Out of breath and struggling to keep pace with your hiking partners?
Of course, improving physical fitness is one solution, but reducing pack weight is a far more immediate remedy (with absolutely no side effects!). The logic is simple: just like weight training in the gym—if you can lift 20kg for five reps, 10kg for eight reps, and 5kg for fifteen reps, the same applies to hiking. Carrying 15kg may allow you to maintain a certain pace, but lighten the load to 10kg and you’ll certainly move faster and with more ease.
That brings us back to the key question: with so much gear, how can you pack lighter? While many people immediately think of upgrading to ultralight equipment, an experienced ultralight hiker will tell you that the most important step is developing an ultralight packing mindset.
1. Avoid Redundant Items
Human stamina is limited—especially in oxygen-demanding environments like the mountains. Inexperienced hikers often pack items with overlapping or similar functions, which directly doubles the load.
For example: bringing both a full cookset and an extra titanium bowl. Or, worrying about the cold and stuffing in multiple layers—down jacket, fleece jacket, down vest, thermal base layer—all at once. In reality, while hiking you’ll overheat and can’t wear them all, and once at camp or inside a sleeping bag, it often isn’t that cold. Food is another common trap: planning bread and jerky for lunch, but also instant noodles with an egg “just in case,” plus too many snacks to “share.” The desire to bring more often outweighs the actual need, leaving you with leftovers to carry back down the mountain.
2. Don’t Bring What You Won’t Use
It may sound like nagging, but making a proper gear list before departure is eye-opening. Beyond confirming that essentials are packed, reflect on whether other items will truly be used. Keys and wallets can stay in the car. Remove unnecessary packaging from store-bought food. Even breakfast trash from the morning can accidentally end up in your pack. These items serve no purpose in the mountains and only add dead weight—be sure to clear them out.
3. Choose the Lighter Alternative
Once redundant and useless items are eliminated, your pack should already be lighter. The next step is selecting lighter alternatives for essential gear. Unlike daily life, where weight isn’t a concern, backpacking requires counting every gram.
Examples: swap a large thermos for a smaller one, trade a heavy high-capacity power bank for a lighter compact one, carry toiletries and medication in small sachets, replace heavy dry bags with plastic bags, use tent stakes instead of a trowel, and so on. These small weight savings add up, leaving room for items you genuinely want to bring.
The Three Golden Rules of Ultralight Packing：
* Don’t bring redundant items.
* Don’t bring what you won’t use.
* Choose the lighter alternative.
By applying these principles, you gain comfort, ease, and safety on the trail. The rules are simple—it’s just that people forget them, or are too lazy to follow through. But with consistent practice on every trip, ultralight packing becomes second nature, and over time it can cut down a significant amount of weight and burden.
