What is Ultralight Hiking?

If you’ve seen the Lord of the Rings movies, you know that Frodo and Sam hiked miles and miles through treacherous forest, across deadly marsh and over sharp rocks while carrying a full set of cast iron pots and pans. Well, Sam carried the gear while Frodo carried the heaviest burden of all… yeah right. Sam’s pack is what we would call “Ultraheavy,” and in the real world there’s only so far someone can carry an 80-100lb pack full of cast iron. On the other hand, ultralight is a philosophy of hiking with the least amount of weight on your body in order to get the most out of your hike/camp/cook experience. Lord of the Rings trivia aside, there are different interpretations of what ultralight means, and what I call ultralight may not be ultralight to someone else. For some people, ultralight hiking means using specialized (or wholly unspecialized) ultra lightweight gear to achieve the least amount of weight possible. These are people who try to reduce their base weight (total weight of all gear sans food/water) below a certain number. You can often find these people on the great thru hikes (Pacific Crest Trail, Appalachian Trail, Continental Divide Trail) wearing threadbare clothes, using fishing line for shoelaces and cutting the handle off their toothbrushes. For others, ultralight hiking means using some pieces of specialized ultra lightweight gear in order to bring along other pieces of “luxury” gear that would otherwise make their pack too heavy. I fall into this second category. Does this make me wrong? No, but if you think so then come at me you filthy dirtbag. 

10 extra pounds of “luxury” strawberry guava

The most important pieces of gear in the ultralight philosophy are the Big Three- the backpack, the tent and the sleeping system (usually air mattress/sleeping bag). Usually the easiest way for anyone to lighten their pack is to start by upgrading these pieces of gear. Frodo and Sam slept on rocks and roots and seemed to have an okay time, besides being hunted by the Nazgul, but most people will want something a little more comfortable. People will often find that money is an issue when it comes to ultralight gear, and they are 100% right. Specialized niche gear made out of nautical sail fiber costs more than Jansport or Coleman. It doesn’t have to be that way of course, but my big three easily cost more than 1k combined, and for me it’s worth it. It took me years to slowly build up and experiment and figure out exactly what I wanted and what would work for me. It’s important to know exactly what your needs are based on where you’ll be hike/camp/cooking.

For a complete list of the gear I use refer to my gear reviews, but I try to keep my big three as light as possible so that I can bring along other items that drastically improve my experience out in the mountains. An “ultralight” cot that keeps me off the rocky and uneven and wet ground, a cook system that performs well in high wind and allows me to cook real food, a heavy audio/video system with tripod that allows me to film and sometimes an “ultralight” chair, so I can relax and enjoy the time I spend in the mountains. All of the gear I used is specifically tailored to my environment and to the experience I want to have. Ultralight gatekeeping aside, the most important thing is that you enjoy yourself and are comfortable (to your definition of the word). 

Living the good life up in the mountains

I call myself an ultralight hiker, and I stick by it. My pack is usually around 45lbs with all my food and water, and I could bring that weight down if I made cup o noodles instead of beef bourguignon, but that’s not the experience I want. I’m somewhere in between Sam Gamgee with a full set of cast iron and Forest Gump when he runs across country with nothing but the clothes on his back. If I didn’t use the ultralight gear that I have, there’s no way I’d be able to hike up into the cliffs and camp and cook in the heavy wind and rain. So in conclusion, if you’re thinking about going ultralight, take some time to reflect on the experience you want to have and the environment you’ll spend time in. This is your experience and the gear you have can help make it either positive or negative. Go ahead and watch the extended edition of LOTR if you want to know what kind of gear you’ll need to have a second breakfast on the trail. If you want to be a weight weenie, then by all means go for it, but I’d rather kick back in my chair, crack open a nice room temperature IPA tall boy and enjoy being in the mountains while my osso bucco simmers away. 

Is beer a luxury or necessity?

Aloha,

Braddah Codes