One hundred ways to lighten your pack weight and be more ultralight. I hope this helps! The idea behind ultralight backpacking isn’t about being as light as possible. It is to carry exactly what you need for the given conditions, nothing more and nothing less. To be efficient both in your gear and your movement. An ultralight backpack can mean less stress on your knees, ankles, joints, and muscles. Easier more enjoyable hiking, or the ability to do longer more difficult trips otherwise not possible. But being more ultralight isn’t the end goal, enjoying your trip is.
Try these tips near home before taking them on larger trips, be safe! These are just ideas, some more stupid than others, some obvious and others are learned from thousands of miles of backpacking experience. As always carry what you want.
Gear mentioned in this video:
Scale -
Wind Pants -
Running Shorts -
NB10000 Battery -
Wall Charger -
Camera -
Stove -
Water Bladder -
Flashlight -
Tent Stakes -
Ground Sheet -
Bear Can -
Stuff Sack (15L) -
Odor Proof Sack(20x12) -
Mike Clelland Book -
Ray Jardine Book -
Sun Hat -
Plastic Spoon -
Bamboo Toothbrush -
Swiss Army Knife -
0:00 - Intro
1:23 - General
5:00 - Clothing
6:59 - Food
10:03 - Packing
12:41 - Sleeping
14:56 - Shelter
16:43 - Misc.
Goodluck on your trips this year!! Here are a few tips from the video (it won’t let me list them all)
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- buy a small scale & weigh everything, when choosing between items, go with the lighter option
- list your gear on a website like seeing how everything fits together with the weights will help you to pair things down further
- share your gear list and planned trip on an online forum to see what others might change
- if you are going to spend money on gear, your shelter, backpack, and sleeping bag are the three biggest places to save weight
- Use your phone as your GPS with applications like Farout Guides so that you can leave the heavy electronics and guidebooks at home. Use your phone as your primary camera as well
- trail runners are a better option than boots for 95% of the people watching this. they are lighter weight, more flexible, and dry quicker. Saving you a lot of energy through the day with every ultralight step forwards
- If you spend all day walking, and less time sitting at camp, you can carry less insulating layers because you’re using your bodies natural warmth through movement
- pay attention to how much food you’re consuming so that maybe next time you can simply bring less
- water is heavy at per liter. pay attention to maps and upcoming water sources so you don’t find yourself carrying too much
- go stoveless! I’ve been stoveless for 9,000 of my backpacking miles. It’s lighter weight, and more efficient. Bonus that you never need to find fuel again
- as you lighten some things you can lighten others. A smaller quilt and shelter will allow you to use a smaller backpack. As you upgrade gear, backpack last
- make sure the weight in your pack is distributed well. I keep my quilt at the bottom, and all of my food, and heavier denser items closer to the middle nearest to my back and physical core
- avoiding hard packed ground at campsites can allow you to bring a thinner and lighter sleeping pad
- sleeping near water, sleeping in valleys, and sleeping at the tops of peaks will make for a colder night than the alternatives
- camping underneath bushes and trees will be warmer than camping in the open
- if a trail isn’t known for bugs or bad weather like the desert southwest, consider a tarp instead of a tent
- use a tent that utilizes your trekking poles to set it up, rather than a heavier tent that has it’s own poles you have to carry.
- Seek out a shelter in lighter weight fabrics, it will be expensive but if you backpack a lot you can save a lot of weight this way as an investment
Hiking Essentials Shirt!
THE BACKPACKING GEAR I USE:
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