Ultralight Backpacking Gear

What to Pack--What to Leave

Acquiring dependable ultralight backpacking gear can be accomplished with careful planning, thoughtful consideration of the options and a little experimentation. You don’t have to cut off the handle of your toothbrush or strip your backpack of daisy chains to meet your ultralight goal of less than 12 pounds base weight.

I’ll show you how to put together a complete 3 to 4 day ultralight backpacking gear ensemble without having to compromise the essentials. You may even be able to sneak in a few luxuries.


My definition of ultralight is a fully loaded backpack weighing 12 pounds or less before adding food and water.

To begin putting together our ultralight backpacking gear ensemble, we will first concentrate on the basics of lodging, sleep system and extra clothing in that order.

Check It Off As You Pack:

Tent, bivy, or hammock (less than 3 pounds)
Sleeping bag (less than 2 pounds)
Sleeping pad (less than 1 pound)

Extra Clothing/Emergency Rain Gear (less than 1 pound):
Extra pair polypropylene or silk long underwear (to sleep in)
Two Extra pair socks/sock liners/underwear
Waterproof rain gear


**Note**For a short trip, you won’t need lots of extra shirts/shorts. You will be taking polypropylene long underwear to wear as your primary shirt and the fleece vest/jacket for layering over. Nylon shorts and polypropylene shirts will wash out very well in camp. After changing into your sleeping clothes, wash out whatever needs to be washed out and leave it to dry. It will be dry before you get to sleep.



10 essentials (less than 1 pound)
Stove, Fuel & waterproof matches/fire starter (homemade alcohol stove plus fuel 0.3 oz plus 19 oz.)
Titanium cookpot with lid, Lexan spoon & plastic cup (less than 6 oz.)
Water treatment/filter (less than 12 oz.—nearly nothing if you use iodine tablets exclusively)
Backpack (less than 2 pounds)
Toilet articles (3 oz.)

You will also need the following on your hike. However these items are not included in your pack base weight of 12 pounds or less. The food and water will be in your pack. The clothes listed below will be on your person.

Food (2 to 2 1/2 lbs/day)
water bottle & water (2 quarts if water is readily accessible on trail, more if less available)

Clothes to wear:
1 pair polypropylene long underwear (wash out in camp as needed)
Nylon zip-off pants/shorts (wash out in camp as needed)
Fleece hat/baseball cap depending on weather
Fleece vest/jacket
Fleece gloves/mittens depending on weather

Possible extra luxuries:
Candle lantern
Camera/film
Camp/water shoes
Book, pen, paper
Watch/clock
An extra shirt or two

With this ultralight backpacking gear, you are ready to proceed on a 3-4 day trek.

Remember, you WILL fill your pack to capacity, so choose a pack size appropriate to the length of your hike.

Try a short trip with just the recommended gear. If you truly miss something, add it to your next trip. Strike a balance between comfort in camp and comfortably carrying the weight on your back.

Don’t be a slave to the 12 pound rule. Are you comfortable with less? Feel free to cut back. Just be sure to ALWAYS include the 10 essentials.

Need a little more to make your trip a true pleasure? Feel free to exceed the 12 pound rule.

Your ideal ultralight backpacking gear list will develop as you gain experience.


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