Stripped Down Lightweight Backpacking Tips: Minimize Utensils, Optimize Toiletries, etc

A National Outdoor Leadership School Instructor (NOLS) for five years, Andrew Altepeter has taught hiking, lightweight hiking, climbing, mountaineering, canyoneering and skiing courses. Always looking to optimize his adventures, he modifies everything from his backpacks to his cooking kit and toiletries. He also carries the lightest gear he can find. As a NOLS instructor, he has the opportunity to share his knowledge of ultralight hiking with his students. Here are a few Lightweight Backpacking Tips ideal for students or any aspiring thru hiker or backpacker:

• Minimize your utensils
  • A 500ml titanium mug to eat all meals out of
    • We recommend the Evernew Titanium 500ml Mug Pot, which weighs 2.6 oz (74g). The Titanium Ti-lite Mug 900 is another great option. It weighs 4.6oz (130g).

     

  • Mini titanium spork
    • We recommend the Snow Peak Titanium Spork, which weighs .5 oz (15g). Also check out Sea To Summits Alpha Light 3-piece set, which weighs .8oz (22g).
• Optimize your toiletries
  • Only carry enough toothpaste for each ration period in a ¼ oz Nalgene container
  • Carry just enough dental floss in pre-cut strips
  • Break the handle off your toothbrush
• For fishing, use a simple Tenkara fly rod
  • We recommend the Tenkara Rhodo, which weighs 2.1 oz (59.5g)
• For sleeping, use a small Thermarest NeoAir Xlite pad, which weighs 8 oz (230g)

Read Andrew Altepeter’s two lightweight hiking blog posts.

Note from the editor: We originally had a link to our 4400 Porter Pack in this blog post because Altepeter recommended it as a lightweight option. However, after receiving feedback from various people on reddit, we decided to remove that link as our goal is to make our blog an educational tool rather than a sales tool.

 

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