If you want to go farther or faster on trails, simplify your backpacking experience, or just lighten your load for increased comfort, our Master Ultralight Backpacking course on Outside LEARN. Learn how to streamline your gear set-up with expert (and record-setter) Jennifer Pharr Davis. You’ll boost miles, comfort, and confidence with an ultralight approach. Get a sneak peek with this members-only article, which we’ve made free to everyone. Ultralight hikers are always looking for ways to save precious grams and cut pack weight. Even after springing for a frameless pack, a trekking-pole shelt ..read more

No one knows gear like Backpacker. Get more expert advice on buying, using, and maintaining your equipment by signing up for Outside+. Members get access to our full archive of stories, skills, trips, and gear reviews. You also get access to all of our other titles, like Ski, Climbing, Yoga Journal, Triathlete, and more. Sign up for Outside+ today! Outdoor Retailer—the industry trade show where manufacturers show off new designs for everything from socks to tents to kayaks—took place in Denver early August. While the show was smaller than previous years due to the pan ..read more

In his twice-monthly ultralight column, Chris Meehan covers the people, gear, and trends of the lightweight backpacking world. We’re sharing this one for free; sign up for Outside+ to read him twice per month. Thru-hikers use their equipment day in and day out for months at a time, and they rely on it to work. But no matter how well an ultralight hiker prepares their pack for a long trip, trying to go continually lighter, farther, and faster is always a balancing act. When a piece of gear or a packing strategy fails mid-hike, that can be a harsh reality check. Luckily, outfitters on long ..read more

In his twice-monthly ultralight column, Chris Meehan covers the people, gear, and trends of the lightweight backpacking world. You can do everything right: buy the correct gear, dehydrate your food, pare down your kit to exactly what you need. And yet, that ideal pack weight might still elude you in your quest for ultralight perfection. Thankfully, gone are the days of painstakingly recording your gear in a notebook or a spreadsheet program in an effort to shave weight. There are now a host of free, online tools that any ultralighter can use to achieve their goal. One of the best pa ..read more

In his twice-monthly ultralight column, Chris Meehan covers the people, gear, and trends of the lightweight backpacking world. The ultralight community might like to think of itself as separate from the larger outdoor population, but it still suffers from some of the same problems. As with the rest of the outdoors, ultralighting has historically been a disproportionately white, male-dominated space. But that’s why the new generation of speed-focused hikers is so important: BIPOC and LGBTQ+ ultralighters are breaking trail records, completing Triple Crowns, and winning awards. As we celebrate ..read more

The outdoor gear industry’s pivot to prioritizing sustainable products and eco-friendly practices over the past decade is no secret. One category that hasn’t garnered as much attention, though, is ultralight gear. Ultralight’s insistence on minimalism over everything else has put efforts to get with the green program in the shadows. But companies within the space are designing products that are good for the earth and hikers’ pack weights.   Big Agnes and NEMO—two of the larger companies in the ultralight arena—are founding members of the Outdoor Industry Association’s Climate Action ..read more

Ultralight gear is in. Pared-down kits are no longer subject to questions and eye-rolls on the trail, and larger gear companies not traditionally known for their ounce-counting offerings are getting in on the action. In a crowded field it can be hard to recognize all the players, though.  Here are a few pioneers that ultralight newbies should get to know.  Photo: Courtesy RapidPure  RapidPure, part of Littleon, New Hampshire’s Adventure Ready Brands, has manufactured water filters since 2014. Last year, it launched a new line of purifiers in 2020 that even compete with Lifestra ..read more

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