100 Tips For An Ultralight Backpack

as always carry what you want i'm not going to tell you what to do these are just ideas for those looking and of course try these things near home before taking them on longer trips but the idea behind ultralight backpacking isn't to be as light as humanly possible it is to carry what you need for the given conditions nothing more and nothing less to be both efficient in the gear you use and your own movement an ultralight backpack can mean less stress on your ankles your joints and your muscles it can mean easier more enjoyable hiking or it can give you the ability to do longer and more difficult trips that otherwise wouldn't be possible but remember being more ultralight is not the end goal enjoying your trip is so these are just ideas some more stupid than others some ranging from obvious to you and others that i've had to learn through thousands of miles worth of experience but all of which i've done at one time or another when it comes to any of these things of course use your best judgment so here is 100 tips to be more ultra light 100 tips to lighten your pack weight all right there's a lot here so we'll break this down in a few different categories first one is just general tips and advice lay all of the gear that you're going to take on your backpacking trip out on the floor and one by one go through to ask yourself if you really need it analyze everything buy a small scale and weigh everything when choosing between items go with the lighter option list your gear on a website like lighterpack.com seeing how everything fits together with the weights will help you pare things down further share your gear list and plan trip on an online form to see what others might change this would be known as a virtual pack shakedown don't trust every gear recommendation always do your own sleuthing to see if you can find something better and lighter every time you go backpacking come home and take note of the things you didn't use no duplicates just one knife one pot one jacket one shelter one flashlight the list goes on and on modify everything cut off tags and unnecessary parts from your gear to save an ounce or two don't pack for worst case scenarios plan and research well so you can pack accordingly if you don't need it don't bring it see if you can find lighter versions of gear you plan to buy or already own small things add up see what small items you can make even smaller multi-use items are your friend is there one item that can solve two problems a bandana for instance can be a sun's shade towel pot koozie sponge and a water filter for large particulates all in one the cheapest way to lighten up is to leave things at home be critical and pay close attention to all the little details of your backpacking life will help you improve greatly hike with intention if you've gotten your gear wet in a storm or just morning condensation take an extra 10 to 30 minutes in the day to dry things out if hiking with a partner share gear you likely don't need two stoves for instance roll a little bit of duct tape around a trekking pole or water bottle for field repairs if you're going to spend money on gear your shelter backpack and sleeping bag are the three biggest places to save weight pay close attention to weather before a trip as you may need less rain gear or less insulating layers than you had previously thought don't pack your fears instead research and learn about your fears so you can pack appropriately to handle them whether that is cold bad weather animals dehydration whatever it may be learn extra about these things buy books like mike cleland's ultralight backpacking tips and rae jardines trail life lightweight backpacking formerly known as beyond backpacking both of these books will teach you more about backpacking than i ever could do not have multiple things hanging off the back of your pack like crocks i see this very often and it only serves to pull your center of gravity backwards and make your pack feel heavier a place that i think a lot of people could save a lot of pounds and weight in bulk is clothing when it comes to keeping your legs warm wind pants are lighter than tights though not as warm ninety percent of the time when pants are good enough carrying too much unnecessary clothing is a very common way people have too much bulk and weight when it comes to your next backpacking trip always look at your clothing and ask do you really need it you only need one pair of shorts and a shirt for hiking use a button down shirt for ventilation use a long sleeve shirt for bugs wind sun exposure or chilly temperatures you don't actually need sleep clothes that would be considered a luxury item you don't always need a big puffy jacket try a lighter weight fleece on shorter trips always check the weather and get to know what you need for warmth so you can safely leave excess layers at home usually you only need two pairs of socks three would be max if it's a very wet place i'm hiking leave the extra clothes at home leave the deodorant at home though you should always wash up when you can to avoid rashes chafing and other problems you don't always need gloves you don't always need a beanie consider leaving them at home depending on the trip trail runners are going to be better than boots for 95 percent of the people watching this they are lighter weight more flexible and dry quicker saving you a lot of energy throughout the day with every ultra light step forward in buggy areas use a bug head net instead of carrying a bottle of deet a sun umbrella is very cool but a sun hat and long sleeves do nearly the same thing so the next place in your pack i think you should look when it comes to saving weight would be cooking and when i say cooking i mean cooking food food storage water water storage everything kind of surrounding food nutrition water try and bring more calorically dense food like nuts seeds or adding olive oil to dinners for the weight these foods are going to give you the most amount of calories and allow you to carry less plan out your food and daily calories so that you don't ever have excess by knowing how many calories you consume you can always make sure that you have enough and nothing more try using tinfoil as a pot lid and windscreen instead of what comes with your cook kit a cheap gas station water bottle is lighter than the ever popular smart water bottle a water bladder like a platypus or evernew is the lightest of all for extra water storage everything is lighter than a nalgene a plastic spoon is lighter weight than a titanium one and in 11 000 miles i've never broken one and now that you have a newly acquired plastic spoon cut it in half unless you eat a lot of foods that would require a long spoon from heaviest to lightest food bags a bear can will be the heaviest then an ursac then odor proof ziplocks like an op sack a dyneema dry bag a stil sil nylon stuff sack and then the lightest of all probably not recommended but a plastic grocery bag if you don't need a bear can or ursac i would use an odor proof sack or a stuff sack remove excess packaging from food water is heavy at 2.2 pounds per liter pay attention to maps and upcoming water sources so you don't find yourself carrying too much while at a water source drink as much as you can and carry less only carry one pot to cook eat and drink from one pot to do everything consider an ultralight alcohol stove made from a cat food can instead of a full stove and fuel canister though this isn't allowed out west where it's so dry on the wetter east coast it's a fun piece of gear 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 when it comes to through hiking figure out your preferred distance between towns and always look ahead at maps sometimes there are towns and resupply stops that other people skip that you could go to and carry less food all right so we've gone over general advice we've gone over clothing and we've gone over food and water well this next one's going to be surrounding how you pack your gear your backpack and everything surrounding that when you first buy a backpack or you're in the market for a new backpack don't buy one that is too large because it's going to incentivize you to fill it if anything get one that's a little bit smaller than what you think you need as you continue to lighten your pack something you may notice is that as you lighten some things you can then lighten other things for instance a smaller quilt and shelter will allow you to buy a smaller backpack keep this in mind as you upgrade gear backpack last stuff sacks are not necessary outside of tiny items and food learn to pack your gear in an organized way without using five stuff sacks as an aid ziplocks are a great alternative to expensive stuff sacks waterproof see right into them to find what you need easily replaced and almost always lighter than a fabric stuff sack use one large trash bag inside your pack to keep everything dry instead of five different dry bags for everything this would be known as a pack liner consider using a fanny pack to redistribute weight away from your back this will add weight overall but you will feel lighter with an extra pound in your fanny pack instead of in your backpack 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 this isn't for the faint of heart and certainly don't without a long consideration first but cut extra or excess straps off of your backpack remove things like the brain of your backpack as you get more ultra light your pack may no longer need a frame remove it or go without once your pack is extremely light consider cutting off your hip belt i personally haven't used the hip belt for five or six years now though in many cases long food carries and resupplies a hip belt is still necessary even with a super ultra light backpack alright so gear for sleeping quilts and insulating layers and all that stuff let's get into some sleeping gear a quilt is lighter than a sleeping bag and all you will ever need for three season hiking i personally recommend an enlightened equipment quilt or a zpax quilt a warmer quilt will be lighter than bringing more clothing down insulated quilts and insulating layers are lighter and pack smaller than synthetics but synthetics are better in wetter climates when buying a quilt or sleeping bag pay attention to fill power or down type 950 fill will be lighter and compress smaller than 800 fill for example good campsite selection will allow you to bring less insulating layers and a more minimal shelter sleeping near water sleeping in valleys and sleeping at the tops of peaks will make for a colder night than the alternatives if you avoid these places you can carry less insulation overall camping underneath bushes and trees will be warmer than camping in the open because those bushes and trees will create a micro climate above you that is warmer than open fields avoiding hard packed ground at campsites can allow you to bring a thinner and lighter sleeping pad when it comes to your sleeping pad ask yourself if you could cut it down to just the length of your torso i personally use one that only runs from my hips to my shoulders store your backpack underneath your legs while sleeping to act as the other half of the pad you just cut an inflatable pillow is cool but they often pop and generally can be improvised using things you already carry try using your food bag with an item of clothing on top instead and if you're willing try and change your hiking style if you're the type of person that's going to hang out at camp all day and sit around camp in the cold you're going to need a lot more insulating layers than someone who is hiking during those hours alright so your shelter is going to be another huge place that you can save weight so let's take a quick look at that as well a tarp is the lightest shelter you can use though it requires more experience to use it safely if a trail isn't known for bugs or bad weather like the desert southwest consider a tarp instead of a tent a ground sheet will protect your shelter's base polycryo is lighter than tyvek but tyvek is much more durable depending on the trip ask yourself which you need or if you need one at all use a tent that utilizes your trekking poles to set it up rather than a heavier tent that has its own poles you have to carry in your backpack a single wall tent is lighter than a double wall but a double wall does better with ventilation and condensation i will never tell you to leave your tent stakes at home but for fun on trips near home try using sticks or rocks instead this will save weight and it's good practice should you lose a stake in a more serious situation or hike if your shelter uses line locks consider ditching them for a taut line hitch knot instead in most cases this isn't worth it but for a handful of you it may be i personally only use the tautline hitch knot i never use line locks switch out your shelter's guidelines for thinner cord if applicable you will have to be more careful in windy conditions so use your best judgment seek out a shelter in lighter weight fabrics it will be expensive to do this but if you backpack a lot you can save a lot of weight this way as an investment all right we've covered a lot of ground here and we've talked about all the big systems we've talked about your shelter we've talked about your sleeping system your food your just general stuff and clothing so we're getting close to the end let's talk about all the little miscellaneous items that we carry backpacking because small items add up quick this is certainly a meme in the backpacking world but cut your toothbrush in half a full handle is not really needed and a smaller version fits better in your ditty bag a bamboo toothbrush is oftentimes lighter than a plastic one look for travel size toothpaste instead of using a full bottle use a mini bic lighter instead of the larger one use a small zip lock as a wallet it's both waterproof and super lightweight a swiss army knife is small light and super functional you will never need anything larger i've hiked thousands of miles without a knife and i never really felt like i actually needed one for anything so you could even leave that at home too a small handheld flashlight is lighter than a headlamp and oftentimes more functional you don't need a full roll of toilet paper unravel it a bit and bring just a third of the roll for the brave plants can be used to eliminate toilet paper all together so could a bidet repackage items into smaller containers medications deep sunscreen chaff cream can all be found in smaller packaging or put into smaller containers minimize your first aid kit and remember you are never truly that far away from town when it comes to very minor ailments most people carry more than they would know what to do with when it comes to medical gear cut up your guidebook and only bring what you need there is no reason to have an entire book when you're hundreds or thousands of miles away from that section of trail avoid carrying extra batteries sometimes it's necessary but almost always it isn't either way a lot of headlamps or flashlights are rechargeable these days and worth looking into only bring one luxury item for me that is a camera the best and lightest 10 000 milliamp hour battery for your phone is the nitecore nb 10000 even lighter is not having one at all but given how useful cell phones are it's worth mentioning use your phone as your gps with applications like far out guides so that you can leave the heavy electronics and guidebooks at home use your phone as your primary camera as well now holy crap we made it through the final tip is actually gonna come from you if you have something that you've used to save weight a technique or an experience or a piece of gear that you just really love that is lighter than more common options please leave that down in the comments below so others can hopefully learn from your experience as well and as always it's nice to save pounds it's nice to save ounces or grams but keep in mind it in the end it's not about the weight you know you can take this as far as you want to take this it's all about just enjoying the trip that you're heading out on thank you so much for watching if you like this video please subscribe to this channel and leave me a little thumbs up i post stuff like this all the time uh and i post backpacking videos from trips all around the united states and hopefully one day uh internationally i have done some hiking in canada as well and you can find those videos on this channel too so thanks for watching i will catch you guys in the next video

Channel: JupiterHikes

Views: 260,549

Keywords: ultralight backpacking, backpacking gear, backpacking tips, hiking gear, ultralight gear list, ultralight backpacking tips, how to thru hike, thru hike, thru hiking, appalachian trail, pacific crest trail, continental divide trail, ultralight backpack, ultralight hiking, ultralight, ultralight tips, what to bring hiking, what to bring backpacking, hiking, backpacking, pct 2022, lightweight backpacking, ultralight gear, backpacking gear list, ultralight backpacking gear, AT2022

Id: UqSLGMy92EM

Length: 20min 52sec (1252 seconds)

Published: Mon Feb 07 2022

Reddit Comments

[u/the1eyeddog]

Yours floats? I keep buying all these things with “ultralight” in the name and now my base weight is 37 lb.

[u/couchumina]

I watched it .one point was buy a smaller backpack to make yourself carry less .the next one was upgrade your back last after you know how much stuff you have

[u/dinhertime_9]

Jupiter recommends Zpacks quilts. There you have it everyone

[u/the1eyeddog]

Dude tells me to avoid excess and then mentions cutting off extra straps twice SMDH

[u/frosty_8]

What did he mean when he said that it’s not just about making your pack as light as possible? He mentioned something about enjoyment. I didn’t get that at all. Do think he recorded that part on Opposite Day or something?

[u/mas_picoso]

lol zpacks quilts get fkd

[u/AGgelatin]

a perfectly nice guy whom I can not stand. He fully lost me when he made a video blaming a frogg toggs jacket for effectively creating a dangerous situation.

[u/couchumina]

The biggest surprise from jupiter latest videos is he is cutting weight by being bald like my self .I never noticed he had no hair till last couple videos