Lightweight Backpacking - Tips n' Tricks

Recently we have received a fair amount of questions related to lightweight backpacking and touring, or more specific, about what is called «Ultralight Backpacking». As we have some experience from the army and survival training, and adventures on our own, we have a decent amount of experience with living on the bare minimum and what is actually needed. As a gathered bunch of outdoorsy people, gear nerds and through practice with expeditions all over, we have built up what we would argue is a specific knowledge related to light backpacking.
Everyone having spent some time in the outdoors know that carrying heavy loads can be exhausting, and even though we always try to pack as light as possible the backpack always turns out heavier than expected. Here is a treat for you volume and gram geeks.

Developed by Fjellgutane Førarlag, in cooperation with The Royal Norwegian Special Forces operators and intructors, Skandinavisk Høyfjellsutstyr, Outdoor Recreation and Tourism operators, Mountainguides and Outdoor and mountaineering athletes.
The content of this post has also been reviewed and discussed with Mountain Medicine Professionals, Search And Rescue Professionals and outdoor enthusiasts for your safety. 

Download our Ultralight Backpacking PDF Checklist here

Back in the days people arguably took a little more than needed into the wilderness. In the 60s and up tp the 90s lots of backpackers could easily carry 30-40kg of gear into the wilderness. But as new and lighter gear is developed, the mindset and philosophy og «less is more» started developing throughout the 90s. Nowadays «fast and light», «ultralight backpacking» and other terms is used to describe how one strive to shave down weight and pack as light as possible.

Some of the most obvious arguments for packing light:

• By traveling lighter you are saving yourself strain and the stress of a weighted pack. Heavy bags suck, and more shit = more weight. 
• The bigger bag you take, the more unnecessary gear you tend to bring. 
• Traveling lighter will enable you to have spare space, meaning you can fit more stuff in your bag if needed. 

Understanding the tradeoffs - «Backpacking Is a System»:

Backpacking, or carrying a backpack to support other activities like mountain climbing, hunting, or anything else, needs to be approached systematically. Sure, you can just throw a tent in a pack and hit the trail, but once you start examining the experience, and trying to improve on it, you quickly learn that simply packing a lighter tent won’t actually help you all that much. 
Allow us to explain. A really good and durable piece of gear would probably weigh in 2/3 or even heavier than a average one. There is good reasons for expeditions tents to weigh around 4-5kg, compared to tents at around 1-2kg. So consider your needs carefully before sacrificing good gear for the sake of weight. You will probably not be able to tell the difference between a pack that weighs 10kg , and one that weighs 11,5kg—save your money and choose gear carefully.
To really save weight, you need to examine everything you carry, cutting out unessential items, and then reducing the weight of the stuff left behind. Once you’ve done that, you may be able to use a lighter backpack, dropping another couple grams. That’s the system. 

Before we go ahead and share a load of tips on how to shave weight, we feel it is important so say a few things. Remember that the suggested packing-lists is just a bit of guidance, one will always adjust the gear one carry to ones level of experience and consider if ones has the knowledge and experience needed to go lightweight. To actually carry the little gear we in some cases describe, you would have to scarify some comfort compared to carrying more gear. Relying less on gear of course also means relying more on judgement, knowledge about how to stay safe, how to stay healthy as well as experience in the wilderness. Sewing your own pack and other gear, as many do, is a great way to go lighter and save money. Keep in mind that while lighter in weight, ultralight gear may not be as durable or as comfortable in the long run as conventional gear. 

Because here’s the thing: eliminating anything from your pack is a calculated risk. As with any other piece of gear, there may be rare occasions where you find yourself lacking something. If you plan effectively, it won’t be anything critical that you can’t McGyver your way out of.

You’re also supporting a consumerism society if you swap out all your gear, so at least try to do it as green and ethically as possible.

WHERE TO START?

In his book, "Ultralight Backpacking Tips," Mike Clelland lays down tips that he describes as a, "manifesto of intent." The key takeaways here are:

• Comfortable and safe are vital.
• Scrutinize everything.
• Take less stuff.
• Know the differences between needs and wants.
  
  

Most of your pack's weight is in a few items, or rather, systems. These are «the packing system", «the shelter system», «the sleeping system», and «the cooking system».

• Weigh your current gear: Grab a kitchen or luggage scale, weigh and weigh the gear you already own. Write it down, this gear will be what we call your «Base weight». Food, water and fuel is considered «consumables», so leave that for later.
  
  
• Replace heavy and old gear with lighter gear: Yeah, we know it is encouraging consumerism and is not good for the environment, but there is not many other ways to do it. We would encourage you to donate your old gear to a foundation, group of boy/girl-scouts, The Red Cross or anyone else that may use it and not throw it away. At least we can try to do something good and encourage up cycling, reuse etc. so that the old gear is not just tossed away. As you replace old gear, pay attention to each item’s weight and compare it to your old gear. Try to aim for a total base weight at around 4-5kg, lighter than that is just crazy. 
  
  
• Make gradual changes as you go (unless you’re very certain and have shitload of money…): 
  Gear is often more expensive the lighter it gets, a smart approach could be to shave down weight over time. That also allows you to test and find good solutions as you go.

The biggest weight savers:

There is especially a few pieces of gear that make up the the majority of weight when backpacking:

• Shelter: This is one where you can minimise weight and volume a lot. But be sure to choose something that you will be comfortable with, and if you own a dog foe example, the lightest ones may easily rip to some sharp claws or teeths. One suggestion could be to go for a bivvy-soulution, a lightweight hammock or tarp instead of a tent.
  
  
• Sleeping pad/mat: Small closed-cell foam pads is the cheapest and lightest alternative. Some even switch out the backrest in their backpacks with a foam sleeping pad, but that is a bit extreme for our taste. One suggestion can be to switch from a long and thick inflatable mat to a shorter 3/4-length, thinner and more lightweight pad. You can use a backpack or a jacket under your feet while you sleep it you go for a shorter map. In our opinion a good mat it important for good sleep, so we don’t compromise too much. 
  
  
• Sleeping bag/blanket: This is one where you at least can save a lot of volume, but also weight. Going for a lightweight down sleeping bag instead of a synthetic sleeping bag may very well be worth it, some even go for just a heat-reflective blanket - but that is too extreme. You can also consider a lighter down sleeping bag, a really good «heat buffing sleep-liner» and a lightweight synthetic overage if you want to go for a safe, but smart, solution. If you plan on swapping out you sleeping system, you should at least try the new one out in the backyard or something before you go out and about on longe expeditions.
  
  
• Backpack: If you can successfully reduce the volume of your gear, you can also choose a smaller and lighter backpack. Choosing a smaller backpack will eventually force you to really consider what you’re packing. A general thumb of rule; the bigger the pack, the more gear you will find put in it. If you’re happy with the pack you have, you can customize it, lighten it by removing extra pockets, straps and buckles. Cutting of material will void the warranty, so think twice before you do anything like that.
  Full-featured expedition packs have can store about 60-80L and will weigh around 2-3,5kg. A mid sized weekend pack would be 40-60L and normally weigh 1-2kg og less. For example, we have earlier made equipment lists and done training for guide exams and in the army for longer periods of time with a 50L backpack.
  
  
• Stoves and cookware: For short trips and 3-season use a super lightweight gas canister stove and a a single pan big enough to fry in and to boil a little water is enough. For most people this will work nicely for backpacking and can easily save you a few kilos and a load of volume. Alcohol or multi fuel stoves is pretty much the only way to go for 4-season, winter and long expeditions. This is heavier, but you will save the weight over a long period of time as you will reduce your weight in fuel as you go and do not need to carry loads of gas canisters. In areas where there is accessible firewood, a wood stove or a campfire will eliminate the weight of fuel and a wood stove is good where there is a fire ban or a fragile environment. Generally in most survival training you will typically practice building small cooking fires and never carry a stove as long as there is accessible firewood.
  Carry a small, lightweight and efficient pot or pot set just bit enough to boil water heat food if you really want to save weight. It is also very convenient if your stove and gas canister fit inside your cooking pot for 3-season use, or a pot that fits the stove for winter use, the liquid fuel needs to be in it’s own bottle of hygiene and safety reasons— there is loads of solutions like this on the market.
  
  
• First-Aid kit: Generally people bring way too many bandages, packaging, and «ready to use» kits that can be completely overkill or consist of a lot of unnecessary kit. When trying to rid your pack of weight, the standard backcountry first-aid kit is worth putting under the microscope. With some scrutiny it’s actually pretty easy to shed nearly a decent amount of weight and a liter of bulk if you’re willing to make your own ultralight first aid kit. Some kit will be vital, but experts on mountain medicine, wilderness first aid and first aid in general is good at improvising by using minimal kit and what they have at hand. You can start by choosing a good, waterproof and durable bag to keep the kit in. There is good and bad kind of redundancy, choosing a bag that rips easily or get wet is bad. After that you carefully customise and specials your kit for the adventure you’re heading out on. Here is a good link to an article about first aid kits: www.hyperlitemountaingear.com - First Aid

SUGGESTED GEAR (LIGHTWIEGHT)

Here is some suggested gear used by military operators, previously used by us, or trusted by other professionals and outdoor people.

Shelter:
For really lightweight, a Hilleberg Tarp, Mountain Harwear Ethereal Bivy, Terra Nova Laser Plus 1 tent or Carintia One Person Micro Tent Plus.
For more decent 2 person backpacking, we like the Helsport Ringstind Superlight 1-2 person tent, Helsport Trolltind Superlight 2 tent and the Terra Nova Solar Ultra 2 tent.
Fjellgutane Førarlag as a company use Hilleberg Keron GT, Terra Nova Terra Firma or Nigor Spix tents for expedition use. We also use MSR Mutha Hubba tents for camping and MSR Access 2 all season ski touring tents for skitouring and lightweight adventures.

Sleeping Mats/Pads: 
For us this was really easy. We wanted comfortable mats with a high R-value (insulation value), som we trust Exped and Thermarest with all our mats. Generally we use the Exped SynMats in 7cm thickness, in HL, UL and regular models. We like the HL mats, as they are a good compromise between toughness and weight. On winter expeditions we only use the Regular 7 or 9cm DownMats. Sometimes we use the Thermarest Z Lite Sol™ & Original Z Lite™pads, as they are the lightest, most compact closed-cell mattress. They are not too steep priced either.

Sleeping bags:
​We like a sleeping system consisting of the Mountain Equipment (ME) Helium or Extreme Light series down sleeping bags, combined with Sea To Summit(STS) Reactor Sleepliners and the Mountain Equipment Starlight Micro as an synthetic overage when needed in humid conditions. This is a flexible sleeping system that works in most conditions. We love the Mountain Equipment Helium 800 and the Mountain Equipment Fireflash for colder days, and the ME Helium 400/600 and the ME Firefly for warmer days and allround use. We always stuff the sleep liner inside the sleeping-bag and then inside ME's waterproof sleeping bag stuff sacks.

Backpack:
Choose the one that fits your needs and your body. Make sure it feels comfortable, try it on with weight in it and try to fit all your gear inside it. All serious outdoor shops and equippers will help you with this. We typically do not choose the lightest ones, as the frame and the material in other backpack make up for the gain in weight in our opinion. We will let this choice be yours, but do not hesitate to contact us for tips if you feel the need for some free-of-charge advice or consulting.

Stoves and coockware:
In 9 out of 10 situations we could very well manage with the MSR Pocketrocket gas canister stove. MSR provides a the neat cook sets called Trail Mini and Trail Lite in both a single and duo set, which also contains the Pocketrocket Stove - those are really nice, compact and lightweight.
A few of us love the MSR Windburner Stove and use that as well, mainly because it is incredible fast, can handle a good amount of wind and is very fuel and heat efficient. Primus also launched their "wintergas" just recently, and that has made gas stoves really convenient even in sub-zero temperatures.
A cheap solution could be to buy the MSR Pocketrocket sets, or the similar cheap and compact burner with just one single pot or even a lightweight metal cup if you really want to save weight and volume.
For winter and expedition use, we only trust the MSR Whisperlite Universal stove and burn it on powergas (rinsed lead-free gasoline). You can also buy cheaper leadfree gasoline for chainsaw in bulk that does the work. We use this stove for expeditions because it is very well tested, self cleaning, pretty silent and very durable and easy to use.

And with that we wish you good luck with choosing the lightweight gear that works for you. We also made a Ultralight Backpacking Checklist based on the "Backpacking System" for you to use. It consists of all the essential items you would need in you backpack and is easy to use as a framework when packing and choosing your lightweight gear. We made the list to make sure that you don't forget the bare basics you should have in your backpack. You can download it in PDF format for free just under here. Good luck. We hope you enjoyed this post.

With Best Regards, and happy adventures; Fjellgutane Førarlag.

Download our Ultralight Backpacking PDF Checklist here