Here on the Lite Gear Talk forum we know the importance of using the lightest gear possible for camping, hiking and walking etc, but how many of you have thought about reducing the weight of your clothing too? Obviously I don't mean by cutting holes in your clothes, or cutting off the sleeves or legs etc, I mean replacing your existing heavy outdoor clothing with ultralight equivalents.
A typical UK-medium sized Cotton T-Shirt weighs around 160g, and whilst it can feel comfortable to wear, they are not very breathable, or fast drying plus they can trap a lot of your sweat in the Cotton fibres making them even heavier, and making it a good place for Fungus, Mould and Bacteria to grow. I only wear a shirt for one day before putting it in the laundry bag and wearing a clean one, and that's fine if I am only going for a weekend camping trip as I only need to carry one spare shirt in my pack, but if I was on a trail for two weeks and therefore carrying 14 T-shirts, the weight of all those T-shirts (2,240kg!)would obviously be a major issue.
Buying ultralight "Tech Tee" T-shirts is the solution. Not only are they at least half the weight of Cotton T-shirt, they are fast drying, very breathable and highly wicking, but most also employ Silver-based anti-bac treatments, which help keep you cool, dry and comfortable, and wiff free, even on very hot days.
The lightest available Tech Tee is the Rohan Ultra-Silver Tee, which weighs just 57g in UK-Medium size...Over 100g lighter than a typical Cotton T-shirt. The problem with the Rohan is, it only comes in two colours...Black (Graphite) or white, and at £30 each it's not cheap. The next lightest is the Outdoor Research Echo Tee, which weighs about 74g on average in UK-Medium size. Its a little bit cheaper than the Rohan, offers SPF15 Sun protection, has a built-in key pocket and is it available in a much wider range of colours. Then it's the Rab Interval Tee, which weighs about 78g in UK-Medium size and offers SPF35+ Sun protection. Its about the same cost as the OR Echo, but it's slightly shorter. However, it is a much better fit than the Echo. The Echo has a larger cut, which makes a US-Small size Echo Tee the same size as a UK-Medium size Rab Interval, but even then, the sleeves of a US Small sized Echo Tee feel baggy compared to the much better fitting Rab Interval. Both the Echo and the Interval use a Silver based PolyGiene anti-bac treatment, so they can be worn for at least two to three times longer than a Cotton T-shirt before getting smelly. This reduces the need to carry so many shirts with you, which in turn, greatly reduces the weight you need to carry. For example, I could make 4-5 Tech Tees last 14 days and they would reduce weight from 2.240kg down between 300-370g, which is far more acceptable.
That's your base layer sorted, now you need to replace that heavy fleece jacket with an ultralight "Tech L/S Tee" equivalent. I use the Rab Interval L/S half-zip...It weighs just 110g.
Trousers are the next thing to look at...My North Face zip-off-leg hiking/walking Cargo pocket trousers weigh 550g...Which IMHO is a lot. So I replaced them with a pair of Quechua Forclaz 100, zip-off-leg cargo "Tech-Pants" from Decathlon, which look very similar to my North Face pair, but they are 200g lighter and yet cost about a fifth of the price!
If you are not the sort who likes to go commando, then you can also save weight by buying ultralight Underwear too. I prefer wearing boxer shorts and the lightest boxer shorts you can currently get are the Rohan Ultra Silver Trunks, which weight about 40g...That's almost half the weight of your typical pair of boxers. However, at £22 a pair, they are ludicrously expensive for a pair of Boxers, especially if you need to buy enough of them to be able to change to a fresh pair every day.
Need an ultralight "beany" hat...Look no further than the Rab Merino Beany, which is wicking, breathable and offers just enough insulation to stop your head overheating...It weighs just 18g.
Still using a heavy headlight? I swapped by previous lightweight headlight, which weighed over 60g, for a Petzl E-Lite, which weighs just 27g.
Shoes are one area where you can save a lot of weight...I stopped wearing hiking boots when I realised how heavy they were...Up to a kg each boot! I now use modern high-tech trail running shoes, as they are much lighter and more breathable than traditional hiking shoes. They can be at least half the weight. The current favorites are my Salomon Speedcross 4's, which weigh 650g a pair in UK-size 9.5 (EU-size 44/US-size 10). There are even lighter trail running shoes available, but they probably wont last as long or fit as well. They fit me like a glove, so there is no chance of developing blisters whilst wearing them. From about £75 upwards, they are not cheap, but they are worth the money.
Wearing ultralight clothing makes me feel much lighter than before, which increases my mobility and helps me use less energy when walking too so I can walk for longer and stay more comfortable.
Obviously all this ultralight high-tech gear costs more than traditional clothing and luckily I can afford it but I realise not everyone can, but if you can, then do it as it can really transform your outdoor leisure time for the better!