Hammock backpacking is the best! I highly recommend everyone try it at least once. It’s orders of magnitude more comfortable than ground backpacking and honestly not that much worse than a bed at home. In fact, sometimes when I feel cramped sharing a queen bed with another person, I’ll think about my cozy womb of a hammock to lull myself to sleep. And if you’re wondering if a hammock is something that you can actually sleep in every night, the ancient mayans and this random redditor actually use hammocks instead of beds. Is that mayan thing a myth? Is that redditor just a shill for big hammock? Who knows? But from my personal experience, I definitely feel better the next morning when I use a hammock set up instead of a ground one.
Now let’s get to the gear part. Most of this post is going to have a lot in common with my 6lb Base Weight Ultralight Gear List. In fact, most of this is verbatim the same post, but despite redundancy, I want the two to stand alone as gear guides. If you read that previous post, the only difference in gear is in the Big 3 section.
Lighterpack…it’s actually 6.9 lbs. That’s not even a pound more than my ground set-up.
I included links to all the gear. In the interest of transparency / amazon requires me to disclose, I’m an amazon affiliate member, so if you purchase off of my amazon links, I get a small commission. Those are labelled with an additional “(sales link).”
Big 3 – 3.9 lbs
- Zpacks Robic Nero 38L no belt no bungee no pad 10.58 oz
- Awesome frameless bag. If I was to do it again, I’d get the Ultra version of this, which is waterproof, sturdier, and a little lighter, but it wasn’t available at the time. I took off the bungee and the sitpad since having the pad lashed to the pack back doesn’t really benefit me in any way. I also don’t use the webbing belt that came with it. Zpacks sometimes gets a bad reputation in the backpacking community, but this bag is pretty hard to top. I couldn’t find anything lighter or as usable. It’s got amazing side pockets that you can easily reach without taking the bag off, and the giant mesh center pocket is super convenient. Also, if you’re over 5’6″, I’d definitely recommend the Nero over the Sub-Nero, even if you have a super dialed in kit. I tried the Sub-Nero; it’s uncomfortably small on the back and you can’t reach the side pockets without taking the bag off.
- Nylofume Packliner 0.92 oz
- Just get this to line your pack. It’s light and sturdy and satisfyingly ASMR’edly crinkly. It’s also waterproof, so I just stuff my sleeping bag in without a separate stuff sack.
- 2 Bonfus Shoulder Pouches 0.74 oz
- I put these on my pack and keep my water bottles in them. Keeping water up front on the shoulder straps distributes weight better than keeping them in the side pockets. Also allows me to use the side pockets for other things I’d like to grab without having to take the pack off (snacks, gloves, headnet, poncho, sunglasses, etc)
- Hummingbird Hammock Single+ 7.87 oz
- The Single version of this is the lightest hammock you can get, but since I’m about 6′ tall I need a hammock that’s at least around 10′ total, so I opted for the Single+ instead.
- This hammock isn’t the most tear resistant. It actually ripped on me during a rafting trip on the Deschutes. But the customer service of Hummingbird is excellent and they replaced it for me free of charge.
- Hummingbird Hammock Bugnet 5.43 oz
- Works well with the hammock. I think there are hammock and bugnet combos where the bugnet zips onto the sides of the hammock to save weight. I didn’t get that because those cost more and I’m concerned about bugs biting through the bottom of the hammock.
- This also is a bit flimsy since it’s so thin. The zipper jammed on me and ripped the bugnet a bit. But like the hammock, Hummingbird replaced this for me free of charge as well.
- Hummingbird Tree Strap 1″ Webbing 1.55 oz
- Some of the lightest tree straps you can get. I don’t remember them being this expensive when I bought them originally. You can definitely go cheaper here or look into MYOG or etsy.
- Hummingbird Extensions .75 oz
- Worth bringing a negligible amount of weight in case the best place to hang is trees that are very far apart from one another.
- Hotfoot Topquilt 15.63 oz
- Got this from HangTightShop on etsy comboed with an underquilt for a budget hammock set up. The topquilt by itself works fine as a summer quilt for a ground set-up and is lighter than my Enlightened Equipment 20* quilt. The quality and stitching are pretty good and I believe the guy customizes them out of Double Black Diamond down blankets. This option is significantly cheaper than the alternatives.
- Hotfoot Underquilt 15.84 oz
- See above. An underquilt is a must, and usually the reason why hammock set-ups are always a bit heavier than ground set-ups. These are rated for 40*. And I can get down a bit lower since I use a sleeping bag liner.
- 6 @stakes 6″ 0.71 oz
- What to say? They work the way stakes should. They’re the lightest you can get.
- 2 MSR Mini Groundhogs 0.7 oz
- Also carry a couple more sturdy stakes just in case. Need 8 total stakes anyways.
- DCF Stake bag 0.18 oz
- Etowah Gear 8×10 tarp Hammock mode 9.06 oz
- Great DCF tarp I bought on the ULGearTrade subreddit. Looks like they only sell an 8.5 by 10 model now. The 8×10 works perfectly for my needs since I can use it both with my hammock and for a ground set up. The ground set up mode of the tarp is a little lighter since I don’t need a pair of carabiners I use for hammock mode.
- Thinlight Folded Version cut to torso size 0.78 oz
- Use it as a floor mat to get into my hammock without shoes on. Also useful as a seat.
- Cocoon Silk liner 4.7 oz
- Also bought this for a song in the flagship Seattle REI’s used gear section, and haven’t gotten a chance to use it yet. A sleeping bag liner probably doesn’t seem ultralight..but maybe TMI…I prefer to sleep naked. That’s been all but impossible for me since the nylon of a sleeping bag makes me sweat on contact (a lot of things make me sweat…I’m a sweaty boy). I used to pack sleep pants and wear my fleece when I sleep, but I’d much rather sleep without anything on. So what better solution to this issue than swathing myself head to toe in silk? What luxury! What elegance! What refinement! What ultralightness too, since the liner weighs about the same as an ultralight pair of pants and makes it so I don’t need to bring one along. The side benefit of this is it also allows me to handle cooler weather with the summer weight sleeping bag.
- Unrelated to this specific piece of gear, but related to the aforementioned sweat issue, I recently tried to use Patagonia’s now discontinued Lightweight Capilene baselayer pants as my sleep pants. Good news is it weighed 3.53 oz’s, bad news is it also made me sweat on contact with my skin. So if you suffer from excessive hidrosis like me, I would stick to natural fibers like silk, cotton, linen, or merino.
- For a silk liner, there’s also this decathlon option that looks decent albeit a little smaller.
Packed Clothes – .72 lbs
- Weather Station Emergency Poncho (sales link) 1.09 oz
- Poncho + Wind Shirt > rain jacket or hard shell. It’s also lighter, more modular, and protects better from rain. Another plus is the poncho can also cover up your pack so you can leave that pack cover at home. You can read more about how we learned to embrace the poncho during our Wind River trip. You don’t really need to buy the specific one I linked to here; honestly, whatever emergency poncho the store you’re at is selling works as long as it’s big enough for you and your pack. If it matters though, this Weather Station one is lighter than than the more common Coghlan’s one, which weighs 1.83 oz (the Weather Station one is polyethylene and the Coghlans is polypropylene). Also, you might be interested in one of the more sturdy ponchos like a Frogg Togg’s one, but I actually prefer cheap emergency ponchos because they weigh a lot less, pack smaller, breathe better, and do just as well in the rain. It might be a little more wasteful though, since an emergency poncho might only last a few trips (if you get unlucky with rain).
- Copperfield Wind Shirt 7D Medium 1.78 oz
- I love this thing. It looks like I’m wearing an orange trashbag, so yeah…pure hiker/trash Derelicte magic. It’s also a surprisingly comfortable and silky feeling fabric. A much cheaper alternative is the Dooy windshirt (sales link), which weighs 2.5 oz in medium. The issue with the Dooy is that mosquitos can still bite through it and mosquitos really love me. I gave the Dooy to Danny since he’s apparently got gross tasting blood that bugs aren’t into.
- Enlightened Equipment Copperfield Pants 7D Medium 1.2 oz
- Pants version of the wind shirt. Combined together, I’m completely protected from bugs.
- Defeet ET Duraglove WM 1.5 oz
- Andrew Skurka loves these gloves and I agree. Another good option is the cheap wool gloves you can get at an army surplus store, but those don’t come with grippies.
- Zpacks Goose Hood 1.3 oz
- If it’s warm enough, I could get away with not bringing this. This hood, the Airmesh hoodie, and the Wind shirt, combine to keep me quite warm. I like to use this to stuff a sack to make a pillow. Additionally, for colder weather hiking, I got a puffer without a hood that I pair with this.
- Mountain Hardware Airmesh Hoodie Medium 4.52 oz
- If it’s warm enough, I could also get away with not bringing this. Before I brought along the sleeping bag liner, I always brought this since I needed to use it as a sleep shirt because of sweat reasons (and I didn’t want to sleep in the same thing I hiked in the whole day). I do use this to stuff a sack to make a pillow. That being said, the airmesh is amazing. It may be one of the most comfortable items of clothing I own, and I’m including my normal non-backpacking clothes. Another alternative to this would be Polartec alpha hoodies like the Senchi Wren or Farpointe offerings, which are lighter and supposedly as warm and comfy. I’m pretty confident the airmesh is sturdier because of the mesh on the outside.
- Darn Tough Ultralight Quarter (cushioned) Medium 1.41 oz
- Just an extra pair of socks that I wear at night / wear to hike on my last day on the trail. Having needed to sew this pair of socks up after my Wind River trip, I found out the Ultralight thickness Darn Tough sock isn’t quite sturdy enough for backpacking for days on end, but it’s perfect for the purpose here.
Food and Water – .55 lbs
- 2 BOS Bag L (sales link) 0.46 oz
- This bag is normally used by people for diapers, so it’s great at odor sealing. This bag is wear I keep all my food. I never really understood the need to splurge on like a DCF bag for food when you could really just use a plastic bag that’s both lighter, does the same thing, and you don’t have to clean. I bring two of these, one for trash, one for food. The large version of this bag also fits perfectly as a liner for the Ursack Major, so can fit about 7 days of food.
- I actually would prefer a Nylofume bag that’s just a smaller version of the one I use for my pack liner. I bought one online somewhere but I can’t find it anymore.
- Bic Mini 0.42 oz
- Dasani bottle 1L 1.06 oz
- Like .2 ozs lighter than a Smart Water bottle and has the same type of cap attachment.
- Food Bowl 1 oz
- To cold soak with.
- Bamboo Spoon (sales link) 0.46 oz
- Lighter than those fancy titanium camping spoons, about as long (cut down if you wanna cut weight), and way cheaper. 10 bucks for a pack of 6! I like them enough to use them at home too.
- Cnoc VectoX 2L 3.25 oz
- .45 ozs heavier than the standard Vecto but sturdier. Danny’s Vecto sprouted small leaks his first time out with it so I’m hoping the sturdiness is worth it. I like the 2L version since it’s nice to just get water once and then gravity filter with them. This was so convenient during our Wonderland Trail hike, that I ended up relying on Danny and Sean for water almost the entire time since it was so much easier than using my Katadyn BeFree.
- Versa Flow Lightweight Water Filter by HydroBlu 2 oz
- This is like a better version of the Sawyer Squeeze. It has the strengths of the Sawyer Squeeze: filters water well, can back flush, can thread onto water bottles. And at the same time has notable improvements: has threads on both the clean and dirty water side (you need a separate coupling for the Sawyer’s clean water side), is lighter by a little bit, and doesn’t have an o-ring you’re worried about losing.
- I used a Katadyn Befree for a couple trips that became too slow to use after only two trips. I tried soaking and even soaked it in vinegar too without any luck. Unlike the Versa Flow and the Sawyers, the Befree can’t be backflushed.
Miscellaneous – .93 lbs
- Boxy Bag Large 0.5 oz
- Keep things I only need in camp here. At night, I stuff it and use it as a pillow.
- Used to have a zpack medium pillow, but the nice fabric side isn’t needed since the sleeping bag liner covers the head too. Additionally, the fleece of the medium pillow made me sweaty.
- Bag O’stuff 1.66 oz
- Includes my charging cables, credit card, ID, and $40 in cash
- Charmast 10000 (sales link) 6.67 oz
- Almost as light as the NB10000 at a third the price.
- Stick pick 0.53 oz
- I love this thing. It’s an attachment to trekking poles that turns your hiking pole into a selfie stick. Unfortunately, I don’t know if they make this anymore cause I can’t find the website.
- Magsafe Phone Tripod Mount (hotshoe unattached) (sales link) 1.2 oz
- Pretty cool way to mount your phone instead of the typical clamp mount. It’sboth lighter and quicker to use. Works with iphone 12’s and beyond, and should work for magsafe cases. Try out at lower heights first to make sure it sticks…Ben had an unfortunate accident with his phone when we tried it out, though he had an android with a magsafe case.
- Swiss Army Knife 0.74 oz
- The classic. Hard to beat. Lighter but less cool than an opinel, but with more functions. The scissors are especially useful.
- Bogler Co Ultralight Trowel 0.46 oz
- Lighter than the Deuce, and a little easier to use.
- Toothbrush 1.98 g
- I think Garage Grown Gear throws this in with every shipment. It’s a silly thing but it works.
- First aid kit 0.5 oz
- Pared down kit with just the basics.
- Bidet (sales link) 0.5 oz
- Bidet attachment that goes on your water bottle. Comes in a pack of three so share with friends. If you thought bidets were only for fancy people, think again.
- Lightload Small Towel (sales link) 0.2 oz
- To clean the water off (see above)
- NU25 UL 1.59 oz
- Lightest you can get. Works really well. The new version linked here has a usb-c port.
- Used to use the lighter Rovyvon Aurora A5 instead, but it didn’t clip well to my cap and it doesn’t have a red light.
Worn – 3.35 lbs
I compared a lot of clothes weights here: https://lighterpack.com/r/e2j91s
- Iphone 13 mini 6.1 oz
- Lightest phone you can get while still having the excellent iPhone camera. Doesn’t have the 2x telephoto lens. I actually wouldn’t recommend this phone since I feel like I need to charge it all the time.
- Apple Watch 7 40mm 2.12 oz
- I love this. I use this instead of my phone for everything other than taking pictures. Some people prefer Garmin’s instead, but other than the battery life superiority, I think the Apple Watch is better….especially for day to day life. For instance, I like to use the Nike Run Club app workouts for my runs, which you can’t install onto a Garmin watch. I could just have two watches but that’d be frivolous. Some info on how the watch helped me off trail: Wind River trip.
- Sunday Afternoons Vantage Point Trucker 2.19 oz
- This is a pretty great running hat. It’s really light, absorbs sweat well, has reflective detailing, and sunglass locks on it.
- Tifosi Tyrant 2.0 Brown 1.2 oz (including fabric case)
- Really high quality, and rare to find both polarized and photochromic sunglasses. The lens ventilations work really well, and even on really hard and hot runs, I’ve had no issues with fogging. I like brown since I think it’s more pleasant to look through than grey. These are made for biking so it has the added benefit of being aerodynamic…feel your head slice through the air while you hike blazing fast speeds of up to 1 mph.
- Buff 1.23 oz
- Good to cover your face from the sun. I didn’t get it, but I’d suggest getting the buff that also has insect shield.
- Kuiu Hoodie 120 Bone L 5.7 oz
- I’ve done a lot of research on this, and I believe this is the best sun hoodie out there. It’s the lightest merino option and I consider merino a necessity for its odor resistance. This somehow still managed to not smell terrible after 8 days straight of hard hiking from sweaty old me. The one thing that might be a dealbreaker to some is that it doesn’t have thumb loops. Other than that, it breathes well when it’s hot, insulates a little when its cold, has a perfectly sized hood, protects from sun up UPF 50, and I think it has a pretty good fit too.
- The fabric of the Kuiu hoodies seems really sturdy. My friend has a Wuru merino hoodie that he got a hole on after his first trip, while mine is still going strong.
- Legends Luka Shorts 5″ No Liner L 4.76 oz
- These seem costly, but check the last chance section and stack the 15% off and free shipping coupon, and it’s not much more than a pair of athletic shorts from Target. But these are way better. These are the lightest shorts I could find with honest to goodness left and right pockets on them. At the time I bought them, they advertised having an “anti microbial silver infused fabric” though I don’t see that anymore on the site.
- For a couple hikes, I tried hiking in a pair of running shorts with a built in briefs liner. I mean that was the most ultralight thing I could do! Underwear and shorts together at just 3.1 ozs. While I honestly loved showing off the buns and thighs in 3″ short shorts, the first issue I ran into is I missed real pockets too much. Running shorts usually just come with an inconvenient back pocket, and I was constant misplacing things and losing them. I became known as the guy who kept asking “did anyone see my…” The second issue is that I missed the modularity of separate briefs and shorts. Having them all in one made an already filthy activity, feel even filthier.
- Kuiu Ultra boxer brief 3.2 oz
- Bought these recently since merino wool, and the specific wool fabric Kuiu uses, has served me so superbly well. Figured it makes sense to have some odorproofness on the part of the body that needs it the most.
- Silverlight Quartersock Ankle M 1.8 oz
- I know how popular Darn Toughs are, but having used both, I think these are better. I have less blistering when hiking with them, and from my totally subjective point of view, these feel way better to wear. These have a really nice silky feeling that makes them feel great when putting on in the morning. I also like how these have a left and right side for the pair.
- Simblissity Levagaiter 1.8 oz
- I’m a fan of gaiters, and these work well and are really light. I can really notice the difference when hiking with them…I also have sensitive feet and can’t stand things getting in my shoes. Pre-gaiter life I was emptying my shoes multiple times a day. Now I just do it in the morning before putting on shoes for the day.
- Arc’teryx Norvan SL 2 Shoes 12.55 oz
- The lightest non-barefoot style trail runner you can get. I linked the SL3, which is the new model. Those look like they fix one of my biggest issues with the SL2, which was that the upper set up made it annoying to take the shoes on and off,
- These are great once you get used to them. They don’t offer as much support as normal trail runners, so like barefoot shoes, you need to push through some pain before your feet strengthen up. They also don’t have a rock plate, so you’ll feel more of the ground. My dogs were really barking the first five days on the Wonderland.
- Overall, I like these enough to make them my go-to hiking shoe. Firstly, unlike literally any other trail-runner options, these actually look cool. The black is sleek, minimalist, and stylish like Ikea on the feet. From a performance viewpoint the Vibram Litebase outsole give great traction, and once your feet toughen up the stiffness of the midsole stops being problematic. And while it’s expensive, the upper is made from a more plasticy solid material than a fabric, which makes it a bit more durable than most trail runners. I did notice some fraying on the upper after I completed the Wonderland, but it still has a lot of miles left. For comparison, my Lone Peak 4 that were brand new when I started the Timberline developed a small hole in the upper by the time I finished. Also the Ultra Raptors that were brand new when I started the Wind River High Route also developed a hole in the upper by the time I finished. To be fair, unlike those tow shoes, the Norvan’s can’t be fixed by sewing.
- Cascade Ultralight Carbon fiber poles (sales link) 11.19 oz
- I’m a big fan of these. They are also one of the cheapest, lightest carbon fiber poles you can find. Moreover, those expensive carbon fiber poles usually don’t even have a down grip, which I consider a necessity. They have cork options too if you prefer but these are lighter.
- Compare to the Gossamer Gear LT5. Pros for Gossamer Gear: 1.39 ozs lighter, collapses into three sections. Pros for Cascade: has a down grip. Other pro for Cascade: can buy it for 1/3 and sometimes even 1/4 of the price of the LT5. You can outfit a nuclear family with these Cascade poles for the price of one Gossamer Gear.
Optional Add Ons / Replacements
These are things I’d bring on most of my actual trips, but I didn’t include because “6 lb base weight” sounds so impressive. This all ends up weighing a ghastly 7.58 lbs…oh no!
- REI Flexlite Air 15.34 oz
- It’s amazing having a chair especially if your hike isn’t only to crush miles but also to hang out with your friends at the end of the day. Another chair option is from Helinox, which does feel a little sturdier to sit on but ultimately not worth the price difference for me.
- Qianle Slippers (sales link) 4.23 oz
- Same thing as above applies for camp shoes. Short of these ridiculous things, the one linked here is probably the lightest you can find. Unfortunately, it looks like they don’t sell them anymore. If you want to find something similar, troll amazon like I did and find one with similar material and similarly thin soles. If you wanna be a psychopath, buy only ones that are also amazon prime, weigh them to compare, only keep the lightest, and return the rest. But don’t do that…cause I totally didn’t do that cough cough
- BRS 3000T Stove (sales link) .92 oz, Toaks 750 ml (sales link) with tinfoil no lid 2.96 oz, fuel canister 3.5 oz, Mountain House Cook Bag 1 oz
- I don’t like cold soaking…in fact, I have never backpacked cold soaking. Changing from a cold soaking setup to a hot food setup brings the base weight from 6.9 lbs up to 7.37 lbs. Though you also have to carry fuel. Including the fuel canister here, since it’s supposed to be included as base weight.
- The BRS 3000T is probably the lightest stove you can get and it’s also really inexpensive. It works just fine for boiling water. Note that the first BRS stove I bought only lasted the Wind River High Route and two days on the Wonderland. I bought another one and I’m hoping I just got unlucky, but keep that in mind when weighing (literally and figuratively) options.
- Rope if bear hangs are needed
