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 [...]
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.
