Best Ultralight Backpacks

The Kakwa 55 is Dan Durston's disruptively priced ultralight — under 2 lbs, a 45 lb load rating, and a 2026 update with a redesigned hipbelt, all starting around $200 in UltraGrid fabric. It has become the value benchmark every new UL pack gets measured against.

The Unbound 40 is HMG's fast-and-light pack for dialed kits, with a stretch front pocket and bottom pocket aimed at hikers who move all day and camp minimally. At 40 liters it suits sub-10-lb base weights and shorter resupply intervals.

The Swift X is the X-Pac version of Six Moon Designs' Swift, using the same Delrin hoop frame as the Swift V but in a waterproof laminate. At 38.8 oz it is heavier than most packs in this segment, which is the cost of the hoop and the fabric.

The Focal 58 is Gregory's answer to the Exos: an ultralight with a genuinely ventilated FreeFloat suspended mesh back and a dynamic pivoting hipbelt. The women's version is the Facet 55. It undercuts the Exos on features while matching it on weight.

The Eja is the women's-fit Exos and Osprey's lightweight trekking pack: 2.7 lb for 58 L, with the same AirSpeed suspended mesh as the Atmos in a stripped-down chassis. It is the pack that bridges mainstream and ultralight, offering a frame and ventilation at a weight that cottage packs compete with.

The Exos 58 is Osprey's crossover ultralight — a sub-3-pound pack that keeps a real suspended-mesh frame and lifetime warranty. It has been an Appalachian Trail staple for a decade, and the current generation added an adjustable torso. The women's version is the Eja 58.

The Flash 55 is REI's ultralight value play — a roll-top pack with the co-op's Packmod system of removable pockets and straps, letting owners configure or strip it per trip. It's the cheapest credible ultralight framed pack from a major retailer.

The Exos Pro is Osprey's answer to the cottage ultralight brands: 33.2 oz for 55 L, or 30.4 oz with the lid removed. It uses NanoFly, a 100D nylon crossed with 200D UHMWPE, over a 3.5 mm LightWire frame, and saves nearly a full pound against the standard Exos 58 at the cost of load rating and a fixed hipbelt.

The Flash Air is REI's ultralight pack, using a shaped spring steel frame rather than stays or a hoop. It is the only pack in this group backed by a mainstream retailer's return policy, which matters more than usual in a segment dominated by made-to-order cottage brands.

The Southwest 55 is Hyperlite Mountain Gear's flagship all-rounder, built in Maine from waterproof Dyneema composite with solid woven pockets for brush country. It's the pack that made white Dyneema the visual signature of modern thru-hiking.

The Crown3 60 is the third generation of Granite Gear's beloved Crown line, a fixture of PCT gear surveys and the classic answer to 'ultralight on a budget.' The re-flow hipbelt is adjustable in length, and the frame sheet and lid strip out for a sub-2-lb minimum weight.

The Circuit is the thru-hiking pack — hand-made in Logan, Utah by ULA Equipment and a perennial #1 in Halfway Anywhere's PCT gear survey. Its 68 liters of total volume, bombproof Robic fabric, and 35 lb carry make it the default recommendation for first thru-hikes. An Ultra-fabric version is sold at a premium.

The Catalyst is the Circuit's bigger sibling — 75 liters of total volume and a 40 lb rating for long food carries, winter kit, or bear-canister-plus-packraft loads. It's the UL pack for people whose trips outgrow the Circuit.

The Arc Haul Ultra 60 is Zpacks' engineering statement: a 21.7-ounce pack whose carbon arc frame tensions a mesh panel off your back — the only true ventilation in the sub-1.5-lb class. Backpacker magazine named it the best ultralight pack of 2026.

The Mariposa 60 is Gossamer Gear's signature pack, famous for its asymmetric pocket layout — one giant over-the-shoulder pocket that holds a tent, plus six more — and a removable back pad that doubles as a camp sit pad. It's the organized person's ultralight.

The Gorilla 50 is the Mariposa's smaller, symmetric sibling — 50 liters, under 2 lbs, and the classic 'second pack' people buy once their kit shrinks. It keeps the sit-pad back panel and Robic durability in a cleaner silhouette.

The Aircontact Ultra is Deuter's move into genuine ultralight territory: 1,270 g for a 55 L framed pack with a roll-top closure and a removable lid. It keeps the Aircontact name and Air Spacer mesh but swaps the aluminium Y-frame for a spring-steel round-profile perimeter frame, which is where most of the weight saving comes from.

The women's-fit Aircontact Ultra, at 1,210 g for 50 L. Between this and the 35+5 SL at 1,140 g, it is the lightest framed pack Deuter offers in a women's fit, and one of very few ultralight packs with a genuinely women's-specific carrying system rather than a short size of a unisex design.

The Pa'lante V2 is the lightest pack in this catalog at 18.6 oz, and the clearest expression of the frameless ultralight philosophy: no frame, no stays, no lid, and a bottom pocket instead of a brain. It only works for hikers whose base weight is low enough that a frame is genuinely unnecessary.

The Cutaway is Nashville Pack's frameless 40 L, built around a cutaway front panel that lets the mesh pocket expand rather than being pinched by the pack body. At 22 oz it sits between the Pa'lante V2 and the framed cottage packs.

The Bonfus Framus is a 58 L framed pack at 26.6 oz, built in Challenge Ultra 200X -- a non-woven laminate with UHMWPE fibres that is effectively waterproof and extremely tear-resistant. Its weight-to-volume ratio is among the best of any framed pack here.

The CS40 Ultra pairs Challenge UltraWeave 200 with carbon fibre stays for 28.6 oz at 53 L. Outdoor Vitals sells direct, which is why the price sits below comparable cottage packs using the same fabric.

The Swift V uses a Delrin hoop rather than metal stays, a design Six Moon Designs has refined over several generations. It is the heaviest pack in this ultralight group at 38 oz, trading weight for a frame that flexes with the body.

Black Diamond's entry into the ultralight wave pairs Ultra 200 and Ultra 400 laminates with two removable stays. It is the most expensive pack in this catalog's ultralight group, and the only one from a major climbing brand.

The Qidian Pro is the budget entry to ultralight: 56 L at 31 oz for $92, using a UHMWPE-blend nylon that imitates the gridstop fabrics on packs costing four times as much. It is included because it is genuinely tested and genuinely cheap, not because it matches the others.

The Ultra Circuit is the Ultra-fabric version of ULA's best-known pack. It keeps the Circuit's carbon hoop and aluminium stay combination but rebuilds it in Ultra 400X and 200X, making it waterproof and considerably more tear-resistant than the standard Robic version.

The CDT is the largest of ULA's frameless packs and the cheapest way into the brand. UltraGrid is a doubled 200D recycled grid fabric that resists tears well beyond its weight, and ULA states a clear 25 lb ceiling rather than leaving it to inference.

The Contour 35 is Hyperlite's frameless fast-and-light pack, and at 15.9 oz it is the only sub-pound pack in this catalog outside the Cotopaxi Batac. Dyneema Composite Fabric makes it effectively waterproof at a weight woven fabrics cannot reach.

The Kumo is Gossamer Gear's frameless 36 L, using the removable SitLight pad as both back structure and camp seat. At $180 it is the cheapest pack Gossamer Gear makes and one of the best-value frameless packs available.

The Shadowlight Carbon 60 pairs carbon stays with conventional woven fabrics rather than Ultra laminate, which is why it undercuts the CS40 Ultra by $40 while offering 7 L more. It is the largest carbon-framed pack in this catalog.

LiteAF builds to order in ECOPAK, a recycled laminate that is waterproof like Ultra but made from post-consumer polyester. At 13 oz for 45 L of total volume it is one of the lightest packs in this catalog, and custom sizing is included in the price.

The Exodus is Mountain Laurel Designs' 55 L frameless pack, offered in a choice of UltraGrid or Ultra X fabrics which is why the price runs from $245 to $325. At 1 lb 2 oz for 58 L of measured volume it has one of the best weight-to-volume ratios here.

The Zerk 40 is Mountainsmith's ultralight entry, using a recycled Extreema ripstop and a removable frame sheet so it can run framed or frameless. At 51 L of measured volume for a 40 L badge it is one of the more honest under-claimers in this catalog.

The Nero is Zpacks' frameless pack and at 9.9 oz the lightest framed-or-otherwise hiking pack in this catalog. Ultra 100X with taped seams makes it genuinely waterproof at a weight where most packs are barely water-resistant.

The Nero Pro is the upgraded Nero: 11.1 oz against the Classic's 9.9, for a $40 premium. The extra weight buys a more robust build in the same frameless, waterproof format across the same 30 to 50 L range.

The Arc Zip is the Arc Haul with front zip access, so the pack opens like a suitcase instead of only from the top. It keeps the tensioned carbon arc that lifts the pack off the back -- Zpacks' distinguishing feature -- at 23.9 oz for 62 L.

The Windrider is the Southwest with a large mesh front pocket in place of solid Dyneema, so wet gear can drain and dry. The 2025 overhaul moved the line to Dyneema Woven Composite and widened the shoulder straps.

The Junction sits between the Southwest and Windrider: a hybrid front pocket that is part solid Dyneema and part mesh, aiming to combine the Southwest's durability with the Windrider's drainage. Same 2025 fabric overhaul as the rest of the line.

The Virga3 is Granite Gear's frameless ultralight pack: 1.68 lb as sold, or 1.18 lb stripped of the hipbelt. Granite Gear states a clear 25 lb ceiling, which is more than most cottage brands publish, and offers two torso sizes plus two hipbelt ranges.