Blog

The Ultimate Guide to Choosing an Ultralight Camping Stove

Posted by Andy Neil on Jul 15, 2024

Camping stoves are an essential part of any hiking or camping adventure. They provide a reliable means to cook meals and boil water. Choosing the right stove can significantly enhance your outdoor experience. Let’s delve into the various types of camping stoves, their pros and cons, and the best scenarios for their use. Before selecting any outdoor gear, it's crucial to consider your specific …
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The Ultimate Guide to Lightweight Rucksacks: Choosing and Using the Perfect Pack

Posted by Andy Neil on Jul 12, 2024

For any hiker or backpacker, the choice of rucksack can make or break a trip. Whether planning a day hike or a multi-week adventure, understanding the ins and outs of lightweight rucksacks is crucial for comfort and efficiency on the trail. This comprehensive guide will walk you through everything you need to know about choosing and using the perfect pack. At its core, a rucksack is designed …
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The Ultimate Guide to Hiking Sun Hoodies: Your Shield Against the Elements

Posted by Andy Neil on Jul 03, 2024

Sun hoodies have become indispensable gear for long-distance hikers and anyone exploring the outdoors in summer. Sun hoodies have gained popularity for their all-in-one solution for sun protection, moisture management, and temperature regulation, making them an essential part of any kit list. Historically, hikers relied on sunscreen, hats, and loose-fitting long-sleeve shirts for sun pro …
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The Ultimate Guide to Choosing an Ultralight Sleeping Mat

Feb 26, 2024

The key factors to take into consideration when choosing a sleeping mat are the pack size, weight, your budget and most importantly what time of year you will be using it which, determines the level of insulation you need. Comfort in an outdoor sense is partly dictated by being able to iron out the lumps and bumps in the ground with the mat, but insulation is king and if you’re cold you won’t slee …
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The Ultimate Guide to Lightweight Baselayers

Posted by Andy Neil on Oct 02, 2023

Arguably, the most essential piece of outdoor clothing is your baselayer. The base layer is the layer that sits closest to your skin and is the fundamental layer of the three-layer system, baselayer, mid-layer and protective outer shell. The baselayers move moisture away from the body, which helps with temperature regulation. They tend to be made from synthetic materials, usually polyester, merino …
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The Ultimate Guide to Lightweight Sleeping Bags

Posted by Andy Neil on Jul 24, 2023

Choosing a sleeping bag can be a daunting task. Getting started with so many different options and variations can be difficult. This will be one of the biggest investments, along with your tent, for backpacking, so it's important that you make the right choice for what you need. We want you to pick the best sleeping bag for your adventures, so we've compiled this guide to help you narrow your sear …
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The Ultimate Guide to Planning a Long-Distance Hike

Posted by Andy Neil on Mar 16, 2023

For me, there is no greater feeling than standing at the start of a national trail or standing in the sea, ready to make a coast-to-coast crossing or, for the truly intrepid, embarking on a multi-day journey that you, yourself, have devised. If the West Highland Way or Wainwright’s Coast to Coast have long been an ambition of yours, but the logistics of such a mammoth task leave you feeling …
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The Ultimate Ultralight Bikepacking Advice Page

Posted by Chris Futers, Lois Fife and Rob Farquhar on Mar 15, 2023

Bikepacking Travelling on two feet can require little more than a rucksack to carry your belongings and enable you to travel far. An ultralight journey on two wheels can require a bit more thought. Some of the main factors being the terrain and the duration of the ride. Gruelling miles off road can feel very different to those on the road, and take a lot longer, but the rewards when both ro …
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The Ultimate Guide to Ultralight Tents

Posted by Andy Neil on Feb 14, 2023

Choosing a lightweight tent can be difficult given the wide range available; we have a wide variety of tents, and we want to ensure you get the right tent for whatever adventures you have. So here are some of the things to consider when you are in the market for a new tent. Here at Ultralight outdoor gear, we weigh every tent ourselves; the manufacturer’s weight can sometimes be inaccurate, s …
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The Ultimate Guide to Choosing an Ultralight Down Jacket

May 24, 2022

Down is still the number one insulating material in the outdoor industry, offering the lightest warmth to weight ratio and unrivaled packability. Therefore, a down jacket will provide exceptional warmth but won't weigh you or your pack down. Choosing a down jacket depends on how warm you need it to be and what features you need it to have.How Warm Should It Be?Our lightest down jackets weigh less …
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The Ultimate Guide to Ultralight Backpacking Quilts

Posted by Danny Pearson on Apr 25, 2022

Backpacking quilts are rapidly increasing in popularity especially amongst lightweight backpackers. So, what is a backpacking quilt? Essentially, it’s half a sleeping bag with no bottom layer (although there might be a footbox) and in most cases no zip or hood. The down in a sleeping bag gets compressed underneath you so do you really need it? So why would you choose a quilt over a sleep …
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The Ultimate Guide to Ultralight Trekking Poles

Posted by Mark Richardson on Apr 18, 2022

Using trekking poles splits the load between your legs and arms, it's not an even split, your knees still take the lion's share of the stress of walking and carrying a load, but by transferring at least some of this to the arms your legs get some relief and at the end of a long day they aren't as tired as they would have been.