Build This Budget Ultralight Backpacking Kit Now for $550

Updated August 14, 2025 08:40AM

Between inflation and rising tariffs, prices for gear have gone up noticeably over the past few years. Ultralight gear—even American-made ultralight gear—isn’t immune: Between 2023 and 2024, the total cost of one popular budget ultralight kit we published on Backpacker rose $52, and it has continued to go up since.

If you’re an aspiring ultralight backpacker on a budget, that extra cost can be hard to swallow. But if you know where to look, you can still snag deals on quality gear. Here, we’ve built a Backpacker-tested ultralight kit aimed at budget-minded backpackers who don’t want to waste their money: The four main items in this kit—tent, pack, sleeping pad, and quilt—will cost you $550 and weigh just 5 pounds, 12 ounces combined. (You can add on our picks for a headlamp, jacket, filter, and poles for an additional 1 pounds, 12.8 ounces and $192, leaving plenty of room for clothes and other necessities while still staying below a 10-pound baseweight).

Tent

3F UL Gear Lanshan 2 Pro (2 lb. 5 oz.)

Part of a new crop of direct-from-manufacturer Chinese ultralight brands, 3F UL Gear’s Lanshan 2 Pro is a fairly standard trekking pole tent at an unbeatable price point. While it’s not the most innovative or lightest tent we’ve tested, our reviewer Will McGough wrote that it was surprisingly high-quality for the price, with a 20-denier double-sided silnylon fly and 20-denier nylon floor bathtub floor. The Lanshan 2 Pro pitches with six to eight stakes and features two vents to cut down on condensation. (Caveat: You’ll need to seam-seal the tent yourself.)

Pack

Granite Gear Virga 2 (1 lb. 3 oz.)

This unfussy frameless pack has proven its mettle on long trails across the country, as our ultralight columnist Nathan Pipenberg pointed out. At 54 liters, it’s big enough even for long hauls between resupplies. Like most frameless packs, organization is minimal. Besides the main packbag, the Virga 2 features two stretch pockets on the sides and one on the front of the pack.

Pad

Ozark Trail Camping Pad (11.2 oz.)

Backpack with a Walmart pad? According to our testers, it’s a better idea than you might think. This half-inch, roll-up closed-cell foam pad is nearly 3 ounces lighter than Therm-a-Rest’s popular Z-Lite Sol, and for the negligible price you can cut it down or halve it to save further weight. (Like the Z-Lite, it’s also bulky enough that you’ll probably need to carry it on the outside of your pack.)

Quilt

Enlightened Equipment Revelation Apex 30 (1 lb. 8.8 oz.)

Synthetic fill may not be able to match the compressibility and low weight of down. But if you’re willing to carry an ounce or two extra, a synthetic quilt can cut your out-of-pocket cost. And just under 25 ounces, the Revelation Apex 30 is still plenty light. It also performed well in damp conditions and retained loft well. (Downside: It will take up more room in your pack; a compression sack is a good idea.)