There is just something about sleeping out in the wild with nothing but the most basic necessities available that has always appealed to me. It’s probably something about learning my limits, how far I can go, and how little I need. The whole RV experience or pickup camper or even ultra deluxe tent with all the greatest gear just seems like a large weight waiting to drag you down with it. The simpler the better…

When I bought my motorcycle, I thought it would be great to be able to go on long rides seeing the countryside and when it got dark I could just find a site, setup a basic sleeping arrangement and get a good nights rest anywhere I happened to be at the time. BUT… there is not a lot of room on a sport bike (even with saddlebags) to carry much of anything. I needed to downsize all of my gear into the smallest ultralight forms possible.

Ultralight gear has been around for a long time for those campers who have the same limitations as I do. They are usually backpackers who are even more limited than I to what they can bring, as they have to bring everything in on their backs as they trudge up a mountain (My hats off to you packers!!) So a quick search or two on Google found me a great deal of useful information on ultralight camping gear – which usually also means ultra-small.

Below is the gear I currently use. I’m very happy with most of it, but the tent is not a perfect fit. Maybe it’s the best I can do, but I want something smaller when packed that still fits 2 people. So please if you have other suggestions for great ultralight gear, let me know.

---

Sleeping

REI Sub Kilo +20 Sleeping Bag – Long – 1.8 lbs, compressed size 7″ x 10″, 750-fill goose down. A fantastically light and compactly packed bag. It keeps me very warm even on freezing nights. The one drawback it has, and this is true with all ultralight bags, is that because the filling is so light, you absolutely need a sleeping pad on anything but perfect ground or you’ll feel every rock and twig digging into your back.

Kelty Teton 2 – 3 Season, 2 person, 4.7 lbs, packed 7″ x 20″. Like I mentioned above, it’s a little large for my tastes when packed as I’ve got to fit it into a saddle bag on my bike. But the biggest benefit of it is that it sets up in like 3 minutes. There is no sliding poles through loops or other weird configurations. Simply extend the poles, pop into the end clips and the tent pulls up to clip onto the poles… Done!

Therm-a-Rest ProLite 4 Sleeping Pad – Regular – 1 lb, packed size 4″ x 11″, mat size 47″ x 20″. This is touted as a self inflating pad, which I’m sure it is if you treat it just right… but I’m also about low maintanence gear, so I don’t want to have to go through elaborate procedures to make sure something works right. But anyway, it doesn’t self inflate in 10 seconds, so I blow it up instead A comfortable pad and compacts well.

REI Bug Hut 1 Tent – 1 lb, packed size 3″ x 17″. I haven’t had a chance to use this yet, as all my camping to this point has been in weather where rain is possible or very cold weather. I think this will get some use while I’m traveling through the warmer areas of the south this year. It’s basically just a propped up mosquito net to put over your sleeping bag to keep the bugs off you. And the best thing is it’s extremely tiny packed up.

---

Lighting

Primus Alpine Yellowstone Easy Light Lantern – 1.5 lbs, 42 watts output. I have butane canisters for cooking, so this is a perfect fit with those. It’s very bright at it’s brightest and can dim way down. The one drawback it has is it’s not all that easy to light (I’m really spoiled by the Piezo feature of the stove below!!)

Petzl Tikka Plus LED Headlamp – 2.75 oz, 4 LED, red filter, 3 AAA batteries, 100 hours run time. A very bright LED light to strap onto your head. Great for hiking in the dark, or setting up camp when you get in late. It also has a red fliter to put down over the light so that you don’t lose your night vision.

---

Comfort

REI Camp Stool – 1.2 lbs, 10″ x 4″ folded. A basic stool that packs away to nothing. Not a stool to sit in for long periods, but all I want is somewhere to sit for a minute while fishing or cooking.

---

Cooking

Snow Peak Giga Power Stove with Piezo – 10K BTU cooking power, 3.5 oz, This is a tiny tiny tiny thing. When compacted it’s maybe 2″ by 1/2″. The legs fold out to hold up your pot and it has it’s own lighter built right in. Screw it into your fuel, and you’ve got hot water or food in a few minutes. Quick, easy, no fuss… perfect for me!

MSR MiniWorks EX Filter – 14 oz, 0.8 liters/min. I haven’t used this yet, but it’s supposed to be a great water filter. It removes protozoa and bacteria, but not virus’, so for that I have the aqua tablets below.

Seattle Sports Super Sink II – Have used this a few times, and it’s simply a bucket that compacts down to nothing when you’re not using it. Tons of uses.

Open Country Scout Mess Kit – 14 oz. A light compact mess kit. Nothing more to say other than it’s been perfect for my needs.

Coghlan’s Deluxe Chow Kit – 4 oz. Knife, fork and spoon, all bundled together. Or would you rather eat with your hands?

Potable Aqua Chlorine Dioxide Tablets – 20 Pack – Kill anything that’s left with these. A 4 hour wait time, but with a little planning it’s managable.

GSI Deluxe11- Piece Kitchen Set – For all of your other kitchen needs.

---

And there you have it. That’s my current allotment of light travel camping gear. Any suggestions or thoughts? Please let me know, I always want to know more.

Popularity: 9%