Ultralight Luxury Items for Thru-Hiking
Our favorite gear that's so light you won't even notice
June 12, 2024
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One of the most frequent questions we get as thru hikers is – what luxury item do you carry? People usually expect an answer like a big heavy camera with multiple lenses, or something along those lines.
But when we answer – a backcountry bidet! Well, that's certainly a conversation starter (or stopper, depending on who's asking you).
The ultralight gear world continues to expand into new terrain, and we're happy to report that all of these accessories are light, inexpensive, and worth every gram.
We have a simple philosophy around backpacking gear. Does it make you happy? Do you actually use it? Great. Then carry it! You don't have to justify your pack weight or gear decisions to anyone.
| Luxury Item | Weight |
|---|---|
| Garage Grown Gear sit pad | 1 ounce |
| Pike Outdoors Summit Suds powdered soap | 1.4 ounces |
| Thermoworks Zipper-pull thermometer | 0.5 ounces |
| Nitecore Carbo 20,000 mAh power bank | 10.42 ounces |
| Suluk 46 Miksa Pot Lifter | 0.11 to 0.66 ounces |
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Weight penalty: 0.42 ounces
As someone who takes backcountry hygiene seriously (I normally carry an entire roll of toilet paper on trail), I was intrigued, but scared, of backcountry bidets. But after installing a fancy bidet at home, I realized that toilet paper really doesn't clean that well.
And the ick factor? Well…is a bidet more or less icky than carrying out used toilet paper? Used toilet paper is as gross as it gets.
So…I begrudgingly tried a backcountry bidet. And it'll change your backcountry experience. Some tips:
Bring a dedicated water bottle just for the bidet
Hold the bidet far away to avoid splashbacks
Carry toilet paper until you're confident that the bidet works for you
If you're prone to urinary tract infections, spray from front to back
Folks can use this in conjunction with a Kula Cloth for a completely toilet paper free backcountry experience.
If you manage to go TP-free, then there's no weight penalty at all. It's actually a weight savings.
Bonus—it's also great for rinsing off sweat down there, which can lead to chafing in very uncomfortable places. Keeping your hiking underwear cleaner for longer will go a long way toward preventing chafing.
Here's a great YouTube backcountry bidet demo.
Strong, strong words of advice: as with all new gear, practice at home first.
Weight penalty: 1 ounce
I've come full circle on this one. I started out carrying a sit pad as a traditional backpacker, but then I stopped in an effort to get my pack weight down. Sit pads were ridiculous, unnecessary, redundant.
But I've gone back to carrying one again and couldn't be happier. No more sap stains on the seat of my pants. No more ants crawling around my legs. At night, I use it under my hips beneath my sleeping pad as extra reinforcement. Most of the holes I've gotten in my sleeping pads have been in the torso/hip area, where most of my body weight is. So yeah, definitely worth the weight penalty!
Weight penalty: 1.4 ounces (can be repackaged)
The one thing I really, REALLY miss on a thru-hike is the ability to wash my hands. Hand sanitizer is a necessity…but soap? I gave up carrying Dr. Bronner’s soap a long time ago because it always leaked in my pack and was messy to use. I would carry it but rarely actually use it.
Enter powdered soap. It's light and doesn't make a mess. I carried the Pika Outdoors soap on my Mogollon Rim Trail thru hike, and it was LUXurious. At night, I took a little of my leftover cooking water, lathered up my hands (away from water sources, of course), and cleaned up. I felt a lot less dirty.
Side note: the CDC says that hand sanitizer does not work well against norovirus, which is rampant on the Appalachian Trail (I got it twice on my AT thru-hike). Soap may be a necessity and not a luxury item in the future!
Weight penalty: 0.5 oz / 14.3 g
I LOVE knowing what the temperature is when I hike. I love knowing how hot it gets during the day. I love knowing what the temperature is inside the tent vs outside the tent. I love predicting whether it will get below freezing at night based on the evening temps (which is important because we have to keep our water filters from freezing).
And I love trying to estimate what the temperature is without looking at a thermometer. And now, for a mere 14.3 grams, I can tell you that I usually estimate the temperature within 5F. I can also tell you that a tent, with two people in it, adds around 10F of warmth.
The Thermoworks zipper pull thermometer is worth the weight penalty!
Weight penalty: 10.42 oz
This one might be a harder sell because…do you really need 20,000 mAh of power on a thru hike? But hear me out.
First, I don't carry any "regular" batteries anymore because none of my electronics use them. Everything, including my headlamp, uses rechargeable batteries.
Second, I have a lot of devices to charge:
Phone
GPS watch
Headlamp
Satellite messenger
Wireless headphones
Third, the weight penalty isn't really the entire 10.42 ounces. Assuming you're already carrying the Nitecore 10,000 Gen 2 power bank, which is 5.3 ounces, the weight penalty is only 5.12 ounces. So is it worth it to you? It depends on how long you'll be between charging opportunities. It depends on how much stuff you have to charge. And it depends on how heavily you use your devices.
Weight penalty: 0.11 to 0.66 ounces, depending on size and material
I'm tired of burning my fingers on my titanium pot. I've tried using my bandana, but it's not thick enough (and it gets food on it). I've tried using the stove carrying bag, but it melted (and isn't thick enough either).
Suluk 46 has solved this problem with their ridiculously light pot lifters. They come in three sizes and two materials (aluminum or titanium). The sizes depend on how much water you'll be boiling – the small size is designed to lift up to 600 mL.
They're small, light, and effective. Without a doubt, worth the weight penalty.
Weight penalty: 1.1 ounces
A multi-tool really isn't a luxury item, but I couldn't resist including Outdoor Element's Firebiner. When most people think of multi-tools, they think Swiss Army Knife. I've carried one for years, and I never use most of the functions.
On the other hand, the Firebiner only has the following tools, and all of them I would use:
A sparkwheel firestarter
Safety blade
Screwdriver tip
Bottle opener
Hang slots for keychain
Carabiner with 100 pound capacity
Note that the blade doesn't function as a true knife – for example, it won't cut cheese. But a multi-tool that only has functions that I'll actually use is hard to pass up.
Weight penalty: 3.38 ounces
When I first heard about these tiny pumps to inflate sleeping pads, I thought, no way, ridiculous, I'm never gonna carry one. Well I guess the adage is true – never say never!
First, anything that makes camp chores easier is a win, in my opinion. There's a lot to do in camp, and one of the things I really dislike is blowing up my sleeping pad.
Second, I'll quibble with the math of the weight penalty. If you're carrying a pump sack for your Therma-a-Rest NeoAir NXT, as many people do, you're already carrying 1.5 ounces. So the weight penalty is really only 1.88 ounces.
And third, the Flextail Tiny Pump 2X will also deflate your pad, meaning that you can roll it up much smaller and save space in your pack.
It's USB-C rechargeable, it comes with 5 different nozzles, and it has a flashlight.
Weight penalty: 0.5 ounces
Can you use a Ziplock bag for a wallet? Yes. But for a 0.5-ounce weight penalty, the Chicken Tramper Gear Ultralight Wallet is a no-brainer. It's so much more secure than a ziplock bag, and much longer lasting. I've had mine for years, and it still looks like new. As a bonus, they're stylish and give us hikers some differentiation from each other when our hiking uniform can sometimes look like standard issue.
Weight penalty: 0.2 to 1.4 ounces, depending on ball size
I can't tell you how many times the Rawlogy massage balls have saved me. I take foot care very seriously. So when Rawlogy started selling these, I knew I needed one in my kit. I faithfully massage and roll out my feet every single night on trail, and it makes a huge difference. After high mileage days, I'll go to bed thinking that my feet are going to hurt in the morning. But the Rawlogy ball has fixed that problem – in the morning, even after a brutal day, my feet will feel fresh. It's like magic.
About the author / why you should trust us
Naomi Hudetz is a thru-hiker and co-founder of Treeline Review. Naomi left her corporate career to pursue her passion for the outdoors. She received the Triple Crown award for completing the Appalachian Trail, Pacific Crest, and Continental Divide Trail and has hiked numerous other distance routes, including the Great Divide Trail across the Canadian Rockies (twice), Grand Enchantment Trail, Pacific Northwest Trail, the Arizona Trail, the Oregon Desert Trail, the Ouachita Trail, (most of) the Idaho Centennial Trail, and the first known thru-hike of the Blue Mountains Trail.. She's hitchhiked on most of those trails.
She is the former Treasurer of the American Long Distance Hiking Association-West and is based in White Salmon, Washington.
You can read Naomi’s Treeline Review stories on her author page.
