outdoors travel

Ultralight backpackers are always looking for the lightest backpacks. Unfortunately
lighter usually means more expensive when it comes to backpacking gear. There are some ways around this
though
for those on a tighter budget. There are ways to buy a lightweight backpacker cheaper
and also ways to make them. The latter is easier than you might think.

Making A Cheap Lightweight Backpack

There are some
like ultralight backpacking guru Ray Jardine
who sew their own backpacks. I have sewn some backpacking gear and clothing before
and I can tell you from experience that unless you are extremely skilled at sewing
it isn't likely to come how you expect it to. Also unless you want to become an expert at sewing
making a backpack this way takes too much time for the money saved. It would be better to just work an extra shift at your job and buy a good pack.

Don't give up on making a lightweight backpack yet
though. There is another way. I made a backpack that weighs just two pounds even
and it is a full frame-and-hipbelt pack. It started with an old frame pack I have had since I was fourteen-years-old. I removed the old pack
which had been chewed by mice and was beyond repair. Now I was ready to build my new backpack

The straps and hip belt were still good
fortunately. The frame was aluminum
and surprisingly light by itself. I took a large nylon duffel bag
which by itself only weighs eight ounces
and filled it full of my gear. Then I simply used bungee cords to attach it too the frame (zipper out) and it was ready. For the cost of a $15 duffel bag
I had an external-frame backpack that not only held a lot
but weighed just two pounds.

Buying A Cheap Lightweight Backpack

There are several ways to buy cheap lightweight backpacks. Waiting for a good sale comes to mind
but there are quicker ways. Here are five of them.

1. Try backpacking or other outdoor forums that allow people to sell their gear
like whiteblaze.net. Forums are nice
because you can easily ask the owner questions about the pack.

2. Try Ebay or other online auction sites. I have seen some nice backpacks go pretty cheap on Ebay.

3. Thrift stores sometimes have cheap lightweight backpacks. More often
they have day packs and big old packs
but think creatively. I've seen old frame packs at thrift shops
and realized that I could toss the pack
and use the frame with a duffel bag
as described above.

4. Buy used backpacks at rummage sales. Look for ads that mention outdoor gear. If you call first
to see if they have a backpack you want
you may be able to buy it before the sale starts. Shop early
and negotiate. I sold my almost-new Kelty frame-pack for fifteen dollars at my garage sale.

5. Fortunately
unlike with other gear
lighter backpacks are often cheaper than the heavy ones to begin with. Lighten the load
and you can save money too. Frame-less ultralight backpacks usually weigh less than two pounds and are often on sale for under one hundred dollars. My own Go-Lite lightweight backpack weighs just thirteen ounces
and it was also a cheap backpack
on sale for just eighty dollars when I bought it.