Backpacking is the best. It just is. You get to walk into nature with everything you need for your own survival on your back. You get to see more nature, fewer people, and most people will think you’re a crazy bad-ass for even attempting it. However, a lot of people hit a barrier when they attempt to make the transition from day hiker to backpacker, and that stumbling block all comes down to one thing: too much fucking gear.
I subscribe to a style of backpacking I’ve dubbed “comfort ultralight.” And while this may seem like a contradiction in terms, I think it’s a style of backpacking that everybody should adopt. And I’m not just saying that because it’s my personal preference. Ok, maybe I am saying that a little bit, but I have other reasons too! Promise.
I used to not be the biggest fan of backpacking, I hated lugging all that shit around, being weighed down, and seeing less stuff in more time. At a certain point backpacking just becomes slow-hiking-with-camping-thrown-in-because-you-packed-too-much-crap-and-now-you-can’t-walk-fast, and that sucks. However, if you can cut down on your setup, you’ll move more comfortably, see more and enjoy those sights more without the strain of a 50lb pack on, and once you’re home you’ll have way less garbage to unpack and wash. There are so few downsides to this style of travel it’s incredible to me that people pack any other way.
The largest outcry that random old white dudes on the internet named Trent, or Chad, or Brent or Wally have expressed with this kind of travel is safety. How can a poor little girl travel safely in the wilderness without five extra pairs of wool socks!?!?!? They exclaim. Well, Chad, I do it by ensuring that everything I do bring on the trail has a specific function in keeping me alive. I also make sure to tell people where it is I’m going, and unlike angry Facebook Brent, I have a strong predilection for bailing in sketchy situations. Besides, when stuff goes sideways, having two extra pairs of underwear isn’t going to be the X-Factor in keeping you alive.
Ultralight comfort could be summed up with the following: every piece of gear should serve at least one necessary function, be light, be durable, and have no redundancies.
So what does that actually mean? Probably not a lot, unless you already have a gear list in mind. So I’ve created a list for a typical three-season set up that is light, safe, and comfortable.
Comfort Backpacking
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