100 Tips For An Ultralight Backpack

preview_player
Показать описание
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:

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)
-------------------------------------------------
- buy a small scale & weigh everything, when choosing between items, go with the lighter option
- 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 2.2lbs 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

THE BACKPACKING GEAR I USE:

If you would like to get access to content I create about this type of stuff I don't share anywhere else join me on my Patreon!

If you'd like more info about me, my hiking, or painting:

Some of the links above are affiliate links, at no cost to you using these helps to support these videos and this youtube channel. Thank you!
Рекомендации по теме
Комментарии
Автор

Thank you for watching! I hope this is helpful, or at least provides some ideas. The majority of these were thought up while looking at my own gear lists, thinking of my past experiences, and what has worked. As always, carry what you want! It is your trip to do as you please and what you enjoy.

JupiterHikes
Автор

My girlfriend firmly believes that bringing a boyfriend (pack mule) is the best thing for lightening her pack.

itstonz
Автор

My tip would be get in shape. It's miraculous how much getting a little stronger and healthier will make you feel on trail, no matter your pack weight.

VeggieHeather
Автор

Little late ot the party but I would like to add to the sleep clothes thing you mentioned. I love this peice of advice you gave, but depending on where you're hiking and for how long, having a wet kit and a dry kit will save you a lot of turmoil. Wear your wet kit during the day, and your dry kit when you sleep to allow your skin time to dry and heal, this will help mitigate things like chaffing, trench foot, sweat rash, and subsequent infections from these injuries. Adding this to your evening routine is also a great way to check for leeches and ticks. Remember, your skin is the largest organ of your body and is your first line of defense against infection, look after it and it'll look after you.

JohnBeNice
Автор

My tip is for women and researching the most suitable backpack design. In general men can carry more weight on their shoulders thus making it easier to go without a hip belt. Women tend to be built to carry more weight on our hips. I hiked half of the pct last summer having fun designing the perfect pack for women and talked with so many women out there who found these backpacks with skinny shoulder straps and minimized hip belts super uncomfortable. We anatomically have a dip (suprascapular notch variation ) in our shoulders where men do not so thinner straps tend to hurt our shoulders. I switched to a Gossamer Gear g420 (for example) and the carrying comfort was night and day and it's still ultralight. They have a very decent hip belt with great pockets (so no need for a fanny pack) and wide shoulder straps .... I am an older woman so I could go 20 miles per day whereas my young friends can go upwards to 30 or This means carrying more food and water for longer than faster hikers. So know that older ladies out there are particularly badass. :D 👊 The atom pack has some good features, the lightest six moons design packs (altho heavier) even have a vest option for shoulders straps if not too busty. ... . There's room for the ultimate ultralight womens pack to be designed. The Osprey makes a 'womens' pack -- lumina but somehow it fit weird on me when I tried it.

janefreeman
Автор

Additional tip for repair tape on trecking poles:

Roll it round your pole at the depth your waterproof footwear gives out. That way. when fording water, you'll know if it's too deep or not. This has saved me wet feet countless times.

richbuilds_com
Автор

Great video. I’m older and an ex-long range recon scout from military. I’m learning this ultra-lightweight stuff because our packs were typically in excess of 100 pounds. Just one small thing to add: unless you can engage your core muscles at will, don’t cut off your waist belt. Use the belt to press your core (stomach) muscles against to prevent lower back injury.

scout
Автор

Lose body weight. Losing 60 lbs has been a game changer for me backpacking. I went from 10-15 mile days to 20-25 mile days.

wenkev
Автор

my tip: if you add 1-2lbs of things that help you have a lot more fun, your winning. I use ultra-lite methodologies to make up for the weight of stuff I like to have. As a CPAP user, learning ultra-lite lessons is critical.

AndrewMiller_andros
Автор

I'll never forget my first hiking trip to the Grand Canyon in 2010. I had an entire camping store in and hanging from my backpack (hey, I'm a city boy from Detroit). I'll never forget the guy on the shuttle from Flagstaff who only had a half pad and a small tarp that he says he just rolls up in under the rocks. His bag weighed nothing and was only half full. He inspired me, especially after I had to hike out of the canyon carrying 80 lbs up the Kaibab trail. I'm happy to say, I keep it under 15 to 30 lbs now depending on how far I'm going.

I_Died__Weeks_Ago
Автор

for the ultralight fearful, go out for an overnight close to home, in your backyard, or close to your car. take as little as you can and see how it goes. it's good practice and will help you ditch things you may never need.... also, keep notes of what worked and what didn't after your trips so you can avoid over-packing or simply packing the wrong items for that next trip.

nicknungester
Автор

Good video Man! I'm a hiker in Australia, and there isn't a massive amount of videos about conditions there, mostly north America, however your tips are applicable to most hikers here. If you do end up doing some international hikes here, I can recommend the Australian Alps Walking Track as the most picturesque, and probably the most similar to North American conditions. Other great, long distance hikes are the bicentennial national trail, and Heysen trail among others. For any Aussie hikers seeing this video and wondering what applies here, here's a few tips in my experience:

1. For outback hikes, a tarp will almost always do better than a tent. Optimal ventilation, and very very unlikely to encounter bad weather. On the east coast, a lightweight tent is probably a safer bet.

2. Never ditch snake/spiderbite treatment. Go hellbent for leather cutting down ibuprofen etc., but never ever get rid of a proper compression bandage. There are highly venomous snakes and/or spiders in every single part of Australia.

3. Water is easier to find on the east coast than you think. I've never done an east coast hike where I've carried more than 2-3L at a time.

4. Odor proof/animal proof food protection is unessacary. Possums won't get food if you keep it in your tent, and only possums at major campgrounds are game enough to try take it from right next to you if using a tarp. The only possible exception to this is where dingos have become accustomed to humans like on Fraser Island. For most places though, a shopping bag is absolutely fine.

5. Sun protection is more important than close to anywhere else in the world. Long sleeve shirts and broad brimmed hats always, and just enough sunscreen for your face and legs.

6. March flies don't give a rats arse about deet. Leave the deet at home and bring a headnet and long sleeve shirt instead.

youtubeviewingaccount
Автор

I understand the purpose of these ultralight stuff, but this should be well balanced with level of experience, by testing what exactly works for you. For a beginner, this needs to be well highlighted. Otherwise, as the UK soldiers use to say: "go light and freeze in the night" :). Nice video and tips! Greetings from the woods in Sweden 🇸🇪

rodrigocappato
Автор

Jupiter is the UL-goat. When finished with Jupiter's hundred, here are 32 more suggestions: 1) Bivy is both warmer and lighter than a liner - and weather-resistant. 2) Per-gram, extremities gear (hands, feet, head) almost always add more warmth, efficiency, lighter, comfort than core insulation. 3) WaterProof-Breathable (WPB) is a modern miracle and should be the outer layer of most layering systems (e.g. torso, bottoms, gaiters, hands, head, and bivy). 4) Groundsheets with wp-zippers double as ponchos. 4b) WPB rainjackets wet-out, ponchos less so - never had both worn together wet-out. 5) 250lb Spectra fishing line makes a fine (4g w/fastener) poncho belt if windy. (more...) 

6) 250lb Spectra fishing line also makes excellent zipper-pulls. 7) A tiny, tiny amount of Blistex chapstick lubricates zippers better than zipper-wax. 8) Extendable 5" plastic mini-utility-knives with break-off blades weigh 7g and stay razor-sharp for years. 9) Amazon sells 5V squirrel-cage fans and USB connectors to make a sub-1oz pad inflator. 10) Velcro NB10000 to a 2.8oz Lixada solar-panel and never have to charge in town again.  

11-14) Kam-snaps galore; gloves, bedroll, quilt, hoods, Kam-Snap anything and everything that makes life easier - it saves weight by saving time hiking back for that lost glove or walking off a cliff because a hood was in one's eyes?  15) Heat and bend shepherd's-hooks into closed loops on tent-stakes. Reflective ties instead, or 250lb spectra-line?  

16) Double-sided 1/2" velcro weighs less than headlamp headbands and is more comfortable than string alternatives. 17) It also holds gravity water bags to tree-limbs better. 18) Nylofume pack-liner, like bear-cans in Yosemite, should be carried, but not necessarily used while hiking. 19) Bag anything that might leak into the smallest possible Ziplock, then bag together into another larger Ziplock. Like Kam-snaps and Nylofume, it doesn't save much weight, but it sure saves heartache if some chemical leaks onto gear. 20) 2g of MYoG saturated Iodine disinfects (don't forget to dilute in the field).  Made from Potasium-Iodide (KI) crystals.

21) 2g food-grade (35%) Hydrogen-Peroxide disinfects (don't forget to dilute in the field). 22) DCF tape is lighter and better than Duck-tape. 23) Tyvek-tape is lighter than most tapes. 24) Blue painter's tape won't get sticky all over one's gear. 25) Tape should be re-wrapped onto McDonald's-style straws cut to length, never on trekking-poles (sry J). Trekking-poles and feet travel twice-as-far as pack (moving both forward and backward with each step). Therefore, keep tapes inside pack.

26) Bidet saves paper weight, but have a little paper just-in-case. 27) Bathroom kit (bidet, paper, trowel) in Ziplock outside pack, in case of emergency situations. 28) Titanium is thinner than aluminum for the same strength and therefore digs better regardless fancy serrations. 29) Serrations only cut hands, never roots. 30) Blue painter's tape trowel-handle edges for comfort-grip.

31) Stow titanium-spoon with tent-stakes. Both are long-pokey metal objects requiring similar packaging/care. 32) Get a polished-bowl titanium spoon; wood/plastic just don't cut it (apologies again J).

hoss
Автор

As a "final" tip, the best items to lighten your pack are experience and physical strength.

The right experience allows you to decide which items are worth saving weight on and which aren't, or how other attributes of an item allow you to experience that weight. Getting a backpack that fits you well makes carrying the same weight more comfortable, knowing the terrain and weather allows you to decide which items are absolutely necessary (even if they seem too bulky / heavy) and which aren't.

And being stronger / fitter allows you to either carry more weight or carry the same weight further. It's up to you how you use that advantage but having "extra strength" in reserve is always useful for unexpected situations when you need to hike longer to get to the right campsite or off the mountain, carry additional gear (distributing the gear of an injured group member among peers) or hiking the same hike even when conditions have changed (like muddy ground after unexpected rainfall).

Also, don't fall victim to fads. Lightening your pack is always a good idea but don't jump on that train solely because you want to be an "ultralighter". Similarly, ergonomic and feature-rich packs like Osprey mountaineering bags are cool and useful but don't get one just because all your friends have one, you don't need an avalanche-airbag pocket or an ice axe carrying system if you're not hiking in terrain that warrants that gear. These are also things that are easier to recognize with experience.

Senki
Автор

I’m in the PNW and find it difficult to go lighter. The rain can be insane and not stop for literally days. I’ve been caught going too light and it wasn’t fun. Good video and researching your fears instead of packing them is a good idea.

manofthecloth
Автор

You already touched on it a bit when talking about drying out gear, but I'll add a little to it for people looking to hike in wetter, more rainy conditions. It won't show on your scale, but carrying gear or clothes that can't or won't absorb as much water as other items can save you a lot of weight while actually on trail. Dyneema is an obvious example of fabric that can't absorb water, i.e. weight. Another good idea could be to recoat waterproof gear (that will eventually soak through) before a long wet trail. A soaking wet backpack on long rainy days can be a real bummer.
Thanks for the great tips!

Kerskjee
Автор

Chapstick with sun protection can be used as sunscreen anywhere on the body, as lotion for chapped hands and lips, and as anti-chafe for more sensitive areas. I saved 3 ounces after swapping out my sun screen and chafe stick for a tiny tube of chapstick.

uglycooper
Автор

I'm heading out in March 2024 on the AT. This video was just what I needed to hear! Thanks so much! I feel lighter already!

daveabbett
Автор

Jupiter my addition is meditation before I go. I think through the emotions I may experience on my solo hike such as self doubt and loneliness. This strengthens my resolve when I walk. Secondly I adopt a One Meal a Day fasting regime for 3 months before I walk focused on low carb which generates ketone which in turn enables me burn my own fat as food. This also gives enhanced energy similar to what our Hunter Gather ancestors would have experienced. This cuts down on the food I need to carry as I can easily go 24 hours without food.
I read Ray Jardins book when it was first published this set me on superlite walking. Jardine, you are a modern Ray Jardine and thank you so much for your informative clips. I am still walking long distances in my early 70s and I intend doing this in my nineties by clean living and getting my kit as light as possible.

johnhutchison