I know a thing or two about having a heavy, overloaded pack. After all, it's how I got the trail name "Wide Load." It's also what caused me a lot of knee pain on the trail in recent years. On my first few backpacking trips I struggled to schlepp around a 45lb pack. This may not sound like much to you big strong guys out there, but for a petite 5ft nothing girl it's a bit of a haul! I managed to get my average pack weight down to 30lb. Which seemed like an improvement at first, but when I started experiencing regular knee pain it became clear this was still too much for me to comfortably carry. Tired of hauling a heavy, bulky pack around and wearing a knee-brace every trip the search for ways to lighten the load began.
I can proudly report, I'm now able to get my total pack weight down to 20 - 23lbs every trip. And as a result the knee pain is gone! To clarify, that includes everything I need for a typical 3 day 2 night shoulder season trip: tent, sleep system, food, clothes, toiletries, technology, 1L of water, and a couple extra odds and ends. A major part of this has to do with lighter gear, but also being more intentional about what I take with me in general.
In this post, I'd like to share some of the things I've done to consistently get my pack weight under 25lbs for a typical 3 day trip. And no, these suggestions don't exclusively apply to those supreme ultra-lighters out there with nothing but a tarp and a grocery bag tied to a stick for gear. These are things the average backpacker can try to reduce their over all pack weight.
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Big Three: Choose One
Shelter. Sleep system. And pack. Chances are you already know, but that's your Big Three. Switching out one of these pieces of gear can make a huge difference in the weight of your pack. Depending on which you choose, you can shed anywhere from two to five pounds. The reason I say choose one is because unless you’re made of money, you probably can’t afford to upgrade all 3 of these systems at the same time. So start with just one for now, and maybe down the road consider making changes to the other two.
I recently chose to upgrade my pack. Going from the Osprey Aura at a whopping 5lbs to the Osprey Levity at just 2lbs. This decision made an incredible difference. Not only did it shave off 3 whole pounds, I was also able to find a pack with a better fit. Best of all, it had many qualities of an ultralight pack without the ultralight price tag. Compare $270 for Osprey Levity 60 to $355 for Hyperlite Mountain Gear 3400 Southwest. Or even $400 for Zpacks Arc Haul 60.
*If you haven't already checked out my review and comparison of the Osprey Levity you can read it HERE.
Another reason I say choose just one is, maybe only one needs upgrading. If you already have one or two of these systems dialed and it works for you, then don't change it. Pick the one you think you would actually benefit from changing. My tent for instance, (Big Agnes Fly Creek 2) is pretty light compared to a lot of others on the market at 2.5lbs. But with gear companies releasing sub 2lb tents now and review channels hyping up the latest innovations, the prospect of shaving off another half pound or more is tempting. But my current tent, patched holes and all, meets all my criteria in terms of features and space. It's exactly what I need to comfortably backpack with my dogs. Swapping my tried and true shelter for a new one wouldn't be as beneficial as changing my pack. All of this to say, choosing to upgrade one of my Big Three and determining which would benefit me most in the long run played a significant role in reducing my pack weight.
Shave Ounces and Pounds Will Follow
Another step I took to reduced weight was paring down the smaller systems in my pack. The idea is shave off the ounces, and the pounds will follow. My cook system was the first place I started. No, I'm not about to try pitching you the Jetboil. Sure changing your stove out for a lighter model might help, but I've found changing the pot makes a big difference too. I realized I wasn't doing much cooking at camp. All I needed was a vessel to boil water in. So, I traded in my GSI stainless steel pot (12 oz) for an anodized aluminum kettle from MSR (just 5 oz.) Toaks also makes some awesome cookware in the same weight range. Depending on the capacity, anywhere from 3 to 6 oz.
An even cheaper option is to look for an aluminum grease pot in the kitchen section of your local Walmart. It looks like this. It's a little bit heavier than my current cookware (9 oz) but the capacity can't be beat. You can fit an 8 oz fuel canister, your stove, and any other accessories inside. This is also a great option if you do more than just boil water at camp.
A lot of us take pictures and video on the trail, and as a result a lot of extra tech gets brought along. Between the accessories for your devices and the portable power banks to recharge them, the weight adds up! The most obvious way to save weight when it come to extra technology is using your phone or an action camera instead of a full size DSLR camera.
A major way I shaved the ounces off my tech bag was by asking the simple question: Do I really need that? Do I really need two back up charging cords? Or how about three different mounts for the GoPro? I've pared down my various camera mounts and accessories to just one mount and a selfie stick with a removable tripod foot. I can't forget to mention the biggest offender in my bag: the power bank. You've heard the phrase "packing your fears." Well, one of my biggest fears is running out of battery power leaving me with no way to recharge my phone or camera. So on every trip I would bring along a 20,000 mAh Ankor charger (13 oz) Talk about overkill. It wasn't easy convincing myself that I could get by with a smaller 10,000 or 5,000 mAh bank, but I'm glad I did. Contrary to my concerns, I still had enough power to recharge my devices on three day trips. The lightest 10,000 mAh battery bank on the market right now is the Nitecore NB10000 at just over 5 oz. While I haven't personally given it a try yet, I've read many fantastic reviews.
I also took this approach with my headlamp by taking along a smaller, simpler light. If you tend to do a lot of night hiking this may not be a viable option. But if you reach camp during the daylight hours and stay put like me, this may work for you. I'll also say by letting my eyes adjust to the dark and only using the headlamp when necessary, I have one less device to recharge during the trip. Which in turn justifies bringing a lower capacity battery bank. Two lightweight headlamps to consider are the Petzl Bindi ($40 rechargeable) and Black Diamond Flare ($20+ non-rechargeable) A more budget friendly alternative to the Petzl Bindi that I own is KunHe H1 ($10 rechargeable) which I found on Amazon. I've even taken the $1 Ozark Trail mini headlamps on trips before.
Packing Fears & Quality Over Quantity
Returning to the idea of packing your fears, one of the biggest fears backpackers tend to pack is the fear of being cold. That often manifests in the form of packing way too many clothes! The type of clothing to wear on the trail is a whole other post worth of information. Here, I'm just talking about my layering system. Specifically reducing the amount of clothing brought on the trail, while still getting the most out of those layers.
I've learned when it comes to layering it's not so much about quantity, but rather quality. This is where the question "Do I really need that?" comes back into play. For the average shoulder season trip with evening temperatures between 32 and 45 degrees and no rain, chances are I don't really need a wool base layer, fleece, down puffy jacket, AND a windbreaker/outer shell. It depends on the environment, but most of the time I can bring just two and still be comfy. In moderately windy conditions layering a midweight wool base layer or fleece pullover with a weather resistant jacket does the trick. For chilly/cold temperatures without much wind, a base layer and down puffy jacket are my combo of choice. For a reliable and versatile outer shell I highly recommend the Columbia Switchback Jacket. It's waterproof, packable, and great at keeping the wind out. I've had mine for a couple years now and use it in every season!
Another way I've simplified my clothing is by hiking in a dress or skirt. I have posts solely devoted to this topic you can check out HERE. But the abridged version is, when hiking in a dress/skirt I can can pack fewer clothes that are very versatile when it comes to layering. To sum all of this up, the smaller systems are an area where we tend to pack WAY too much, and could really benefit from going simpler and asking "Do I really need that?"
Eliminating Redundant Packaging
I'll wager you're not taking canned food out on your backcountry adventures. You're probably taking prepackaged freeze dried meals or even meals you dehydrated at home. Which by themselves aren't all that heavy. Even so, there are a couple things you can do to lower the weight of what's in your food bag. Once again, the idea here is by shaving off the meager little ounces the pounds will follow.
Making my own dehydrated meals has helped reduce not only the weight but bulk of my food bag too. If you don't already know, you can rehydrate meals in freezer bags. What I like to do is package my homemade meals in freezer bags and save a mylar bag from a prepackaged meal to retain the heat while everything cooks in the freezer bags. Packing homemade meals also got me thinking about the kind of food I was bringing, and how that contributed to the weight of my food bag. Take cereal for example. A quart size bag of Cheerios is way lighter than the sugar laden granola clusters in a package of Mountain House or Backpacker's Pantry. Cheerios with freeze dried strawberries and powdered milk is now one of my favorite breakfasts to pack. It's lighter, just as filling, and healthier!
If you aren't ready to dive into the world of dehydrating your own meals. That's okay. You can apply this same strategy to prepackaged backpacking meals too. Simply repackage them in freezer bags before the trip, and take one of the original mylar bags. Just like with the homemade meals put the freezer bag into the mylar one, pour boiling water into the freezer bag, and seal both of them up while the food rehydrates. Depending on the weight of the original, you can save as much as an ounce per meal by eliminating redundant packaging.
A homemade-premade-hybrid I like to make is Knorr Creamy Pesto with a couple tablespoons of dehydrated ground chicken and a packet of olive oil. The portion size is just right, packaging is compact, and all together the meal is several ounces lighter than a similar one like Chicken Pesto Pasta by Peak Refuel at just 4.5oz compared to 8.
Share the Load: Bring a Friend
There are a million reasons to backpack with a dog, but sharing the load is definitely in the top ten. After packing all of my dogs' necessities into their saddle bags, I'll put a few extra gear items in. Things like the water filter, trowel, bear bag line, and fuel canister. I hate that I have to preface this, but when it comes to animals folks can be a little over sensitive: my dogs are never weighed down by the extra gear in their packs. On average dogs can carry 10% of their body weight. I've even read articles that claim 25%. That seems like a lot in my opinion, so we'll stick with 10. Nora weighs 85lbs and Barret weighs 100lb, so they can each carry about 8 to 10lbs comfortably. With all their food for the weekend, sleep system, tie out cable, and the pieces of gear mentioned above their packs have never weighed over 6lb. In fact most of the time it's between 4 and 5lbs. If you want to see a post about how I keep my dog's pack weight low or what kind of gear they use be sure to let me know!
What about human friends? Can bringing along a hiking partner help you save weight? Yes, but it depends. If you each plan to be self contained without sharing any gear, then probably not. But if you and your partner share a tent, cook system, etc. then yes. When backpacking with my husband, we split the tent between our two packs. We use the Big Agnes Copper Spur 2 when we're hiking together because be can't both fit comfortably in the Fly Creek. One takes the poles and the other takes the tent body + fly, giving each of us about 1.5lbs to carry. We also split up the smaller gear items I mentioned putting in the dogs' packs between ourselves. Depending on the length of the trip we usually carry separate food bags, so there's no weight savings there. Also two people means more food, so it wouldn't make much difference if just one of us carried the food bag.
That's pretty much it! Those are the things I've done to go from 35 to 30lbs on every trip to an average of 20. Of course, ditching one extra charging cord or repacking your backpacking meals won't produce miracles. But when you start to simplify and pare down gear in multiple areas, that's when you'll start to see a difference. Thanks so much for reading! Hopefully you found something I shared here today helpful.