Ultra Light Backpacking

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Comment by Rory Partalis on December 5, 2008 at 9:07pm

Thanks, it's the middle of winter and now I'm imagining camping out on a warm beach in Hawaii, living of coconuts and surfing all day... and then reality kicks back in.

Comment by Ryan Taylor on November 17, 2008 at 11:25am

well the only probelm with the hike is actually getting enough cash to be able to go out to hawaii its so beautiful though

Comment by Ryan Taylor on November 16, 2008 at 5:59pm

dont be a fool and put stuff in your pack that you will later on in your trip find out that u dont need. essentials to me are food (granola bars, dried fruit, beef jerky), sleeping bag, water, knife, matches or lighter, compass, dry socks, and rain wear

Comment by Ryan Taylor on November 16, 2008 at 5:55pm

the heaviest i have ever packed was like 32 lbs it was mostly water weight though hiking in the volcanos national park on the big island gets very hot. it was a nice hike called halape

Comment by John Smith on August 11, 2008 at 11:05pm

Laifierr,

First look at the big five: 1) Backpack, 2) Sleeping Bag, 4) Stove and 5) Cookware

1) Backpack - Most packs weigh 5.5 to 7 lb each. There are very comfortable mainstream packs that weigh 2.5 to 3.0 lb that have decent volume. I would look at the ultralight Gregory series or the ultralight REI series of packs. There are others but these seem to have pretty consistent ratings. There are fringe packs available but they are very lightweight and take some time to get used to and take care to maintain as they are no where near as durable. However one of my packs weighs 3 ounces and serves as a great overnight pack.

2) Sleeping bag - Most people overbuy based on fears of getting cold and get too heavy of a bag. Decide where you are going to spend 90% of your time and I would bet a 30 degree bag would work for that or even warmer. In Alaska a 20 degree bag will work in all but the most extreme 3-season weather. For colder nights wear all your clothes in the bag. They will dry and you will be warmer. I suggest synthetic as they allow for a bit more moisture abuse but remember a sopping wet synthetic bag will still be cold. It will dry out faster than a down bag but it will be a miserable couple of days while it does. I have not bought a current bag for may years and now custom sew my own. Can't recommend any unless you want to sew a quilt and then I recommend buying a ray jardine quilt kit. For about $100 you can get a kit that not only educates but the finished product would cost near $300 to buy.

3) Tent - This area has more choices than just about any other. I have gone from tents to hammocks to tarps and back again and on and on. If you have nothing then I suggest a good 2 person lightweight tent weighing around 4 lbs. The REI Quarter Dome UL is a great tent for the money and weighs near 3.5 lb. A good tarp is the granite Gear white Lightning and weighs near a pound for two people.

4) Stove - So many options. Most people take at least 2 to 3 lb of stove and fuel with them for overnight trips. Why? I use an esbit or alcohol stove on almost my hikes now. I let my oldest daughter use my Primus Canister stove. It is a lightweight stove and the fuel canisters come in various sizes so you can usually get one that will work for a trip, without any extra weight. I like my alcohol stove for simplicity and I can fine tune the amount of fuel to fit my trip exactly before I go so no extra weight. A good alcohol stove setup including fuel bottle will weigh under 4 ounces. You can make your own easily look at my previous posts.

5) Cookware - This will be based on your decision for hiking comfort versus camping comfort. I like q pot to boil water in and then pour it into a ziploc bag filled with my home made dehydrated meals. No cleanup after I am done and the pot only weighs a couple of ounces. I use a beer can stove setup. My whole beer can stove set up weighs 5 ounces. However all alcohol stoves take some fiddling to get used to. Cannister stoves are simplicity in themselves but they are much heavier. Also cannister stoves do not work well (or at all in very) cold weather. Of course neither do alcohol stoves so in cold weather white gas stoves are the only realistic option.

My summer gear for these 5 items are as follows:

Pack - Gossamer Gear Mariposa - 16 oz
Sleeping bag - home made quilt - 17 oz (good to 40F)
Tent - Six Moon Designs Gatewood Cape with a Gossamer Gear Bug net - 15 oz
Stove - Beer Can stove and pot set - 5 oz (does not include 1.5 oz fuel per day)
Cookware - see above

Total weight - 53 oz or 3 lb 5 oz.

These are the basics

Comment by Amy on August 6, 2008 at 11:26pm

LOL my sleeping system with big agnes sleeping bag and pad weighs more than most of you guys' whole entire setups!

i have a huge REI Venus (bought for the summer I spent in the Cascades), and , embarrassingly, i can fill it to the gills for a one night trip. Just bought a kelty redwing though, and have decided that i'm not taking the Venus for anything less than a week long trip anymore. so i need a whole new set of gear...

the jetboil weighs a freeeeking ton!!!! add in the katadyn (which i have as well LOL) and you've got like 10 lbs right there. i'm going to destroy my spine if i don't lighten up! getting a friend of mine to make me one of those lil alcohol stove deals. awesome

Comment by Kevin on August 1, 2008 at 1:12am

John,

Just over 6 lbs is about as good as I am going to get with climbing needs and multiweek setups. I looked at the REI 60 Liter and didn't really like the feel of it. Out of all the packs that I was fitted into, the Gregory fit the best, with a crapload of space. I use it for the scrambles/approaches up to crags when I go climbing and anytime I spend more than 3 days in the woods. Obviously I can tighten it down to about 50 Liter but usually have at least that much stuff in there anyways.

I am always keen on reading other peoples ideas and experiments with ultralight. Most of the time, the cost and or effort is not equaled by weight loss or gear function to make it worth it for me. For water, I always have my Katadyn Filter with me and Jetboil to cook everything I eat. I usually skip a bedroll and go with a Eagles Nest Outfitters Hammock. As far as ultralight goes though, my climbing gear is over 20 lbs alone, well over. Can't afford 60 different titanium cams just for the show of it.

Comment by Laifierr on July 31, 2008 at 10:51pm

I am new to the concept of ultra light backpacking, and I currently have no UL gear. I'm currently overweight, but steadily getting the weight off so I can enjoy backpacking in the future. I love the outdoors and hiking on day trips, but I would really love to be able to go for week long excursions.

My dad was big into backpacking when I was a kid, and so I'm familiar with all the "normal" equipment that weighs a lot. The tent that weighs 15 pounds, the sleeping bag that is the size of a small duffle, and the overly large backpack when filled could smother a small child.

I am most interested in ultra light backpacking so I won't feel weighed down when I'm hiking so that I can enjoy more of the scenery. Since discovering this, I have been looking into what equipment is the lightest and what takes the least amount of space.

Maybe some recommendations and personal reviews from you guys would be able to point me in the right direction.

My goal is to be able to hike the River to River trail in southern Illinois some time next summer. I believe its about 160~ miles long.

Comment by John Smith on April 28, 2008 at 9:14pm

What ultralight gear have you had questions about?

Comment by John Smith on April 28, 2008 at 9:14pm

Folks,

What ultralight gear do you own already?

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