if you're tired of carrying around that uncomfortable heavy backpack I promise
you were gonna love this one!
welcome back guys and gals as always my name is Matt this channel is all about
hiking and backpacking we talk a ton of gear here if any of that interests you
guys click the subscribe button over there winter is finally coming to an end
spring is here and I'm sure like myself you guys are out there stoked Jack
getting ready for the summer backpacking trips some of you guys might be
wondering how do I get a lighter backpack I got a bunch of real simple
easy tips we're gonna talk about today that's gonna help you drop the weight in
your backpack we're gonna dive right into it the first thing we're gonna talk
about is cataloging your gear myself personally I use the side called lighter
PACOM I absolutely love how easy it is to organize and kind of break down each
different little section of your gear I find for myself that really helps so I
can see how much I'm carrying from my cook kit how much I'm carrying for my
extra clothes how much I'm caring for my sleep system etc etc so yeah katal on
your gear tends to help and honestly I don't really see a whole lot of people
doing it I think it's probably the best way to start out when it comes to drop
in the waiting your kit so I suggest take an afternoon get all your gear out
weight everything individually write it all down fill it out on the site it'll
break it down for you that way you can have a real visual representation of
what you're carrying in your kit and start breaking it down getting that
lighter backpack for those more enjoyable trips next we're gonna talk
about one of the most important parts of a backpacking trip which is hydration
biggest key to ditching weight when it comes to hydration getting rid of these
things now obviously everybody probably has a Nalgene bottle I personally I use
Nalgene bottles every single day this is like the only thing that I drink water
out of out my house I refill these all the time for winter backpacking trips I
think they're essential when it comes to spring and summer backpacking trips
ditch the freakin Nalgene bottles these things weigh 7 ounces on their own just
analogy and you go with one of these obviously it doesn't have to be a
Gatorade bottle this is just what I have to show you guys I know a lot of people
use the one that you're smart bottles that's usually what I go with in the
summertime but I don't actually have a 1 liter smart bottle with me but
you have an empty gatorade bottle like I said the Nalgene bottle is seven ounces
on its own this Gatorade bottle 710 millilitres weighs one ounce so your 6
ounce weight savings only if you're smart bottles are about an ounce and a
half ounce and a quarter so I mean you know three ounces for two one litre
bottles as opposed to 14 ounces to me as a no-brainer dish the frig analogies
start cutting that weight next thing we're gonna talk about may be a little
bit controversial and it may rub some people the wrong way but it comes to
your first aid kits now the first thing I'm going to suggest with the first aid
kit getting rid of the storage bag that your first aid kids generally come into
if you had those store-bought ones or you know like this is literally a canvas
first aid kit bag that I used to carry for years this pouch alone weighs 4
ounces ditch the case that your first aid kit comes in throw it in a simple
ziploc freezer bag it makes it see through makes it really easy to see
where your stuff is you're not digging around for it for one I mean to me
that's a no-brainer right on its own you can see where every single thing is laid
out in your first-aid kit but also like breaking down your first-aid kit being
smart about it if you're going out for say a two or three night backpacking
trip do you need 36 band-aids in your first-aid kit probably not do you need
the entire bottle of Tylenol probably not I've got all my pills and stuff
broken down here into one small little tiny Ziploc bag that's got you know a
couple Tylenol a couple advil a couple Tom's break down your first-aid kit you
don't really need to be carrying a massive first day gift for a simple
weekend backpacking trip sticking with the same idea of ditching the ridiculous
carry case your first-aid kit comes in start getting rid of your stuff sacks
stuff sack for your quilt gone compression sacks gone stop using dry
bags if you're worried about your gear getting wet go down to your local like
Home Depot or whatever Menards loath throw know whatever it is you've got
local to you pick up a bag of the contractor great garbage bag get the
extra large size or the large size whatever size you figure is gonna fit in
your backpack and use that as a pack liner I've been using this specific
contractor great garbage bag for the last three years in my backpack it just
permanently lives in there anything that I want to keep dry goes inside this you
roll the top shut none of your self is going to get wet you're not going
swimming in a backpacking trip this is going to protect
from rain is gonna keep all your gear dry guys honestly would be surprised if
you start weighing on all the stuff sacks and all the dry bags and all the
compression sacks you're carrying in your backpack and realized how much
weight that actually adds up my good friend Devin tells me all the time
bounces equal pounds and pounds equal pain and I'm not joking at one point
guys I was carrying two pounds of compression sacks dry bags and redundant
stuff sacks I switched out to this this guy here weighs four ounces which rather
carry two pounds of stuff sacks or four ounces personally I'm gonna go with the
four ounces you're kind of starting to catch on to my theme here my philosophy
when it comes to my backpacking gear is carry what you need this used to be my
cook pot for single night backpacking trips for four day backpacking trips for
week-long backpacking trips this is the absolutely bomb-proof stainless steel
MSR Alpine kit but do you really need a 2-liter cook pot on a weekend
backpacking trip if you're going up by yourself absolutely not
now if you're going out and say you're using a communal pot to boil water for
an entire group of people it sure something like this is perfect but this
thing is freaking heavy eventually I broke myself down and I went to this
this is my toks 1200 milliliter cook pot now like I said carry what you need in a
summer backpacking trip have I ever boiled more than 500 milliliters of
water at a time no I L personally have not now I've got myself down to a tokes
550 meal titanium cook pot not only is this saving me a ton of weight this is
also saving a ton of pack space as well maybe packed space like this is huge
because it enables you to go with a smaller pack a smaller pack is generally
gonna go lighter smaller cook pot is definitely another great way to shave
some weight in your backpack you guys so like I mean you don't like being
absolutely like disgusting ranked out on the trail and you want to carry
deodorant with you I know a lot of people carry those little like
travel-size deodorants ticks those are heavy and bulky what I do I take an
empty chopsticks tube cut a little bit of deodorant off the top of your
deodorant at home melt it down put in your little empty chapstick tube there
you go carry that for your deodorant this guy
here weighs an ounce this will last me for a week-long backpacking trip no
problem putting deodorant on every morning so yeah if you guys want to
roast you call me a trail princess cuz I like
smelling good on trail giver it doesn't really bother me but yeah if you guys
are like me and you like can't do doron the trail chapstick tube makes a great
way to shave some weight in your backpack next thing we're gonna talk
about for helping you guys shape some weight in your backpack get yourself a
dog one and Rahmi have been known to carry my cookpot and my first aid kid
and other small stuff with me when they come on with me on the backpacking trips
so you know getting a four-legged hiking companion is definitely a great way to
help shape some weight in your backpacking kit but what I'm gonna do
for you guys up here I'm gonna put a link to my playlist with a whole bunch
of different hiking tips for you guys if you guys wanna go check that one oh that
would be awesome but as always guys I'm Madi thank you so dang much for watching
and I will see you guys on the next one