Why I Choose These Backpacking Items for Convenience Over Weight Savings
Maggie Slepian
In the long-distance backpacking world, ultralight is sexy. The smaller the pack, the more knowledgeable the backpacker seems. The more miles they’ve hiked. The less they need to move fast and light through the backcountry. They’re closer to being an enlightened backpacker, whatever that means.
I agree with all of those assessments (minus the enlightenment thing), and I fully understand the benefits of lowering pack weight. I’ve spent a good amount of time, money, and way too much brain power agonizing over taking the quilt vs. the mummy bag, if I really need a mid-layer, should I invest in a lighter sleeping pad even though the R-value is lower?
Despite this, my pack weight is far from heavy. I’ve been fortunate enough to work in the outdoor industry, thus had the chance to review many of these items and not pay for them. Because of this, my gear selection can be both comfortable and lightweight. Could I be one or two pounds lighter? Definitely. Do I care? Nope. My base weight sits at a comfortable 12 pounds. A few pounds heavier than the hallowed sub-10-pound base weight, but I’m not going to throw my back out with it. I save weight by not carrying a cookset, by having very lightweight outer layers, and not taking a lot of extra gear out there.
At some point I’ll write about all of my gear choices and why I made them. Today though, I’m going to list the four heavier items I take on every trip with me, even if they aren’t the newest model, the trendiest material, or the lightest option out there.
1) Freestanding Tent > Trekking Pole Shelter
Weight Penalty: ~8 ounces
This is a big one, but it’s about effort and convenience over anything else. I have many skills in life, but one of them is not setting up trekking pole shelters. On top of that, I have not been blessed with a single iota of patience. When you combine those two things after a long day of hiking, the last thing I want to do is fight with a trekking pole shelter to get the angle and pitch right, then worry about the condensation from a single-wall shelter all night.
It’s way easier and less frustrating for me to snap together a single-hub pole system like I have for my Big Agnes Tiger Wall, stake the tent body, and slap the fly on top of it. It takes two minutes. There is also another, separate travesty in this category. I carry a two-person tent. This actually also came from a conscious decision. The weight difference between the Tiger Wall 1 and the Tiger Wall 2 is about five ounces. For those fives ounces, I get 9 more square feet of interior space (19 square feet vs 28 square feet) and two vestibules instead of one. It’s way worth it.
2) Mummy Bag > Quilt
Weight Penalty: ~4 ounces
This weight penalty is actually negligible. Jeff was harping on me for packing a mummy bag as he flapped his quilt out to show off it’s incredible airiness, so I looked up the specs on his 20-degree Katabatic Quilt compared to my Therm-a-Rest Hyperion 20, and there was a two-ounce difference. Two ounces. That’s the weight of the pillow I also get made fun of for carrying.
For me, a mummy bag is simply more secure, has a more accurate temperature rating, and I have an easier time with heat retention. People love quilts for the freedom of movement and ability to kick it off if it gets warm, but the weight penalty is negligible for how much warmer I stay in a fully enclosed bag with a hood and a draft collar. Quilts are definitely trendier and some models are far lighter than my 20-ounce bag, but I sleep warmer and more comfortably in my classic mummy bag, and I’ve never felt like it was claustrophobic or confining.
3) Inflatable Sleeping Pad > Closed-Cell Foam Pad
Weight Penalty: Wait… I actually save two ounces on this option
Note from me, the writer: I just looked this up and my inflatable pad, the Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XLite is 12 ounces, while the ZLite Sol is 14 ounces. So in this case, I’m winning as far as weight, bulk, warmth and comfort goes. Where I’m not winning with the inflatable pad is effort and durability, two categories that backpackers highly value.
This is a common tradeoff discussion when people talk about inflatable pads vs. closed-cell foam. The closed-cell foam has an R-value of 2, which is half as warm as the 4.2 R-value of the NeoAir. The inflatable pad also packs down to the size of a Nalgene, and provides a lot more cushion for side sleepers. These benefits far outweigh the annoyance of inflating it each night, and the fact that I have to be more careful about where I place it. They are way more fragile than a foam pad, and I’ve ruined more than one in my day. If you go the inflatable route, note that the NeoAir is one of the best models for warmth, weight, and packability. If you look at other brands and models, they get significantly heavier and bulkier.
4) Inflatable Pillow > Depressing Stuff Sack of Clothes
Weight Penalty: 2 ounces
The camp pillow is the hill I will die on. I have used a Sea to Summit Aeros Pillow since I hiked the AT approximately one million years ago. It weighs two ounces, tucks into the side pocket of my backpack, and improves my quality of sleep in the woods. It’s an absolute no brainer to take along, and I miss it when I don’t have it. The valve can adjust inflation and deflation based on preferences—I inflate it all the way when I’m reading, then deflate the pillow a bit when I’m ready to go to sleep. I am never not smug when I blow the pillow up with three breaths and watch Jeff fluff his grimy jacket to use as a sad substitute for my camp pillow.
