What NOT to bring ultralight backpacking
A guide to packing lighter on a backpacking trip
Ok, so here’s the deal. I am not yet an Ultralight backpacker. But I am working on it, and every birthday and Christmas I get closer to my goal with new, lighter gear! I do know how to lose some pack weight, though. Below is a list of things that you can do without, or can substitute for something lighter.
So let’s get to it:
- Canned food.
- All of that water weight, not to mention once you do eat what’s inside you still have to carry the heavy cans around!
- One option is to remove food from cans and put them in plastic baggies, which can be messy and potentially dangerous because it is unrefrigerated and unsealed.
- A better option is to instead use freeze dried backpacking food, but that’s hella expensive.
- I would recommend saving a buck (or $50!) and buying pasta or rice and some seasonings, or pre-made just-add-water meals like Rice-a-Roni. These are super easy (just add water :P), super tasty, and super quick.
- Fresh fruit and vegetables.
- I know that those taste amazing after a day of hiking, but you know what else does? Literally anything that resembles food!
- Fresh food is super heavy. It’s better to bring dehydrated food and a lot of light-weight carbs.
- Extra clothes.
- I am NOT saying don’t bring the layers you need to stay warm.
- I AM saying don’t bring more than one each of the main clothing articles. One: hiking shirt, pair of hiking pants, long underwear top, long underwear bottom, pair of hiking shoes.
- Don’t bring more layers than you actually need to stay comfortable.
- Don’t bring more than three pairs of socks or underwear.
- Gear that another piece of gear already accomplishes the purpose of.
- If you have a multitool with a knife, you don’t also need to bring scissors or another, bigger knife.
- If you have trekking poles, you might not need tent poles, especially if you buy a special Ultralight tent that only needs trekking poles.
- If you have a buff, you don’t need a beanie (and vice versa); they both keep your head warm and usually they are just a preference, although a buff might protect your neck more, depending on how you wear it.
- Gear that serves no purpose other than comfort.
- I promise you, you don’t need that 1lb camp chair; just sit on your foam sleeping pad!
- A WHOLE PILLOW? Don’t need that, just use your extra layer or your hiking pants rolled into a ball.
- Camp shoes??? Na hon, go bare foot or loosely wear your hiking shoes.
- An entire, store bought, first aid kit.
- Let’s be honest, you wouldn’t even know what to do with everything in that kit.
- Make your own DIY kit with just the bare necessary band aids, antibiotic ointment, tape/blister kit, gauze, etc.
- You can also improvise with things you’re already bringing on your trip or things you can find outside: a trekking pole or a stick work just fine for a splint if someone happens to sprain an ankle or break something.
- Your fancy 4 pound DSLR camera that takes amazing pictures.
- I know, I know its impossible, I still haven’t been able to leave mine behind.
- There are lot’s of other, much lighter, options though, like your: phone camera, action camera, or a point-and-shoot.
- Gear that your backpacking partner already has.
- You only need one shelter.
- One multitool and lighter are plenty.
- My hiking partner and I even share a spoon!
- A waterproof pack cover.
- Use a trash bag liner instead! Although flimsier, I haven’t yet had trouble using a bin bag to line my pack. The only downside is the outside of your pack might get wet, but shouldn’t be in issue if you packed everything in the bag properly.
- Cotton or denim.
- Oof, definitely don’t bring jeans!
- These types of materials are a lot more heavy than synthetic materials.
- Cotton and denim are also much harder to dry out, and don’t keep you very warm, which can lead to potential problems in certain weather conditions.
- Electronics.
- Do you really need a phone and a kindle and a camera and a GPS?
- Only bring what you need. A smart phone has all of those functions!
- Metal or hard plastic water bottles.
- These are absurdly heavy and take up a lot of space.
- I use water bladders, which are brilliant, light weight and inexpensive
- I know many Ultralighters use Smart water bottles, but I really hate to buy a single use plastic like that. One, the environment, and two, my body! Goodness knows what sort of chemicals are leaching out of those after hours or weeks in the sun.
- Deodorant.
- Ha! You’re backpacking, you’re supposed to smell bad.
- Bring a little biodegradable soap and hop into a freezing alpine lake for a quick bath when you stop for lunch or before the sun goes down.
After your next trip, ask yourself “What did I use?” “What did I NOT use?” “What could I have done without?” “What did I need that I didn’t bring?” Write down your answers and rewrite your packing list for the future using those questions as a guideline. Get rid of the things you didn’t use or could have done without, and pack the things that you needed! Try to keep a record of how much your pack weighs before each trip so you can watch your progress as your pack gets lighter and lighter 🙂
Thanks for reading! If you have any other ideas of easy ways to lose weight from your backpacking pack, let me know in the comment section below and I will add the relevant information to my post 🙂
-K
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Kirsten is an enthusiastic, bilingual naturalist with 11+ years of experience as a non-formal environmental educator, 6+ years as an outdoor recreation guide, 6+ years as a content writer, and 13+ years as an eco-friendly horticulturist and landscaper. She has designed and maintained 2 websites dedicated to public-facing environmental and outdoor education information for community consumption. Successfully taught 5 online, multi-week zoom workshop series to 5-10 regular participants on an international scale.
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