15 Tips to Reduce Backpacking Gear Weight
Here are 15 detailed tips to help you reduce your backpacking gear weight without compromising safety. Many require giving up some creature comforts, but that’s the price you pay to become an ultralight backpacker.
1. Choose Lightweight Gear
The biggest gains in reducing gear weight come from selecting lighter gear. You’ll get the largest saving by reducing the weight of your Big 4: your shelter, backpack, sleep insulation, and sleeping pad. For example, replacing a sleeping bag with a lighter-weight quilt, swapping a tent for a tarp, or replacing an inflatable sleeping pad with one made of foam.
2. Pack Only the Clothes You Need
Clothing is often overpacked. Limit yourself to essential clothing only, focusing on lightweight, quick-drying fabrics. Plan on rinsing out some of your clothing. Avoid carrying “just in case” items unless you’re heading into extreme weather. Ensure that the clothing you bring is seasonally appropriate by checking the weather trend and seasonal norms.
3. Go for Multi-Use Items
Bring gear that serves multiple purposes. A cook pot can serve as a bowl, a buff can serve as a hat or pot holder, and trekking poles can replace tent poles.
4. Use Travel-Size Toiletries and Minimal Hygiene Products
Repackage bug dope or sun tan lotion into smaller containers to reduce gear weight. Bring bar soap instead of liquid. Skip unnecessary products like heavy creams or lotions. Backpacking isn’t a beauty contest. Minimalism here saves ounces that add up quickly.
5. Plan Your Food Carefully
Food weight adds up fast. Bring lightweight, calorie-dense meals such as freeze-dried or dehydrated foods. Avoid canned or heavily packaged foods. Also, pre-measure portions to avoid carrying extra food that’s not consumed.
6. Carry Only Essential Electronics
Electronics add weight and require extra batteries or chargers. Bring only what you need—usually a phone and a small power bank. Skip heavy cameras or multiple devices unless necessary.
7. Limit Water Weight by Planning Refills
Water is heavy—about 2.2 pounds per liter. Instead of carrying large quantities, plan water stops along your route. Carry a lightweight water filter or purification tablets to refill safely when needed.
8. Reduce Bulk with Compression Bags or Sacks
Compression sacks reduce the volume of your sleeping bag and clothing, allowing you to carry less bulky items that pack down well and distribute weight more efficiently. Weigh your compression sacks and stuff sacks and replace them with ones made with Dyneema DCF.
9. Cut Down on Paper and Books
Guidebooks and other reading material add unwanted weight. Use digital versions on your phone or tablet, or take a picture of the relevant information with your Smartphone. While it’s still essential to carry paper maps, trim off the covers or portions that are not needed. If you plan on journaling, document your hike by writing it with a phone app.
10. Share Group Gear When Possible
If hiking with others, share communal gear like stoves, tents, or cookware to spread the weight among the group rather than each carrying duplicates.
11. Eliminate Packaging Beforehand
Remove food packaging before the trip and repackage in lightweight zip-lock bags or reusable containers. This cuts unnecessary weight and bulk from cans, boxes, and plastic wrappers.
12. Bring One Pair of Footwear
Bring only one pair of shoes suitable for your trip instead of multiple pairs. For example. Classic Crocs weigh between 11 and 16 ounces, depending on the size. You can live without them if you have fast-drying mesh trail runners.
13. Avoid Carrying Excess Tools and Accessories
Bring only necessary tools like a small knife, a small multi-tool, or a repair kit. Avoid carrying bulky extras “just in case” unless they are critical for safety or necessary for your route.
14. Weigh Your Gear
Weighing your gear (buy a digital postal scale) is a big help in assessing new items or opportunities for replacement with lighter-weight alternatives. While it is tempting to go overboard and eliminate everything that is not absolutely necessary, consider retaining items that provide comfort, convenience, or an added safety margin. Backpacking is supposed to be fun, not an episode of “Survivor.”
15. Regularly Re-Evaluate Your Pack Contents
Before every trip, go through your pack and remove anything that isn’t essential for that specific hike. Experience will guide you on what you truly need vs. what you can leave behind.
Summary
Reducing pack weight is all about thoughtful planning and making smart choices:
- Prioritize lightweight gear.
- Opt for multi-functional items.
- Cut unnecessary clothing and toiletries.
- Plan food and water carefully.
- Minimize electronics and paper.
- Use compression and DIY solutions.
- Share gear when possible.
- Regularly reassess your pack contents.
By applying these tips, you’ll hike more comfortably and efficiently, enjoying your backpacking trips without being weighed down by excess load.
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Hi Philip, Need to register a cautionary dissent on your advice to trim off “unneeded portions of paper maps”. Be very mindful about what you are trimming off. If you are off trail or at an intersection that does not have clear marking the broader view is invaluable in accurately determining your location. Peaks, especially if there are multiple ones in view, are a key to your location. If. you have trimmed the map to a corridor that does not include those peaks you are missing incredibly valuable context.
One Grand Canyon story (I’ve done 47 backpacks there), from before the days of GPS and electronics. Two guys I know were hiking the “Jewels” section of the Tonto Trail , planning to exit, hike up and out, on the South Bass Trail to the trailhead of the same name. One of them had trimmed the paper topo map they had. The South Bass Trail is known for remoteness and risk for water sources. They ascended but were in doubt that they had the right trail until they got to the rim. Not sure how many ounces they saved trimming the map but it seemed like incredibly needless risk to me.
Meanwhile, thanks for your good work, hosting a great forum, this electronic village.
That was dumb. On the other hand, I’ve trimmed many OSGrid Maps in the UK without removing any topographic info. The paper maps in the UK come with a cover made of heavy paper which provides no appreciable info and can be removed saving many ounces, especially if you have to carry many of them at a time.
I used to lay out all my gear after a trip, before putting anything away, and see what wasn’t used, or was only minimally used. That helped a lot. I think I’m at my minimum at this point, although you never know! New tricks help me trim even more, while keeping my “luxury” items that I love (like my crocs! only 7 ounces for the pair!).
I might add another. A lot of excess weight comes from excessive back-up gear. While it is necessary to have back ups if gear breaks , is lost, etc… especially for critical functions. But my philosophy is that the back up gear need not be equal to your main gear wrt performance. Its only job is to help you get by until it can be replaced. Given this, your back up need not even be gear but just a plan. For example, some may carry water purification tablets just in case the filter fails. But my plan is to boil water in a pinch, so no extra gear necessary. But then people say boiling water is such a pain. But I say its only a pain for a day or two and only if your filter fails. But carrying all that extra back up gear is a pain all day every day.
Hi Phil , I have really enjoyed reading your advice. As a seasoned , multi day hiker in several countries , I’m certainly all about reducing weight. I dehydrate my own food – curries, pasta, stews etc and divide them into meal sized portions.in snaplock bags. I use an esbit liquid fuel cooker ( it’s silent ) or a gas fuel jet oil stove . I don’t buy dried meals. The weight I save is huge . It ancludes carrying a few small pieces of fresh fruit eg apples and tangerines stored in a cardboard tube. Water – 2-3 litres in a bladder. Lightweight (3 season ) down sleeping bags can be extended to 4 seasons by carrying a purpose made fleece liner. Have hiked a lot in Australia ( where I live ) USA, Scotland, Europe, South America . I carry a dozen puritans in case of dirty water but rarely use them. Keep up the good work on these articles
Ps I carry a lightweight ‘hoochie’ ( fly) and use walking sticks as tent poles. Always carry map and compass
Philip:
Great article. It gets everyone who reads it a start towards the weight loss conundrum.
I’ve got my base weight down to 9lbs. This includes hammock,fly, underquilt,sleeping bag and bear box . Bear box required in ADK region.
That’s a good start for doing the 46ers.
As far as a quilt goes i sleep cold so it’s a sleeping bag for me.
If you get a quilt then you have to purchase a down hood to keep your head warm.
The just in case clothes are almost always for me in the Northeast. I can’t count how many times the weatherman has been so far off in the forecast. When it rains and there is wind as well you’ll wish you had that warm layer.
I’ve got an Octafleece top for apres hiking with a tee shirt and sun hoody for those colder or more sun drenched days.
As far as soap goes bring those tiny bars of soap you get in motels. Their light and will last for about 5 or 6 days.
Water is done by Platy bags. When peak bagging I usually do two liters plus a full water bottle on my front harness strap. That usually does it as water sources are at times few if any at all so expecting to filter water on the trail is a fools game.
Make copies of the trails you intend to hike . Use the color mode if possible and put in a zip lock bag. Also bring a copy of the trail names and description out of the ADK guide has helped as well. This combined with Trail Forks works well.
To be clear its all about spending money to lose weight. Over my extensive backpacking career I’ve spent thousands and still haven’t yet reached the Holy Grail.
So far I bought a new pack that’s 1.5 lbs lighter than previous for 500 bucks.
Octafleece top at 120 bucks to lose about 8 ounces.
New Esbit stove and fuel tablets losing grams of weight at about 60 bucks..
DCF fly at 4 ounces makes it 5 oz lighter than poly.
Smaller Bear container that saved about 1.5 lbs not to mention being way less bulky.
The Outdoor Vitals Nova Pro jacket which is warmer that the Torrid jacket.
Nova Pro was 200 bucks but is heavier as I’m a cold person.
Lighter weight Rab rain jacket for the warmer months. When it’s winter the Arctryx Beta AR comes out to play. Rab jacket 200 bucks and saves about 8 ounces.
My OR full Zip Gore Tex rain pants are 1 lb. I know I can go lighter than that.
And on and on it goes….
Hope this helps.
I have found using cook in bags from pack-it-gourmet can drastically reduce the volume of freeze dried meals. The only downside side I have found is that they are not foil insulated, so they can loose heat much faster. In summer months they can be wrapped in a shirt while the food rehydrates. In winter I like to tuck it under my jacket against my body and get the benefit of warming myself while the food rehydrates. On a recent extended 9 day backpacking trip, I found that these reduced my dehydrated meal volume by at least 1/3, and maybe closer to 1/2. The medium bags work the best for the average mountain house, Peak, or freeze dried equivalent meal.
Happy hiking
https://packitgourmet.com/cook-in-bag-trade/
Very interesting, so are you saying that you buy freeze dried meals and then repackage them into the cook-in-bag to save the weight? Food is one of the hardest areas for me in reducing weight..TYIA
That’s exactly what he’s saying!
EXCELLENT! On the site now. I am really ramping up on loosing pack weight since I’m finally back on the trail after fusion surgery 12/2024. Next goal is to finish the AT sections in NH that I didn’t complete in the last 10 years of hiking the 48 & 52. Your newsletter is a NECESSITY Phil.
Many thanks!
Compression stuff stacks actually increase weight in two ways. They weigh more than a silnylon or dcf stuff sack or no stuff sack at all, and they give you more space to fill up with other stuff.