It took me years to reduce my backpack weight down to where it is now
and I don’t consider myself “ultralight” by any means. That word is tossed
around a bit too much. It’s likely to take you a while to lighten your pack
appreciably as well so you should get started now. Here are several steps that
I hope will help you on the way to becoming a lighter backpacker.
Step 1. Admitting that you are not an ultralight backpacker
You’ve already passed step 1, congratulations!
Actually this is important because now you have to decide where you want to be
on the lightness scale. Do you really want to be an ultralight
backpacker? You might have jumped in and decided you’re going to be the
lightest possible and flirt with adventure racer territory. This is not the
category most people fit in. As you begin to lighten your load, you’ll shortly
bump into the light weight vs. comfort trade-off, and at that point you have to
decide what your backpacking goals are. How far do you want to take it? What level
of comfort do you want to have? How much do you want to spend?
Backpacking
goals - You could trade in every item in your pack right
now with the lightest version on the market and it would help, but it still
probably wouldn’t be a massive improvement. Ultralight backpackers do more than
this. They drop items completely from their pack. They may say that they feel
more comfortable backpacking at that weight but you might not agree. It’s up to
the individual. The most important part about all of this is to enjoy yourself
and your surroundings so always keep that in mind.
2. Approach lightweight backpacking as a State Of Mind
If you want to go light, you really have to want to
go light. You have to consider weight in everything you bring on your trips,
EVERYTHING. Shaving ounces is nothing to sneeze at. There are only 16 ounces in
a pound, and pounds are heavy. Shave an ounce off 16 items and you’ve saved a
pound. As soon as possible you should get a scale of some kind and weigh all
your items to determine your “base pack weight”. Base pack weight includes
everything you carry on your back, including the clothes on your back, but
excluding – food, water, fuel, shoes, trekking poles. I use a food scale that
goes to ounces. A postal scale would be great too. You can use my Backpack
Weights Spreadsheet to easily keep track. Weighing your gear is one
of the most important things to get you started. From there, you want to try to
cut some items if you can outside your Ten Essentials, reduce the weight of
some, and replace others with lighter versions
3: Replace gear with lighter versions
When you finish weighing your gear, you’ll probably
notice your big three: backpack, shelter, sleep system (sleeping pad and bag).
They are a good place to start if you want to switch out your gear for
something lighter since you might have the most to gain here. When researching
gear, always compare weight.
Your backpack is very important of course. If
you’re planning to get a new one, it’s probably not the best idea to just go
out and buy an ultralight pack and declare your ultralighthood. You can use a new
pack as a goal setter as you can only carry what will fit in or strap onto it,
that is as long as you keep it realistic since you are actually forced to meet
the goal before you can use it. The most pragmatic strategy is to reduce the
weight of your other gear before your pack. Because your backpack choice and
the rest of your gear are intertwined, you really have to take a holistic
approach to reducing weight. Make sure your pack can fit your gear, and make
sure your gear can fit your pack. There are tons of options now for light
backpacks. Do your research and compare. With your pack, as in many things,
lighter isn’t always better. Somewhat heavier, more full featured packs can
have better suspensions, straps and hip belts, and more padding so you could
actually have a better time with those on the trail than something that’s
lighter. Your body will pay the price for an overloaded ultralight backpack. I
can remember the external frame pack I used on my first trip and it was
comfortable, heavy, but comfortable. Whenever possible, try it on in the store
with some weight.
For sleeping bags, the higher the temp
rating, the less they weigh. So get one with the highest temp rating you think
you can get away with. If you have money, get two, one for cold and one for
warm. I recommend down bags. Down is the lightest, packs the smallest, and I
think it’s warmer than synthetic no matter what the temperature ratings say
(caveat – down bags are no good when wet, and generally cost more). If your
uses aren’t as demanding, synthetic works perfectly fine. Sleeping bags are one
place where you can actually really get a significant improvement by paying
more. For example one high end brand has a 20 degree bag for $425 that only
weighs 19 ounces! Check out your options for a sleeping pad and get what fits
your comfort level. There are a lot of different types out there now (closed
cell, self-inflate Thermarest style, inflatable, mummy shape, three-quarters
length).
4. Reduce weight of items
The really “hardcore” people saw off their
toothbrush, trim off labels from gear and clothes, cut excess from straps, and
trim the edges of their map. But hey, they’re right! Why not do it if you’re
serious? It’s guaranteed to save you some weight. Only carry the amount you
need for sunscreen, toothpaste, bug juice, hand sanitizer. Find small bottles
or purchase small dispensing bottles (down to 1oz) and fill them. Reduce the
weight of your tent. Pull out your tent stakes and check their weight (weigh a
bunch and divide for accuracy). My old steel tent stakes were 9.5oz for 15,
which is about .6oz each. There are titanium stakes at just .2oz. If you have a
retail tent ground sheet/footprint, get some 2 mil plastic and make your own
lighter version. Use lithium batteries instead of alkalines for AAs and AAAs in
your flashlight/headlamp/camera etc. if your device accepts them and of course
pack them for spares as well. They are significantly lighter, .5oz difference
for every 4 for AAAs, plus they last longer. Weigh all of the clothes you have
that would work on a trip and pick the lighter ones. Repackage your food. You
can often save weight using a ziploc freezer bag instead of the retail
packaging.
5. Use multiple-use items when possible
Perhaps the spork is the best symbol for this step.
I don’t like sporks myself since I believe they perform badly as a spoon and
don’t work as a fork, but I do only bring a plastic spoon with me. Do not lug
around a swiss army knife that includes a spork and 100 other things and weighs
2 pounds. You won’t use most of that 2 pounds. Again, many people use their
trekking poles as their tent poles as well and this can save maybe a pound.
Convertible trousers also fit into this category. You can have just one pair of
convertible trousers instead of one pair of shorts and one pair of trousers.
Stuff your sleeping bag stuff sack with clothes and use it as a pillow. Keep in
mind that you do lose some redundancy in case of something breaking or losing
something when you go this route.
6. Cut some items
There may be a bunch of things that you’re packing
that you don’t really need so it’s up to you to decide what you can live
without. Clothing is big here. Bring
less if you can, this is up to you. Remember what you’ve done on previous trips
and learn from experience. Wear your socks two days each and bring an extra
pair to use for sleeping in or as a backup. Wear shirts twice. Maybe do a rough
hand wash of some items if you can. Ignore the smell
If you have camp shoes or flip flops, consider
dumping them or getting lighter ones. Take
less batteries and just be very careful about using your headlamp and camera.
Turn them off quickly.
7. Conserve
Don’t use your flash light much and bring less
batteries as previously mentioned. The ones you do bring should be fresh. I
usually go to bed not too long after dark, sometimes even before. You might as
well after hiking all day long. I rarely go through one set of AAA batteries
that my small light uses. I didn’t even bring the spare batteries last time.
Only have the camera on for a few seconds at a time.
Summary
As you can see there are many ways to drop some
pounds from your pack. This all really just comes naturally once you set off in
earnest to lighten your pack. You do lose a little safety and comfort with some
of these options so do your homework. Make sure to choose your pack items for
each trip based on the trip conditions. Preparation really helps. Don’t get
overzealous and get yourself in trouble. You need to have enough peace of mind
to enjoy yourself since that’s the number one goal of getting out there in the
first place. I hope this helped on your quest to lighten your backpack and gave
you some ideas at least!
No comments:
Post a Comment