This post may contain affiliate links.

9 Essential Ultralight Backpacking Skills

9 Essential Ultralight Backpacking Skills
9 Essential Ultralight Backpacking Skills

Ultralight backpacking requires an extreme form of self-reliance where backpackers compensate for bringing less gear by having more advanced backcountry skills. While many other backpackers and day hikers have these same skills, “going ultralight,” or the less extreme “lightweight” is more committing, since ultralight backpackers carry less navigational, comfort, and convenience items in their packs.

For instance, if gear weight considerations make it infeasible to carry a GPS w/ extra batteries or a shelter with a built-in floor, you need to be able to compensate by using lightweight navigation tools like map and compass and possess better campsite selection skills to offset adverse weather.

1. Trip Planning

The most important part of any UL backpacking trip is trip planning because it dictates what environmental conditions you need to cope with and the gear selection-skill tradeoffs required to cope with them.
The most important part of any UL backpacking trip is trip planning because it dictates what environmental conditions you’ll face and frames the gear selection-skill trade-off decisions required to cope with them.

Detailed trip planning is the most important skill that ultralight backpackers should cultivate. Planning a trip requires a lot more than just deciding where to go and when. It usually requires researching seasonal weather conditions, planning a route, estimating travel times, addressing logistic issues such as transportation and resupply points, determining water availability, identifying hazardous plants or wildlife, learning new skills you will need, assessing your physical fitness relative to your distance goals, group management considerations, contingency planning, and risk management.

2. Equipment and Clothing Selection

The gear you own may not satisfy all of the requirements of your intended route. While you can compensate by buying new gear (costly), often you’ll need to replan your route or learn new skills to mitigate a lack of proper clothing and equipment. Picture by Sebastian Bönner.
The gear you own may not satisfy all of the requirements of your intended route. While you can compensate by buying new gear (costly), often you’ll need to replan your route or learn new skills to mitigate a lack of proper clothing and equipment. Picture by Sebastian Bönner.

Once you’ve planned the route and environmental requirements of your journey, you can select the clothing and equipment required. If the gear you own doesn’t satisfy your trip requirements, you may have to buy more appropriate clothing and equipment or change your route to lower your level of risk.

3. Thermoregulation

Thermoregulation or the ability to stay warm and cool in different weather conditions is an essential skill when you carry less clothes. The best way to stay warm is often to keep moving, layer up, eat fatty food, and stay well hydrated, or to pitch your shelter and crawl into a sleeping bag/quilt until you warm up again.
Thermoregulation or the ability to stay warm or cool in different weather is an essential skill when you carry less clothing. For example, the best way to stay warm is often to keep moving, layer up, eat fatty food, and stay well hydrated, or to pitch your shelter and crawl into a sleeping bag/quilt until you warm up again.

In order to plan the right clothing for a trip, you need to understand how your body reacts to the temperatures and weather you are likely encounter, and how your metabolism, clothing selection, and activity level can be used regulate your body temperature. Called thermoregulation, it takes practice to understand how to regulate your metabolism and dress to prevent hypothermia or heat related illness.

4. Campsite Selection

Skilled campsite placement can reduce the impact of cold temperatures and wind, help eliminate any chance of being flooded out by heavy rain, and reduce any danger from falling widow-makers.
Skilled campsite placement can reduce the impact of cold temperatures and wind and help eliminate any chance of being flooded out by heavy rain.

Ultralight tents and shelters are less weather resistant than heavier three season tents. Good campsite selection and orientation skills can identify campsites that are better protected from the wind, cold air pockets, or groundwater, while minimizing your impact on plant life and animals.

5. Nutrition and Food Preparation

High calorie food and removal of excess packaging can significantly reduce the weight of the food you need to carry.
High calorie food and removal of excess packaging can significantly reduce the weight of the food you need to carry.

The heaviest item in an ultralight backpacker’s pack is likely to be food. Eliminating excess packaging and knowing how to select foods high in calories and nutritional value can lower the weight of your food bag significantly.

6. Weather and Environmental Awareness

Changes in cloud formations or a shift in wind direction often indicate changes in the weather pattern, for good or ill.
Changes in cloud formations or a shift in wind direction often indicate changes in the weather, for good or ill.

Weather changes can have a greater impact on ultralight backpackers depending on the shelter and amount of clothing they carry. It’s important therefore to develop an awareness to changing weather conditions and take mitigating actions. Seeking shelter, forest cover, or changing your route can reduce exposure to high winds, hail, heavy rain, or other environmental factors such as flash floods or forest fires.

7. On-Trail and Off-Trail Navigation

When backpacking in wilderness areas, you need to be able to choose a path that conserves your energy, while avoiding natural hazards. This is especially critical if you are travelling solo.
When backpacking in wilderness areas, you need to be able to choose a path that conserves your energy, while avoiding natural hazards. This is especially critical if you are travelling solo.

On trail and off-trail routes often require different levels of navigational expertise, but being proficient using the simplest tools, such as map and compass, can eliminate the need to carry much heavier navigational aids such as GPS units and the extra batteries or power packs that they require.

8. Survival Skills and Wilderness First Aid

Survival skills, such as knowing how to start a campfire, can save your bacon when weather conditions turn for the worst and exceed the temperature rating of your sleep system
Survival skills, such as knowing how to start a campfire, can save your bacon when weather conditions turn for the worse and exceed the temperature rating of your sleep system

Solid survival skills and wilderness first aid enable one to use natural features and resources to compensate for the lack of gear in survival situations. While these skills are taught for use in emergencies, they can also be used to increase your comfort when the weather or conditions exceed the capabilities of the ultralight gear you’ve decided to bring on your trip.

9. Gear Maintenance and Repair

Ultralight backpacking gear is far less durable than heavier clothing and equipment and often requires some element of repair on strenuous trips.
Ultralight backpacking gear is far less durable than heavier clothing and equipment and often requires some element of repair on strenuous trips.

Ultralight backpacking gear can be quite fragile and must be treated with care to make it last. This can include field repairs such as fixing a broken zipper or sewing torn fabric, which can put gear or clothing out of action, unless you can patch it up on the spot.

Recommended Skills Books for Ultralight Backpacking

SectionHiker is reader-supported. We only make money if you purchase a product through our affiliate links. Help us continue to test and write unsponsored and independent gear reviews, beginner FAQs, and free hiking guides.

4 comments

  1. Everyone is so focused on ultralight this and ultralight that. The easiest was to reduce weight? Get in shape! I would rather wear my full-grain Italian-made hiking boots that weigh 3 pounds than a pair of light-weight expensive Asian-made trail runners or hiking shoes that can’t be resoled and will only last (take it from experience) 500 or so miles. I’ll also take an extra 3-4 pounds on a tent that doesn’t need to be babied.

  2. Having been responsible for setting a brush fire 45 years ago, and once is enough, believe me, pictures like that “fire pit” make me queasy. Man, once a spark jumps those rocks you are NOT going to be able to stop what happens. This I know for sure. It’s not the flame that’s the problem, it’s the ever enlarging circle of flame that’s expanding on one side while your are stomping on the other side. In just a few seconds that’s a 10 foot circle and you haven’t got a chance.

  3. Excellent article
    Please remove ‘ultralight’ from the title
    These are across the board guidance

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Solve *