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Lighten your pack, and your body
I'd like to address what I do in each of these areas at some point in the future, but for now, I want to expand on why I believe a lean body weight - in addition to carrying less weight in your pack - is really important for a backpacking lifestyle.
Crossing Rivers and Water Shoes
Crossing rivers "ultralight style" - that's when you simply walk through the water wearing your hiking shoes and keep walking on the trail once you get to the other side.
How to choose backpacking footwear so you can keep hiking until you die
Most advice about minimalist footwear can be rejected outright. Often, the advice is given by hikers who haven't put in the time required to understand the complexity and depth of foot biomechanics and the long-term effects of overuse that is endured by walking for decades. Here are some guiding principles if you want to keep hiking into your sunset years, so you can delay the inevitable onset of overuse conditions like hallux rigidus.
Resources, Tools, and Processes for Planning Nontechnical, Off-Trail Backpacking Routes
The purpose of this article is to document the process I often use to plan and execute off-trail trips in the mountains using digital mapping and navigation tools.
Navigating Without a Compass, Map, or GPS
This article describes natural navigator techniques I’ve found helpful while bushwhacking - navigating without a compass, map, or GPS.
Case Studies: Using Google Earth to Plan Wilderness Trips
This article presents some case studies of using Google Earth for wilderness trip planning, with a presentation of my process and lessons learned.
Wet, Cold Feet When Backpacking: How To Keep Your Feet Dry(er) and Warm(er) in Inclement Weather
Keep feet warm and dry by using a carefully designed system that involves different types of socks, shoes, and gaiters.
Minimalist Footwear for Backpacking? (Video)
This vlog features commentary by Backpackinglight.com Founder & Publisher Ryan Jordan about the applicability of minimalist footwear for backpacking.
How to Keep Fuel Warm During Canister Stove Operation
Various techniques for keeping fuel warm during canister stove operation are described, in order to optimize fuel vaporization.
Ultralight Video Gear (According To Chris)
Chris Smead, who produces Backpackinglight.com's "According to Chris" video series, goes through his ultralight video gear.
Lightweight Backpacking in the Winter: Gear and Techniques from the Arctic
Lightweight backpacking in the winter requires more intentionality with respect to gear selection and skill set, but with great rewards.
How to Buy Outdoor Gear – Functional Analysis
The outdoor market is ripe with marketing ploys and distractions. Jorgen shares the tool he uses to buy outdoor gear - functional analysis.
How to Choose Lightweight Backpacking Gear: Save Weight, Money, Hassle, and Time
Choosing functional and lightweight backpacking gear is tough. What roles do comfort, durability, and aesthetics play in decision-making?
Planning Complex Backpacking Trips: Best Practices
Best practices when trip planning includes: booking transportation, gear selection and packing tips for complex backpacking trips.
How to Choose Backpacking Gear for Inclement Weather: Clothing, Sleep, and Shelter Systems
The purpose of this article is simple: I want to teach you how to choose backpacking equipment for inclement weather by documenting my thought processes as I select clothing, sleep, and shelter systems for a summer trek. The process will be illustrated as a case study: my equipment selection for a 12-day summer trek in the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness in Southwest Montana.
How to Choose and Use Ultralight Base Layers
Jorgen Johansson makes the case for one base layer and the best ways to choose and use ultralight long underwear (base layers).
Ultralight Backpacking: Core Principles & Philosophy (Video)
Ultralight Backpacking: Core Principles is a 13-minute video screencast presentation that provides a critical foundation for efficiently becoming a skilled ultralight backpacker. The core principles presented herein should be considered wherever you are in your journey on lightening up, and are as applicable to me even today, after decades of "working on my pack weight", as they were to me more than 25 years ago when I started this journey.
Backpacking Light 101 (Curated Collection)
We’ve hand picked these pieces to give you a solid foundation of what we think are important pieces to the vast mosaic of lightweight backpacking information. We hope you find these articles to be valuable on your road to traveling lighter in the backcountry.
How to Minimize Your Prep for Short Trips
Limiting the number of decisions, and keeping all your gear in one area are the major steps to simplifying your short backpacking trips.
The 60-Second Backpacker: Episode 2, Leave the Kitchen Sink at Home
The 60-Second Backpacker is a video series that provides bite-sized shorts about equipment, techniques, and philosophy of ultralight backpacking.
