Fastpacking at a glance
- Pack size
- About 8 to 20 L
- Harness
- Vest-style, not a hipbelt
- Pattern
- Hike up, run down and flat
What fastpacking is
Take an ultralight backpacking kit, cut it further until the pack is small and stable enough to run with, and cover the route at a mix of running and hiking. That's fastpacking. Packs are usually 8 to 20 liters with a vest-style harness rather than a hipbelt, because the load is light enough that your shoulders and chest can carry it and stability matters more than transfer.
How much of it you actually run
The pace is not what people assume. Almost nobody runs the whole thing. The usual pattern is power hiking the climbs, running the descents and the flats, and covering considerably more ground in a day than you would with a full pack, which is what lets a route that would be a five-day backpacking trip become a long weekend.
What it demands of your kit
What it demands is a genuinely honest kit list. There's no room for a comfortable camp, and margins are thinner in every direction: less insulation, less shelter, less food. That's fine on a summer route with escape options and a poor idea in the mountains in bad weather. The skill isn't running, it's knowing which trips suit the approach.
What this means when you're choosing
- A pack that is stable when run in rather than merely small
- A kit list honest enough to survive a night out if the plan breaks
- Front-carry storage, since you cannot reach behind you at pace
The common mistake
Assuming you will run most of it
Almost nobody does. The usual pattern is power hiking the climbs, running the flats and descents, and covering ground through consistency rather than speed. Planning a route on your road running pace is how people end up finishing in the dark.
Common questions
How is fastpacking different from backpacking?
Mainly pack size and pace. A fastpacking kit fits in 8 to 20 liters and is carried in a running vest harness, which lets you run the flats and descents rather than walking everything.
Do you have to be able to run to fastpack?
Not really, and most fastpackers hike the climbs anyway. What matters more is a light kit and the fitness to keep moving for hours, which is a hiking skill as much as a running one.