Ultralight backpacking is more of a lifestyle choice than a simple set of gear purchases. Even if you buy the fanciest of fancy dyneema/titanium/gossamer woven ultralight backpack in the world—the most meaningful way to lower your pack weight is from making gear sacrifices. For ultralight hikers, these sacrifices look like leaving a stove behind and letting cold ramen marinate in your pack for hours before eating it (called cold soaking) or choosing a tarp/hiking pole system over a full on tent. The benefits from those sacrifices coupled with ultra lightweight backpacking gear are plentiful, though.
In this article, I am going to break down the main differences between an ultralight backpack and heavier traditional backpacks, help you decide if you need one, and deliver buying suggestions. I am going to base this advice on the more than two decades I have been backpacking and 25 years I have spent as a guide, outdoor industry retail employee, and professional gear tester.
Differences between lightweight multi-day backpacks and regular backpacks
I mean, the obvious answer to this question is simple: the weight of these multi day backpacks is different—butt the differences lie within how ultralight packs shave off the ounces (or pounds) in their construction. Ultralight packs use much lighter materials which have a tendency to be a little less durable than their heavier counterparts. Lightweight and ultralight packs usually have way fewer features (all those external pockets, every compression strap, and zipper adds grams!) and usually have one main compartment to place all of your gear in. Heavier duty packs are usually built from more robust materials and can handle heavy loads more comfortably with padded shoulder straps and hip belts. They also tend to have more general comfort features (or doohickies as I like to call them) like a frame that allows your hips to rotate with each step or an uber intricate mesh back that mitigates back sweat.
Photo courtesy Allmansright
Lightweight Hiking Backpacks Pros & cons
- Pros: You can shave off as many as four pounds of weight from your overall kit if you go from a monster high capacity backpacking pack to the best ultralight backpack. Likely, you would be shaving more like ounces to a pound off of your kit with a pack weight downgrade but it most certainly can help you stay disciplined about packing light. Every ul pack have less material to work with and is built with efficiency in mind so the best ones have really smart usability features—like ultralight stretchy mesh external pockets that you can access while you hike. These features can add to the overall efficiency of your movement (and in turn calorie output) of your hike.
- Cons: There isn’t a lot of room for super fluffy shoulder straps or weight distributing frames so for the most part, they are frameless packs and less comfortable. Lightweight backpacking packs are also often less durable since they have to use thinner materials than their burly counterparts. An ultralight backpack (or ul pack) and a lightweight backpack, for the most part, use more expensive materials so they have a tendency to be more expensive than packs built for heavy loads.
Traditional Hiking Backpacks Pros & cons
- Pros: The extra weight delivers opportunities for high capacity packs to be more feature rich. This translates into little hiker treats like a special zippered pocket for your snackies, built out hydration pouch integration, and a solid hipbelt pocket. Heavier weight backpacking packs also often have more comfort details than lighter counterparts which means that you can carry more, more comfortably. The most durable materials are often the heaviest, so the high capacity day hiking packs are often made of more durable materials. You can get a pretty solid one of these packs, like TK, for cheaper than a lightweight or ultra light pack.
- Cons: Just like people are likely to fill a bigger house with more furniture, when you have a heavy pack that was built to carry a whole heap of gear you are likely to bring heavy loads on a backpacking trip. All of the extras can add up and lead to much more tiring days in the mountains. A heavy pack on its own leads to more fatigue on your legs and feet as well if you plan to put in some serious hiking miles.
