Worth the Weight? Packing light for Camping pt3: Gear

Weed out the espresso machine and gas grill from your pack in favour of some truly essential items, advises Margaret Bethray.

Part 3: Gear

A backpack should carry no more than a quarter of a person’s body weight. It is better to leave an item you are unsure about than regret carrying it for 60km. While ultra-light backpacking seems a competitive sport, there are less extreme measures campers can take to reduce the strain on their bodies and increase the distance of their trek.

Three R’s will get you started. Remove non-essentials. Replace heavy kit with lightweight versions. Reassign the function of items and use them in a variety of ways (such as using a fleece as a pillow).

Remove

What do you really need?

When it comes to reducing the weight of a pack, some campers can never go too far. Clothing labels, toothbrush handles, map edges, pockets, webbing straps, shoelace tails all get the chop. But don’t panic – you needn’t go that far.

First aid kits are a common source of excess weight. Replace expired medications and take out anything that is unlikely to offer real help in an emergency. Pack everything in a waterproof nylon bag, which is lighter than a plastic box.

Remove the luxuries. Camping is not an occasion to spoil yourself. Good eating, basic comfort and beautiful scenery are enough, and they will seem beyond price at the end of a long day. Camp chairs, coffee makers and inflatable mattresses can be replaced with seating pads, espresso powder and sleeping mats. Chlorine tablets are usually adequate to purify running water (but check your area), so leave the water filter at home. Flashlights, binoculars, lanterns are not indispensible. How much midnight bird watching will you really get up to? A headlamp will suffice for after-dark excursions.

Don’t lug around ‘life-size’ amounts of liquids when a four-day portion is all you need. Decant sunscreen, insect repellent, toothpaste, medicine and condiments into travel-size bottles. Think about how much fuel you’ll need based on how many hot meals you’ll make. Bring a little extra fuel, but don’t take an extra canister because you haven’t done your homework.

Deep down you know an insulated travel mug doesn’t make sense. You can’t hike and drink (unless you want to end up wearing your beverage) and there’s no reason to take excessive measures in keeping your tea warm. Unless you’re a winter camper or a painfully slower drinker, rest assured – it won’t get cold. Take a lightweight mug.

Do you really need a GPS or just a bit of map-reading practice? If your GPS breaks or loses signal (it can happen) and you have not brought a map and compass (or can’t use them), the GPS is a heavy, defunct waste of kit. Better to bring a map and know how to use it than be glued to a tracking system and miss the panoramic view.

Replace

Choose lightweight gear

The three main culprits for needless weight are tent, sleeping bag and backpack. Purchase the correct kit and you will reap the benefits on the trail. A good outdoor sports shop will help you choose the best items for the season(s) in which you will use them. Just make sure you are buying gear that is light because it is high quality rather than made on the cheap.

If you’ve put some money aside to replace your current gear, well done you! With many items, you will get what you pay for, and now is the chance to make improvements and reduce weight at the same time. Replace aluminium and stainless steel cooking equipment and stoves with titanium and you’ll notice the difference immediately. If titanium is beyond your budget, look at replacing other items. Some people like the cheaper Lexan (lightweight unbreakable plastic) utensils and canteen kit. Closed-cell sleeping mats are lighter than their inflatable cousins.

Reassign

Make as much gear as possible perform double duty. How useful is an all-in-one corkscrew, awl, wire stripper and flimsy tin opener in the woods? A smaller version of your multi-purpose Leatherman or Swiss Army knife may be more appropriate.

You can also roll up a fleece for a pillow, wear zip-off trousers that become shorts or invest in a tiny orange whistle-match safe-flashlight. Be creative!

Photo credit: Matt.Pico