Ultralight on the Cheap
So you want to go ultralight, but can't con your significant other into a big outlay?
Happily, ultra-light can also be ultra-cheap, so here are a few thoughts on how you can go light without denting your budget.
The Easy Stuff
I'm going to focus mainly on the UL gear most of us need. Forgive me for skipping several of the more subjective items, mostly clothing and the ever important sleeping bag, but these items are too personal to make broad recommendations - I'll stick to simple ideas and leave the rest in your theoretically capable hands..
- Shelter - few things beat a poncho/tarp combo from Campmor. The poncho/tarp will do as a shelter and rain gear for 10 oz. Get over the "no floor" thing. Its not a big deal, really. And the poncho doubles as a pack cover too! $50. See below for alternate recommendations.
- Trekking pole, stakes and guy line - You'll need some guyline (Aircore 1) and 6 tent stakes to secure the poncho in tarp mode. For stakes, you can buy TI, AL or make them out of coat-hangar wire. Keep each stake below .5 oz (Ti ones go down to .24 of an oz) You can get inexpensive trekking poles on ebay, or at discount or sporting goods stores. $25
- Pack - I'd recommend a Golite Jam2. It can carry a lot more than you'll need to but weighs 21 oz. and does not cost much by comparison to big name packs. You'll need to take better care of it, but it will serve you well - people have thru-hiked every long trail out there with a pack like this and it survived. Just be a bit careful and it will last. $85. See below for alternate recommendations. Note: with frameless packs you MUST use your sleeping pad as a frame or the pack will slouch on your back above 15 or so pounds - this is uncomfortable and hence the reason they were designed to use a closed cell foam pad (folded against the back or rolled with items packed in the middle like a burrito).
- Use a garbage bag for a pack liner. Free!
- Sleeping Pad - this one is dependant on how comfy you need to be. Closed Cell foam pads are cheap, serve as good frames for the lightweight packs, but are not as cushy. But we are after cheap, so get a Ridgerest Short and cut it down so that it reaches from shoulder to hip in a tapered form (that will help you get it below 6 oz. too) $15. See below for alternate recommendations.
- Cooking - use a Pepsi-can stove, small soda bottle for fuel, windscreen. I like alcohol stoves, they are cheap, light and you can make them yourself from patterns on the web out of V8 cans. Make the windscreen out of an oven-liner. Buy a 4-8 oz soda bottle and use the cap to measure alcohol $5
- Ground Sheet - 4 mil plastic will do - $3 for a nice long roll. The rest can be used for King George's foolproof homeland security plan (duct tape not included).
- For a cooking pot, it depends on if you are going to cook in the pot or just boil water for freezer bag cooking. For boiling water, use a Sterno or Beer Can converted to a pot with a tinfoil lid. Cheap and boils water. Weighs next to nothing and costs a couple of bucks to buy at most grocery stores. If you are more into cooking in a pot, get an inexpensive aluminum pot from Anti-Gravity Gear. $10.
- For a utinsel, just grab a spork from Taco-Bell or one of those McFlurry spoons from McDonalds. Free! MRE spoons are also great.
- Bandana for towel, pot holder, head covering, sling, blindfold (backwoods pinata?) strainer etc. $1
- For water, just buy a couple of 1L soda bottles. $3.
- Treat water with Aqua Mira $10.
- First Aid Kit - bundle some band aids, Advil, tweezers, betadine, first aid ointment, Immodium, gauze pads, butterfly bandages and whatever else you think you need and put them in a ziplock bag. Should only cost $15 if you don't have anything on hand. Or you can buy a pre-packaged model from BPL .
- Small Photon Freedom Flashlight on a wee bit of string (i.e. guyline string). $15
- Stuff Sack for misc items - keep from losing them. Make one from a Tyvek Postal bag (see the link on my backpacking page). Free.
- A small Gerber Microlight LST knife is all you need. $12. Put it on a lanyard (or fluorescent air-core line) so you don't loose it.
See the Refine section below for additional, slightly more spendy alternatives to the above gear.
Sleeping Bag
This is a difficult thing to recommend as need varies and prices can be astronomical. Try to find something under 30 oz for 30 degrees. You can get 23 oz cheapo mummy bags that will go down to 45 degrees at your local sporting goods store. Any recommendation I make here is going to break the bank.
IMHO, down bags are best because it compresses and weighs less. Don't worry to much about getting it wet - what are you a klutz?
Clothes
Clothes are another matter and there are too many options to really get into here.
- REI, Golite, Montbell and Patagonia make lightweight poly T-shirts and pants.
- Discount stores sell cheap poly shirts, pants and fleece jackets. Please don't go to Wal-Mart.
- Military surplus jacket liners are good lightweight synthetic jackets (ebay has them cheap).
- Tyvek jackets are good for wind and light rain (Montbell, Montane etc make better wind shirts, but they'll cost you).
- Merino wool socks are the best. Take an extra pair or two as its nice to have a pair just for sleeping. Smartwool and Wigwam are both good brands. The former makes racing socks that weigh less - they look like cycle socks.
- Get inexpensive trail-runners for shoes instead of expensive boots. Without the heavy weight you can go lighter and more comfy on the shoes. They are always on clearance on REI-Outlet or Sierra Trading Post and they'll usually run you $50 or less if you don't already have some shoes lying about.
Just take the lightest stuff you have that makes sense for the place you are going. Don't take cotton stuff unless you don't have anything else - its useless when wet and dries agonizingly slow.
Summary
In short, there are lots of low-cost options out there. UL packing is easier on your back and your wallet.
| Gear |
Cost
|
| Campmor Tarp/Poncho | $50 |
| Gossamer Gear G4 | $85 |
| Trek Pole, Stakes, Guyline | $25 |
| Stove, Windscreen, Bottle | $5 |
| Groundsheet | $3 |
| Sleeping Pad | $15 |
| Cooking Pot | $10 |
| Bandana | $1 |
| First Aid Kit | $15 |
| Water Treatment | $10 |
| Flashlight | $16 |
| 2 Soda Bottles (1L) |
$3
|
| Knife |
$12
|
| Total Gear Cost | $250 |
This gear would run about 3 lbs.
Note: Cost wise you can certainly do better than this if you can make more of the gear yourself. There are plans on the internet for tarps, ponchos, packs etc that can reduce this even more.
Lets Compare
In fact, if you went to REI to outfit yourself with similar gear, you'd probably spend 2 to 3 times as much as the above.
Traditional Backpack Gear Comparison
| Gear |
Cost
|
| REI Pack - 3500 CI | $150 |
| MSR Zoid 2 | $220 |
| Pocket Rocket Stove, Fuel | $45 |
| MSR Windscreen | $10 |
| Pack Cover | $25 |
| Groundsheet for Zoid | $40 |
| Insul Mat Max Thermo Pad | $50 |
| Titanium Pot Kit | $50 |
| Packtowel | $15 |
| First Aid Kit | $15 |
| Water Filter | $50 |
| Tikka XP Headlamp | $45 |
| CamelBack Bladder |
$30
|
| Leatherman |
$50
|
| Total Gear Cost | $795 |
This gear would run about 16 lbs.
And that is just beginning. Throw in clothes, food, water and that is how backpackers end up carrying 40+ lbs for a weekend trip. Egads.
Honestly, that is about is a hulking 13 lbs more than one really needs to carry. Like I said, light is cheaper and easier on you.
Refine & Enhance
The above recommendations were designed to get as much bang for the buck. But one can always add to the above list to add a bit more comfort or functionality. It will cost you, but a few well-spent dollars here and there can make for a much more comfy trip.
Want a more full coverage Poncho/Tarp? Take a look at Six Moon Design's Gatewood Cape. Its twice as much as the Equinox tarp, but it is a much more refined, if quirky poncho/tarp solution. I have one and love it.
Hard on your pack? Consider Golite's Jam. Its made of a more durable Dyneema® fabric than the silnylon packs and will take more abuse. Again, use a pad for the frameset or buy a Gossamer Gear Mariposa with carbon fiber stays.
Not going solo ? Consider a larger silnylon tarp for non-solo trips. $60-100. A Golite Hex is even nicer.
Hard Ground? I hear you. I can't sleep on a closed cell pad either - get a Thermarest Prolite 3 Short, BMW Torsolight or Insul-Mat Max Thermo (the latter has a deluxe 2.5 inches of cush). $50 to $70
Bugs? Buy a bug head net or a bug-canopy made for tarp camping. $10-20
Expect Rain ? Buy a bivy sack to protect your sleeping bag - Titanium Goat makes an inexpensive one. As does Equinox. Or consider a Thermo-LIte emergency bivy sack made by Adventure Medical. $20-70
Food? Buy Travel Light, Eat Heavy and learn to cook in zip-lock bags. I've tried and love many of these recipes - and they are geared to be cheap, lightweight and contain the proper nutritional balance for hikers. $20.
Wanna save fuel? Get a pot cozy for either a zip-lock bag or the pot you got from Anti-Gravity Gear. You can also make your own out of Reflectix available at Home Depot. $10
Like bladders? Get a Platypus Reservoir - lighter than Camelbacks. $20
That container too big? You can buy small bottles, containers etc to repackage stuff. i.e. dropper bottles for aquamira from BPL. This save weight when you don't need a months supply of something on hand. $5
Appendix
- Here is a good thread on BackpackingLight.com on how to go light and inexpensive.
- The Gossamer Gear and BPL Gear and Backcountry Gear sites are chock full of other crap you probably need, so go knock yourself out.