Packing light can help you feel more comfortable and relaxed in your trip. A lighter backpack provides a less strenuous voyage which makes it more enjoyable. It offers you ease in traveling as you get less tired. Moreover, you don’t need to worry about leaving something behind.
Bringing along few and light things may be challenging with a number of backpacking gears in hand. Nevertheless, your future self will thank you for bringing a backpack weighing no more than 15 pounds.
Tips to Pack Light
You may find packing a light backpack challenging.
Nevertheless, you can deem it beneficial and comfortable as you travel on long distances. With this, we recommend you check out these tips on how to make your backpack lighter.
There are a number of ways to shed those extra pounds in your backpack. Here are some tips you can consider doing when packing for your next camping trip.
1. Weigh Your Stuff
The very first step you should do is weigh your usual backpack load. To perform this, you can conduct a quick audit of the gear you are currently using.
Gather everything around and weigh them using a regular or even a food scale. You can also utilize a backpacking weight chart.
2. Make a List
As you weigh the gear you need to bring along, you can record the items in a list. This will help you get a full view or inventory of the items. Make sure that you are within the ideal backpacking weight.
You can even list down the essential items that you should not miss on the journey. By doing so, you can prioritize weighing the high priority over others. Here are some backpacking checklist you may utilize. We have listed the most important things that should at least comprise your backpack.
Water
Staying hydrated is extremely essential for outdoor trips. You must have at least four liters to drink each day. This will keep you energized for the whole day.
Food
Aside from water, it is pertinent to bring a wide variety of food options. We recommend getting small snacks to keep your energy intact on the road. You can research for good backpacking recipes.
You can bring sandwiches, trail mixes, energy bars, dried fruit and biscuits. On the other hand, you may prefer calorie-dense meals for lunch and dinner.
Clothing
Aside from hiking shoes, you must also pack some layers appropriate for to the location’s climate. We recommend you check the temperature and prepare for any rainfall chance. Some clothing item we suggest you carry are fleece, long sleeves top, rain jacket, pants, socks and a hat.
First Aid
Whether you are going overboard or packing light, first-aid kit is essential to bring. Depending on your location, you can decide which items to include.
For short hiking activities, you can bring a few Band-Aids and antiseptic. You may beef your kit up should you start traveling for a long duration.
Personal essentials
Some of the overlooked items to bring along do not fit in a single category. They are personal or hygiene-related items that we recommend to bring. Some of these are sunscreen, insect repellant, lip balm, sunglasses and multi-tool knife.
These are just some of the items you can bring in you light backpack. Make sure that you will not sacrifice your safety just to get your things lightweight and compact. You must bring necessary gear that can help you last the whole trip.
The spreadsheet can act as your inventory database. Should you need to plan for a new trip, you can just browse through this list and find applicable items to bring along. We recommend you also place a price on each item to know if it also fits in your budget.
3. Never Forget the “Big Three” Items
The “Big Three” items refer to a tent, sleeping bag and backpack. These are three pertinent items that you should not miss when heading outdoors. Your average backpack weight should be heavier when these three items are included.
You can slightly forget about minor items or things you can buy on the road but not these three. These are not readily available outside especially when in the middle of the wilderness.
Tent
We recommend you invest in a lightweight but spacious tent made specifically for backpacking. Assess the appropriate tent based on the number of users. Here are some of the best camping tents you can check out.
If you are traveling alone, go for solo tents. Consequently, get multi-person tents if you are going with companions.
Sleeping bags
Categorized by temperature ratings, this outdoor gear is essential to get a good night’s rest. We recommend you select a bag that can handle even a colder temperature. You may research the expected temperature on the location and find a tent which can handle more.
To save space and weight without eliminating comfort, you must choose a higher temperature category. You just plainly wear a warmer clothing as you sleep.
If you are backpacking in a damp area, you may prefer insulated sleeping bags. There are bags which have synthetic insulation which can provide you great warmth. Here are some of the best sleeping mattresses you may consider.
Moreover, there are sleeping bags which have extra compressibility. This will allow you to pack it on a smaller space, saving you area in your backpack.
Backpack
Traditional backpacks may weigh around five pounds. Nevertheless, there are lightweight ones that may weigh even lower than two pounds.
To have an ultralight load, we suggest that you focus on your backpacks weight. This means that, regardless of capacity, you must prefer one with a light body. Here are some of the best waterproof backpacks you can look into.
The best backpacks that are lightweight may be found on local and online shops. We recommend that you get one made from heavy duty fabric such as spinnaker and Cuban fiber.
4. Planning and Advanced Knowledge
As what others say, a more prepared person packs less. It takes years of practice to lighten your load. Many even conduct trial and error in order to get things right.
There are several expert ultralight backpackers who systematize the way of packing. There are organizational tools which may get you started. Look for some items on your local shop or online to help you get packing. Make sure that you create a minimalist backpacking list.
These tips may help you pack a lighter backpack on your next outdoor trip. Traveling on with an ultralight load is useful especially if you are hiking on a long period.
You must also remember to get a bag that is lightweight without load. Your efforts of bringing light items shall be futile if you started wrong by getting a heavy backpack.
Conclusion
Traveling with a light load is possible. All you need to do is evaluate and prioritize the items that you need to bring. A good starting point is your backpack. It should be light enough without the load.
As you categorize and prioritize your backpack essentials, you can build your outdoor essentials checklist. Packing many things may be handy sometimes but it presents a number of drawbacks.
Traveling lighter provides you several advantages. It may help you save money as you no longer need to purchase additional space on flights and buses. Moreover, it also keeps you at ease and organized. If you pack light, it will be easier to travel whether it’s a long or short period of time. Being organized allows you to eliminate the risk of losing pertinent items.
If you have waiting in line, packing a lot of items is not your cup of tea. For checked in baggage, it takes a while before the item gets to you. Furthermore, there is a huge possibility that you leave some things behind. As your checklist of items goes out of hand, you may no longer remember everything you brought in the trip.
Lastly, ultralight backpackers tend to be more energized as they do not carry heavy bags. If you pack light and fewer things, it is definitely much easier to travel. Aside from this, you may expect little to no baggage damage. You may be prone to mishandling the items should there be many things on your hand.
