The ultralight guide: From 15 kg to 7 kg for your first 5-day trek.

Did you know that 70% of those who start trekking abandon their first multi-day trek due to overloading? Years ago, I was one of them. One of the first times I prepared a backpack for a multi-day trek, I made the mistake that everyone makes: I put everything in it. (I told you about it a few weeks ago in my most personal newsletter). "We loaded our backpacks with all kinds of equipment: ropes, food for days - many days - technical material... So much so that we could barely lift them.

🔥 The "just in case" dilemma: Security vs. weight

Every gram you carry has to earn its place. The hardest thing is not choosing what to carry. It's deciding what to leave out. There are some things you can't negotiate with: security, for example. If you are going to cross a mountain pass with snow, like the one in Tebarray at the beginning of summer, you wear crampons, even if you only use them for half an hour. Full stop. But then there are other "just in case" items that only respond to vague fears: three spare T-shirts, two pairs of trousers in case you get wet, a second headlamp, the book you were reading...

Here is the golden rule: Anything "just in case" that affects your survival, goes. The rest stays out.

• Yes you will: Crampons and ice axe if you cross snowy passes (like the one at Tebarray on the GR11 in spring-early summer).
• Thou shalt not carry: Two extra T-shirts "in case I get a stain".
  

A good practice is to think of equipment as a living system. A fixed base (tent, bag, mat or mattress, cooker) and then layers that come in and out depending on the weather, altitude and the type of terrain or conditions I'm going to encounter. Nothing more. Nothing less.

Your mountain home starts with three things: tent, bag and mat.

1. Tent (600g - 1.6kg)

A 2kg tent is fine if you want comfort. But if you're going to walk 20 km a day with 1000 metres of elevation gain, it's a burden. Today, there are ultralight tents weighing 900 g that can be assembled with your own trekking poles (1.6 kg if it's a double). They have no poles. No frills. Just the essentials.

Key materials: Dyneema (ultra-light and strong) or Nylon Seal or similar (cheaper).

Choose: Tents that use your poles as a support to save 400g vs. self-supporting structures.

2. Saco: sleep well or agonize coldly (450g - 1kg)

I've never understood people who boast about carrying a 300-gram bag if they don't sleep a wink all night. If you're cold, you don't rest. And if you don't rest, you're toast by the third day.

Rely on comfort temperature, not survival temperature. If it says it's comfortable at 5°C, think that you'll be fine if it doesn't go below 10°C. Down is still unbeatable in terms of insulation and weight, but if it gets wet, it loses its insulation. It collapses. Literally. Synthetic is bulkier, but it resists moisture better. And now there are hybrids: down with hydrophobic treatment, or blends with synthetic to prevent collapse due to condensation.

Summer? Plan a quiltThose open duvets that embrace you without enclosing you. But beware: without a good mat, the cold comes through the floor. We talked about it all in a video a while ago.

3. Matting: more important than you think (R-Value: your shield against the cold)

We think about sleeping as if the bag did all the work, but it is the mat the one that insulates you from the ground. That's why you need a mat with R-Value of at least 2.5ideally inflatable, and weighing no more than half a kilo.

• For 3 seasons: R-Value 2-3 (e.g: Thermarest NeoAir XLite, 350g).
• Winter: + R-3.5 (e.g: XTherm).
  Trick: If you use quilt quiltyou need R-Value ≥2.5 to avoid driving cold.

Foam, ultra-light inflatables and you can even find some that look like a pool float. A good option is the Therm-a-Rest inflatable, with just enough insulation, good compression and decent durability.

Ultralight backpacks: the art of simplicity

It used to be that a good backpack had a thousand pockets, zips everywhere and even a metal frame (look at those photos from the 1980s) that made you feel like an exoskeleton. Today, the best multi-day backpacks are simple, even spartan. Ideal weight: 800g - 1.4kg.

• Elasticated front pocket.
• Side pockets for bottles.
• Roll-up closure.
• Unstructured or minimally framed back.

The essential thing is that it fits well on your back and weighs no more than 1 kg empty. From there, the organisation is up to you with watertight bagsOne for clothes, one for food, one for the bag, one for pots and pans. And if it rains, everything stays dry.

Clothing: less layers, more functionality

Opening note: Forget the cotton wool. Not in a T-shirt, not in socks, not in pants. The sweat stays there and then you freeze.

The classic system of three layers:

• Base layer: Merino wool or synthetic (NEVER cotton!). Ex: Smartwool 150 (180g).
• Insulation layer: Thin fleece (e.g: Patagonia Micro D220g) or a lightweight down jacket (e.g: Montbell Plasma 1000, 180g).
• Outer layer: Waterproof and breathable mackintosh (e.g: Outdoor Research Helium, 180g).
  

For the legs, if you're a fan of ultra-lightweight options, in summer, you can opt for the shorts + detachable leg loops if it is cold or there is undergrowth. And always trail shoes, unless there is snow. They weigh less, dry faster and are not as unstable as they used to be. Your ankle is safer than you think.

Ultralight summer kit (if you want to cut a lot of grams): Running shorts (120g) + detachable sleeves (50g).

⚡Other essentials: poles, headlamp, filter.

Article	Ideal Weight	Key Advice
Walking sticks	200-300g/pair	30% reduce the load on the knees when going downhill.
Water Filter	60g (e.g: Sawyer Mini)	Better than pills: neutral taste and immediate action.
Oven	80g (e.g. *BRS-3000T*)	For routes +3 days you will appreciate it. Combines with 1L titanium pot (120g).

Walking sticks: more knees at the end of the day

They don't just unload weight on descents. They also give you rhythm, balance and serve as a structure for your tent if you use a tarp. Don't want them to be too heavy. If you can, they should be around 200g. And if they are adjustable, all the better.

Frontal: don't miss out on being stingy

I've seen people light up with 10-lumen headlamps like fireflies. Do yourself a favour: minimum 100 lumens. Rechargeable. Lightweight.

Filter: because you are not going to carry 4 litres every day.

Drinking from the stream is no longer a crazy thing to do if you have a decent filter. There are bottle filters, straw filters and gravity filters. There are also tablets or drops. On long routes, filtering becomes part of the ritual.

Note: Analyse each route. Perhaps due to logistics and availability of sources you do not need any filter or similar.

🍫 Food: high density fuel (900g/day)

It's not just about eating. It is about replenish. On long routes you burn between 3000 and 5000 kcal per day. If you don't replenish it, you pay for it with fatigue, bad moods and stupid decisions.

During the day, eat at short intervals: nuts, dried fruit, bars, cured cheese, dried sausage, dried fruit. And in the evening, something warm and easy: couscous with broth, noodles, mashed potatoes, freeze-dried lentils... Whatever suits you. And drink. A lot. With mineral salts if you sweat a lot. It's not luxury, it's prevention.

If you're only going for a couple of days, you can get by on a couple of bars and sausage. But if you're going to spend a week out there, you'll want a hot meal. And you don't need to set up a field kitchen for that.

A gas cooker, a 100 g cartridge, a metal pot and a long spoon. With that you can heat water for couscous, ramen, rice, porridge, dehydrated soups... It's not a restaurant, but it's hot food at the end of the day. And that is worth more than the weight it takes up.

• Key calories: 300-350 kcal/hour walking.
• Star foods (we have seen them in the video):
  • Breakfast: Oatmeal + peanut butter (650 kcal/150g).
  • Lunch: Corn pancakes + hard cheese (450 kcal/100g).
  • Dinner: Dehydrated noodles + tuna (700 kcal/130g).

Common mistake: Carrying cans (one can I can afford, but imagine carrying several days' worth of food one can at a time...).

Here is a video in which we analysed what to take for food on a self-sufficiency and ultralight style trek.

And then there are other little things

The ones that don't seem important, but can make a difference:

• Earplugs if you sleep in a shelter.
• Dry moult only for sleeping.
• Watertight bag for documents and electronics.
• Powerbank light.
• Mini first aid kit with ibuprofen, plasters, antihistamine and duct tape.
• Toilet paper, wipes.

🚫 Leave No Trace: Ethics in the Mountains

Leave no trace. Don't play music. Don't build a fire if it's not allowed. Don't think that the mountain is there for you. Think that you are just another visitor, and that the fun is in passing by without being too noticeable.

And above all, leave the mountain better than you found it.