5 WAYS TO Reduce backpack weight
1 Streamline your sleep system
Your sleep system – tent, sleeping bag and sleeping mat – is the heaviest and bulkiest thing in your pack, so it’s the best place to start for big weight savings. A reduction of a few kilograms should be achievable, simply by investing in lighter equipment. Switching from a Vango Nevis 200 tent (2020g) to a Vango F10 Helium UL 1 (1200g) would save you over 800g, for example. While transferring your Robens Spire III sleeping bag (1685g) for a Robens Couloir 350 (795g) would shave 890g off your load. The savings can rack up pretty quickly.
The problem with this approach is the cost. Ultralight equipment doesn’t come cheap and, unless you’ve got very deep pockets, it might take a while to upgrade all of your kit. A quicker and more affordable strategy is to ditch the traditional tent in favour of a tarp or bivvy. These simple yet effective shelters are the best of both worlds – light and cheap. The Alpkit Hunka weighs only 330g (far less than a tent) but only costs £50, while the Alpkit Rig 3.5 tarp sets you back £65 and weighs just 300g.
On my trips last summer I opted for two different approaches. On the Pembrokeshire Coast Path I slept underneath a Nordisk Voss 5 ULW tarp (282g, including pegs and guy lines); while on my National Three Peaks trek I opted for Gossamer Gear’s The One (505g), a single-skin tent erected using trekking poles. Both worked excellently – with various pros and cons, of course – and were instrumental in helping keep my pack weight down.
PRO TIPS
■ In summer ditch the traditional sleeping bag in favour of an ultralight quilt – a duvet-like cover that provides superb weight-to-warmth ratio.
■ Don’t pair your tarp with a bivvy bag – instead use a sheet of polycro (plastic used as window insulation film) as an ultra-cheap makeshift groundsheet.
■ If you’re not that tall, opt for a smallersized sleeping mat – the small version of Therm-a-Rest’s NeoAir UberLite saves you 80g compared to the regular.
■ Axe your tent and sleeping bag stuffsacks – they don’t provide much benefit, so instead use lightweight, waterproof dry-sacks to store your sleeping system.
■ Increase the quality of your down fill – buying a sleeping bag with a higher fill power (800+) will provide the best possible warmth-to-weight ratio.
2 Go frameless
It’d be pointless obsessing over the weight of your kit, like a spreadsheet-wielding perfectionist, only to then cram it all inside an unnecessarily heavy and unwieldy backpack. Instead, to be a true ultralight guru, you’ll need your actual backpack to be light and minimalist too.
The lightest of all are frameless backpacks: simple, minimalist bags with no aluminium stays (rods) or structural back systems, often weighing up to 1kg lighter than traditional packs. Of course, they are far less rigid and supportive, but with a light load that doesn’t really matter. I used two packs on my 2021 hiking exploits – the Gossamer Gear Kumo 36 (580g) and Zpacks Nero 38 (375g, including hipbelt) – and both were amazing. Buying products from these specialist US brands is a bit convoluted, but British brand Atom Packs makes similarly minimalist backpacks. Aim for a pack of about 35L to 50L, and whatever you do don’t buy a 75L gearhauler – you’ll only end up filling it.
3 Make minimalist meals
The fear of running out of food or water pushes some backpackers to heave half the contents of their kitchen cupboards around with them. But there are many ways to avoid this pitfall. Re-supply as frequently as possible, whenever you pass a shop or supermarket; eat out in cafés or pubs along the way, rather than lugging around spare meals; focus on highenergy snacks such as peanut butter, trail mix or protein bars, for the best calorie-to-gram ratios; get rid of surplus packaging; and plan your meal-by-meal consumption carefully, in line with your re-supply options. In terms of hydration, you don’t necessarily need a full water quota of 3L in your pack at all times. In the wet UK, you’re likely to pass innumerable streams every day – with a water filter, you can simply quench your thirst on-the-go, without carting extra (and heavy) litres on your back constantly.
4 Ditch what you don’t need
‘I’ll take this just in case’ is the type of thinking that ruins ultralight packing. So last summer my strategy was simple – anything that fitted into the ‘just in case’ category was ditched. Before long I had a huge pile of rejected items including: spare pants, socks and t-shirts, sleeping bag liner, sit-mat, gloves, cap, camping stove, mug, pillow, deodorant, sunglasses and compression sacks. It amounted to a mega saving. Perhaps you can do the same?
PRO TIPS
■ Don’t over worry – on many walks you’ll pass through villages and towns, so if you’ve forgotten something crucial you can just buy it during your travels.
■ If you’re struggling to axe items, simply lay out everything you think you need, and then halve it (it sounds drastic but it works!).
5 Pack like a perfectionist
Every self-respecting ultralight backpacker has an eye for detail – those numerous little changes and tweaks you can make to chip away at the weight. Classic examples include decanting toiletries such as suncream into miniscule bottles, chopping off the excess slack from backpack straps, and cutting your toothbrush in half. Another key strategy is swapping like-for-like products. Take a lighter plastic spork instead of a heavy metal one, pack an ultralight collapsible bottle instead of a heavy Nalgene, ditch the 125ml toothpaste in favour of a miniature 5g sample portion you can buy online, and so on and so forth. Some of the biggest savings can be had with your spare clothing. On my summer hikes I swapped out relatively heavy waterproofs for ultralight alternatives, including the Inov-8 Ultrashell Pro jacket (107g) and Ultrapant (78g), and saved even more by packing an ultralight down jacket – the Haglofs L.I.M Essens Down (156g) – rather than a heavier alternative.
PRO TIPS
■ Find items with a dual-purpose – a dry-sack that doubles as a camping pillow when stuffed with your down jacket will provide double the benefit.
■ A buff can be incredibly versatile – balaclava, scarf, hat, and sun protector all-in-one.
MOUNTAIN SAFETY
Packing light should never compromise your safety, and it’s vital not to scrimp on essentials such as waterproof layers or first aid kit. All of the usual mountain safety advice still applies, even to ultralight gurus. As tempting as it might be, don’t take any undue risks with your packing, and always ensure you’re equipped to survive safely and independently on the trail. Remember to consider the weather conditions carefully too. Ultralight backpacking is generally only possible in spring and summer, thanks to higher temperatures and drier conditions. In winter, heavier packs are a necessity.
“‘I’ll take this just in case’ is the type of thinking that ruins ultralight packing”