13 TIPS FOR LOWERING BACKPACK WEIGHT 

I have found that I am a "natural weight saver," whether I mean to be or not. I NATURALLY forget some essential gear at home on every trip. So I am going to start saying that I meant to leave it home to test whether or not it is essential. LOL! I am not sure how the numbers will actually run, as far as comparing the overall total cook units, but I have considered switching totally to a twig stove. Mainly so that I don't have to worry about running out of fuel while on the trail. I have a Solo Stove and have messed with it at home some and I really like it. However, it is more work and takes longer, versus just screwing a rocket stove onto a canister and firing it up. But if the main goal is to save weight, it might save an ounce or two. Of course, then you have to get into the whole topic of fire bans, etc...so I guess that a person would just have to really sit down and study the figures and facts before each trip and decide of it is worth the trade offs.

Really great, solid advice. Of course, there are always exceptions to every rule. We carry a first aid kit, even though we haven't used it for months. Same with bear spray. In Alaska, we like to have an extra day of food, because we are not often on well-traveled trails. We may need an extra day, or get stuck by weather. Awesome tips to save weight, but they need to be customized to each hiker's situation. Thanks for the tips!!

Always enjoy your vids! As a “fairly” new backpacker and aspiring AT thru-hiker upon an expected early retirement, I’m always leaning from channels like yours and constantly trying to get my weight down. As a newbie, I’ve really had to overcome the “pack your fears” syndrome. The advice of shake down hikes and learning as you go what’s truly important and needed and what isn’t is vital. As always...thanks for sharing GREAT content!

The bidet on the drinking water bottle seems like a risk I’m not prepared to take.

Great advice as always my friend. JBen is absolutely correct,lol. I am constantly reevaluating my setup and how to make it lighter as I get older. You don’t have to break the bank, you just have to be smart about your choices. Love your channel brother.

Complete agree with you sometimes you have to “take risks” like they say you pack your fears! For me it’s the cold so I have to really think about the weather I will be hiking in and the amount of clothing I have to pack. Great video, subbed and liked!

Excellent tips! Thank you!

It's been a struggle to decide on a trekking pole tent for when I use trekking poles. Great info! And Stretches point is what I go by all the time.

Great suggestions for newbies as well as us older folks. For the tent question, I'm switching from an older model BA Copperspur UL1 to a Mountain Laurel Designs Trailstar tarp. Will be initiating the Trailstar on my western road trip that's starting in several weeks. I carry a collapsible saw and/or a small hatchet only in the winter and only if the temps are gonna go below freezing. The knife is a Leatherman Juice S2. Too much food has been an issue for me as well and I now can usually get by with splitting a one person meal into two meals without feeling any hunger pangs. Dried fruit for mid-day snacks. 2 Smart water bottles and I use the Katadyn Micropur MP1 treatment tabs. Just switched to a JetBoil Stash. Thanks for sparing us the bidet demo 😜

Great tips! I know as we get older the lighter the pack the easier on the body and more time to enjoy the trail. I have a new ultralight backpack arriving tomorrow and can't wait for the switch! Have a great one my friend ☺️🌲

New channel for me, looking forward to watching some more. Thank you for the tip about the kilt, I'll be checking that out. All the best from southern Spain!

Some great tips, Crow. I've never gone out for more than two or three nights so haven't really been concerned with being ultra light, but definitely picked up a couple of ideas.

Thanks for sharing will keep this in mind next time...

This video is inspiring me to get out and do some hiking! New sub here. 😀

Brad - Great video and this turned out great !

Informative and beneficial video!👍🙏

Hello Crow, I like each recommendation but I cannot see myself using the bidet. LOL! Thanks for sharing. Take Care and Keep Exploring The Outdoors.

Good stuff. Everyone is an expert about their own load and how to reduce their weight. I have reduced my weight by leaving the RV at home. Just kidding. I have significantly reduced the amount of clothes I bring and that’s another way of reducing weight.

i like that you included the "take risks" suggestion WITH the caveat that You are NOT a risk taker! your sincerity is very appealing.

I've found the bidet reduces toilet paper use, but doesn't eliminate it. Still working on perfecting the "technique." Good tips

Great video Brad! I think you're pretty much there as far as base weight goes. If you wanted to go outside that you could look at your clothes to try and lighten everything. Not only from the puffy (MHW Ghost Whisperer) but also your pants and shirts. Everything weighs something. I use a Cnoc Versica for a water bottle and it works great. Moded with a Platypus sport cap, it also is collapsible, yet slightly heavier than the Smart water bottles (maybe half an oz. but I like that it's reusable/better for the environment).

All excellent ideas Brad. See you soon. 👌

Great video with some awesome tips! Food was a big one for me. Seems like I ALWAYS have food leftover. I like having a little leftover, but it was just too much. I also started weighing the food I was taking and figuring out where I could get the most calories per gram. I've also stopped taking more clothes than I need. Just backpack stinky! 🤣

Good advice, thanks!

Food and water: I agree with Chip Rawlins that "If you come out having devoured every scrap and morsel, you aren't carrying enough." While I am trying to carry a little less food, aiming for 1.5 lbs per day, it's always good to have extra margin. For example, on our most recent trip, we had planned to hike out in the morning and have lunch at a nearby restaurant. But we slept in late, left camp late, and it took longer than planned to hike the 6 miles out. So it was good that we had an additional bagel, peanut butter, and snack bars to have an adequate lunch on the trail. And on longer trips deeper in the wildernes, having enough food for an extra day gives you more options. I've been burned both ways on water. Carry too much, it's dead weight. Don't carry enough and run out, miserable. On our first trip this spring, we did not refill at a lake we passed on the way out, thinking we had enough to reach the car. But we ran out, and I was pretty thirsty by the time I was able to drink the water we had left in the car. (Always have extra water in the car.) Some the trips we hope to do later this summer will involve dry camps at ridgeline. I am not looking forward to the water weight we'll have to haul up there.

Ty for the input I'm going to be doing the AT. Soon

Don't be a RU-vidr! Omg....I think even with my minimal setup I carry an extra 2.5 pounds if you include my tripod, phone, drone, and battery bank! 🤣🤣 I'm honing in on food weight too! I'm far from mastery though. I stopped bringing a knife at all. Other than cutting some parachord or slicing SPAM, I never use it (famous last words). I also wonder with a pack cover, rain jacket, and umbrella, there has to be a better way! I liked this one Crow. Very helpful.

I had recently gone on a solo mid spring overnight in the Hudson valley region of NY. The temperature was projected to drop from the daytime high of 80 to the low 40s to upper 30s. My tent was an ALPS, Linx1. As the night went on, at about 2am the wind picked up and the temp fell. I had to put on wool mid layer and soon zip the outside flap close. When daybreak came I was still in my bag unzipped! I got up and put on my flannel shirt, bandana between my head and hat, and was good to go. In short, know what you are heading into when you’re going into the woods! Sometimes lighter isn’t always better!

Senior Hiker talked about a similar bidet a couple of years ago. He mentioned that you could still drink out of the water bottle that the bidet was attached to. I’ll bring up the recommendation I gave to him - if you’re gonna use the same bottle, you might want to install a backflow preventer. 😁

Great tips, thank you

#5 was the best advice of the whole bunch for sure. that aside, some definite good points. A lot of thinking going on after this one.

Thanks for the tips.

As a fellow RU-vidr, it's not just about what camera gear you carry but WHERE you carry it. I have two reversed lightweight fanny packs that I carry around my stomach - the best possible place to carry a few excess pounds (as opposed to elsewhere in the pack, on a shoulder strap, etc.) And it's soooo easy for quick access without fumbling around. I love putting a GoPro or a Sony RX100 V7 (great zoom) on a 6 Sections Portable Telescopic Extension Rod that pivots around making it really portable in the two fanny packs. But for POV shots, having a SNAP Magnetic Mount for hands-free chestie GoPro action is awesome. Oops, sorry but us RU-vidrs can't help ourselves 😉 Seriously though, my best solution to weight reduction is to buy pants one waist size SMALLER to avoid overeating and encourage more practice hikes carrying a full load... then I don't feel guilty carrying YT gear! Happy Trails

Other misc items: MSR Titan titanium pot for heating water for meals and coffee. Aluminum stakes that came with our Big Agnes Fly Creek UL2 (for solo trips) and Copper Spur UL3 (for couples trips with my husband). I've never considered going to titanium stakes. The aluminum ones don't weigh much and work well. Another question is how many stakes to take. Do you minimize and take as few as possible, or take spares in case the wind is up and you need to tie down in more places? We recently switched from Nalgenes to Platypus 1L soft bottle at half the weight. They also roll up nicely when empty and take up less space. I switched from a sleeping bag to a quilt, saving 1.5 lbs. I've moved from a 7 lb backpack (remember the 1990s, when we all carried those?), a Gregory Palisade, to an REI Flash 65 (about 3 lbs), to a Granite Grear Crown 2 60 (about 2 lbs).

I'd buy my gear first, then buy the pack that fits that gear. I always bring 1 extra day's worth of food. If not for me, then maybe someone else could use it. If I came home with that, all went well. 1.5 - 2 lbs per day. I prefer hammocks, but they aren't any lighter than some tents. I sometimes carry a sleep pad if I know some of the trail will be without trees. Hammock sleep systems are probably lighter than ground set-ups. The lightest option is a properly pitched fly/tarp. If there are no insects, that's all you really need. The best thing about a 15 lb base weight is knowing I can carry 14 lbs of food and a 9lb, 4L wine bladder, and lose 4lbs a day.

Water only thing I worry about the most. I use the camelback bladder a lot and just recently found the MSR thru link in line filter I’m going to try. Hook the filter to the bladder then the tube. Rain I would use a mil-spec tarp over me to stay dry. Enjoy the video and thanks for the tips.

I need to have a shakedown on my pack after my recent surgeries. I'm used to hiking with 60lbs on my back. Have been doing so for a year now. It hasn't bothered me until the last trip I went on in May. Now it's a necessity to pair down. Thanks for this video!

I finally got round to buying a new pack, Osprey 58 lt and much, much lighter than my old 65 lt pack which was 2.5 kg. The Tipinova has been a great simple and light tent. Not without its flaws but works well. A poncho is my go to rain gear, and gaiters keep my lower half fairly dry. I've just bought a new lightweight jacket, though that is mainly for the bike, and yes, I wear rain pants on the bike. Hope you are all doing well over there. Take care mate, as always, love ya work 👍

Wow what an adventure!!! I wish I was there

Great tips!! The last one my trips i’ve been on to even over night “colorado bend state park” i ended up carrying 6 liters of water.. extremely heavy. I picked up the cnoc vecto and bottles to hold my water .. weights nothing really. Changed out sleep system mat to Nemo Switchback , and dropped my thermorest NeoAir for a luxury chair . Helinox Zero. Carrying the Zpacks Blast works great too. Now i tried the bidet… but with no water around on multiple trips.. i’m still sticking to the TP. Unless i can filter water nearby. Great video sir!

Good Morning Crow my challenges have been water and food and actually clothing size. OH! and I can't see, mainly because I'm not double jointed, (Lol) using a bidet, however, I have started to use Metamucil and it has cut down on my TP/ wipes usage. Back to food and water, I am planning a 2-3 day trip soon and plan to drastically cut the amount of food I am taking especially snacks. Water on the other hand is a real fear of mine because I have run out of water a number of times especially in Georgia and Pennsylvania on the AT. Water sources in both PA and NJ are limited depending on the season. As far a shelter I recently went from a Six Moon Design Lunar Solo to a hammock setup and taking into consideration the components the hammock adds 2 pounds. The hammock setup weight could be reduced by a dynemma tarp, lighter straps, and 3/4 length underquilt. Thanks again for your videos. Oops I forgot clothing size I wear XXL and I am generally comparing base weights to smaller guys.

Great information

Not so sure about the booty super soaker but a lot of great ideas in this video. Cool to see stretch, JBEN and saw saw in your video. Stretch said it best to only take items that you actually use more than once. It’s great to be prepared but most likely you will not need up using most items. I use a usually small Swiss knife or pocket razor, toaks 550 pot, and smartwater bottle for longer hikes. I don’t consider water, food and fuel within base weight as they are consumables and are subject to change. Where do you get the lucky charms rice crispy treats. I can only find them on Amazon. Did you buy up all the supply in the southeast?

I had to skip back ….. looked like you did some fancy editing and passed yourself on the ridge 🤣🤣 then I thought “ oh no … there’s two of him” 🤣 Great tips ! Nice work !

Outstanding video and information

I got my 70l down to about 25lb baseweight. Goal is to keep it around 30ish, capped at 35. I don't have the budget to get ultralight and then stick to it, so I use what I've been gifted. My keys: bivy+poncho instead of tent, no stove(cold soak Talenti), minimal clothes

Cool ideas. Clean is good. 😂

I'm a bidet fan. Not only can you cut down on what you're bringing with you, you don't have to worry about packing out used toilet paper. Also, you can keep really clean if you follow up with some soap like Dr. Bronner's.

Thanks for the great video. As I recover from an injury and age past 68 yrs. old, I am trying to lower my pack wt. so I can continue this life long addiction to the outdoors and backpacking. It is tough to give up the traditional, old school way. I tried an old Six Moon Designs Starlite. I just don't like it. It would not transfer wt. to my hips. Then I tried an ancient Mountain smith Ghost. I just did an overnight and it went okay. I guess it is a process to give up the old ways.

The best way to reduce base weight (for a lot of people) is to lose body weight, and get closer to their BMI.

I struggle with taking too much food and being a youtuber! Does the knee brace help with knee pain? I started having knee pain my last two hikes. Hoping it will go away

Yep, water is a huge weight bandit. I hike with a smart bottle, 1oz empty, yep 2.2 lbs full. I have hiked grand canyon r2r2r with carrying 1 ltr and just resupply and filter.

"Don't be a RU-vidr": I got a good laugh from that! But the weight of the camera and audio equipment means that RU-vidrs need to reduce the weight of their other items as much as possible to offset that equipment weight.

Awesome tips. 👍 I replaced all my tent stakes with MSR Groundhogs. They're pretty lightweight and my dog carries them in her pack. 😁

I feel lighter already. 😉. Great tips. 🙂🙏🏻✝️

It is very hard to cover everything you can do in just one episode. Gram weenie or not there are quite a few tips and tricks to drop weight, nice job covering so many. And its so cute your hot cocoa has the little marshmallows!!! 😂

I have a tiny knife as well, just for opening cheese and what-not

Ounces equals pounds and pounds equals pain. I am not sure what my base weight is, but I usually carry 18 pounds total weight on a three day hike. I believe you did not mention clothes or a rechargeable headlamp. I bring the lightest sleep clothes and an extra pair of socks on a long hike. I have gone to a rechargeable headlamp so I no longer have to carry four spare batteries. I always look for multi use items like buffs, dental floss and charging cables. I have one cable that can charge my battery brick, InReach and headlamp. Happy Hiking!

I have this Böcker knife, really light and brilliant, nit heavy as my esse 4 , just something I need for hiking, not for bushcraft. 10cm blade and does all I need to. Would never compromise for a small knife 😂 never!

I use to take what felt like everything including the kitchen sink. Then I started making three piles when I got back. Pile # 1 , Everything always used. Pile # 2 , Sometimes used. Pile # 3 , never used but taken. This one got packed away. Next was switching to items with less weight but the same function as the replacement. Especially if it has multiple uses instead of only a single use. Example , a small knife ( Swiss Army , Huntsman 3.4 oz ) vs the heavier Rambo size knifes. I Hammock camp which is nice when it's raining. The rain fly up 1st , then the hammock and everything I want to stay dry. Reverse the process when packing up. The hammock serves as a Bed , Longer and even a Chair.

What are you using to carry your water bottle in your shoulder strap? I’ve been looking for something like that

Look for a new package coming :) the newest Holey Hiker bidet prototype is half the size and weight :)

Originally got my trail name from the shape of my backpack. I packed everything + the kitchen sink. Lol. Backpack looked like it had "burls" like on a tree. One thing I did to lower weight was assess what i truly needed in my first aid kit for the trip. I saved almost a pound

All great tips but it does depend on what season how the area is. I been training with 50ibs smaller hikes due to a survival course coming up. It taught me not to carry 50ibs lol.

good sharing 💖💖plz stay connected 👌👍

If there's anyone out there with knee pain and find glucosamine not helping, switch to Collagen w/ Hyaluronic Acid! It took about 3 weeks (and I was taking it for my skin), but I suddenly found was able to hike without knee braces and had no pain!!!! The pain comes back when you don't keep taking though =/

I litre = 1kg. Worth planning water stops and taking a filter some good tips. ATB. Grays

I've been meaning to try out the the bidet i got for Christmas but the sound a water bottle makes when being squeezed just drives me bonkers 😂

One little way that I save weight is to package all of my food in wax paper bags and every night the bags become my fire starters. When I get back home I'm literally carrying no garbage.

Sure glad all your tips weren’t essentially “spend money on a bunch of UL gear!” I don’t have a single item that’s considered “ultralight“ (except my trowel) and my baseweight never gets over 18 pounds, even for 2 to 3 week long backpacking trips. And I am a RU-vidr! Lol I’m not sure how I feel about number 13, I feel like I would want to dab dry with something after that, which means I’d be going through the toilet paper a little bit anyway. I feel like I mostly already follow your tips (all good tips!), except I don’t have a tent that uses trekking poles, because I couldn’t afford any of the ones I found back when I bought my tent three years ago, which is still working for me. When I have to replace it though, I definitely think I’m going to go for a trekking pole tent set-up.

Rain kilt? Can anyone confirm what that is..

Been dealing with this question alot lately with trying to get longer miles in. Even though food and water aren't base weight... they are still weight that needs to be carries and on our Tennessee trip... it caused issues. RMm is at 5 lbs base, RMS is just under 10, RMM was at about 15 and I am at about 17... before RU-vidr stuff which puts me over 22 lbs. I have a spreadsheet of all our gear so I can distribute it however I want between the 4 of us but I still feel like I need to get lower. Man I could go on and on for this topic. I don't have anything helpful for the general community but... still learning like everyone else. Not as much content out there on means/methods/ best practices with kids but we're trying to figure it out and share along the way!! See ya Crow!!

Good advise, but maybe I'm just by nature cautious - i like some redundancy for the unexpected

I think food is a main one Crow. I always come back with food and so have to dial that in. Water I already do - never go out with a full bladder, tents etc we all know that one but is there anything else? Maybe the fancy wash stuff like shampoo - use soap. Stoves to are light nowadays. Any way, like your brolly. I use a light one to. If interested here's a video I did on the Brolly. See if you can see any other reasons fir using one. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-RQQ9QRb_u2w.html Good chat that Crow - ha ha youtuber. All the best. Mark

Knife: I often use scissors, and only occasionally a knife. I never seem to need pliers. So I bought a Leatherman Style CS, a scissors-based multitool that also includes a small knife, basic screwdriver, tweezers, and nail file. It weighs 1.4 oz and takes up no space. It's currently on sale on the Leatherman site for $23. www.leatherman.com/style-cs-24.html

You made a great try to be relevant Im just not sure that's possible ..everyone's hiking is different I mostly day hike in the South ,in wilderness .. mostly bushwhacking ..so a map and compass is a must , water is not a problem so I carry a filter bottle and fill it when it gets hot rather than empty ..but snakes and wild hogs can be a problem so im not going in the woods without a gun., .food also is not a problem ..I can go 2 days without eating other than a little jerky and a energy bar or two and Im not cooking anything in the woods ,I always carry a couple 100ft para cord for getting down steep bluffs or hills and frequently leave them for the next person , when I do camp a tent is not necessary ..there are rock shelters every where < I do carry a large knife and probably use it more than anything I have the only thing I carry that I havent used and hope I never do is my first aid kit ..and I customized it to what I think I might need ..mainly triple antibiotic ,bandages ,and sting reliever and a small knife medical things you cant do as well with a big knife

Great advice - "don't be a RU-vidr" - thanks for sharing!

People go to remote places and should save weight by not bringing water and food rations?

pole - less /pop up tents.

Weight and comfort vs lighter packs and roughing it. Money for better gear is

Always surprised when people can have campfires but cook on a gas stove - that's definitely unnecessary weight.

*1pint = 1pound 8pounds per gallon* Pints a pound the world around.

🤣

Rain gear. Omg you gotta be kidding. (Umbrella?) OK, I'm out.

hahaha. I feel sorry for you guys. The metric system is much better. 1 liter of water equals 1 kg of weight. No complicated calculations. Simple as that.

How does a bidet lower your weight, Tee pee is very light compared to another water bottle with water. Our do you use your drinking bottle and water which doesn't seem healthy.