Ultralight Backpacking Gear

Most backpackers will tell you that hiking or backpacking with a heavy load does not make the experience at all enjoyable and certainly does take its toll on the body, especially the back and knees, which is why many of them have started using ultralight backpacking gear which makes it all much more enjoyable.

Before ultralight backpacking gear was invented one was faced with the task of hauling around unnecessarily heavy gear and this made things quite difficult. Now there are many things that have been made lightweight, such as tents, backpacks and sleeping bags. The trick to lightweight backpacking is to lighten these three main things. The lightest of tents can weigh anything under a pound and is not made up of too many complicated parts. Some backpackers still find even the lightest of sleeping bags a burden to carry and just prefer to carry blankets as they are much lighter. Blankets are usually an essential ultralight backpacking gear item.

These days the main item used in backpacking, the backpack itself, is being considerably lightened by removing the heavy frame and using lightweight materials. When choosing a backpack you shouldn’t feel the need to choose the biggest one you can find because then you will want to fill it and this defeats the purpose of trying to pack lighter. Learning how to lighten your backpack without losing necessary items may take a while to figure out, but you will eventually learn what to take and what you can do without.

Just because you will be packing lighter does not mean that your safety will be compromised and it is probably more helpful in maintaining your balance and so you will be less likely to injure yourself. Some ultralight backpacking gear costs less than its heavier counterparts but this does not mean that it compromises in terms of quality. You should not, however, think that because you have lightened your main three items - tent, sleeping bag and backpack - that you can add a lot of small miscellaneous items, as they will just add up to extra weight.