I consider myself a hardcore backcountry fisherman. I only travel and hike to remote and usually offtrail lakes that I feel have a better than average chance of holding good to excellent fishing. But I'm also a very practical guy. I don't own a 400$ Orvis anything.
My setup is based on lightweight and adaptability. I usually fly fish, but I also love to use an ultra light spin setup.
My fly fishing set up is a Crystal River backpacking rod, 7pcs, 8 1/2' with a Cabelas graphite reel. Whole set up is under 120$ I use an Eagle Claw ultralight 2pc 5' rod, with sliding rings and a cheap ultra light reel. Whole setup under 50$. On long trips, over 3 days, I bring both setups. On 2-3 day trips I usually only bring the fly rod, but I bring the spinning reel, and use bubbles and or spinners with the fly rod if conditions are impossible to cast etc. I have a small case filled with flies, another with lures, bubbles, and swivels. For a full on week or longer trip, my full fishing gear weighs a bit under 2 lbs. Last year on an 8 day Sawtooth trip we fished 18 lakes, and caught fish to 20" every day. We broke one reel, and had enough "extra" gear that it didn't slow us down. I love great gear, but I also know that I don't have to spend a fortune to fish the backcountry. Craigslist, garage sales, and the big stores all have really moderatley priced gear that is perfect for the backcountry. It has to be able to take the beating! Good Luck!