Ultralight Gear

Lightweight Backpacks

Sleeping Bags

Backpacking Tips

Tents / Tarps / Bivies

Hiking Adventures

Hiking Clothes

Survival Kits



The Ultralight Backpacking Site

The advantages of ultralight backpacking? Here's one: When your pack weighs just fifteen pounds you can climb that mountain easily and descend by any route, since you don't have to retrieve a heavy backpack that was left behind (a common practice). That's freedom. Hang your lightweight backpack from one shoulder to let your back cool while hiking. Hike sixteen miles without blisters, because your light load doesn't require hot, heavy boots. That's comfort.

Backpacking At Cottonwood Pass

Lightweight backpacking, fastpacking, ultralight backpacking - whatever you call it - it gives you more freedom and comfort. (Need more convincing? Read "The Case For Ultralight Backpacking.")

Ultralight Backpacking Secrets (And Wilderness Survival Tips)
$7 or free. Click here for details.

Click here for Ultralight Backpacking Secrets on Amazon Kindle.

GREAT STUFF STEVE!! Thank you. - Kristal

I thoroughly enjoyed your pdf books. - George

Steve I just want to thank you for answering my email, you are the only ultralight site that has actually done that and also thanks for the free online book. - Sam H

It's a great website, and I thank you for it. Nice to find new ideas and inspiration... - Sarah D.

Ultralight Backpacking Pages

How To Become An Ultralight Backpackert - Start here if you're still a traditional backpacker.

Colorado Hiking: Story of my first long trip with lightweight gear. Rain and snow for seven days, but even with a down sleeping bag and a tarp, I stayed dry, hiked 110 miles, and bagged a few peaks.

Hiking Adventures : Summaries and links to the tales of ultralight backpacking on glaciers, floating down rivers, sleeping with coyotes in sand dunes, and more.

Light, Lighter, Lightest - all the lightweight gear options.

Ultralight Backpacking Tips, Lists And Resources links to pages about books, dirtbagging, food for backpackers, and more. There's even a little about super ultralight backpacking here.

This Month's Ultralight Tip

Ankle Training Exercises - To prepare those ankles for that long hike, try the following two exercises. First, stand up and rise up on your toes for a few seconds. Slowly lower your heels back to the floor or ground. Do this ten or fifteen times, take a short break, and then do another set. Second, lay on your bed with your feet over the edge. Point your toes forward (not too hard or you'll get calf cramps) and write a word or two with them, in cursive, in the air. Do this several times with one foot and then the other.

Most Recent Pages

Buy A Backpack - Many of the articles written on how to buy a backpack start with an assumption. The writer assumes that you will want either an external frame or internal frame pack, but a full-size one in any case. There is a third option, though, which...

Long Distance Day Hike - An alternative to backpacking, the long-distance day hike allows us to get deep into the wilderness with less complication and in tighter time frames. Here in Colorado, for example, if you...

Man Versus Wild - Dangerous Advice? - Some people say that the star of the television program Man Versus Wild, Bear Grylls, is a fake, but I don't think so. He clearly has a lot of skills and training, and he can climb and swim better than most of us. He easily chokes down scorpions and worms for food - it's good to have a strong stomach if you want to survive in the wild. Unfortunately though, he also sets a terrible example in almost every program. He does things that nobody in a survival... (click the link above to continue)

Over 300 pages and growing...

Wilderness Survival Guide
60 pages on wilderness survival!

Edible Plants | Useful Plants
More than 50 pages on edible and useful plants!

NEWEST PAGES!

(New pages are added to the top of the list so you can find them easily.)

How To Buy A Backpack - The three basic types.
The Long Distance Day Hike - Why, how to prepare, and what to bring.
Light and Easy Camping Games - Including weightless ones...
Man Versus Wild - Is Bear Grylls setting a bad example?
Survival Kits - A do-it-yourself guide.
In Defense of Water Bladders - I'm not a fan of water bladders, but this contributor is.
Using Walking Sticks - Some say they help conserve energy, but what does the science say?
High Altittude Brain Damage - The dangers of altitude...
Hammock Camping and Converting To Ultralight Backpacking - A guest writer's experience.
What You Need for Desert Hiking - A look at the essentials of safe desert hiking.
A New Backpacking Chair and Other Innovations - A two-legged chair and more.
Three Vegetarian Backpacking Recipes - Easy and cheap.
Vegan Backpacking Food - Easier to find than you might think.
Survival Techniques and Tips - The basics of staying safe and getting found.
A Review Of The Ribz Frontpack - My experience using it on an overnight hike/climb.
Gear Testing and Getting Lost - A trip that taught me some lessons.
Five Games For Backpackers - Including some that weigh nothing.
Wilderness Survival Shelters - Ten tips for wilderness emergencies.
Winter Fun - Hiking In The Colorado Mountains - Snow-free at 13,000 feet.
The Cattail - The best of the wild edibles, and useful in other ways too.
Three-Day Wilderness Survival Techniques - Priorities for the first few days.
New Survival Kit Ideas - A list of the usual items plus some new ideas.
Cheap Backpacking - Seven Tips - Backpacking without breaking the bank account.
A Lightweight Camping Packing List : Two days in June, with snow and frozen lakes...
How To Prevent Foot Blisters : Read this before that next long hike.
Ultralight Backpacking Equipment - The Latest Weights : See how light you can go now...
Unusual Outdoor Adventures : Fishing by hand, searching for lost mines and more.
My Backpacking Philosophy : Notes from a recent interview.
How To Think Like A Lightweight Backpacker : Six questions that come to mind...
More Outdoor Survival Tips : Pop can fires, pine sap foot coverings, and more.
Backpacking Light : Six reasons, and why it doesn't mean sacrificing comfort.
Michigan Backpacking - Three Unknown Places : Uninhabited islands, isolated rivers, and more.
Five Tips for Choosing Women's Hiking Boots : By Sarah Holt, including what time of day to shop.
Wildlife Photography Made Easy : By Sarah Holt. Simple strategies, tips on where animals gather.
Backpacking With Children : Six great tips from Sarah Holt.
Backpacking Advice - Keeping It Cheap - Five great ways to save money.
Safe Drinking Water - Tips For Backpackers : What foam means, how to use a map to find water...
Medicine Bow - Hiking And Searching For A Plane Crash : Day hike to a high summit.
Backpacking Recipes - Some Simple Ones : No cooking required.
Scrambling : ... the left half of my rock fell loose, and I watched it bounce down the mountainside...
Black Bears and Backpackers : Avoiding trouble and dealing with it.
Animal Attacks : Which animal is most dangerous, and what do you do when a cougar attacks?
Mosquito Control For Backpackers : Seven tips.
The Mountain Goat And I : I held out my left hand and took a photo of him licking it...
Outdoor Survival - Know Your Priorities : They're here, in the order of most importance...
Survival Shelter - Think! : Understanding the principles.
Making A Fire Without Matches : It's not as easy as it looks on TV.


Other Pages:
(See the site map for a complete list.)

Survivorman
How To Make A Raft
Inventing Campfire Stories For Children
Foot Care For Backpackers
A Toothache While Backpacking
Wilderness Survival Hunting
Wild Plants You Can Use
Moonlight Hiking
Wilderness Travel Tips
Hiking Clothes - The Cheapest
Lightweight Backpacking Gear Ideas
A Backpack With Wheels
Medicinal Plants For Ultralight Backpacking
Hiking With Dogs
Rainwear
My Sleeping Bag
Mountain Hiking
North Carolina Hiking
Clothing Tips
3 Day Backpacking List
Five-Ounce Sleeping Bag
Sleeping Pads
Secrets Of Staying Warm
Ultralight Tarps
Ultralight Tents
Utah Hiking
Adventure Racing Gear
Lightweight Hiking - A True Story
Survival Foods
New Backpacking Ideas
Michigan Outdoors - Three Hidden Places
Sleeping Bag Ratings
Cheap Backpacks
Winter Backpacking Skills
Edible Wild Berries
Carved Hiking Sticks - DIY
Alone In The Wilderness - Why Go Solo?
Wilderness Survival Tips
Make Your Own Clothes
Backpacking Foods
Make Tarps And Bivy Sacks
Bivy Sacks
California Hiking
Campfire Cooking
Dirtbagging
Edible Wild Plants
Equipment Suppliers
Hiking In Michigan
Hiking In Southern Oregon
Socks, Sandals, Etc
Boots Versus Shoes
Hiking Staffs And Trekking Poles
Climbing Mount Shasta
River Rafting Adventure
National Parks List
You Might Be An Ultralight Backpacker If...

Chimborazo: 20,600 Feet - 10 pounds!

Backpacking Stove - Half-Ounce!

The Best Hiking Socks Are Dress Socks?

Sleeping Bag - Five Ounces

Jaguars Ripped My Flesh!

How To Make Four-Ounce Insulated Vest.

Floating The River With An Umbrella.

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