some people can save 10 pounds right here).
These are the big three heavies, and the place to start.
Note however that a ultralight backpack comes into its own as the total
load gets reduced to what it is designed to carry.
In fact you won't be able to transition to an ultralight pack until you reduce
the bulk and weight of what you plan to put inside of it.
My original view was to get the backpack first, then figure out how to live within its means.
What I did instead was to do some trips reducing my gear agressively
(to just under 20 pounds for an overnight trip),
which gave me the confidence to shop for an ultralight pack.
The Gear
Ultralight gear used to be somewhat fragile (and the super ultralight stuff still is).
Given the technology now available, this is an unavoidable cost/weight/performance
tradeoff. Some gear is really only intended for careful on trail use.
Once again, skill and knowledge triumph over brute strength.
The ultralight packpacking community is served by a number of
"cottage" gear makers,
and this is a good thing.
When you buy a piece of gear from these companies,
you often know the names of the people you are dealing with
and you tend to get very high quality gear for a fair price.
You get innovative things that you could never get anywhere else,
and you aren't supporting the K2 megaconglomerate.
You usually (never?) will be getting gear sewn in China.
Get the facts
Very important - find out how much your stuff weighs,
and how much weight you are now carrying.
In all my years (nearly 30) of packing, I have never paid attention
to pack weights. I can't even tell you what my pack has weighed,
except it has been doggone heavy. My only rule was that if I could
get it on and stand up with it under my own power, I would go with
it. My knees are now showing the evidence of this approach, and those days
are clearly over.
To learn more, take a look at my weight tables.
The NOLS list
While scrounging around in March of 2009, I found a notice for a
NOLS class
on light and fast backpacking, which included a 7 page
gear list (7 page PDF).
I took the liberty of making a copy of it (fully expecting it
to vanish from their website just when I wanted to take another look at it).
Mind you this list is not the gospel, just a definite and specific list of gear.
Links
Here are some ultralightweight backpacking links:
Have any comments? Questions?
Drop me a line!
Tom's hiking pages / tom@mmto.org