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Why Ultralight Backpacking?
By Steve Gillman, Fri Dec 9th
Want Safer, More Comfortable Backpacking? Contrary to what many think, ultralight is not justabout the freedom to hike more miles or to take your whole packup the mountain with you. It is also about comfort and safety.Backpackers with heavy loads work too hard and threaten theirjoints too much. Challenges may add to the experience, but whysuffer more than is necessary? The Disadvantages Of Traditional BackpackingLack Of Freedom You can't easily take a side trip up that hill, just to see whatis there. If you do it without your pack, you have to go backthe same way to get your pack. It's A Hassle Putting on and taking off your heavy pack quickly becomes achore. You start leaving it on even during rest stops, just soyou don't have to deal with it. It's Tiring Backpacking is clearly more tiring with a heavy pack, and youprobably won't enjoy yourself as much when you are tired. More Injuries Sprained ankles, blistered feet, sore muscles, and back and kneeproblems are just some of the common consequences of too muchweight on your back. Slowness More weight equals slower progress, which means less access towild places (you can't go as far on your four-day trip), or itmeans less time to for enjoyable activities, like a swim in amountain lake, or a relaxing evening in camp. More Dangerous More injuries, and the inability to move quickly when a storm iscoming or an emergency requires you to get to a road, means thatbackpacking can actually be more dangerous with a heavy load.Add to that the possibility of bad decisions due to tiredness. The Ultralight AlternativeDone the right way, ultralight gives you morefreedom, more comfort, more safety, more enjoyment and lesssuffering than traditional backpacking. It allows you to movefaster, but notice that I say "allows." It doesn't require it.It just gives you the option. That's more freedom. I have yet to meet or hear about a person who has triedlightweight for a while, and then gone back to aheavy load. I'm not saying it is for everyone. Bad ankles mayrequire heavy hiking boots, and bad habits may require a bigpack to satisfy them. But even a backpacker who needs a pillowand big rectangular sleeping bag, can find these
in lighterforms. You just can't understand the sense of liberation felt by aconvert to ultralight backpacking, until you try it yourself.When I, with my eleven-pound pack, walk past overloadedbackpackers struggling up steep trails, I remembered being intheir place, and I know I am enjoying myself more now. Misconceptions About Ultralight BackpackingLighweight Means Sacrifice Not so. Bring your favorite camera! A lighter load means you canstop to use it more easily. If you leave behind the things youdon't need, and bring a lighter backpack, tent, and sleepingbag, you can more easily bring that telephoto lense or whateveris really important to you. Lighweight Is Less Safe The opposite! Bring all the safety items; a sleeping bag, firstaid kit, shelter, water purification, etc. Just bring lighterversions. A light load makes you less likely to lose yourbalance and fall, or to otherwise injure yourself. It also meansfaster response to iffy situations. A note about safety: It is lagely a matter of knowledge and experience. A trainedsurvivalist will always be safer with no shelterthan a neophyte with the best tent. Learn a little about how touse you equipment properly, or to read the sky for comimgstorms, and you can go lighter and safer. Lightweight Is Less Comfortable Is it less comfortable to have 18 pounds on your back than 50?Is it less comfortable to have an ultralight sleeping bag if itkeeps you just as warm? I stopped getting blisters (totally)when I started using running shoes instead of hiking boots. Cutthe weight on your back by twenty-five pounds, and you can addback a heavier coat, if that is what you need to be comfortable. Lightweight Is Expensive Ultralight sleeping bags are expensive. Almost everything elseneeded for ultralight can be found for the sameprice or cheaper than traditional gear. There are manysub-three-pound backpacks under a hundred dollars, for example. Bottom Line: Try it. The first time you are fifteen miles into the day, andyou realize that you can easily run up that hill-just to seewhat is there, you'll know you made the right decision.
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