FIELD NOTES

Stories about gear I learned from actually using it

01

The concept of base weight — How a gear list was created

Most of the gear I was carrying were prototypes I had made myself. The backpack, the cozy, the pack liner, the sacoche. Day hikes, tent traverses, long trails of a week or more — repeated trip after trip, the gear list slowly completes itself for each style of hiking.

Weight you never noticed on a day hike hits hard once you're in terrain that requires a tent night.

Your starting gear list is not "the right answer"

For my first long trail, I set out at a base weight of 4.8 kg. I had reworked the list over and over beforehand and thought I was leaving with confidence. But within days of walking, "I didn't need this" and "I'm missing this" started piling up.

I painfully understood the need for a sun umbrella across 1,000 km of desert, and I felt the limits of my down jacket's warmth in the cold of night. The spare socks, on the other hand, I never used once. A gear list only completes itself once you've actually walked it in the field, in your own style.

Base weight: a shared language

Among UL hikers, "base weight" is the shared metric. It's the total weight of your gear excluding food, water, and fuel — since consumables vary with route and trip length, that number is what we use to compare gear weight. My take is that this number is only a rough guide, but it's a useful one for taking the first step.

Category Target How to think about it
UL (Ultralight) ~ 4.5 kg Best for 2–3 night traverses. Greatly reduces strain on the body and extends daily distance.
Lightweight 4.5 – 7 kg A balance of comfort and light weight. A realistic target for tent-based backpacking.
Traditional 7 kg+ Standard tent-based gear. Cutting from here is the first step toward UL.

"Cut the anxiety, not the weight"

The spare for the spare. The "I might use it" gear. But what I noticed after repeating tent trips was: the heaviest items in my pack were the things I brought because of anxiety. A spare emergency blanket, an extra change of clothes "just in case." On the next trip, I cut all of it.

That said, things change on a long trail (a week or more). As distances between resupply points grow, fully outfitted spares and a repair kit shift from "anxiety" to "rational preparation."

What was finally left in my hands was only this: things I used every day, or things I didn't use but that meant life or death.

TIPS: MIYAGEN products born from this list

MIYAGEN products are not ultralight. We pursue the balance between lightweight and strong, starting from the lightweight end. After more than 4,000 km of trails — multiple trails in Japan and abroad — the design became the CREST 40. The cozy and fanny pack were born the same way: tested in the mountains and turned into products. MIYAGEN's product development begins from this gear list.

02

How to Choose the BIG 3 — The Boundary Between "Lightweight" and "Usable"

The heaviest part of your kit is the "BIG 3" — backpack, shelter, and sleeping system. About 60–70% of total weight is concentrated here. Reviewing your BIG 3 first is the most efficient way to drop weight. Whether you're out for 2–3 nights of tent camping or on a long trail, your BIG 3 choices set the entire base weight. What I learned from repeating trips, though, is that the line between "light" and "usable" is more delicate than you'd think.

1
Backpack — CREST 40 (900g)

A backpack I prototyped for tent traverses. It became the basis for the model later released as the CREST 40. A full-body carry pack with a carbon frame. Light weight matters, but I designed it focusing on body fit and on reducing accumulated fatigue as much as possible. On traverses of three days or longer, food adds up fast. The moment I loaded seven days of food and 2 L of water into the pack, the importance of the shoulder design became painfully obvious.

2
Shelter — REI Flash Air 1 Tent (680g)

A trekking-pole-pitched single-wall shelter. Not freestanding. In Japan's mountains, the ground varies by route — rocks, gravel, the leaf litter of the forest. I was uneasy at first about whether non-freestanding would be okay, but the conclusion was that pegs combined with rocks worked fine.

I made a prototype groundsheet (116g) to bring along. The goal was protecting the tent floor, but I figured holes were fine and eventually dropped it from my kit.

3
Sleeping system — UltraLite + Z Lite Sol (1,085g)

I chose the WESTERN MOUNTAINEERING UltraLite (795g / measured) because of how wide the temperature range gets in Japan's mountains. Even summer ridges in the Northern Alps drop to 5°C at night, and the 3,000m peaks in autumn can go below freezing. It's too warm on summer low mountains, but just right for high-altitude tent nights. If I'm covering spring through autumn with a single bag, this is what I've settled on.

I went with the Z Lite Sol S (290g / measured, short size) closed-cell pad for "no-puncture peace of mind" and "absolute warmth." On rocky tent sites, I don't want to worry about a puncture every single night. The result: I've used it without a single problem. Air pads are the right call if you want to save bulk. For long-distance walking, I'd choose closed-cell.

TIPS: How many kilograms is your BIG 3?

Backpack, shelter, sleeping system. When you add up these three, what's the number? You only need an answer. Sometimes that's where something changes.

03

Food Planning — Resupply and Calorie Strategy for Tent Camping

Even with a lighter base weight, you can't cut food and water. If anything, the lighter your gear, the more food planning precision dictates how easily you walk. Day hikes get by on snacks alone, but 2–3 night traverses need dinner and breakfast plans, and trips of a week or more demand calorie design that includes resupply points. "Pick ingredients by calorie density" and "raise the snack ratio so you cook less" — this is the basic UL hiker food plan.

Food planning by trip type

Day hikes are fine on snacks alone. One night out, no resupply needed either. But for 2–3 night tent trips and long traverses, you have to back-calculate from the resupply interval and daily calories. Routes with limited water also need more water carried, so food should be as light and high-calorie as possible.

Trip type Resupply interval Food per day Water carried Calories per day
Day hike (up to 8 hr) None Snacks only 1–2 L 1,500 kcal
1-night tent trip None 500–600 g 2–4 L 2,500 kcal
2 nights or more 2–4 days 500–600 g 2–3 L 3,000 kcal
Long traverse (5+ days) 3–6 days 1500–4000 g 2–7 L 3,000–3,500 kcal

What we ate every day

On long tent trips, we ate roughly the same things every day. We worried we'd get tired of it, but in front of post-walk hunger, "tired of it" never came. The daily routine was Ramen Bomb.

Timing What we ate Notes
Morning Energy bar No cooking. Out the door in 5 minutes.
On the move Energy bars, nuts, dried fruit, chips, raw instant ramen Eaten while walking. 60–70% of total calories.
Evening Ramen or alpha rice + tuna pack + olive oil Olive oil has the highest calorie density (9 kcal/g).

TIPS: Trail Yokan as a choice

Trail Yokan is one of the snacks we eat daily on tent traverses. Chocolate melts on midsummer ridgelines. But yokan didn't melt even under the sun. You can open it one-handed and eat it as is, so you can refuel while walking. Sugar absorbs first, then the walnut fat absorbs after. We made it thinking about "sustained energy that's actually easy to eat and that you actually want to eat in the mountains."

04

Layering — merino wool or synthetic

Japan's mountain climate is extreme. Even on summer ridges in the Northern Alps, wind can exceed 15 m/s, and nights drop to 5°C. In autumn at Karasawa, days are 15°C while nights go below freezing. On a week-long trail, you can experience everything from clear skies to violent storms. Whether it's a day hike, a tent trip, or a long trail, the same layering approach handles all of it. UL hiking layering demands versatility.

What I use on tent trips

B
Base layer: A fiber that doesn't feel cold

This is one piece I've worn in the mountains for many seasons. Body-temperature regulation while moving, easing the load on sunburned skin, and above all "doesn't smell after 3 days without washing." That was my biggest reason for choosing merino.

M
Mid layer: Montbell UL Thermawrap Jacket

An active insulation piece. Even when layered, it's hard to overheat while moving. Synthetic, so you can wear it without worry even when it gets wet.

I
Insulation: Montbell Plasma 1000 Down Parka (238g)

Ultra-thin 1000FP down. I don't wear it while moving. It's insurance for protecting body heat at rest and inside the tent. The moment I pitch the tent, this is what I throw on. There's nothing else that matches this warmth at 238g.

S
Shell: Montbell Versalite Jacket (134g)

It's both a rain shell and a wind shell. On rainy-season traverses I wear it for days on end. I can't count how many times I've trusted my life to a 134g shell. Its waterproof/breathable balance isn't perfect, but the proof of trust is having weathered ridge-line storms in something this light.

Layering by temperature range

Temperature Active At rest Sleeping
30°C+ (summer low mountain, full sun) Merino T + CapNi Band Merino T Merino T only or nothing
15–30°C Merino T Merino T + Hoody Hoody + Alpha Tights
5–15°C Merino T + Hoody Hoody + Down Hoody + Down + Alpha Tights
Below 0°C (high alpine, winter) Hoody + Shell Hoody + Down + Shell Hoody + Down + Alpha Tights + Socks

TIPS: What about polyester and other synthetics?

Merino's strengths are its air-conditioner-like temperature and humidity regulation. "Doesn't smell after many days of wear." "Doesn't feel cold even when wet." But there are downsides too: "Slow to dry." On long trails, slow drying is a major drawback. Keep lightweight polyester fibers in mind as another option.

The truth about merino wool — what long trails revealed

People often say "merino wool doesn't smell no matter how many days you wear it." I've worn it for a month at a time on long trails without ever putting it through a wash. I won't say it was completely odorless, but the smell was suppressed beyond comparison with synthetic base layers.

Quick-drying — honestly, it's worse than synthetics. But what really troubled me wasn't sweat, it was the "wet chill" after stream crossings or sudden rain. Merino's "stays warm even when wet" property has saved me again and again. Synthetics dry quickly, but the cold the moment they get wet is harsher than merino.

That said, synthetics are cheaper and easier to care for. Get the drying wrong and bacteria multiply and produce a foul smell, but they dry quickly and don't require special storage care.

Combinations by scene

1
Day hike (summer)

One merino T + a wind shell. That's enough. It doesn't smell when you sweat, so you don't have to worry about the train ride home.

2
Tent traverse (2–3 nights)

Merino hoody + UL Thermawrap + rain shell. Add the down at rest. For two or three nights, you can get through on the same merino T.

3
Long trail (a week or more)

The base combination is the same as for tent trips. But add a single spare layer and run a wash rotation. If there's a chance to wash at a resupply, you can move in the spare while the other dries. Cutting the spare entirely can also be a good choice.

4
Winter low mountain

Merino hoody + UL Thermawrap + shell. While moving, the hoody alone is almost too warm. Merino is what makes the difference against sweat-chill.

05

Packing and Walking Techniques — Making the Most of Lightness

Even with light gear, sloppy packing translates straight into harder walking. A 20L day-pack or a 40L pack stuffed with a week of food — same principles. And even if packing is perfect, walking the old way cuts the benefit of going light in half.

Center-of-gravity basics

TOP Rain shell, snacks, water Things you grab quickly
MIDDLE (back side) Food, small items, cookware Heavy things close to back, near shoulders
BOTTOM Sleeping bag, change of clothes, tent body Light things that can compress

Points unique to UL packs

1
Waterproof with a pack liner

Frameless packs often aren't waterproof inside. Bundle the contents in a trash bag or nylon sack to make them waterproof. The day we got soaked at a stream crossing, the pack liner saved everything inside.

2
Use the mat as a frame

Roll a closed-cell mat into a cylinder against the inside wall of the pack and put the pack liner inside. The mat doubles as a frame and packing gets easier.

3
Use external attachment

Long items like tents and mats go on the outside. Just pay attention to placement so they don't catch on branches while moving. In forest sections, an externally-attached mat caught on a branch can cause a fall, or hit another hiker as it springs back.

4
Weigh everything

Make a habit of weighing every item with a kitchen scale before packing. "Roughly light" isn't enough — knowing the gram count shows you what to drop next. Every weight on this list is measured.

UL walking — light doesn't mean fast

Keep base weight under 5 kg, and 25–35 km a day becomes a fully realistic number. Average tent-night hiking sits at 15–20 km, so light weight directly translates into walking distance. But don't misread it as "light gear means walking faster." The real point is: less physical load means less "accumulated damage" to knees and back.

Physical work (energy spent) is calculated as "weight × gravitational acceleration × height lifted."

Take a 15 kg pack vs. an 8 kg pack — that's a 7 kg difference. Carry that extra 7 kg up 1,000 m of vertical gain.

About 68,600 joules. Converted to calories with human muscle efficiency in mind, just the act of "climbing" burns close to one onigiri's worth of extra energy. Add to that the propulsion to move forward on flats, and the load of braking against gravity on descents (this is what really destroys muscle), and the daily energy difference adds up to several hundred kilocalories.

So UL isn't a means to walk fast — it's an extremely rational answer to: "How do you keep walking far without carrying fatigue debt into the next day?"

Using trekking poles

Hip belts on UL packs are minimal (or absent), so weight tends to concentrate on the shoulders. Get propulsion from trekking poles to spread the load between shoulders and legs. We use Helinox TL-120ADJ and double them for tent setup. The poles do double duty: a tool for walking and a tool for sleeping.

Trouble and recovery

Walk far enough and gear breaks. There's no gear that doesn't break. Trouble we've actually had, and how we recovered from it.

—
Pole lock failure

The lock mechanism on a telescoping pole seized up after biting sand. Disassembly and cleaning brought it back. On dry sandy ground, sand gets into pole joints easily.

—
Pack shoulder strap unraveling

Long-term use began to unravel the seams. Fixed with the sewing tools in the repair kit. The repair kit is the top item on the "might never use" list — but the moment to use it definitely comes.

—
Tent zipper biting

The entrance zipper bit the fabric and froze. Pull in panic and the fabric tears. Lift the slider with a pen cap and walk it back slowly. This is worth remembering.

Pre-departure checklist

When you're done packing, take a look.

  • Are heavy items at shoulder height, against the back?
  • Are the contents waterproofed with a pack liner?
  • Is the rain shell quick to grab?
  • Can you reach snacks while walking?
  • Is the headlamp in the top pocket?
  • Is the whistle somewhere you can use it instantly?
  • Is there enough water?
  • With the pack on, is the center of gravity stable?

TIPS: MIYAGEN 3D WHISTLE on the whistle slot

From the pre-departure checklist, "Is the whistle somewhere you can use it instantly?" — MIYAGEN 3D WHISTLE (2g) attaches to chest straps and zipper pulls. Just blow in an emergency for a high-pitched note. At 2g, there's no reason not to carry one.

06

Recommended Books — Read before you walk, and read again after you walk.

Just like with gear lists, the books I've read also hold "things that remain after walking." From the original texts on ultralight hiking to introductory books on mountain geology and travelogues about walking journeys—I've compiled a list of books that provided background for the thoughts and feelings I actually had in the mountains.

UL Thought/Philosophy

EN
Beyond Backpacking ★ Ray Jardine — AdventureLore Press The originator of UL hiking. The culmination of the philosophy and practice of lightweight design.
Ultralight hiking Tomoya Tsuchiya — Yama-kei Publishers The definitive guide to ultralight (UL) camping in Japan. From equipment selection to philosophy.
LONG DISTANCE HIKING Susumu Hasegawa — TRAILS Japan's first guide to long-distance hiking
JP/EN
Baron Mabel's Backpacking Handbook Sheridan Anderson / Translated by Yoshio Tabuchi — Shobunsha The best outdoor experiences at the lowest cost. A classic book full of illustrations.

Long-distance trail travelogue (USA)

The adventure of long trails Noriyoshi Kato — Gijutsu Hyoronsha "Walking is my life." - A pioneer of long-distance trails in Japan.
Walking a long trail Noriyoshi Kato — PHP Institute An account of conquering the American Trail. Introducing American trail culture to Japan.

Long-distance trail travelogues (around the world)

JP/EN
Into the wilderness John Krakauer / Translated by Suzuo Sasou — Shueisha The story of a young man who lost his life in the Alaskan wilderness. Original title: Into the Wild
JP/EN
The Complete Guide to Walking Colin Fletcher / Translated by Kazuhiro Ashizawa — Yama-kei Publishers The backpacking bible. From equipment theory to philosophy.

Mountains and Roads of Japan

Japan's 100 Famous Mountains Kyuya Fukada — Shinchosha A classic of Japanese mountaineering literature. It beautifully describes 100 famous peaks.

Geology/Topography

Three stones can reveal the Earth. Kantaro Fujioka — Kodansha (Blue Backs) An introductory book to understanding the Earth through rocks. Useful for understanding trail topography.
How Japanese mountains are formed Takehide Koizumi — A&F BOOKS Deciphering the geology, topography, and nature of Japan's mountains from a 500-million-year history.

religion/spirituality

JP/EN
Life in the Forest H.D. Thoreau / Translated by Minoru Iida — Iwanami Shoten Two years on the shores of Walden Pond. A simple life in nature.
The Narrow Road to the Deep North Matsuo Basho / Various Modern Japanese Translations — Iwanami Shoten, etc. The origin of walking tours in Japan. A fusion of haiku and walking.

comics

Take Shinichi Ishizuka — Shogakukan The story revolves around mountain rescue, depicting the harshness and beauty of the mountains.
The Summit of the Gods Yumemakura Baku / Illustrations by Taniguchi Jiro — Shueisha The story of a mountaineer attempting to conquer the southwest face of Mount Everest.
A solitary person Shinichi Sakamoto / Original story: Jiro Nitta — Shueisha This story depicts the life of solo mountaineer Buntaro Kato.

Travelogue

Traveling Tree Michio Hoshino — Bungeishunju Essays by a photographer who observed the nature and life of Alaska
JP/EN
Moomin Valley Friends Tove Jansson / Translated by Shizuka Yamamuro — Kodansha The Finnish view of nature. Snufkin's wandering spirit.
JP/EN
The Moomin Family Tove Jansson / Translated by Shizuka Yamamuro — Kodansha The Moomin stories of adventure and life in nature
I dedicated my youth to the mountains. Naomi Uemura — Bungei Shunju (Bunshun Bunko) The coming-of-age story of the adventurer who became the first in the world to conquer the highest peaks on all five continents.
JP/EN
On the Road Jack Kerouac / Translated by Minami Aoyama — Kawade Shobo Shinsha (Kawade Bunko) The Beat Generation's sacred text. A free way of travel and living.
JP/EN
The Dalma Bums Jack Kerouac / Translated by Yoshiyuki Nakai — Kodansha (Kodansha Literary Paperback) The origin of backpacking literature themed on mountains and Zen.
MIDNIGHT PIZZA CLUB 1st BLAZE LANGTANG VALLEY Taiga Nakano, Ryohei Kamide, Yusuke Abe — Kodansha Photos and travelogue of a hike through the Langtang Valley in Nepal

walk

Walking is a habit that can truly change your life. Mitsufumi Ikeda — NewsPicks The science and culture of walking: A business perspective on walking.

Total 24 books (JP:15 / JP/EN:8 / EN:1)

TIPS: About language labels

EN = Original English book | JP/EN = Japanese translation of an overseas book | JP = Original Japanese version. Reading the original version is also recommended if available.

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GEAR LIST Long-distance trails, multi-day treks with tent camping, and day trips — Equipment lists for three different styles
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