8 Tips For Easily Reducing Backpack Weight
Most backpackers are eager to find tricks for reducing backpack weight. A lighter pack means you feel nimbler and more energetic. It’s not as difficult to balance on a boulder or water crossing with a lightweight backpack. Not to mention the reduced strain on your body when you have a lighter pack.
At the end of a day of trekking for miles, you feel each of those extra pounds on your back. That’s why every backcountry hiker has their own tips for limiting pack weight, because it’s all something we’ve wanted to do.
While many sites will have their list of ultralight packing tips, some of them can be extreme. We don’t want to have a lighter backpack at the expense of an enjoyable hiking trip. The tips we have below are simple guidelines that anyone can customize to their own needs and preferences. Follow the ones that suit you, forget the ones that seem too annoying, and enjoy having a lighter load to carry.
1. Minimize The Weight Of Your Big 3 Items
The “Big Three” – your backpack, sleeping system, and shelter – are what contributes the bulk of your base weight. That’s why it is a great place to start when reducing backpack weight.
If you spend a little extra time and money into improving your set up for these items, you can easily shed a few pounds.
For example, a high quality, lightweight tent can weigh as little as 1-2 pounds. Meanwhile, a less efficient, cheaper tent of the same size can weigh as much as 8 pounds. That is a big difference! A looser budget and more research can save you quite a bit of weight if your goal is to go light.
Some simple ways to do this is to look for a lightweight tent with aluminum poles and a sleeping bag with down fill. These materials are efficient, so they get the job done right without weighing a lot.
Not sure how much your backpack should weigh? Read this!
2. Eliminate Unneeded Items
Take a good, hard look at all the items you are packing into your backpack. Do you need all of it? Chances are… you don’t. A great way to reduce backpack weight is to take out all the gear you rarely use.
The best items to eliminate are the bulky, heavier items such as camp chairs or extra shoes. You’ll get more bang for your buck when you remove a couple of heavy large items rather than a bunch of little ones. However, small items are good to consider as well. Are you carrying a wallet on the trail? Leave that behind. You only really need your ID, some cash, and maybe a card or two, MAX. Put those in a plastic bag and shed the unneeded ounces.
There is a caveat to this tip. Certain items are brought along in hopes that you never use them, but should be in your pack regardless. Certain first aid items, emergency gear, or bear spray should not be left behind no matter how much they weigh.
Yes, that includes those bulky bear canisters.
3. Don’t Carry Too Much Water If You Don’t Need To
Water is going to be one of the heaviest items you carry. In fact, 1 liter of water can weigh over two pounds. That is a lot when it comes to reducing backpack weight!
It is important to carry plenty of water on your trek. You are doing a lot of physical work so you need to keep your body hydrated. However, if you are hiking alongside a river or on a trail with many creeks and lakes, you can get away with carrying less on your back and filling up more often. Take a good look at the area before you set off on the trail so you know what to expect when it comes to water sources.
If you choose to follow this tip, be warned. You need to be very confident in the availability of water sources in order to skimp on your water supply. Being dehydrated is a miserable and dangerous experience. If you have any doubts about your access to water along the trail, bring along plenty of water and find other ways to reduce backpack weight.
4. Reducing Backpack Weight By Reducing The Extras
Its reasonable to want to be prepared and organized when you go backpacking. However, you don’t want preparedness and neatness to come at the expense of your pack weight. Be cautious about all the extra, unneeded weight that you are stuffing in your bag.
Clothing is a big one. Packing clothing to wear for your backpacking trip can be hard, but resist the urge to pack too many clothing items. An extra pair of socks is a good idea, but don’t get carried away with extra pairs of everything. You’re going to want to get a few wears out of most items.
Stuff sacks are great for staying organized. But if you are serious about reducing backpack weight, you may want to ditch the sack. They may be lightweight and thin, but when you have several of them in your pack those ounces add up. No matter how small, that is a weight that you really don’t need.
Don’t forget that travel sizes are your friends. Don’t bring a full-sized toothpaste, a full bar of soap, or a full bottle of sunscreen. You won’t use all of that in one backpacking trip anyway. Get smaller sized products to cut back on space and weight.
5. Choose Lightweight Materials
It’s not just about how much you’re packing, but what that stuff is made of. Consider the material of your clothing, gear, toiletries, and food packaging. Certain materials weigh a lot more than others.
When you’re packing clothing, opt for lightweight synthetic materials such as polyester over flannel or denim. This can easily shed a few ounces from your pack. This is easy to do in warm climates but can be a challenge in cold areas. In those instances, look for top layers that are efficient at keeping in heat. Down jackets are lightweight and packable, but are still effective at keeping you warm.
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You should also consider repackaging your food to save pack space as well as weight. Remove snacks such as trail mix or beef jerky from their original packaging and put them in plastic bags.
A similar rule goes for beverages. If you’re bringing along some whiskey, make sure you put it in a lightweight flask or water bottle. If you’re only bringing water, make sure the water is in something lightweight and/or collapsible.
6. Limit Your Electronics
I’m not going to tell you to leave all your electronics behind. You are going to want to take pictures of the beautiful sights you see and have a way to reach people in an emergency (cell service permitting).
Bring along whatever electronic you think will be the most useful to you on your journey and try to keep it to one, maybe two devices. It’s very unlikely that you need a phone, camera, tablet, ebook, and an apple watch with you on the trail. These devices can be heavy, so stick to the ones you really need if you’re concerned with reducing backpacking pack weight.
7. Keep An Up-To-Date Packing List
A good backpacking packing list like this one is great to have when you are preparing for each trip. What makes a list even more valuable is when you update it regularly.
After each trip consider which items you didn’t use and make a note of it. Next time you can leave that item at home and see if you miss it. If you don’t, scratch it off your list altogether.
If you’re really serious about base weight, write down the weight of each item next to it on your list. That way you can easily determine where you would stand weight-wise with different gear combinations. If you’re currently at 25 pounds but you want to bring a camp chair, look at your list and see what items you can remove to make up for it. This is a lot easier than guessing and weighing over and over.
8. Have Multi-Use Items
Multipurpose items are a backpacker’s best friend. You have the convenience of multiple pieces of gear without the heft of each item separately.
When shopping for gear, opt for items that can be used for more than one purpose. A classic version of this is a spork. Why carry the weight of two utensils when you can have them both in one?
You can also be creative with finding other uses for items you are bringing along. For example, if you are bringing hiking poles you can use them to hoist up your tent and leave the tent poles at home. If you bring tent poles and pegs along, you can use the peg as a makeshift trowel. You can also use your hammock straps as a line for hanging up clothes to dry and air out. The possibilities are endless.
Reducing Backpack Weight – Conclusion
You should always strive for a more lightweight backpack. Having fewer pounds on your back lets you feel more athletic and use less energy. These foolproof tips are great for people at all backpack experience levels to customize to their own needs and preferences.
Cover photo by Paxson Woelber on Unsplash
