Lightweight Backpacking: REI Style

From REI’s blog

EDIT 8/12: For the people who prefer to read just gear lists, here’s a summary:

“This article is not about getting the lightest gear at REI as you would on BPL or Reddit /ul, or whatever gear site you may frequent. The article is about how, with typical gear, people end up being light anyway despite what people saying about light gear being dangerous, not sturdy, etc.”

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I’ve asserted that the whole debate about taking lightweight gear is silly.

I truly believe you have to work not to go light, but to go heavy.

Meaning, you have to take more crap than you need. And you go out of your way to buy the heaviest gear.

Mainstream gear is becoming lighter than earlier counterparts. And the key to going light is not what you take but rather what you don’t take.

The Lightweight Backpacking: REI Style article is an experiment.

Can a person purchase all their gear at REI pack 20 lbs or less for their base pack weight? And use gear that is typically purchased by most REI consumers?

REI is arguably the most popular outdoor store for a particular demographic of backpacker (affluent, college educated) who does not want to do lots of research for their gear, purchase mail order from cottage companies, and takes a more casual approach to weight reduction. In other words, the typical backpacker is more likely to get most, if not all, their gear and clothing at REI for backpacking.

Additionally, twenty pounds or less is considered the traditional threshold for the lightweight backpacking category and seemed a good starting point as any.

I imposed the following guidelines for myself:

• All the gear and clothing must come from REI with a few noted exceptions. Most people do have a toothbrush, after all.
• Nothing could be on clearance. The exception would be some winter gear as of this writing it is August, and most of the winter clothing (hat, gloves, etc.) are not available. I did use the full retail price vs. the clearance price, however. 
• The gear would not be the least expensive nor the most expensive gear
• The gear would also be mid-range concerning weight

Why these stipulations? Esp the last two parts?

Again, the typical REI consumer is not going to go out of their way to purchase the very expensive and light Big Agnes Copper Spur tent.   The same consumer will have enough knowledge to realize that the Base Camp 4 tent used for family camping trips is overkill for backpacking.    The typical REI customer is also not going to purchase from cottage gear companies or use budget alternatives that are effective. I base these assertions on the admittedly non-scientific way of having many friends, colleagues, and acquaintances who fall into these parameters. Time is a precious resource for many. And REI, besides being well known, is a one-stop shopping place for many.

Also, an addition based on recent comments: Forget semi-frameless packs, pads perceived to be fragile, short pads, unknown brands for most consumers, trail runners, Smart Water bottles vs Camelbaks,  or one person tents.  Again, this is gear the typical REI consumer purchases and not what an experienced person looking to go lighten someone’s load would suggest.

Having stated all that, here is the  Lightweight Backpacking: REI Style list.

It is not lightest, heaviest, least expensive, or the most expensive list that can be purchased at REI.  (On purpose!)

But I feel it is a reasonably typical list of what most REI consumers will purchase for an off-the-shelf kit for their backpacking pursuits.

Happy Trails!

–Paul Mags 

TOTAL COST OF ALL GEAR:  $1780

So there you have it.  A complete, lightweight,  REI gear list using typically purchased gear.  Take a liter of water, and three days of food and the total gear carried is under 30 lbs for a long weekend of backpacking.

Everything is off-the-shelf (or website in this case) and nothing exotic. I could easily go lighter with just gear at REI.  Substitute a lighter, if more expensive, tent, pad, and pack and the gear list is around the 15 lb base pack weight mark.  The prices will go up in some cases, but perhaps down in others. If I were to convince these theoretical REI customers to drop certain items (pack cover, use a homemade first aid kit, use a smaller knife, etc.) even more weight is saved just by using REI gear.

The theoretical REI consumer will be warm, safe, comfortable and will hardly be making sacrifices for a two or three-day outing.

Another observation? I often hear people talk about how expensive it is to go light. Oddly enough, with the right mix of REI-type gear, cottage gear, budget alternatives, and some high-end gear, a person can go very light, have functionally the same equipment and be as safe FOR LESS MONEY than just using REI-type gear exclusively.  However, when the average REI consumer earns more than the typical household average, a little over $2000 worth of gear is probably not a huge burden either, to be honest.

Going light is not some obscure rubric. Take what you need.  And what you need, that also happens to be light,  can often be found at the store most people associate with backpacking oriented activities using gear they would normally purchase anyway.

It is harder to go heavy than it is to go light in 2017.

Notes:

• The prices are rounded up.
• All the weights are from the REI site. Exception? Some clothing items did not have weights so I took weights from their nearest equivalent that I could find.
• I used Men’s medium or equivalent as the baseline for clothing.
• Items that vary on trips such as food, fuel, guidebooks, and maps (which are trip dependent) not included
• I did not list hiking poles. Call it a coin-toss if people use them or not for casual backpacking.
• Cameras will add weight. Most people just take a smart phone at this point. Price and weight depend on the phone.