Hiking

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. . . Traveling Light, Traveling UltraLight . . . With My Backpack

Backpacking and hiking is a terrific way to escape from it all and get back to nature, losing yourself on the wilderness trail with pals, with your family, on your own, with your dog, with your baby in a backpack . . . thousands of people do it every single day . . . yes, it’s that good. There is one thing which all hikers and backpackers strive for, reducing the weight of their backpacks. Back packs do get heavier as the day goes on, and if your backpack is too heavy you can really get that “sinking” feeling as you’re trying to climb even the smallest mountain, especially towards the end of the day.

Ultralight Backpacking is the way to go. It can become an obsession for some backpackers, the challenge of reducing the weight of their backpacks by every single ounce to make it lighter, more comfortable and therefore easier to haul along the hiking trail.

Ultralight back packing is very much an individual thing, what may be important to some people is exactly the bit of hiking equipment the next hiker is all to happy to remove from his back pack and leave on his kitchen table next time he decides to “take a hike”.  Some people really do feel that, although their back pack is a little heavier than others, it’s worth the effort to have that extra luxury or comfort at the end of the trail.

Becoming an Ultralight Packer – Where to Start

I suppose that the best place to start when you’re trying to reduce the weight of your backpack is with the heaviest items . . . and the four heaviest items which you will find on your average hiker (note that I didn’t say “normal”, there’s nothing “normal” about hikers) are:

• Backpack – a 3 day, 3 season hiking trip would probably need around a 65 liter backpack to carry all of your essentials, but how much does the backpack itself weigh, before you’ve even started packing your pack? Some of them can weigh up to 8 or even 10 lbs (and that’s unpacked), but there is a range of ultralight backpacks which weigh in at just a little over 3 lbs, that’s a massive saving in itself. Of course, the real minimalist backpackers who have perfected the fine art of ultralight backpacking can sometimes make do with only a 50 or even a 40 liter backpack which would be even lighter.
• Backpacking tents – of course, the real hardcore ultralight backpackers don’t even use a tent, they are quite happy to make do with a tarp or a bivy sack, but if you do prefer to sleep without the bugs buzzing around your earholes and into your teeth then you can get some ultralight backpacking tents.

Hmm, he made a very valid point there, well, he is an expert. Anyway, just bear in mind that ultralight stuff cannot have the same robustness of some other tents, backpacks etc., so they do need to be handled with a little more care.

• Sleeping bags – can help to save on both weight and space. Ultralight sleeping bags might not offer as much leg room as your preferred model, or keep you quite as warm on a chilly night, but with some sleeping bags weighing in at as little as 23 ounces they do seem perfect for those ultralight backpackers.
• Sleeping pad – some enthusiasts can survive without a sleeping pad at all, but for the majority of us a little comfort goes a long way. Self inflating foam pads have always been popular, but there are other low weight air pad options available if you don’t mind inflating your sleeping pad with a little lung power . . . it just depends on how much puff you’ve got left after a day on the hiking trail.

How Light Is Ultralight?

What are we working towards here? When do we know that we’re getting close to the minimum weight we can realistically expect to carry on our backpacking trips?

Ultralight backpacking is considered in most hiking circles to be less than 20 lbs. This is well achievable, especially if you hiker with a friend, just think, you’ll only need one tent, one stove, one water filter . . . ah, maybe it would be good idea to take a pal along then.

Hiking Ultralight Backpacking Warning – make sure that you don’t compromise your safety in the pursuit of becoming an ultralight backpacker. Some things you really do need to take with you . . . don’t forget your first aid kit!