“When there’s snow on the ground, I like to pretend I’m walking on clouds.”
Takayuki Ikkaku
Backpacking, in many ways, is the ultimate adventure. It exposes you to everything Mother Nature has to offer. The elements don’t take your comfort into consideration, and storms can brew seemingly out of nowhere. Harsh conditions require the right amount of preparation, and at times, a lighter footstep.
After your first few day-hikes or overnights, you may realize that all of that gear, neatly packed away into your pack of choice, gets heavy. When everything in your pack weighs 1lb or more, you quickly find yourself with a 26+lb setup.
Some hikers, especially thru-hikers, find that saving ounces enhances their experience on the trails. When your hike involves multiple overnights, and long distance traveling, it’s best to keep as much weight off of your feet as possible.
On any given day, a thru-hiker may complete 14 to 20 miles hiked!
For anyone interested in saving ounces, this post is for you. I will use base equipment (similar to many hikers’ starter gear), and compare its weight and cost to some of the top-of-the-line equipment that’s available. It’ll read a bit more like an analysis than my other articles, but I feel it will truly benefit new hikers who are interested in learning about how to upgrade their gear, while downgrading the weight they have to carry.
Cutting Your Ounces & Cost Comparison
It’s a loaded question, really. How much of your gear can you leave behind? Let’s be honest, we don’t want to leave any of our gear behind. Our gear keeps us safe, warm, and dry.
So why would you not take all of it?
Well, you can, in a lighter capacity. This is one of my favorite subjects when it comes to gearing. Upgrading!
I’ll break down the gear into a list format and then find ultralight-weight solutions to each piece individually:
Backpack
One of the best ways to reduce weight from your pack is by reducing the pack weight itself. The bag I use on regular hikes is the Osprey Atmos AG 50, which weighs in at 4.5lbs.
4.5 pounds is not considered lightweight, but I love the bag and how well thought out it is for multi-day trips. The hyperlite bag pictured above would be my pick for serious elevation.
Backpack frames are one of the majority’s of your weight with new setups. Exchanging the Osprey Atmos 50 ($300.00) with the Hyperlite Mountain Gear 3400 Southwest ($355.00) would cost $55.00 extra and reduce weight by 2.5lbs.
Difference estimate = $55.00, saves 2.5lbs
Sleeping Bag
I use a Hyke & Byke branded sleeping bag for usual outings. The brand makes a good quality bag, that’s durable, and very budget friendly. A Hyke & Byke “Quandary Down Sleeping Bag” weighs 2.24lbs whereas the Sea to Summit “Spark” weighs just 13.6 ounces. As for the pricing difference, the Hyke & Byke costs $155.00, whereas the Sea to Summit costs $359.00.
The cost starts adding up when seeking a fully ultralight setup, but if you do it, you’ll most likely never want to go back.
Difference estimate = $204.00, saves 0.5lbs
Rainjacket
Rain jackets add close to a pound to your kit. The Patagonia “Torrentshell 3L”, for example, weighs in at 13.9 ounces; however, the Patagonia “Houdini” full-zip rain jacket sits at 3.7 ounces. This saves you about 3/4 a pound.
The great thing about ultralight rain jackets is in this department you can actually save money to go with ultralight options. That’s because many rain jackets are made with heavier materials and therefore require more output cost to create. The “Torrentshell 3L” costs $149.00 whilst the “Houdini” only runs $99.00. Remember though, with ultralight jackets there are more chances for it not to hold up in a heavy storm.
I suggest carrying both types of jackets. Though, that adds a pound.
Difference estimate = -$50.00, saves 0.75lb
Tent
Tents are usually your heaviest piece of equipment in your kit. In this example I’ll use a popular REI tent, the REI “Passage 2”. The weight for it is 5lb 10oz. This is a great tent if you don’t want to fork over the additional cost for an ultralight, but compared to the “Ultamid 2” (pictured above), it is quite heavy.
The cost difference is much higher in tent selections; with the REI “Passage 2” costing $169.00 compared to the HMG “Ultamid 2” costing $825.00.
This is a deal breaking budget for many, and if that’s the case, I say pick an in between.
The NEMO Aurora 3P is the best tent I’ve every had and the price is in between the other two tents I’ve discussed, coming in at $349.00.
Tents have a lot of different options. What materials were used? How many people does it sleep? Are they designed simply for survival or for comfort? All of these questions play into the weight of the tent. So be mindful when selecting.
For me, “the lighter the better”, but also that means a minimalistic campsite.
Difference estimate = $656.00, saves 4lbs
Cookware
Odolands cookware set runs just $34.99 but weighs 1lb. This is actually lighter weight compared to other ultralight sets.
The MSR lightweight cook-set weighs 1lb 12oz. Also the MSR costs $85.00. So, I’ll just estimate on this one because there are plenty of cooking sets to choose from on the market. Let’s just go with a $0.00 change and reduces weight by 0.5lb.
Difference estimate = $0.00, saves 0.5lbs
Medical Equipment
Medical equipment is another piece of equipment that will vary. With a lot of different ones being lightweight and around the same pricing, you can’t really go wrong here. I prefer the one pictured above because it comes in a water-tight bag, keeping your emergency equipment dry.
For this, let’s zero out the difference altogether and come to a final tally for all gear changes.
Difference estimate = $0.00, 0.0lb
The final count for change of cost is $865.00 and it reduces your backpacking weight by 7.8lbs! Of course, these numbers vary greatly based on what gear you actually have; but, my hope is that this article provides a little insight into how to get your pack under 16lbs when fully packed out.
Ultralight = Ultra-minimalist.
If you’re like me and you want to reduce your weight even further, you can start browsing ultralight versions of all of your gear, including utensils, rainflys, hammocks, and more. Every little bit counts when you’re thru-hiking and have 1600 miles to complete (or more). Some, would rather save the money and learn to live with the extra weight in their bag, and there’s nothing wrong with that.
Thanks for reading, pro-hikers.
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