Resources for Light Weight Backpacking

Part of Mark Verber's A Guide to Light Weight Backpacking

Other Folks' Notes

• Golite HowTo Backpack
• TrailQuest Ultralight Hiking Page
• Shane's Hiking
• Andy's Hiking
• SGT Rock Going Light
• Light Weight Backpacking: Importance of Good Form
• Outdoor Action @ Princeton
• Michael Connick
• Great Lakes Light Weight Backpacking
• Erin & Higs (Alaska)
• Risk's Ultralight Hiking

Community & Publications

• Yahoo! Groups BackpackingLight... mailing list of around 5k friendly people interested in light weight backpacking.
• The Lightweight Backpacker Forums... one of the oldest forums focused on light weight backpacking
• Practical Backpacking... a place with a lot of good information that is carefully moderated. I dislike the band on including links to outside resources, but lots of valuable info here.
• WhiteBlaze.net... Dedicated to the AT but there are sub forums which cover topics which are widely applicable.
• Thru-Hiker
• Trail Journals
• The Pacific Crest Trail Hiker's Web Site
• ALDHA: Appalachian Long Distance Hikers Association
• American Long Distance Hiking Association - West
• PCT Trail Angel Heaven
• The Backpacker
• Outside Online
• Backpacker ( backpacker mag  archuves digitized )
• Gorp

Books

• The Backpacker's Handbook by Chris Townsend (now in 3rd edition) is the best general book I have found. Balanced and informative without being as voluminous as The Complete Walker. I wish I could find a shorter book that I could recommend.
• Backpacker's Pocket Guide by Chris Townsend is the best condensed summary of the backpacking craft. This book will not help you effectively select the items you want to take: it has a very basic gear list which doesn't discuss options or talk about how items function together as a system.
• Allen & Mike's Really Cool Backpackin' Book by Allen O'Bannon is a humorous introduction to backpacking with funny illustrations. I personally found Chris Townsend's books more useful that this. I thought Townsend's Pocket was easier and clearer to read, and his Backpacker's Handbook has a much richer discussion about gear selection.
• Lighten Up! Complete Ultralight Backpacking by Don Ladigin is the best book to help someone who is a traditional backpack thing about lightening their load. If I could write well, this is exactly the sort of book I would hope to right. Rather than getting bogged down in specific products which would become dated, Don looks at general principles which are easy to apply.
• Lightweight Backpacking: A Field Guide To Wilderness Equipment, Technique, and Style by Ryan Jordan.  If you like my general outlook, you will like this book.  Ryan is one of the founders of backpackinglight.com which has had a large influence to my current backpacking style.
• The Complete Walker IV by Colin Fletcher is the classic book, comprehensive, through. Great discussions about techinque. Interesting discussions about gear. My only regret is that ultra-light gear (other than tarps) are not covered well.
• Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills edited by Steven M. Cox, Kris Fulsaas is the classic guide to mountaineering. Pack full with useful information about mountain environments, snow techniques etc.
• Beyond Backpacking by Ray Jardine is a bit extreme, and at times heads off into la-la land, but this book is filled with valuable information which will provide a great framework / perspective on backpacking, help you learn important techniques, and change the way you select gear.
• Yogi's PCT Handbook provides a lot of good advise for someone who is considering hiking the PCT or would like to learn from the experiences of a number of thru-hikers.