Ultralight backpacking

A bivouac (using a bivy sack) in winter at Benediktenwand, Germany

Ultralight backpacking is a style of backpacking that emphasizes carrying the lightest and simplest gear safely possible for a given trip.^[1] Base pack weight (the weight of a backpack plus the gear inside & outside it, excluding consumables such as food, water, and fuel, which vary depending on the duration and style of trip) is reduced as much as safely possible, though reduction of the weight of consumables is also applied.

Light and ultralight are generally defined as base pack weights below 20 pounds (9.1 kg) and 10 pounds (4.5 kg) respectively in the US; elsewhere the definitions are commonly given as lightweight being under 10 kg, and ultralight under 5 kg. For comparison, traditional backpacking practices often results in base pack weights above 30 pounds (14 kg), and sometimes up to 60 pounds (27 kg).

History

Ultralight backpacking was popularized by rock climber Ray Jardine, whose 1992 book PCT Hiker's Handbook,^[2] later retitled as Beyond Backpacking in 1999,^[3] laid the foundations for many techniques that ultralight backpackers use today. Jardine claimed his first Pacific Crest Trail thru-hike was with a base pack weight of 25 pounds (11 kg), and by his third PCT thru-hike it was below 9 pounds (4.1 kg).^[3]

An early pioneer was Grandma Gatewood, who thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail in 1955 with only a duffel bag containing an army blanket, a plastic sheet, an umbrella, and other very simple gear much lighter than the heavy equipment common among thru-hikers in those days.^[4]

Philosophy and process

By carrying lighter and more multi-purpose equipment, ultralight backpackers aim to cover longer distances per day with less wear and tear on the body. This is particularly useful when through-hiking a long-distance trail. Many adherents suggest the following steps (in order of weight and least cost):

1. Reduce each item's weight. Modifying items to reduce superfluous weight, replacing items manufactured using heavy materials with items made from lighter ones, and exchanging fully featured items for minimalist (and therefore lighter) items.^[3] Based upon actual weight to be saved, one can make trades with cost, effectiveness, reliability, lifespan, etc.
2. Weigh everything. An implied, but often overlooked, necessity is to first weigh every item and record its weight. Only with precise before and after weights can one optimize total pack weight.
3. Carry less. Omit unnecessary items such as camp chairs, coffee makers, electronic gadgets, multiple items of clothing, etc.
4. Share gear with others. For example, four people sleep in a four-person tent, one stove for 2-4 people, etc.
5. Swap gear for skills through reading and practice. The greater one's skills in using the environment and gear, the fewer tools one needs to carry. For example, by knowing where exactly to find water, one needs not carry as much.
6. Lighten your feet. Hiking shoes are often cheaper and lighter than hiking boots.
7. Rethink, Reduce, and Repackage. Carry only what you'll need for that trip of fuel, sunblock, string, batteries, lotions, etc. This often means repackaging items.
8. Multi-purpose. Try to find items that work well for different tasks, for example a bandana, poncho + tent, hiking + tent poles, wool sock + mittens, etc.
   

   Poncho shelter
9. Replace gear. Only at this last step, purchase/borrow lighter weight gear. Start with the shelter, sleeping, and carrying systems (commonly called the Big Three) which might include a tent/tarp/bivy, sleeping bag/quilt, sleeping pad, and backpack). Only last, think about a short toothbrush.

All these efforts can result in base backpacking weight that is under six pounds (3 kg).^[5][6] Although focusing on the pack's weight is common, the philosophy of ultralight travel applies to the person (e.g. trim vs. obese) and everything carried (e.g. skin-out weight).

Foot weight

Weight on one's feet (from socks, boots, etc.) requires 4-6x times as much energy to move than the same weight as on one's back. Minimizing footwear weight is the most efficient means to reduce a hikers total calories burned (i.e. food carried), stress on body, etc.^[7][8] For example, Grandma Gatewood wore Keds rather than army boots.

Base pack

The rain shelter, sleeping system, and backpack are considered to be the three major items carried by backpackers. Consequently, reducing the weight of these will reduce overall pack weight.^[9]

Rain shelter

Many ultralight backpackers use a tarp tent system where the trekking pole serves as the structure for the tent.

The most common rain shelter in use is the tent, but these are relatively heavy due to a number of reasons. They are often designed from two layers of fabric (to address the internal condensation problem), often require the use of metal poles, stakes, and sometimes include a separate ground cloth to protect the tent bottom. Replacing a double-wall tent with a simple tarp and bivy combination will reduce not only weight but also volume carried in a backpack. Other methods to reduce shelter weight include single layer tarp tent hybrids, hammocks, poncho-tarps, or the use of a bivy sack (Alpine style) as the sole shelter.^[10] Although the lightest possible shelter systems are tarps, there are shelters in between mainstream heavy tents such as tarptents that require less skill to use than tarps. Generally as weight decreases, the skill to use a shelter safely increases.

Sleeping system

Reduction in weight of the second of the big three, the sleeping system, is achieved through reduction of the quantity of fabric used in its manufacture or through use of lighterweight materials in its construction. The use of down as an insulation material which is lighter by volume than currently available synthetic fibers^[3] will decrease bag weight but alternately suffer from its susceptibility to loft loss caused by moisture.^[10] Reducing the overall weight of a sleeping bag by eliminating superfluous material will reduce its weight. An example of this is the use of a sleeping quilt or top bag. A sleeping quilt is a bottom-less insulated blanket which has no insulation on its bottom side, relying on the user's sleeping pad to guard against conductive heat loss into the ground. A top bag is more like a conventional sleeping bag in that it wraps around the user's entire body but the bottom fabric contains no insulation. The philosophy behind these two alternatives is that insulation crushed under a person's weight is devoid of air and therefore useless. Some modern down sleeping bags are through-baffled and under-filled such that the user can shift all the insulation to the top of their body thereby maximizing its potential to retain heat. Ultralight hikers also tend to carry bags rated for warmer temperatures than traditional-weight backpackers, making up the difference on cold nights by wearing insulated clothing to bed, such as a balaclava^[3] or an insulated jacket. Proper camping site selection that avoids colder hollows (low points where cold air tends to collect)^[3] or that makes use of natural wind barriers such as thick vegetation or cliffs makes up the difference in heat lost by lighter gear.

Backpack

With a lighter shelter and sleeping system, the backpack can consist of lighter material and a less bulky frame or no frame at all. The common ultralight alternative to an internal frame pack is a frameless pack made of ripstop nylon, silnylon, or Dyneema, or cuben fibre with a carrying limit of 25 pounds (11 kg).^[3] An internal-frame pack can weigh upwards of 6 pounds (2.7 kg) with features such as hip belt stabilizers, lifter straps, sternum straps, and compression straps; ultralight frameless packs are commercially available in weights ranging from eight to fourteen ounces (200-400 g)^[10] and can consist of not much more than a sack with shoulder straps, a return to the simplicity of the rucksack. Jardine's book includes directions to make your own "ultralight pack".^[3]

Some backpackers choose to make their own gear. Advantages to such an approach include possible reduction of cost and the opportunity to customize the gear to the individual user. Additionally, if a homemade item were to break down, the hiker would be in a better position to repair it. Lastly, commercial manufacturers often choose heavier, more durable material for their products in order to reduce the amount of care and maintenance required of the user (and minimize returns of damaged gear). Given proper care, homemade lightweight gear can last as long as it is needed.

Examples

Jardine:^[3]

• Backpack: homemade "ultralight pack" (13.5 ounces (380 g))
• Sleeping system: homemade polarguard 2-inch (5.1 cm) thick quilt (33 ounces (940 g)); stowbag (1.75 ounces (50 g)); trimmed ³⁄₈-inch (9.5 mm) thick, 36-inch (91 cm) long, closed cell polyethylene pad (4.8 ounces (140 g)); space blanket ground sheet (1.25 ounces (35 g))
• Rain shelter: homemade 9-foot (2.7 m) by 7-foot (2.1 m) silnylon tarp (12 ounces (340 g)); 8 aluminum tent stakes and stowbag (2.6 ounces (74 g)); guyline cord (0.5 ounces (14 g))
• Total: 69.4 ounces (1.97 kg; 4.34 lb)

Jordan:^[1]

• Backpack: commercial "ultralight pack" (3.7 ounces (100 g))
• Sleeping system: commercial 2.25-inch (5.7 cm) loft down sleeping bag (15.2 ounces (430 g)); spinnaker cloth stuff sack (.5 ounces (14 g)); torso sized, ³⁄₈-inch (9.5 mm) thick, sleeping pad (1.9 ounces (54 g));
• Rain shelter: commercial poncho-tarp made of spinnaker cloth 5-foot (1.5 m) by 8-foot (2.4 m) (6.3 ounces (180 g)); silnylon bivy sack (6.2 ounces (180 g)); 6 titanium tent stakes (1.3 ounces (37 g)); 24 feet (7.3 m) UHMWP guyline (0.2 ounces (5.7 g))
• Total: 35.3 ounces (1.00 kg; 2.21 lb)

Other gear

The remaining gear (such as ten essentials and survival kit) carried by an ultralight backpacker follows a similar philosophy of replacing traditional backpacking gear with lighter options. Replacements include:

• Making a fire instead of carrying a stove.
• Light weight alcohol stoves such as a beverage can stove or solid fuel stoves instead of heavier gas stoves
• Single cook pot ("billycan") with a single spoon instead of a traditional mess kit
• No stove and its associated paraphernalia at all, relying on no-cook meals for food
• Trail running or running shoes instead of hiking boots, and lightweight nylon socks instead of heavy wool socks.
• The minimal amount of extra clothing safely possible.
• Plastic or silnylon bags instead of the conventional (and heavier) packaging that a traditional backpacker might carry.
• A 1 ounce (28 g) small pocket knife instead of a heavier Leatherman style multi-tool or Swiss army knife.
• Chemical disinfectant water treatment (iodine tablets, chlorine dioxide) instead of heavier water filters.
• Plastic Soft drink or soft plastic bottles instead of heavier nalgene or lexan bottles or Hydration packs.
• A 0.25-ounce (7.1 g) LED light instead of a heavy flashlight or headlamp.

Consumables

A 1.5-litre (1.6 US qt) bottle of water. The water itself weighs 1.5 kg (3.3 lb)

In addition to carrying equipment, hikers must also carry consumables such as water and food and in some cases fuel. Some ultralight backpackers save weight by resupplying these items more frequently. On long-distance trails with multiple access points, some ultralight hikers choose to place food caches or stop at stores to resupply consumables at frequent intervals, allowing just two or three days' worth of food to be carried in place of a larger load.

Water

Water can be a significant contributor to pack weight because moderate activity in a moderate climate requires 2 litres (2.1 US qt) of drinking water per day,^[11] with a weight of 2 kilograms (4.4 lb). When traveling through an area with many springs and streams, some ultralight hikers can carry as little as 350 millilitres (12 US fl oz) of water, or none at all, provided the hiker is confident on how far away the next reliable water source is and the expected weather conditions, but in other regions hikers must carry all their water requirements, and can only minimize the container weight.

Some ultralight hikers reduce the weight of water purifying devices, carried to prevent waterborne diseases such as Giardiasis, Cryptosporidiosis and dysentery, by carrying lighter disinfectants as opposed to filters or Ultra Violet (UV) treatment devices. Some hikers carry no filtration device at all.

Food

A common variety of trail mix made out of peanuts, raisins, and candy coated chocolate, around 4.8 kcal/gram^[12]

Once the "Big Three" and water are resolved, food becomes the biggest contributor to pack weight and an area where substantial gains over traditional backpacking can be made.

The Basal metabolic rate requirement of food calories (one food calorie is 1000 heat calories, thus sometimes labelled kcal) is approximately 1000 per day per 100 pounds of body weight.^[11] However exertion in the form of hiking consumes additional calories; for example the standard US Army field ration is 4500 kcal per day for strenuous work.^[11] Thus depending upon type of food an average hiker carries, a hiker requires approximately 2 kilograms (4.4 lb) of food per day. Ultralight techniques can substantially reduce this weight, Jardine suggests 2.5 pounds (1.1 kg) per day for thru-hiking,^[3] Jordan suggests 1.25 pounds (0.57 kg) per day (at 125 calories per ounce, 4.4 calories per gram) for a 3-season 3-day backpack.^[1]

Many foods can be dried or dehydrated to reduce water weight. Dehydrated meals can be purchased or dehydrated at home. On the trail, rehydration can typically be performed by cooking in hot water. Some ultralight hikers reduce weight by not carrying a stove and rehydrating food in a container with water (although this method requires more time to rehydrate than the traditional cooking method). For example, Ramen noodles, dehydrated refried beans (in powdered form), or dehydrated hummus can be put in a ziploc bag or lightweight microwave disposable plastic container with water to rehydrate. Oats (groats or rolled, granola or muesli) and barley also become soft enough with soaking to eat uncooked as a raw food. Tsampa is a simple, bland and lightweight dish made from flour used for centuries by the wandering Tibetan monks.

Weight in the form of food can also be reduced by choosing foods that have the highest ratio of calories per weight. Proteins and carbohydrates have approximately 4 kcal per gram whereas fat has 9 kcal per gram,^[13] thus carrying foods high in fat content can reduce weight, such as:

• Peanut butter (5.89 kcal/gram^[11])
• Nuts (Pecans are 6.87 kcal/gram,^[11] toasted coconut is 5.92 kcal/gram^[14])
• Pemican (5.7 kcal/gram^[15])
• Dried whole egg (5.92 kcal/gram^[11])

Clarified butter (anhydrous), which stores well unrefrigerated, is almost pure fat (8.76 kcal/gram^[16]), thus about 4,000 kcal per pound; however, it is also a potent bear attractant.

"Energy bars" on average contain more protein and carbohydrates than fat, similar to a fig newton (3.68 kcal/gram), which lowers their calorie to weight ratio relative to other choices.^[17]

Food protection

A captive bear tests a food canister

In some parts of the US an approved bear-resistant food storage container is a required item for hikers, which will add between 1 lb 9 oz (710 g)^[18] and 3 lb 2 oz (1.4 kg) to the base pack weight.^[19] These areas include parts of Yosemite National Park^[20][21] and the Eastern High Peaks Zone.^[22]

See also

References