How to go Ultralight Part 1: The Backpack

So youʻve heard of “ultralight” hiking or youʻve read my blog and watched my videos, now what? You're interested in backpacking and camping in the mountains and you want lighter weight and more comfortable gear, so where do you start? Right here my friend. The ultimate fact of the matter is that when you’re hiking up a ridgeline, say somewhere in the Koʻolau mountains, the less weight you’re hauling the more comfortable you’ll be.

Unnecessarily heavy gear load with my old pack, the Osprey Atmos AG 50-circa 2017

The three most important pieces of gear in your setup are your backpack, your tent and your sleeping system. In this post we’ll be talking about the backpack. I grew up using a Jansport external frame hiking backpack, and it was heavy AF and would always give me hotspots where it rubbed wrong. These days most packs worth their weight have an internal frame and are designed to be soft in some places and stiff where it helps to bear weight. Don’t get caught up with the fancy dancy “airspeed max titanium alloy cool gel twist top kool aid suspension” that has become more and more popular with the big gear manufacturers. The more weight you carry, the more energy it takes to drag your sorry carcass up the mountain. Don’t get me wrong, it’s vitally important to have a pack that fits well to your frame and doesn’t cause any major hotspots, but no amount of air mesh will keep your pits dry up in the tropics. 

No airspeed mesh, no problem

You should try to find a pack with an internal frame with a total weight less than 3lbs. Most standard packs end up weighing between 3-5lbs, but there are many affordable options out there in the sub 3lb range. My first recommendation is a pack I’ve been using for a few years now, the Hyperlite Mountain Gear Southwest 2400 in black. This pack is more expensive because it’s made of a super durable waterproof tech fabric, but it only weighs 2lbs, is rated to carry up to 40lbs (I usually carry 45-47) and doesn’t require any extra rain cover. There’s going to be a full review of this pack coming out soon so I won’t get into more detail about it here, but if you can afford it this is the pack I’d recommend. 

My typical pack- Hyperlite Mountain Gear Southwest 2400

Another pack I can recommend is the Osprey Exos. It’s significantly cheaper, especially if you can find it on sale, and it clocks in at around 2.5lbs. It’s not rated to carry as much weight as the HMG pack, but if price is a concern this is the pack I would use. There are many great packs out there at different price points from different manufacturers (Gregory, Osprey, Hyperlite Mountain Gear, Mountain Laurel Designs, Gossamer Gear, Superior Wilderness Designs, Zpacks, LiteAF, Katabatic gear, etc etc), do your research and find something you think will work for you and that you will fall in love with. Many of the lightest weight packs will be made out of advanced fabric materials, and will be more expensive, but don’t think you need a pack like that to be ultralight. Some questions you have to ask yourself: How much do I want to spend? How much weight will I be carrying? What terrain will I be using the pack in? Do I need something 100% waterproof or just water resistant? Having an idea of what you’ll be carrying and where you’ll be hiking will help in choosing the right style of pack. 

Osprey Exos 48- Great choice for ultralight on a budget

Cutting out 1-2lbs of weight may not seem like much, but believe me it makes a huge difference when you’re hiking up and down and up and down and climbing and sliding and pulling yourself up ropes and going down on your butt over treacherous trails. If you can shave 1-2lbs each off your big three then that’s 5-6lbs total of weight savings and boy you will definitely feel that. As always, my advice is based on hiking and camping in the Koʻolau mountains. If you’re hiking in different terrain a lot of this will still apply, but some of it might not. Do your research and get the pack that will be best for you. If you have any specific questions or want advice then go ahead and shoot me an email. 

Find a pack you’ll fall in love with

A final word of caution regarding frameless packs. You will find that there are many packs out there that are less than 1lb because they don’t have internal frames. You might think, “Holy cow, I can save so much weight!” Don’t be fooled, these packs are designed to comfortably carry about 15lbs max, and with no frame to help distribute the weight across your back and hips the straps will dig uncomfortably into your shoulders.  I do not recommend getting a frameless pack for hiking and camping in the mountains. I’ve used one before and carried about 20lbs, and it was not a good time. 

Zpacks Nero frameless pack. Good for what it is, but not that comfortable.

Aloha, 

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