Under $350 Ultralight Backpacking Kit

There is a concern often expressed by people that if they want to reduce the weight of their gear, they must spend huge amounts of money. Those concerns are certainly justified, as many of the ultralight gear lists obtain maximum performance through very expensive, top of the line gear.

It doesn’t have to be that way however. The current state of the market is such that by removing unnecessary gear, and making some smart choices, one can easily create a very light weight kit on a budget.

You may have seen my Beginners Guide to Affordable Bushcraft and Camping Gear, where I was focusing more on low cost than low weight, but the resulting kit was under 13 lb, including a hatchet and saw, and cost a bit over $400 with all of the small accessories.

Well, Lightweight Backpacking has put together another gear list, titled Under $350 Ultralight Backpacking Kit, which I think is well worth a look.

You can follow the above link to the full article. I probably wouldn’t have made all of the same choices. For example, I would prefer a DIY alcohol stove over an Esbit one, and I would rather have a tarp than a one person tent, but overall, the gear choices are solid both in terms of weight and cost.

I think the choices for backpack, sleeping bag and sleeping pad are excellent, and surprisingly cost effective. Of course, this is not the and all and be all gear list, but it goes to show that with some careful gear selection, and by leaving behind a lot of unnecessary equipment, the weight of your pack can be brought down significantly without braking the bank.