Hyperlite Mountain Gear

WHAT IS LIGHTWEIGHT / ULTRALIGHT?

What is Lightweight? / History / Benefits / Is Lightweight Right for You?

Initiated by distance hikers, backpackers and climbers, lightweight and ultralight refer to a recent and growing trend in outdoor adventuring in which participants carry less weight than traditionally accepted.  Lightweight and ultralight are philosophies and comprehensive methodologies which lead to a more simplistic approach to sporting.  By analyzing every necessity and maximizing the efficiency of it, participants have reduced their base pack weights by more than half when adventuring in the wilderness.

Hikers and backpackers, for example, traditionally carried packs that were one-third of their body weight, or 50-70 lbs.  Today it is generally accepted that lightweight hikers carry less than 20 lbs of base pack weight making them more efficient and more skillful athletes while simultaneously allowing them to reduce barriers and more closely interact with Nature.  Ultralight athletes go faster and farther with more agility, versatility and enjoyment.

The growing ultralight philosophy takes lightweight to the next level in its evolution as participants carry base pack weights under 10 lbs.  And more recently, a new super-ultralight philosophy has emerged for participants carrying less than 5 lbs. of gear, excluding food, water & fuel.

Essentially, going light means doing more with less!

"In anything at all, perfection is attained not when there is no longer anything to add, but when there is no longer anything to take away."

- Antoine de Saint-Exepéry, Adventurer & Author