10 tips for travelers who want to reduce the weight of their backpack

Today, getting high-quality and functional equipment for a hike is no longer a problem. Everything you need can be found in a couple of clicks or ordered from abroad. The most pressing issue now is price and weight. But if the latter directly depends on exchange rates, competition between manufacturers and discounts, then nothing can be done about the weight of the selected equipment. We won’t tell you for a long time what light tourism is, but we’ll collect some useful tips on how to become a little lighter, and you’ll understand everything yourself.

Tip #1. Start packing by choosing an ultra-light backpack of the right size for you. The safety margin of modern materials such as nylon with double-sided silicone coating allows us to produce reliable and durable backpacks weighing no more than 1 kg. Otherwise, any further attempts to fight for grams will come to nothing.

Tip #2. If you don’t want to give up your favorite tent, replace its poles with lighter ones made of aluminum alloys. Also check the pegs: in budget tents they are usually unreasonably heavy, and their number is double the required minimum.

Tip #3. Better yet, leave the tent and replace it with a hammock. The simplest and most budget option is a single-layer hammock with a rug and an awning stretched over it. However, there are also more thoughtful models, such as hammock tents with a mosquito net, double bottom and other amenities that add up to more weight than conventional tents.

Tip #4. The conditions of most simple hikes make it possible to replace heavy trekking boots with sneakers. Today, many sports brands have sections with shoes for cross-country running or skyrunning. These sneakers were designed to be lightweight, durable and durable at the same time, and since we travel light, they will come in very handy in our case.

Tip #5. When choosing clothes, you can focus on the same athletes, the main part of whose wardrobe consists of synthetic fabrics. Modern technologies allow you to forever forget about heavy canvas jackets and woolen sweaters, putting on light, durable and breathable jackets, and using weightless and warm fleece as insulation.

Tip #6. When choosing a sleeping bag, it is important to soberly assess the conditions in which you are going to spend the night. A reserve of 20 degrees will inevitably affect the volume and weight, so the best option would be to stock up on a summer or warmer sleeping bag, with a light synthetic fill such as Primaloft. If it will be obviously cool in a summer one, and you are too lazy to carry a warm one, it is better to insulate a summer sleeping bag with a fleece liner, which can be easily sewn even from a blanket.

Tip #7. The salad bowl, cookie bowl and other kitchen delights should stay at home. Minimum required: a pot or saucepan where you can first cook food and then boil water for tea. Suitable materials are aluminum or more expensive and durable titanium, which, like steel, do not rust, but at the same time weigh much less.

Tip #8. Leave all food packaging, cases and purses at home. This applies to both the plastic burner box and the jar with your favorite lecho. By the way, if dry food supplies are not enough for you and you grabbed something perishable, pour it into an airtight box, which will later serve as a bowl for you. Practice shows that to reduce weight, portable equipment can be packed in clothes, socks and other things that have already taken their place in your backpack.

Tip #9. Even now, when it seems to you that it can’t get any easier, carefully examine your equipment for unnecessary parts. The weight of the labels alone can be equal to the weight of a small chocolate bar. Buckles for skis and ice axes, all sorts of loops, the purpose of which you have never been interested in, and even too many lines on your backpack – all this is extra weight!

Tip #10. And lastly, get ready in advance and always put the future contents of your backpack in a visible place! This is needed not so much for a colorful photo, but in order to check the list, check everything again and perhaps even lighten your burden even more.