What's in my Pack?! Winter Mountaineering & Ultralight Wild Camping Gear Breakdown

Our first wild camping gear breakdown for full winter mountaineering conditions! The final total weight listed in the video is based on the kit list Ben used the most in full snowy winter conditions in the Scottish Highlands. It's not the heaviest, nor the lightest and would not be for the most technical routes or ice climbing.
Remember, ultralight is a mindset and there's a difference between going lightweight and stupid lightweight. It's about taking what you need and nothing more, not cutting weight on critical gear. We always assess the conditions before heading out and make sure we have the right kit to complete our route safely and comfortably. We always have a back up plan and bail out options. Turning around is a skill not a failure.
Lightest winter weight: 6kg 371g / 14.04 lbs
Heaviest winter weight: 7kg 540g / 16.62 lbs
We've listed everything out below too in case you missed it and for our American pals, converted the gram weight to pounds.
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See you out there.
FULL GEAR LIST:
CLOTHING:
Arc'Teryx Beta SL Hybrid Hardshell Jacket 360g / 12.69 oz
PHD Ultra Pullover Down Jacket 200g / 7.05 oz
Arc'Teryx Rho Beanie 34g / 1.19 oz
Arc'Teryx Venta AR Gloves 98g / 3.45 oz
Cumulus Down Booties 34g / 1.19 oz
Rab Guide Gloves 217g / 7.65 oz
The North Face Flight Gloves 66g / 2.32 oz
Foot Warmers (1 pack) 26g / 0.91 oz
Hand Warmers (1 pack) 60g / 2.11 oz
PACK & CONTAINERS
Bonfus Iterus 38L Pack 300g / 10.58 oz
Bonfus Padded Hip Belt 65g / 2.29 oz
Hanchor Multi Pocket Bottle Pouch 39g / 1.37 oz
Treadlite Hip Belt Pockets (both) 60g / 2.11 oz
Treadlite Phone Pouch 18g / 0.63 oz
Car Key Bag 3g / 0.10 oz
Large Treadlite DCF Dry Bag 29g / 1.02 oz
Small Treadlite DCF Cube 27g / 0.95 oz
Medium DCF Zip Pouch 11g / 0.38 oz
Small DCF Zip Pouch 14g / 0.49 oz
COOK KIT
Soto Windmaster Stove & DCF Bag 70g / 2.46 oz
Evernew 570 Pot 56g / 1.97 oz
Evernew 570 Lid 22g / 0.77 oz
Mini Bic Lighter 11g / 0.38 oz
Gas Canister Stand 28g / 0.98 oz
Long Spoon 20g / 0.70 oz
Cleaning Cloth 5g / 0.17 oz
ELECTRONICS
Joby Phone Clip 57g / 2.01 oz
Kestrel 2000 97g / 3.42 oz
Nitecore 10k MaH Battery Bank 151g / 5.32 oz
Rode Video Micro Mic & iPhone Adaptor 85g / 2.99 oz
Ultrapod Mini Tripod 67g / 2.36 oz
iPhone & Micro USB Charging Cables 29g / 1.02 oz
iPhone 11 191g / 6.73 oz
FIRST AID
First Aid & Repair Kit 120g / 4.23 oz
HYDRATION
Camelbak Soft Flask 39g / 1.37 oz
Evernew 1.5L Water Bag 36g / 1.26 oz
Water Bottle 33g / 1.16 oz
HYGIENE
Earplugs 6g / 0.21 oz
Lip Balm 7g / 0.24 oz
Poop Kit 74g / 2.61 oz
LIGHTING
Montbell Lantern 7g / 0.24 oz
Petzl Swift RL Head Torch 100g 3.52 oz
Petzl e-Lite Head Torch 26g / 0.91 oz
NAVIGATION
Silva Mini Compass 9g / 0.31 oz
Garmin In-Reach Mini 114g / 4.02 oz
SHELTER
Hilleberg Akto Inner & Fly 1kg 251g / 2.75 lbs
Hilleberg Akto 10mm Poles 214g / 7.54 oz
Hilleberg V-Pegs x 10 110g / 3.88 oz
SLEEP SYSTEM
Big Agnes AXL Pillow 46g / 1.62 oz
Nemo Tensor Alpine Sleeping Mat 473g / 1.04 lbs
Rab Mythic 400 Sleeping Bag 689g / 1.51 lbs
TOOLS
Camp Corsa Nano Tech Ice Axe 300g / 10.58 oz
Kahtoola KTS Crampons 736g / 1.62 lbs
Spyderco UKPC Knife 47g / 1.65 oz
ALTERNATIVES
Sea to Summit Aeros Pillow 76g / 2.68 oz
Cedar Ridge Outdoor LaConte Quilt 670 g / 1.47 lbs
Grivel Air Tech Evo Crampons & Bag 939g / 2.07 lbs
Kahtoola Micro Spikes 490g / 1.08 lbs
MSR Blizzard Pegs (each) 37g / 1.30 oz
MSR Cyclone Pegs (each) 36g / 1.26 oz
9mm Hilleberg Akto Poles 164g / 5.78 oz
Arc'Teryx Zeta Waterproof Trousers 250g / 8.81 oz
Z Packs Down Hood 37g / 1.30 oz
Kestrel D1 Drop 38g / 1.34 oz
TOTAL: 7.059kg / 15.56 lbs
Some of our favourite brands:
rab.equipment/uk/
www.treadlitegear.co.uk/
www.hyperlitemountaingear.com/
bonfus.com/
www.phdesigns.co.uk/
www.outdoorline.sk/en/
hilleberg.com/eng/
kahtoola.com/

[@matthewfurst1577]

Great video thanks for the time and hard work. Enjoy the outdoors

[@OutdoorIntrigue]

Huge thanks for watching and leaving such a nice comment! Happy trails 🙌🏼

[@maxraiders96]

Another cracking video, Ben. Some amazing bits of kit you have there, really dialed in! PHD stuff looks bloody awesome!

[@OutdoorIntrigue]

Cheers Max! Very much aimed at real world mountain use. No BS. 🙌🏼

[@philphilphil]

Thanks for making this! Love your choices.

[@OutdoorIntrigue]

You are so welcome! 🙏

[@MylesAway3]

Excellent kit. Thanks for sharing! I need to check out those gloves for sure!

[@OutdoorIntrigue]

Thanks mate!! Glad you found it useful 🙌🏼

[@Tom_Bee_]

Great little channel you got going over here. Thanks for the information!

[@OutdoorIntrigue]

Our pleasure, thanks for watching!

[@kieranmckenna5003]

Excellent mate, some quality gear there. I love the detail you’ve gone to with weight saving. It’s something i need to get more onboard with 😄

[@OutdoorIntrigue]

Thanks mate! It’s all tried and tested to death. Always learning 🙌🏼

[@potyimotyi]

Really good set up, I can see a lot of similar gear in my bag :) I enjoyed your video

[@OutdoorIntrigue]

Thanks Agnes!! Glad you enjoyed it and share our taste in gear 🙌🏼 Happy trails.

[@GemintheMud]

Very helpful - thank you!😊

[@OutdoorIntrigue]

Glad it was helpful!

[@Fellmandave1]

Easily to hand! Boom boom, well I appreciated it. Just tripped over your channel, most intriguing and beautiful quality as I am sure you know. New sub here.

[@OutdoorIntrigue]

Thanks very much Dave! Much appreciated 🙏

[@stigfloberghagenphotography]

Great video ❄️🙂

[@OutdoorIntrigue]

Appreciate it!! ☺️🙌🏼

[@DavidAllan-di4zm]

Hi, that was interesting as to what you carry in your 38 litre pack. I have problems going away in a bivi bag on summer in a 38 litre pack. In winter I have a backup of Rab down pants incase it gets to cold. Maybe worth thinking about.

[@elr05]

Great video! I’m rather new to backpacking and I live in the Eastern Sierra. Thanks for mentioning the Kestrel devices…I wanted that type of equipment but couldn’t find anything, mainly because I wasn’t sure what to search for. And if I asked people irl, locals would shrug and tell me to get a little mercury-type thermometer for the outside of my pack. I’m starting to winter backpack and this will be so great to have. Take care!

[@OutdoorIntrigue]

Thanks for watching and glad you found it useful! The kestrel kit is so useful and especially interesting if you’re a weather geek like me. Hope you have a great winter of camping!

[@chumisilvagarcia6072]

Love your videos Greetings from chile!

[@OutdoorIntrigue]

Thanks so much! Glad you enjoy them 🙏🏼appreciate you watching ☺️

[@richtourist]

Superb quality content and presentation, with straight forward facts, opinions and FULL details in the text; absolutely fabulous! Thanks. A rare beauty among all the waffle and macho Grrr. Just one question: In your Bonfus review video I noticed you were using an Evian 1litre Redcap Pro water bottle (available at Tesco for a quid). Is that water system refillable in the filed, or does it have to be returned to the manufacturer?

[@OutdoorIntrigue]

Glad you appreciated the video! There certainly are a lot of bullsh1t reviews out there. The Evian bottle is indeed refillable in the field 😂 Just requires a wee burn or river or any water source that’s suitable 😉 Thanks for watching and leaving such a nice comment! 🙏

[@TonyHobbs]

About time someone else doesn't filter water :)

[@OutdoorIntrigue]

Yeah it’s generally very safe in U.K. mountains I’d say, been doing it for years and not dead yet 😉

[@tombarrows5332]

Fantastic video, really inspired me to start organising my gear better. Just a quick question - what's the bag you've got your down jacket in? It looks like a rectangular one that (maybe) has a zip closure? Seems to fit perfectly.

[@OutdoorIntrigue]

Hey Tom glad you found it useful!! The bag for my down jacket is from a guy on Etsy called Myerstechhammocklab. There’s a few good cottage manufacturers out there though for little DCF bits.

[@1DrBar]

That is an excellent packing video. I found it hard to believe that you can get so much in that small a bag, but it's obvious that you have everything well thought out and dialed in. How many days/weeks do you go out at a time?

[@OutdoorIntrigue]

Glad you enjoyed the video! It’s always a tricky one with packing and it changes all the time. That setup would be for anything up to 5 days, then you’d struggle to fit the food and need a bigger pack. Take care ☺️

[@polapols2840]

Hi! About sleeping bag, look for PAJAK or MALACHOWSKI. Those are incredibly brands who make brilliant sleeping bags. Basically All of them is extremely ultralight and with very reasonable prices.

[@OutdoorIntrigue]

Hey 👋🏼, I know the Pajak brand I’ve checked out some of their stuff before. Not heard of Malachowski so will look it up. I’ve had a few bits from Cumulus in the past too.

[@42zx]

Wouldnt mind seeing the first aid kit, even if its just on IG or something. I think mine has got most bases covered but you never know :)

[@OutdoorIntrigue]

No problem, I will do a vid on it, been meaning to for ages anyway.

[@Oldswordsman]

How do you find the Nemo mat compares with the STS Ultralight insulated? Just assuming you may have also tried that one. I’ve been set with that and the non insulated for years, but this year is my first sub zero trip, which will in fact be over in scotland

[@OutdoorIntrigue]

Hey 👋🏼, I’ve actually not used the sea to summit mats so can’t compare. The Nemo is the most comfortable mat I’ve used though and the insulation is good for winter mountains on snow. The other option I often use is the Thermarest xlite and xtherm wich are great but less comfortable to actually sleep on.

[@timowillman2285]

Nice looking and wide that Evernew 570 ti cup.Maybe i order one because my Evernew 500 pot is not enought wide whit my Msr Rocket pocket dlx. Can you put small gas canister inside yours Evernew 570 or do you fill it whit other equipments?

[@OutdoorIntrigue]

Hey Timo, it’s a great little pot, nice and wide like you say. It does fit a gas canister but I usually store my stove and lighter in there instead.

[@simonpemberton6669]

Can I ask where you bought the DCF tent and pole bags from?

[@OutdoorIntrigue]

Hey, they are by Lightwave and I got them from ultralightoutdoorgear.co.uk

[@michelangelo644]

what brand are those very small dcf pouches? like for the first aid kit?

[@OutdoorIntrigue]

Hey 👋🏼, they’re from treadlite gear, a little U.K. cottage manufacturer.

[@donaldpriebsch]

So, did you think about switch to a Ultra200 Backpack? It should be much more abrasion resistant than this dyneema pack, might be great especially for more rough mountaineering.

[@OutdoorIntrigue]

Yeah I will go for an Ultra fabric next time, it wasn’t available when I got this pack. It looks a better choice than DCF now, although I want to see some long term use tests. Cheers, Ben.

[@donaldpriebsch]

@@OutdoorIntrigue i ordered the ultra 200 pack from Bonfus today. So exited! Btw, thanks for the load out. Very inspiring!

[@OutdoorIntrigue]

@@donaldpriebsch that’s awesome mate! Hope you love the pack. Appreciate you watching and commenting 🙏

[@tommynick947]

Your audio quality is great. What mic are you using?

[@OutdoorIntrigue]

Glad you appreciated the audio mate! We use the Rode wireless go system, it’s brilliant. There is now a newer version that also has onboard recording and other improvements. Popped a link 👇🏼 amzn.to/3sKIJyA

[@tommynick947]

Thank you

[@OutdoorIntrigue]

@@tommynick947 no problem ☺️

[@andysmythe8329]

Hey. I notice on several of your videos you either build a snow wall or dig in your tent. Do you carry a lightweight anow shovel at all to help with this?

[@OutdoorIntrigue]

Hey, appreciate you watching. I don’t usually carry a shovel due to the weight, but I have been looking at getting a Snowclaw for this purpose, they are very light.

[@andysmythe8329]

@@OutdoorIntrigue cheers for the advice. I'd never heard of a snowclaw before. Just looked at them and they look amazing and very good value. I've ordered one ready for the winter

[@OutdoorIntrigue]

@@andysmythe8329 that’s great!

[@illoyd]

Do you have a link for the pouch for your keys?

[@OutdoorIntrigue]

Sorry I missed this until now! Here’s a link amzn.to/45UiFDc I can’t remember the exact size but I think it’s XS.

[@diabeetus5052]

Where 2:27 did you get the little pouch from ?

[@OutdoorIntrigue]

Sorry I missed this until now! It’s a pouch from Treadlite gear. I highly recommend his kit, been using it for years. He’s a UK cottage manufacturer. Happy trails!

[@TwilightCinemaNZ]

Lol, and i thought i was light at 18kg on a winter mountaineering trip without ropes and pro. Inc. axe, crampins and helmet 24kg with a winter pack and gear + food/water for 4 days in a 50l pack on the approach,climb exit and contingency. Gotta have another look, and i thought i went barebones lolz. Well it was better than the 30kg+, 80l packs i used to take on a week long trip 20 years ago in 23:36 23:36

[@OutdoorIntrigue]

18kg is pretty damn good mate! It often depends on the route and goal of the trip, but it’s always possible to go lighter. It’s just finding that sweet spot, not stupid light but not uncomfortably heavy. I’ll hand to take a look at your vids. Take care!

[@fraserconnell21]

Sorry champ. But at beginning of your vid my girlfriend said it looked like you were wearing a bodice🤣💥 #carry on films #Madonna etc. Joking aside,all great advice and brilliant channel too. Bestest of wishes to yerself and Meg. 👍👍👍👍👍

[@OutdoorIntrigue]

Would’ve thought the bodice would do more for my cleavage, I’ll ask for a refund 😉

[@fraserconnell21]

@@OutdoorIntrigue Yer a great sport! We do appreciate you getting up into the magnificent and inaccessible Scottish winter mountains! Best wishes to ya'll 👍👍🙏🙏

[@OutdoorIntrigue]

@@fraserconnell21 It’s our pleasure! Appreciate you watching 🙌🏼

[@datanck]

Hi,how is the Bonfus compare to Hyperlite pack?

[@OutdoorIntrigue]

Hey 👋🏼. Bonfus compares well to Hyperlite but isn’t as tough or heavily built. If you want something to last then Hyperlite is a better choice, if you want something lighter then I’d go Bonfus.

[@datanck]

@@OutdoorIntrigue Thanks,will take that into consideration 👍

[@miniveloman3642]

Warder boddle?

[@OutdoorIntrigue]

??

[@syindrome]

Dude kinda implied he poops in the snow...

[@OutdoorIntrigue]

Definitely didn’t imply that at all 😂 said instead of using a flimsy lightweight trowel, I’d use the steel adze of my ice axe or pegs to dig a hole.

[@syindrome]

Sorry, my mistake 🫢 then...but where I'm from if you have an ice tool it is because you are on ice and packing out your poop.

[@OutdoorIntrigue]

@@syindrome That’s fair enough, but it’s not a thing packing out poop in the U.K. really. Or in a lot of Europe outside of the busiest of the Alps. Can fully appreciate the environmental benefits of it, particularly in high traffic places.

[@geoffcresswell4815]

just another guy selling stuff

[@OutdoorIntrigue]

That’s a bit harsh Geoff. In what sense am I just selling stuff? I bought and paid for every item myself no advertising or sponsorship at all. It’s all had regular hard use and I’m just sharing what I used.

[@geoffcresswell4815]

@@OutdoorIntrigue ok fare enough all your gear looks brand new .. please do a review on the gear you used for years n years that stood the test of time . the stuff you would never replace . TBH i guess im fed up with the video format of people go camping to show us the stuff you bought . or this is what i eat on a camp . its all advertising some product .

[@Cale_Davison]

​@@OutdoorIntrigue Rarely have I seen someone with such calm, patient, and good-humored replies. Well done on that.

[@OutdoorIntrigue]

@@Cale_DavisonCheers mate, lives too short to take KZbin comments too much to heart 😉

[@Cale_Davison]

@@OutdoorIntrigue Now if I could be so wise as to bring that attitude to the women in my life!