Tips For Reducing The Weight Of Your Pack For A Backpacking Trip

backpackingA comfortable and injury free backpacking trip starts with your backpack itself.

Seasoned backpackers know plenty of tricks in order to make their pack lighter.

You too can learn how to lighten your load without sacrificing essential gear for the trip.

Gear with Multi-Purposes

Packing gear that has more than one purpose is one way to lighten your pack. For a food bag line, securing splints and making a clothesline you can use a parachute cord.

You will need an awl, saw, scissors and a knife and a Swiss Army Knife takes care of all those items and more.

As a substitute for emergency sunglasses, repairing gear such as your boots, your backpack and poles, duct tape fits the bill. You can also use it for bandage wrapping and a substitute for moleskin.

Go for cooking and dining gear that is made from titanium as this is a light metal. A good cooking pot can be used as a cup and a bowl from which to eat.

Bringing along safety pins allows you to secure cloth slings, bandages and can be used as a fishing hook or clothespins. Zip-Loc Freezer bags allow you to carry a variety of items as well use it as a container for carrying out garbage.

Lightening the Essentials

Your best opportunity for reducing the weight of your backpack is to choose a pack that weighs three pounds, a sleeping bag that is two pounds or less and a tent that weighs no more than three pounds.

Many packs weighing three pounds can fit as much as forty pounds of gear. These items can save you more than seven pounds on the total amount of weight you will be toting.

Another essential for backpackers is water. It is recommended that you carry only what you will need. There are a couple of ways to reduce the amount of water you carry; if the area you are backpacking in is familiar to you it will be a simple matter to plan where you can refill your water jug.

Drinking as much water as you can hold before you begin your trek and doing the same at each of your potential waterholes will permit you to carry less as you are starting out well hydrated.

Only bring along as much as you will need as to toilet paper, pain relievers, prescription medications, condiments, sunscreen and bug repellent. Over packing these types of items will only add useless weight to your pack.

You are well advised not to use canisters for film for storage because of possible chemical residue from the film that will transfer to whatever you have stored in them.