Gregory Goes There

Going backpacking and keeping things lightweight so you can cover more miles is by no means a new trend. People have been espousing various philosophies on traveling light for years, even decades.

BackpackingLight, for instance, headquartered out of Bozeman, MT, runs a great site (note, you must be a member to access most of the content) with articles of all types surrounding the theme of traveling light in the backcountry.

At Gregory, we’re not necessarily an advocate of any one kind of backpacking. There’s a time and place for going heavy and taking all the luxuries. And there’s also a definite place for going light, covering more miles and more terrain because you’re not burdened by a heavy load. Most people are probably somewhere in between.

But one of the questions we do get here at Gregory is how do you effectively travel light? Whatever reason people have for trying to condense, and there are many (more demanding work schedules, parent responsibilities that make it difficult to take more than a night away, just don’t like carrying too much on your back, etc.), people are interested in getting out there in time efficient ways.

We’ve found that a lot of the lightweight fans tend to be very experienced backpackers, but we all have to start somewhere, right?  Which is probably one of the reasons we get questions about traveling light - because it’s one of those things that many people just pick up over the years.

Our take is that learning to backpack lightweight is one of those things that’s great to learn by starting small - one nighters, maybe with lower mileages, learning what works for you and what doesn’t, because everyone’s got their systems. That way, you learn what’s effective before getting too far out there.

The other piece of advice we give people is that their backpack shouldn’t be the first item they pick, in most cases. That’s because the pack you’ll need depends a lot on the gear you own. If you have a 5-degree synthetic sleeping bag, you’re not going to be traveling with a 30- or 35-liter pack, because the bag will take up half your space. Of course, there are lightweight-category packs (the Z and Jade series in our case) and packs built to carry more weight (again, in our case, the Response series), and obviously choosing a lighter-weight pack makes sense.

A lot of people tend to think of packs like Gregory’s Z55 or Jade 50 as good choices for lightweight backpacking, and they are when you’re going for a few nights or carrying a little more gear (or bulkier gear).  But a 35 or even 30 liter pack like the Z35 or Jade 35 can be a great choice for a single night out, covering a lot of miles, if you have the right equipment.

Here’s a few tips we’ve learned over the years for considering when you’re trying to travel light.

- What sort of shelter are you taking? A lot of people make very lightweight, small footprint tents that weight 3 to 5 pounds, and if you’re going with a companion, splitting up the tent, fly and poles (or in the case of single-wall tents, the tent and poles) is a good way to go. Big Agnes is making some nice lightweight tents these days. And make sure the tent floor is seam-sealed and skip the ground cloth.  A lightweight bivvy sack is a great way to go for single nighters if you’re traveling solo or want your own shelter, especially when the weather’s not looking particularly threatening.

- A 20 or 25 degree down sleeping bag is a great choice, because it’ll pack down super small. You can use a compression stuff sack to help with this. Some people will tell you that’s not so great for down sleeping bags, and it’s true, but it is an effective way to compress your bag, and, depending on the size of your stuff sack, you can toss in a couple of layering items you know you won’t need till you make it to camp. Besides, bags are made for using, right?

- Choose a very light, very packable mattress. A year or two ago, Cascade Designs came out with the Therm-a-Rest ProLite series, which are nice lightweight, packable pads.

- Though generally at Gregory we think packs carry better when you pack everything inside the pack, there are always exceptions to rules, and trying to go lighter and smaller can be one of those. When trying to pack light in a very small pack, sometimes it works well to attach your tent or bivvy poles on one side of the pack and your sleeping pad on the other, via the compression straps, which gives you more room to work with inside with a small pack. Just make sure to keep things evenly balanced.

- For single nighters, consider foregoing a stove altogether, becuase then you’re not only not carrying the stove weight, you don’t have carry fuel or pans either. Make a tasty sandwich instead and carry a small water filter, or, even smaller, water purification treatment like Aquamira. If you really want to take a stove on shorter trips, or for more nights out, a system like the JetBoil is a good option, because it’s a small, lightweight integrated stove that includes the cooking pan.

- With regard to clothing, the trick is carrying enough to be safe and comfortable without overdoing it, and of course, having specialized, really lightweight shells and other layers helps. A nice superlightweight shell like Westcomb’s eVent Specter LT weighs 11 ounces and packs up smaller than a water bottle. Be sure to consider how you can supplement the warmth of your sleeping bag with the clothing you’re carrying.

- One area you should never skimp on is the first aid kit; always have one, though you can tailor the size of it to the length of trip you’ll be doing.

- Food is probably the heaviest item you’ll be carrying, so be sure to consider food that’s lightweight and packable. It’s hard to give any real specific advice on this front, because people like such different things. Suffice to say, stay away from cans and jars.

If all meshes well together, it’s easily possible for folks who are in decent shape and have been preparing for these sorts of outings to pull off 20, 25, 30 or more miles with a single night out. And that - for most folks, most of us included - just isn’t possible when you’re carrying all the comforts.

Of course, this is all just our take on the subject, culled from some of the trips we’ve been on. There’s lots of other points of view and suggestions.

Got any? Chime in, we’d love to hear …