Image by garryknight via Flickr
Are you moving towards backpacking ultralight? You should be. I don’t recommend for most people that you go cold turkey. Just plan on reducing weight gradually where you can and when you can.
Ultralight backpacking is a process and a philosophy. Take it seriously but not precipitously. Make it a habit to study the principles of reducing the weight of backpacking gear. Then, apply the principles to your own case as your budget and time allow. Every pound taken off what you carry on your shoulders, knees and ankles will be felt with appreciation. Here are 15 weight-reducing principles.
Principle #1: If the total weight of everything you carry in your backpack, excluding food and water, weighs more than 15 pounds, it’s time to start whacking off the pounds and ounces.
Principle #2: It is best to leave the task of reducing the weight of your backpack until last if you must do the job gradually. Otherwise, you may end up with a backpack that is too small to carry your other gear. This is closely related to the next principle.
Principle #3: With respect to Principle #2 above, the opposite is true if you plan to go cold turkey. In this case, start with a smaller and lighter backpack. Then, let your new backpack and its volume constraints work with you to reduce the size and weight of the things that go into it.
Principle #4: Consider seriously buying a frameless backpack to really save weight.
Principle #5: Weight reduction in your shelter can be dramatic – but with consequences. Your lightest option for shelter is a tarp. But, with a tarp, protection is seriously compromised. It will do nothing to keep the bugs out. And, it is no match for pooling water. So, think carefully about this one. It may be a place for compromise.
Principle #6: The money is in the bag. Or, that is where you will have to put it. What I mean is that buying a sleeping bag is where you are going to have to pay the most to get the most. To get the reduction in weight and still maintain protection from the cold, you will have to shell out the dough.
Principle #7: Think down. That is goose down for sleeping bag fill. It has the best thermal value to weight of any fill on the market.
Principle #8: Pay extra for a sleeping pad that is light to carry and has a high insulation rating. All the benefits of weight reduction on your weary body will be nullified if you wake up each morning cold, sore and sleep deprived.
Principle #9: Cut down on the fuel that you carry for cooking. Plan to eat more meals that do not require cooking.
Principle #10: Cut down on the water that you carry. Apply this principle with much caution. Don’t risk dehydration. The way you can cut down on the water that you carry is to manage carefully your water supply. Plan your trip so that you know exactly where there is water. When you get to the water, drink your fill. Then fill your container with just enough purified water to get you to the next water source plus just a little extra.
Principle #11: Purify your water chemically instead of with a filter. Following this one principle will save you precious ounces.
Principle #12: If you reduce the weight of your footwear by a pound, your feet will thank you for reducing it by 3 pounds. Never wear hiking footwear any heavier than you really need to. The lighter the better, within the constraints of hiking conditions. If you don’t plan on hiking off trail in rough scree, for example, don’t bother with purchasing heavy and expensive hiking boots.
Principle #13: Practice gear-based multitasking. Get creative in choosing gear that will perform more than one task. For instance, a length of duct tape will be useful for many tasks. Also, hiking poles can serve a number of purposes from their most obvious purpose of enhanced propulsion and stabilization to protection from belligerent wildlife. Here’s where you can really pump up your creative juices.
Principle #14: Be an astute student of layering. Here’s where you need to plan way ahead of time. Study carefully the route you will take, the terrain you will be traversing, the season of your backpacking trip and weather predictions. Then have fun analyzing and buying the best clothing layers to best meet the challenges of your proposed hike.
Principle #15: Never use prepackaged first aid or survival kits. Plan carefully and buy the precise items for your kits that will best fit the projected needs of your backpacking trip. Store them in the lightest stuff sacks you can find.
Backpacking ultralight can be fun both in the planning and in the doing. Plan ahead. Be smart. Be bright. Go light. ~Richard Davidian, Ph.D.
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
“it’s time to start whacking off the pounds and ounces.”
Does that really promote weight loss?
Great advice. I’m working on the list and have bookmarked the article.
The only thing I’m not yet prepared to do is go chemical water purification when there are things like sawyer’s squeeze filtration systems that only weigh 3 oz. Who knows, I may change my mind on that once I’ve cut down on all the other weight I’m carrying.