Hey guys Dom here uh just at Millers Hut for an overnighter
and I'm going to show you how to pack an ultralight backpack.
Alright so first of all you're gonna have your backpack, obviously.
This is the Hyperlite Junction 40 litre. What I like to do is run with a pack liner,
the idea with the pack liner is that it keeps all your gear dry that needs to stay dry
and everything else can be kept separate. Tonight we're just here for an overnighter
so I don't really have a whole lot of food. On my hike what I would do first things first is
I would have all my food, usually about four or five days at a time, stuffed in a stuff sack just
shoved in the bottom. Keeps the weight nice and tight around the hip belt and your lower back.
So I'd throw that in first, some people do throw their bedding in first and have it in the midway
just comes down to personal preference. So for ultralight hiking and anyone trying to
hike with a small backpack ditch the stuff sack that the sleeping bag comes with um as, you know,
when you stuff it into that stuff sack what it does is it creates a tight you know quite dense
little cylinder um and when you throw to throw that in your bag there's a lot of wasted space
around that shape so it's better to have it, if you're trying to save space in a bag like this
that will conform to the inside of the pack and take up every nook and cranny um to get
the most out of the space. Shove that in, stuff it right down deep into every little air pocket.
Cool, and a little note with the food too you don't want to throw all of your food in the bottom
just everything you won't need for the day so at the start of every day you know it's super
important to throw what you're going to have either on the outside of the pack or if you've got say an
Osprey or a Fjallraven pack throw it in the brain or the hip pockets that way you don't need to
you know open up your pack multiple times throughout the day whenever you want to snack.
So next I've got a Exped Synmat Medium Tapered, nice and light doesn't take up too much space
again which is very handy for a 40 litre so I stuff that one in nice and flush with the back.
This is a framed pack but I do like to have everything nice up against the back. So next
up going to grab my bed clothes and spare pair of socks so on my hike I had you know another set
of clothes, my bed clothes, they'd all go on the bottom here. Tonight I've just got a shirt and
a pair of socks and again shove them in take up all the space you can I go either side of my mat.
Now here I've got some electronics if I won't need them throughout the day
I keep them tucked in with my sleeping bag so I won't need them until night time and they sit nice
in the dry bag and know that they're not going to get wet if I fall in a river or it starts raining
really hard. So the rest of my bed clothes I've got my Patagonia Terrebonne joggers and then a
spare shirt. Now a good little tip too is you know where you can save the most weight with
ultralight hiking and packing your pack is cutting down on the amount of clothes you need because you
don't, you know, you don't really need three sets of clothes especially for thru hiking you're
gonna have a dirty set and you're gonna have a bed set um simple as that because they do take a lot
of space. Comes down to personal preference but oftentimes, unnecessary added bulk and weight so
next up I've got my Patagonia Micro Puff jacket so it does pack down quite small.
Usually I would just shove it in the way I did with my sleeping bag to take up the most space.
Today I've got my um and what I used on my hike is my Hyperlite um fleece pillow stuff sack so
the way that works is stuff your puffer or whatever you like in there throughout the day
to keep it dry and then come night time all you want to do is shove that puffer back in
or if you're sleeping with your puffer on I threw my wet rain jacket anything you've
got you can throw it in there, dirty clothes, whatever and that's going to keep it separate
from everything and this has to be the most comfortable luxurious pillow I've ever hiked
with and it'll be my go-to for a while and the multi-function is pretty invaluable
when you're trying to save weight. So I will chuck that puffer in there with the pillow
but it can be outside of the dry bag as it is a dry bag itself. So it's going to go right at the
bottom and then I'll pull my pack liner shut push out all the air I want to make the most room possible
and I roll it shut tight. So next up we've got the Snow Peak Mini Solo Combo 2.
This is my cook set, in here I've got my gas, my gas canister stabilizer as well as my Soto stove
and the lid and all the rest. All wrapped in a cloth you can use a chuck's towel or a tea towel.
These Light Load Towels are the lightest I could find they keep everything nice and snug
and will prevent most rattling so it's much appreciated when you're walking all day.
Next up there's a few items, so I've got my waterproofs here I've got my Patagonia
Torrentshell three layer pants and I've also got my Patagonia Torrentshell two layer jacket
which I've had for a few years. So what you can do here if it's you know it looks like a rainy day
I will strap these on the top of my pack or I'll leave them right at the top because I
know the weather's fine today, I'm just gonna throw those in here. Lastly I've just got my shelter so
Hyperlite Ultamid 2 as the outer so this is my main shelter in here we've got the extension
straps along with my pegs and then this is the half insert so some days when this was wet
or if i didn't have as much room in my pack after
picking up a food drop I would also strap this on top. We'll throw in the half insert first
and then I'll throw in the outer because that'll be the first thing I grab out of my pack when I
get to camp um you don't want your shelter at the bottom of your pack because you have to rip
everything out to get to it um you know if you just want to get to camp and set up straight
away, spin him around, I like to roll this one quite tight and I'm going to go ahead and clip
the sides down, tension it off keep everything nice and compact. With this compression strap here this
is where I would put my shelter strap it on the top here along with my rain jacket, rain pants
anything that I wanted you know easy access throughout the day so
we'll tension that one off everything's nice and snug. Moving on to water here
I've got two 1.5 litre water bottles this is standard shove those in either side
and again I push them right up as close to my um my back and my hip as possible because that's
where the greatest weight will be distributed on the hip belt. Next up little treat for an overnight
nice drop from home, Tumut River Brewing Co Full Grunt. Lots of yapping *laughs*
Water bottle holder attachment for the Porter pack it is not designed for this uh for this Hyperlite
Junction here um but I have just tied it off with the blue paracord um and I must say that this has
been one of my favorite bits of kit throughout the whole 700 kilometres of the Alps track just means
that I can drink throughout the day. I don't get dehydrated because I don't need to stop, sip on the
go. Moving along you've got your food for the day so as I mentioned earlier the bulk of your food is
going to be in the bottom and the rest of the food and any other items you need throughout the day
you want to have readily accessible so what I'm going to do is just grab out a couple muesli bars
maybe a cheese stick a little fruit stick as well and that should do it I shouldn't need any of that
until maybe I stop for lunch or maybe I get to dinner so throw that in there. Got my
Snow Peak Titanium Spork ripper of a thing had it about uh two years and couldn't be happier
with it just don't want to lose it so I'll throw it in there with my food bag for the day.
Zip that one off.
Around here you want to make the most use of your hip belt pockets and if you do have one
a Hyperlite Shoulder Pocket which clips on nicely here.
I like to store my phone in there and mostly my snacks.
So almost every day in the morning I'd pack it you know like that have my snacks on the outside
and one of my favorite things about this shoulder pocket here is after you've had a bar
you've got the wrapper instead of having to stop and open up your rubbish bag I stuff my rubbish
just in this pocket and then at the end of the day just grab it all out put it in my main rubbish bag.
So again it all comes down to you know efficient hiking, stopping the least amount of time. Here I've
got my Katadyn Befree uh one litre water filter um these things are fantastic you can compress them
when you're not using them or if you need to do a longer water carry you can open it up and carry
an extra liter of water so I stuffed that here at the top because I'll need that throughout the day.
A bit of fruit I'll also leave that guy out there for now because no doubt I'll have that one later.
Moving along I do have my headlamp in my hip pocket I just like it there I could have it inside
um but it is nice when I get to camp and it's already getting dark I know exactly where my
head torch is. Always keep it in the same spot. Next up um my first aid and some other bits and bobs so
in there you know I've got panadol, I've got a snake bandage and this is absolutely critical
that you have it on the outside of your pack. I probably don't need my my toothpaste and all
the rest in there but I just keep it in one bag nice and you know it's nice and simple
shove that right down the side but yeah I can't stress having first aid you know on the outside
of your pack enough you know too often we see um people with their snake bandages, first aid kits
tucked deep inside their bag. You get bitten by a snake the last thing you want to do is go scurrying through
your pack it's really important to have it right there ready to go. The Sea to Summit wilderness wipes,
stay fresh in the bush. You can go with a standard bog roll that is going to be up to you.
I do find the wet wipes to be a luxury out in the bush and they do take up less space
than a roll. I also don't have to worry about them getting wet.
The Petzl Spatha climbing knife. On my recent trek I was hesitant to take a knife. There
haven't been many times when I have needed a knife. The few times I did on this trip I was
very glad to have this one and you know 40 grams. I actually like to clip this on the
hydration access point if you've got a Camelbak or something like that you can't have it in there
but I clipped my knife to the outside here because you know it's just always there when I need it if
I do need to cut open anything. My PLB, this is from rescue me, it's a rescue me PLB1. Thankfully I haven't
had to use it yet but just having the peace of mind hiking with that guy it's just it's a
game changer and you know keeps Mum happy, it keeps my family happy so it's a must. On my recent trip just
had it here. If I fall over break my leg um anything like then it's right there on the outside of my
pack. You know if you're doing a side trip you want to leave your main pack at the base of the trail
do clip this to you know if you've got a little hip belt or something like that
it's good to have with you. Next up sunscreen, stay safe. Another little Light Load towel.
Um these things are fantastic, again I believe it's between 10-15 grams they're super
absorbent. So I'd go for swim in the river you know freshen up when I need to and I'd
be able to dry off my whole body with that um you know dry your feet after crossing the river.
Next up I've got my waterproof socks, you know I've got a few grass seeds and things on them there
they're a little bit dirty so I'll usually have them on the outside of my pack. Almost at the
end. We've got my Buff neck gator here which I use every single day when I was cold I chuck it on
especially when you know you're hiking up in the mountains you're very exposed
covering it over your nose and your face really seems to keep you warm so
I'd usually have it around my neck but when I don't when i'm hiking up a hill
on a hot day I've got my sun hoodie on typically and I don't want to overheat.
So I'll just wrap it around that shoulder pocket there and it seems to sit quite nicely.
Car keys again this is just for the overnighter chuck them in the bottom there
and that's everything. You want to make sure all your pockets are zipped up before you go.
I will actually throw my phone in there just because it's nice to snap photos along the way.
As you can see that's everything um this is essentially everything I took uh on the
Australian Alps Walking Track uh and it's quite an ultralight way to pack a backpack especially
down in 40 litres. It's really nice to not have to carry around such a heavy load really helps with
the heels, helps your knees, your feet, everything. I was very happy with it chuck that one on
and just like that your trail ready. Everything's nice and snug um feels like home when I put it
on so yeah that's how how to pack an ultralight backpack at least it's how I pack it. The most
important thing obviously is to enjoy your hike and take or don't take whatever is going to do
that for you yeah thanks for watching just let us know how you do it differently or how you like
to pack your ultralight backpack. You can jump onto tomsoutdoors.com and have a browse there
alternatively you can give us a call, send us an email or jump onto our socials and message us from
there. I'll be more than happy to have a chat about gear and point you in the right direction.