How much does backpacking really cost?

Thanks

I would have spent it anyway. In possibly less healthy ways. I could have a newer car.

if one sticks to the essentials, even buying top dollar equipment, it’s cheap compared many other hobbies. Unless you travel.

The self reliance and the self confidence gained is invaluable over a lifetime of work. The health benefits of walking with a light load will result in less down time due to illness and injuries. Fewer health services will be required. Consider it as an investment in yourself. You’re making money. There’s accidents and there’s injury’s, but it’s a good investment

Backpacking can run the entire gamut from cheap gear for someone who goes on trips near their home to thousands of dollars in cutting-edge ultralight gear and tens of thousands in travel to destinations. What I often see in the UL community is backpackers who constantly have to upgrade to “the latest thing” That’s where the big expense comes into play. I see it a lot on Gearswap and I think that’s fine if someone has the means to do it.

Homemade Wanderlust (Dixie) did a good video recently where she shows just how much exponentially more expensive it can be to cut weight. However, for about $800 a nice full featured kit can be had which comes in at around 10 lbs.

My parents were depression babies and one of the mindsets I learned was penny pinching and putting back. It’s a hard habit to break but we all live in Babylon in the here and now. You can be frugal in your travels or have anything of your desires and the cost is accordingly.

Compared to other “vacations”, it’s also important to factor in that when you’re out on the trail, there are no hotel expenses, extravagant $100 meals, shopping sprees, or bar tabs to worry about. You don’t need to spend on wine or replace a forgotten headset. There’s no gas to fill up, no need for taxis or Ubers, and no one is waiting around for a tip.

This article touched on two of the key lessons I have tried to teach my kids and the the students I mentor about money. The first is compounding interest is powerful and starting to save early is useful.  The other is that once our basic needs are taken care of, careful use of our money can enhance our enjoyment of  life by enabling great memories and shared experiences which is more impactful than one more material possession.

The cost of backpacking has been way cheaper (for me) than if I purchased a Starbucks each day and given me a wonderful set of memories and a sense of awe that makes life meaningful.  Zero regrets.

Unless you take the Colorado Trail.

I’ve noticed this trend over the years. hen  was on the CT I was poor, and there really want such a thing as a “town day” for me, aside of getting into town to get my resupply box. maybe grab a quick meal and then and get back on the trail. No hostels, no motels or hotels, no extravagant days in town, etc. Seems like this is the trend though these days with the younger crowd. Guess they have more disposable income than I did when I was in my 20’s! Also didn’t have the technology and didn’t have to worry about cellphone bills, charging devices on the trail, etc. I dismantled the CT guide book and took sections with me for each part of the trail I was on, and had upcoming sections in my result box and simply discarded sections after I finished each section.

Compared with other hobbies and activities, backpacking can be relatively cheap once getting past the initial outlay, then it becomes a matter of transportation costs if far.   Like trail running there’s footwear replacement costs with mileage (and even some resole designs).   Now if buying kits for every temperature and/or different climate, all those likely stored kits will start weighing in on the pocketbook.

I’m just headed back to a mid with interchangeable inners (net tents for hotter, bivy’s for colder), .. and calling it a day for now.  Quilts?  Just pack sleep layers that can be used; I use Patagonia LW, then MH’s version of an Alpha Direct hoody if need be (waiting on a Senchi with chest zip which is my only “gear lust” item).
Throw a 2 oz Montbell windjacket over all of it if needing to hang outside if “chilly” with its hood and chest pocket.  The Montbell is pretty multiuse btw, and while extra, as Swami (thru-hiker) points out  it weighs a mouthful of water.
Been thinking about “bike-packing” but that just adds bicycle maintenance to a trip.

“town day” … aside of getting into town to get my resupply box. maybe grab a quick meal and then and get back on the trail. No hostels, no motels or hotels, no extravagant days in town, etc. Seems like this is the trend though these days with the younger crowd. Guess they have more disposable income ..

The towns have gotten in on the deal increasingly.  “Long distance” backpackers to them tend to be one more type of tourist to fill the town coffers.  A little stinkier but no one is going to split a side salad with a side of water.  Many younger thru-hikers split room costs however.

A now middle aged UL thru hiker recommended hitting the grocery store first and downing (maybe sharing?) canned beans with maybe some canned corn to sait hiker hunger before going loose in town.  A way to cut costs and get something healthy in before being tempted by ordering thar chicken fried steak as a double order.

It is possible to backpack cheaply.  When I started the only purchased gear was a camp trails pack, a pair of redwing work boots, and a pair of ragg wool socks.  Everything else was hand me down or stuff my parents had sitting around.  Rain gear was a large trash bag with holes for my arms and head.  Ground cloth and tarp were painters drop cloths – with paint!

I pretty much got started with less than one month’s earnings from my paper route.

Fast forward 50+ years and I set out with a kit that cost me probably $2,500, acquired in spurts over the last 17 years.  At 65 I appreciate the weight savings, but my big expense is traveling each summer from the east coast to hike in the Sierra.  But local hiking is still cheap – a tank of gas and a couple days food.  And it is possible to outfit just about anyone for their first hike with functional enough stuff (mostly used and some borrowed) for $100; a nominal stipend to see if their eyes light up at the sight of a waterfall, the flight of a bald eagle, the view of thunder and lightning over Tucson, the howl of coyotes, or sunrise in Grand Canyon.

Perhaps the question to ask is “how much does backpacking pay?”

I really enjoyed this article, it’s a topic I’ve thought about a lot since I started backpacking. Good analysis of it, although truly a difficult thing to full quantify given how intangible the benefits of backpacking area. Backpacking for me is such an ingrained part of my lifestyle that it’s hard to fully parse out the costs. I’m also fortunate where from having worked in outdoor retail and testing gear that I’ve been able to not have to buy many “big” items in the last several years. And given how long quality gear lasts, it will hopefully be a while before I have to. Living in western Montana the travel to most destinations I backpack is negligible to the point of trifling — the last trip I went on the trailhead was five miles away from the small “city” I live in and I traveled there via bicycle. Even if you were driving a muscle car, it wouldn’t have even been a gallon of gas.

I think Steve is on to something with looking at it through this lens: Perhaps the question to ask is “how much does backpacking pay?”

Hopefully BPL could do a follow-up essay attempting to answer this : )

That video by Dixie posted earlier in the thread is informative, but a little extreme, since very few people are going out into the wilderness with really low-end crap.

It’s probably more interesting for me to discuss quality gear that is a little heavier and much more affordable. For example, I think one could probably save 50% MSRP going from 4 lbs to 6 lbs on sleep system/shelter/pack while still getting good stuff. And obviously, a lot of people sell lightly used gear in this category when they upgrade to the premium level.

Just do like my younger brother, who repeatedly borrowed my “extra” (never-to-be-seen-again) gear, as I was constantly upgrading. Can’t complain too much, since most of the trips he used that gear for were with me. If you don’t know someone like that you need to upgrade to Family & Friends 2.0 :-)