Ultralight 101

The number of ultralight double-wall backpacking tents available today has grown significantly, driven by consumer demand and advances in material technologies. If you prefer a double-wall tent over a single-wall tent because it’s more spacious, warmer, less drafty, and has a separate inner tent and rainfly to prevent internal condensation …

A lot of SectionHiker readers contact me asking for advice about which ultralight shelter they should buy. These purchases are almost always driven by weight reduction desires, but often in the absence of any considerations about the environmental conditions they need the tents or shelters to perform in, interior size, …

When it comes to gear list weight reduction for lightweight and ultralight backpacking, the biggest gains come from lightening the big three, including your backpack, tent, and your sleep system which includes a sleeping pad and sleeping bag or quilt. These are almost always the heaviest items that you have …

Esbit Cubes are the simplest, lightest, and most reliable way to boil water or cook food on backpacking trips. There’s no extra container weight to carry with Esbit Cubes, like a white gas stove bottle or isobutane canister, and you can even ship Esbit Cubes via ground transportation (in the …

Lightweight and ultralight backpackers have a lot of different options available when it comes to picking an ultralight backpacking and camping stove. Here are the pros and cons of using alcohol stoves, canister stoves, solid fuel stoves, and wood stoves. Alcohol Stoves Alcohol stoves are popular with ultralight backpackers and …

Backpackers are split about 50/50 when it comes to using a backpack rain cover or lining the inside of their backpacks with a plastic bag or backpack liner designed for that purpose. When I started backpacking, I used a backpack rain cover but found it awkward so I switched to …

When it comes to gear list weight reduction for lightweight and ultralight backpacking, the biggest gains come from lightening the big three, including your backpack, tent, and your sleep system which includes a sleeping pad and sleeping bag or quilt. These are almost always the heaviest items that you have …

Ultralight backpacking tents and shelters come in all shapes and sizes, but each type has advantages and disadvantages for different camping conditions. It’s best to understand these before you waste money on a tent or shelter that doesn’t suit your needs or comfort preferences. There are six basic types of …

Ultralight bivy sacks are used by backpackers using floorless shelters to protect their sleeping bags or quilts from moisture and their heads from biting insects, as a kind of substitute for the inner tent that you find in more conventional double wall tent setups. They’re basically sleeping bag covers with …

The heaviest items in your backpack are water, food, and fuel. They’re called consumables because you use them up as your trip progresses, as opposed to “base weight” which measures the weight of non-consumable items like a backpack, tent, unworn clothing, a sleeping bag, and other items that you’ll carry …

Pyramid tents and tarps are shaped backpacking shelters that can be sized for one, two, or multiple people. Often called “mids”, short for pyramids, there are many pyramid tent and pyramid tarps available today ranging from ultralight minimalist shelters to multi-person winter tipis, complete with stove jacks and wood stoves. …

Tarps are a great ultralight backpacking shelter option, provided they’re used in a climate where there’s no rain or occasional rain. To clarify, I’m talking about square or rectangular tarps with or without catenary cut ridgelines and sides, and not single walled shelters like pyramids and their numerous variants. Tarps …

Switching to a shorter torso length sleeping pad is a good way to reduce the weight of your ultralight backpacking gear because your legs don’t need the same amount of insulation as your core does in three season conditions. If you have a short torso-length pad 36-48″ in length, you …

Over fifty percent of backpackers use a manufacturer’s tent footprint under their tent on overnight backpacking trips. They do this to protect the bottom of their tents from sharp rocks and sand that can rip or puncture their tent floors, improve their floor’s water resistance, or to keep their tent clean and mud …