When I hiked the Appalachian Trail in New England in 1975, my focus was on gear I could afford, not whether it was lightweight. Lightweight wasn’t in most hikers’ vocabularies at that time.
My no-name pack and sleeping bag cost about $20 each, my foam pad maybe $5. My boots—my big splurge—were heavy leather monsters that cost roughly $100. My tent weighed five pounds.
Loaded up after a food resupply, I was carrying close to 50 pounds. But I was young and sturdy so I didn’t worry about the weight.
Years later, I realized that if I wanted to continue to enjoy hiking I needed to reduce my weight. And more than 40 years after that AT hike I’ve gone lightweight, but stopped short of ultralight because I still relish some comforts. Here’s a look at my gear selections through the years.
The 1990s: Still Weighed Down
After taking a break from backpacking in the 1980s, I resumed trips with friends early in the 1990s and slowly began replacing my AT gear.
Backpack: Camp Trails McKinley external frame backpack; ~5 pounds
I carried this on multi-day year-round trips, with my sleeping bag lashed externally to the bottom of the frame and my tent riding on top. Boy was that a top-heavy pack when loaded with 35 to 40 pounds of gear and food. But I found it comfortable on my back for big loads, even if my legs complained.
Tent: Eureka Timberline four-person tent; 8 pounds, 8 ounces
The Timberline is a classic tent still being made by Eureka. Why a four person? It’s the tent my wife and I took on our months-long cross-country honeymoon, and I later used it for backpacking with friends. Although two of us shared the tent, I carried the tent, poles, and stakes. Not too smart on my part.
When I started hiking solo I bought a 5-pound North Face Tadpole, which at the time was considered a lightweight tent designed for two people. I used it for many years of solo backpacking, and never could have imagined two people squeezing inside.
Sleeping Bag: Sierra Designs Northernlite; ~5 pounds
This bag packed big. And despite its 0-degree rating, the synthetic fill soon lost much of its insulating properties, reducing it to a warm-weather bag. My son’s girlfriend uses it now on car camping trips.
Sleeping Pad: Therm-a-Rest 3/4-length self-inflating pad; ~3 pounds
This was the height of comfort after years on a thin foam pad.
Boots: I tried going lighter with mesh fabric boots (I don’t remember the brand), but went back to leather boots after the no-names filled with water during a day of hiking in the rain. The Asolo TPS 520 boots I bought weighed about four pounds, and the GORE-TEX lining kept my feet dry. I used them for year-round hiking, including overnight winter trips to the White Mountains in New Hampshire. But after every trip on rocky New Hampshire trails, the big toe on my left foot would be black and blue from pounding against the boot toe-box. Still, I stuck with them and they lasted for many years.
The 2000s: The Quest for Lighter
The 2000s are when I decided to get serious about going light. So why did I buy a six-pound backpack as my first big purchase? Bad mistake. I should have bought a lighter-weight sleeping bag and tent before investing in a new pack.
Backpack: Lowe Alpine Contour IV; ~6 pounds
Comfortable, but big and heavy. And way more pack than I needed as I bought lighter and smaller gear. Anyway, I used it for a few years, my daughter used it for a NOLS trip, and my son took it on a Boy Scout trip to Philmont and for several hiking trips after that.
Once I lightened up on my sleeping bag and tent I bought a Gregory Z55 pack that weighed 3 pounds, 15 ounces. This pack worked for me for more than 10 years before it began to wear out. My son also got several years out of it when I bought a lighter pack.
Tent: Big Agnes Seedhouse SL1; 2 pounds, 15 ounces
This tent kept me dry in snow and pouring rain, and despite its small size I fit all my gear inside overnight. My daughter still uses it on our backpacking trips together. (Dad gets the lighter tent. I’ve learned this time.)
Sleeping Bag: EMS Mountain Light 20; 2.5 pounds
I switched my bulky, heavy synthetic-insulation bag that no longer kept me warm in low temperatures for a lightweight down bag rated for 20 degrees. I used it for spring through fall hikes, but found it too warm for temps above 40.
So I bought the Marmot NanoWave 45, a synthetic-insulation bag that weighs 1 pound, 15 ounces and is rated for 45 degrees. It’s light and slim fitting, but so far I’m keeping my weight down enough to be comfortable inside.
Sleeping Pad: Big Agnes 3/4 length inflatable pad; ~1.5 pounds
Lighter than my self-inflating Therm-a-Rest, with more cushion. This is when I began relishing the comfort of extra padding between me and the ground.
Boots: Asolo TPS 520; ~4 pounds
I liked these boots so much I bought another pair when my first pair wore out. Still had a black-and-blue big toe after pounding rocky trails.
The 2010s: < 20 Pound Base Weight… Getting Closer
This is when I really dialed in my gear, reaching a base weight below 20 pounds. I like certain comforts—full-length inflatable pad, backpack with internal frame, inflatable pillow—so this is the range I’ll probably stay in. I also began testing gear for a website, which gave me access to equipment I might not have bought.
Backpack: Granite Gear Crown2 60; ~2 pounds, 6 ounces
As my Gregory Z55 began wearing out I searched for a lighter pack, settling on the Crown2. This is also when I ditched the detachable brain at the top of the pack. I felt like I was putting too much gear into it, which in turn was causing the top of the pack to be lopsided and pull away from my back. This set me up for my next pack, which had no brain.
Tent: MSR Carbon Reflex; 2 pounds, 3 ounces
This was a review tent, and I stopped carrying it after the review period. It leaked big time and I couldn’t sit up without scraping my head against the ceiling. On the plus side, it has lots of floor room and a side entrance door, which is much easier to get out of than a front door.
Sleeping Bag: Marmot Phase 20; 1 pound, 6.5 ounces
This 20-degree down bag that I reviewed is light and warm, which is all I ask for in a sleeping bag. It’s my main bag now.
Sleeping Pad: Big Agnes full-length inflatable pad; ~1 pound, 6 ounces
After sleeping on this pad I became forever spoiled by the comfort of a pad that extended the length of my body, rather than a three-quarter length pad that my feet hung off, with gear stuffed underneath them. Score one for luxe camping.
I continued to get lighter, and received the 12-ounce Big Agnes AXL for review. It’s comfortable and light, but didn’t insulate me from the cold ground.
Trail Runners: Salomon Speedcross 5; 1 pound, 2 ounces for a pair
The lightweight revolution finally reached my feet. Incredibly comfortable shoes, grippy on trail, and no black-and-blue toe! They get wet inside but dry well. I wear them on all my hikes now.
Pillow: Sea-to-Summit Aeros Pillow; 2.8 ounces
I ditched clothes-as-a-pillow and bought an inflatable pillow. More weight, but a great sleep. Best. Move. Ever.
Bear Can: BearVault BV450; 2 pounds, 1 ounce
OK. This is getting heavier, not lighter. But as bears increasingly learn to get food from hikers’ poor bear hangs (guilty) I decided that the extra weight is worth possibly saving a bear’s life.
The 2020s: Still Tinkering
Because I review gear I was able to continue trying lighter equipment, and now have a 13-pound base weight. A 10-pound ultralight base weight is on the horizon, but I’m not sure I’ll get there.
Backpack: Hyperlite Mountain Gear 3400 Junction; 2 pounds
This is my current pack, and I love it. The large mesh front pocket is great for storing gear. And this is when I realized that despite following manufacturers’ recommendations over the years for measuring my torso, a large pack was not a good fit for me. I felt like my large torso Gregory and Granite Gear packs were too big and I couldn’t find the proper weight balance between shoulders and hips. The HMG packs have more torso sizes. I received a medium to review based on my editor’s recommendation and the fit is fantastic.
Sleeping Pad: Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XLite; 12 ounces
I hit the sweet spot with this review pad. Full length so my feet don’t hang off the end, lightweight, and warm.
Tent: Big Agnes Fly Creek HV UL1; 2 pounds, 1 ounce
This is a small tent. I can still squeeze all my gear inside at night, but I’m just not flexible enough anymore to comfortably twist my feet around from the rear of the tent to the front in order to get out the door. On the plus side, I stayed dry during a storm that dumped at least an inch of rain overnight.
