How to Lower Backpack Weight

In the wilderness, your backpack carries all of your supplies. To carry your pack all day, you'll must use the lightest backpack possible. You can lower your backpack weight by making a few exchanges.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Target your backpack's weight to be one-fourth to one-third of your body weight. Any more than that will make your backpack difficult to carry over long distances.

2. Trade your backpack for an external frame model. You may trade a some comfort, but the lighter pack ultimately may prove more comfortable.

3. Consider your tent. A bivouac sack weighs less than 2 pounds; your standard, one-person nylon tent weighs nearly 3 pounds. That pound of difference can exert an impact on the weight of your backpack. A bivouac sack provides nearly as much cover as a one-person tent.

4. Trade your sleeping pad for a featherlite foam pad. This pad is much lighter and functions just as well as your air pads.

5. Carry a down-filled sleeping bag. These are lighter than synthetic bags, but don't provide as much function if they get wet.

6. Take out your water filter. Instead, carry iodine tablets to purify your water. Note, however, that iodine tablets may leave an after-taste in your water, and you have to wait 20 minutes before drinking it.

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