Every year my wife, Gerry, wants to know what I want for Christmas. When it comes to ultralight backpacking gear, I have no real needs, but lots of wants. Here are some ideas for you. Some are stocking stuffers, others a bigger investment. All of them I have used for know someone who has used [...]
I love gadgets. The latest, from a newspaper clipping my wife dropped on my desk, is a cap with four LED lights built in (sample at left has only two, but the Amazon.com version below has four). One of the reasons I became a ultralight backpacker, besides the weight reduction, was the elimination of stuff [...]
The Golden Rule of ultra light backpacking is that every piece of equipment has multiple uses. For example, a bandana is a sweat band, wash cloth, water or coffee filter, a napkin, a tourniquet and sling. The new iPhone is the ultimate backpacking tool. It weigh just six ounces and includes a phone, digital camera, [...]
One of my readers said he was getting into backpacking with his family — there are three of them total — and wanted to know the best choice of a lightweight cooking pot. I’m sure you’ll get lots of opinions on this. But I purchased a pot set four years ago that works great for [...]
I was checking out the weblog at Campman.com and came across a review of a new anti-mosquito patch. Campman says it’s ideal for kids. But when he says the patch kept the bugs off him as well, I knew I needed some. Especially, after my miserable backpack recently to Emigrant Wilderness where we were swarmed [...]
The list of essentials seems to expand and contract, but conventional wisdom a long time ago figured out “must haves” for survival and / or comfort. One is a pocket knife. If you’ve read any of my posts you know I big on looking for alternatives, especially lightweight or ultralight weight versions. I have two [...]
In a post I wrote last year, I reviewed backpacking stoves and made what I think is a key observation: most stoves now are small and ultralight. But what adds the weight is the fuel. The Esbit fuel stove is my favorite (I also have propane and alcohol stoves) and works great at high altitude [...]
A light daypack is an essential piece of equipment for the light backpacker. I’ve taken many, many three-day loop trips that involve two overnights and 8-10 miles of day hiking wearing your pack. That’s great except for one thing: you’re wearing your pack the whole time. Even an ultralight pack is still a weight on [...]
The little things make a big difference on the trail. Bathing (getting the trail dust off) is one them — even though I don’t do too much bathing when on short (two-day) backpacks. Diving into a lake or splashing your face in a cool stream are two of the more refreshing ways to get the [...]
I remember showing up on my first backpack in 1998 with a 45-pound pack stuffed with every conceivable backpacking gadget and implement – such things as those orange spades used to dig toilet holes. The shear pain of all that weight, plus having so many different items in my pack sent me in search of [...]
