Achieving En-LITE-enment: The Big Three

Why make it harder than it has to be to enjoy this view?

So you've just realized, "I am carrying WAY more weight than I have too!" Where do you start? The Big Three.

The big three are your 1) Pack, 2) Shelter, and 3) Sleep System. These three items are not only considered the big three because (with the possible exemption of your shelter) everyone has to carry them on every trip, but also because they are usually the heaviest items you take. "Traditional" backpacks usually weigh upwards of 3 pounds and can easily be found weighing as much as 5-7 pounds. The typical shelter for a traditional backpacker is a dual wall tent, of which the lightest still hovers around the 2 pound mark and are more often above 3 pounds. Sleep Systems include your sleeping bag and pad (if you choose to use one). Even the "light" sleeping bags are in the 2-3 pound range, and bed pads sometimes tip the 2 pound mark. If we add up all those numbers we're talking about 8-14 pounds! That might not seem like a lot, but if you find yourself in that number range, just think about how much more gear you still have left to pack after that!

Because these items are necessary to take, and heavy to carry, they should be the first to be replaced. I think a comparison between what amount of weight is typically carried, and what is possible to carry, will be the best way to illustrate how much weight could be saved. To facilitate this comparison, I will simply sort by "Bestselling,"* on one major outdoor retailer website for each piece of gear, and then compare its weight** to a typical Ultralight alternative. Granted, not everyone falls into either category, but knowing the continuum will be helpful for letting our litemindedness move us towards that lighter end.

Let's start with the Pack:
Bestselling Pack - Osprey's Atmos 65, size medium, weighs in at 3 lbs. 9 oz.
Ultralight Pack - Sam's home made pack (that he would pit against any retail pack in terms of quality) weighs in at 12.5 oz.
WEIGHT SAVINGS: 2 lbs. 12.5 oz.

Now, the Shelter:
Bestselling (Backpaking) Shelter- Marmot's Limelight 3 Person Tent weighs 5 lbs. 15 oz.
Ultralight Shelter- Z-Packs Hexamid Solo Tent weighing in at 15.9 oz. (and this is being generous considering I could have listed one of their tarps which go as low as 4.4 oz.!)
WEIGHT SAVINGS: 4 lbs. 15.1 oz.

Lastly, the Sleep System:

Bestselling Sleeping Bag- (Some store name) Flash Sleeping Bag weighs 1 lbs. 12 oz. 

Ultralight Sleeping Quilt- Sam's home made down quilt weighs 16 oz.
WEIGHT SAVINGS: 12 oz.!    

Bestselling Sleeping Pad- Therm-a-Rest's  NeoAir XTherm Sleeping Pad weighs 1 lbs. 4 oz.

Ultralight Sleeping Pad- Gossamer Gear's Nightlight Sleeping (Torso Length) weighs 4.6 oz. 

WEIGHT SAVINGS: 15.4 oz.!

These quick substitutions  brings our GRAND TOTAL weight savings to 9 lbs. 7 oz!!!!

So, if you replace these items with ones that are lighter and work as part of a system, then you're on your way to greater enjoyment on the trail: you're on your way to Ultralight Backpacking!

* Search was performed on 6/5/14.
** Retailer's posted weights were used in most cases.