Lighten Up!

For some walkers and climbers, going light is a religion. Idiots. What's the point of chopping your toothbrush in half and saving 5 grammes? Nope, follow the OM weight-saving plan and you'll simply bung the whole brush away and save 10 grammes...

What we're getting at is that you need to go back to basics and ask fundamental questions like, do I really need to carry a stuffed Iguana rather than just looking for the lightest one on the market.

The great thing about summer is that you can get away with less and lighter than in winter conditions, so next time you hoist up your day pack and nearly dislocate your shoulder, come back here and follow our well-meaning advice.

Why do it?

We're talking day sacks here, but you'd be surprised how much difference losing a bit of weight can make over a long hill day. We're not going to get into bogus calculations of how much less weight you'll lift over the course of a day, but you'll really notice it on the ups - where your legs are lifiting your body and your rucksac repeatedly against gravity, on the downs, where you're leg muscles are working against the same force and on scrambles where a heavy sac can pull you off balance. Overall it's simply much more comfortable carrying a light sac than a heavy one...

Plus there's a filter down effect. If you're carrying a lighter pack, you may feel happier with lighter boots or even trail shoes or sandals. You'll be more comfortable and move more easily, nimbly and faster.

Leave (Some Of) The 'Essentials' Behind

Instead of slavishly following dry mountain skills handbooks with their endless lists of safety equipment, chuck out some of those so-called essentials. So, if you're going to be walking on a busy path, in the Peak District, on a summer weekend, do you really need a heavy plastic survival bag? Do you carry your trekking poles more than you use them? With a lighter pack you might not need them at all. Waterproof overtrousers? In summer, with decent weather forecast, why carry them round slavishly?

You save most weight simply by chucking something out of your pack completely. I have never used a spare fleece in summer, as a result I don't bother carrying one at all and rarely in winter.

Of course you can't throw out the entire contents of your pack, but through a combination of careful kit choice and a little thought, you can lose that lard...

The Sac Some packs are surprisingly heavy - even small day sacs, but if you're carrying less you can get away with a less padded, lighter sac. Our top choice would be one of the many adventure race packs from the likes of Lowe, Salomon Berghaus or GoLite. They're stable and tough, but you can often save 500 grammes over a standard 30-litre pack. If you really want to go for lightness and can minimise the rest of your kit, have a look at a bum-bag / lumbar pack as a less sweaty alternative.

Waterproof Top Once you've jettisoned your overtrousers, take a look at your waterproof jacket. We've used UK-made mountain shells that weigh a colossal 1400 grammes... That's insanity. You can save a lot of that just by opting for a lightweight, affordable waterproof like Lowe's Adrenaline.

But ask yourself if you really need a waterproof at all. The latest generation of windproofs are extremely water resistant, yet much more breathable than any waterproof top. Our favourites are the Encapsil-type fabrics from Patagonia and GoLite and MHW's Conduit Tempest SL jacket. They pack smaller and are generally lighter than even lightweight waterproofs, plus when all you need is a windproof, which is often the case in summer, you don't suffer the limited breathability of waterproof fabrics. Bottom line:even if it rains, you'll stay as dry in a good windproof simply because it breathes better.

Water Water is heavy. If you've ever hefted a sac before and after adding a two-litre hydration bladder, you'll know what we're getting at. Of course sometimes you have no choice but to carry your own, but in many mountain areas, there's water on tap in streams.

If you're a purist, you can simply carry a lightweight cup and drink from streams as you find them. If however you're worried about contamination, and even in UK mountains, it does happen, consider one of the lightweight bottles with an integral filter element. You can drink immediately and it gives you a safety margin.

Fleece, What Fleece? Don't bother with a full mid-weight fleece in summer. It'll simply be too warm and bulky to carry too. Instead carry a simple 100-weight microfleece. Chances are it'll be all you need and also about as warm as you can bear under a windproof shell. Alternatively, if you're feeling flush look at a Regulator equivalent, which will be even lighter. If you still feel you need mid-weight fleece type warmth, you can save a couple of hundred gammes with a synthetic-filled, lightweight shelled pullover, that'll also pack a lot smaller.

Trousers and Shorts If you usually carry both, check out a pair of zip-off pants. The main issue is always comfort where the legs zip off - look for small, well-protected zips - oh, and make sure you don't lose the legs. Either of them. Shorts are great in rain by the way, your legs dry faster than trousers...

First Aid Kits It's tempting to carry most of the contents of an average accident and emergency room around with you, but most mountain first aid is essentially minor and simple - if it isn't, you're probably in trouble anyway. Go through it methodically and chuck out the excess stuff. A lot of shop-bought kits are aimed at groups, but if you're an individual, do you really need ten shell dressings?

Small Quantities Yes, you probably need to carry sun screen, but do you need a family-sized bottle of the stuff? Either decant it into a smaller container - film cannister for example - or buy a smaller tube to start with,

Be Cunning - Share If you're out with mates, do you really need a survival bag and a first aid kit each? Where kit can be communal, share it. Carry two survival bags between two and lessen the weight further by substituting a vacuum-packed space foil bag - not a blanket - for a relatively heavy polythene one. Same goes for mobile phones. For emergency use, how many do you really need? Think that's daft? A polythene survival bag weighs 300 grammes, which is almost as much as a microfleece or a windproof and the chances are you won't use it.

Cameras Go small and light. Some older SLRs are colossally heavy, though modern, ligtweight ones are much better. A small compact, however will be lighter than both. If you're really anal, chuck the film canisters out. You'll save virtually nothing, but you'll feel good about it.

Food Use some common sense - I once backpacked with a mate who believed that tomatoes were a trail essential... Erm, let's see, lots of fluid, virtually no calories at all. Things like chocolate may not be healthy but are an efficient way of carrying lots of calories, stuff with high water content like some fruit is heavier than it needs to be. As a compromise, think about dried fruit or even buying a food drier and doing it yourself. If you must carry chocolate, go for a variety with bubbles in like Aero or Wispa, it'll obviously be lighter...

The End Result

Clearly it's not rocket science and you can pick and choose, but carrying a lighter pack gives you a great feeling of liberation. We reckon we've covered most of the main bases, but life being as it is, we're bound to have missed a few. Got any tips of your own, come and share them on the forum - see link to thread below.

Oh, one last thing, don't start weighing everything in your pack - that way madness lies...