Ultralight 3-Season Kit
Sub-10-lb base weight without the boutique price tag. Budget and premium picks per slot, priced live.
For hikers who cover big miles, hike in three seasons, and are happy to trade a little comfort and durability for a pack that barely registers.
Trekking-pole shelters, quilts instead of bags, frameless or minimally framed packs and a single-pot kitchen. Everything here is proven on long trails, but it rewards good technique and care.
No camp chair, no luxury items. If you want them, look at the Lightweight or Traditional kits.
Two ways to build it
Every category has a budget pick and a premium pick. Prices are live from the retailers we track and refresh every few minutes; the kit total is the sum of whatever is cheapest right now in each category. Swap any item using the other options under it.
The cheapest live price in each slot from gear that will actually work. Some of it is heavier and some of it will not last as long, and that is the trade: it gets you out the door now instead of next season.
Your tent or tarp. The biggest single weight and cost decision in the kit.
Your tent or tarp. The biggest single weight and cost decision in the kit.
Lunar Solo Backpacking Tent
Quilt or sleeping bag rated for the coldest night you expect.
Quilt or sleeping bag rated for the coldest night you expect.
StormLoft™ Down TopQuilt
Insulation from the ground matters as much as the bag; look at R-value, not just thickness.
Insulation from the ground matters as much as the bag; look at R-value, not just thickness.
Therm-a-Rest ZLite SOL Foam Sleep Pad
Sized to the volume of everything else here. Fit matters more than features.
Sized to the volume of everything else here. Fit matters more than features.
Kakwa 55
Canister stoves are the simple default; the kit assumes you bring your own fuel.
Canister stoves are the simple default; the kit assumes you bring your own fuel.
BRS-3000T Ultralight Burner by BRS Outdoor
One pot is enough for most solo and duo trips.
One pot is enough for most solo and duo trips.
TITANIUM 750ML POT
1 other option
- premiumToaks Light 650ml Cup w/ Lid$36.95view →
Squeeze or gravity filters cover bacteria and protozoa, which is what North American trails need.
Squeeze or gravity filters cover bacteria and protozoa, which is what North American trails need.
2L Squeeze Water Filter System
Rechargeable, light, and bright enough to set up camp after dark.
Rechargeable, light, and bright enough to set up camp after dark.
Nitecore NU25 MCT UL
Optional, but they double as tent poles for many ultralight shelters.
Optional, but they double as tent poles for many ultralight shelters.
Far Wind™ Three-section Telescopic Carbon Trekking Pole
Optional; a small kit you know how to use beats a big one you do not.
Optional; a small kit you know how to use beats a big one you do not.
.7 Medical Kit by Adventure Medical Kits
How we pick
Each category has a short list of gear we would carry ourselves. Within that list the kit picks the lowest live price, so the item in a slot can change from day to day as sales come and go. Weights are the manufacturer's listed weight for the standard size. Base weight is everything you carry except what you wear and consumables: food, water and fuel. The base weight guide has the details.
Clothing is not part of a kit. What you wear is personal and sized, and worn items do not count toward base weight. Trekking poles stay in because many of these shelters pitch with them.
Why these picks
This kit is built around the shelter. Once you accept a trekking pole shelter, the rest follows: a quilt instead of a bag, a frameless or lightly framed pack because there is less to carry, and a single pot. The candidates in each slot are from makers we would trust on a long trail: Durston, Tarptent, Zpacks and Gossamer Gear for shelters; Enlightened Equipment, Hammock Gear and Katabatic for quilts; ULA, Hyperlite and Zpacks for packs.
Two things to know before you buy. These brands sell direct and discount rarely, so the budget pick in a slot is often the pick that happens to be on sale this week rather than the cheapest model in the line. And the ultralight kit rewards technique. If you have never pitched with poles, read the shelter guide first, and consider the lightweight kit for your first season.
Kit price history
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Prices are as seen at source and may change; verify at the retailer. We may earn a commission on purchases.