Lightweight Hiking
Long gone are the days of lugging a cumbersome canvas pack containing a heavy Japara rain jacket and tarpauline bivvie on Outdoor Education camps throughout the Victorian bush. Or the time I had to be physically hauled to my feet every time I had to carry the gear of two people as a fifteen year old Aussie exchange student in Canada while navigating the portages between lakes on a school canoeing trip. (Unbelievably, I still had the better end of that bargain as the person whose gear was weighing me down was carrying our canoe.) Advances in both gear technology and my understanding of it has reduced my base pack weight to beneath 9 kilograms in a non-alpine winter with even less in milder conditions.
A lightweight base pack is generally regarded as being below 9 to 10 kilograms while an ultralight weight base pack is below 4.5 to 5 kilograms. The base pack weight is the combined weight of the gear carried in the pack excluding consumables such as water, food and fuel.
The biggest savings on base pack weight can often be gained by careful selection of its three biggest and heaviest items: pack, sleeping system and shelter. There is much debate particularly in respect to sleeping and shelter systems. Quilt versus sleeping bag. Tent versus tarp versus hammock and tarp. Lighter and more refined products constantly enter the market such as those made with sil nilon and/or cuben fiber.
Lightweight options can be expensive. Replacing gear with lighter options can be even more expensive, especially when the existing gear is itself relatively unused. A down sleeping bag is worth its expense because it should last years or even decades. Replacing a bag used only a dozen times with a lighter, better quality bag worth only $200 more than was originally paid increases the total money spent on owning a down bag for that temperature rating. The money lost on the original bag cannot be recouped entirely even after reselling. The buyer will have always paid more than if they had invested initially in the lighter, better quality option. It is essential when purchasing expensive and heavier gear to research the product in advance and not allow a salesperson who has no personal investment in your experience to talk you into a sale. The salesperson may carry your prospective new gear to the cash register for purchase but they will not carry it for you on your next overnight hike.
It is also important to realistically consider what you actually require. Avoid buying gear with greater capacity than is actually needed. Consider downsizing existing gear. Do you actually need a -16C sleeping bag or would a -6C sleeping bag with a down jacket be more suitable? Is it necessary to have a 900ml pot or will a 600ml pot actually suffice? A 600ml pot with a lid maybe enough single person while a 900ml pot may be more suitable for a couple sharing resources or a larger man that requires more food. The less room your gear requires in your pack, the smaller pack you can use which, in turn, creates another weight saving.
The cheapest way to reduce weight, however, is simply not to bring every unnecessary luxury at all. Is a mug really required when the pot comes with a saucepan shaped lid that can double as a mug? Is a pillow necessary or camp shoes? A lightweight base pack weight may contain a few little luxuries, such as an eBook reader and an inflatable pillow, but these must be properly considered. Will the luxury improve your trip more than you not having to carry its weight? What about all the little luxuries together? They may not weigh much individually but combined can quickly add up to a couple of kilograms of additional weight.
When trying to decide the product that is right for you, websites such as Outdoor Gear Lab that provide functional side by side reviews of many popular hiking products can be a valuable resource. Hiking and backpacking forums also usually have threads discussing the merits of a piece of gear and can be useful for getting an idea of the quality and functionality when it is not necessarily view it for yourself prior to purchase.
Happy lightweight hiking!
A list of my gear reviews:
Pack Review: Aarn Featherlite Freedom
Sleeping Bag Review (-5/6˚C): Feathered Friends Egret UL20 vs Sea to Summit Traverse XtII
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