There are a lot of reasons to reduce pack weight, such as comfort, safety, speed, and pack durability. Studies have indicated that hikers with lighter backpacks are more likely to complete long journey goals and with fewer injuries. With a lighter backpack, you can more easily avoid back injuries as well as injuries from losing your balance. Many backpacks are only rated for 30–40 lbs carrying capacity, so the further you can reduce the weight, the less likely there will be a pack failure.
With the right winter backpacking gear, you can be warm, dry, and comfortable while snowshoeing or hanging around your camp in the snow.
Most of my gear falls in the light to the ultra-light category. This is important especially in the winter because sleeping gear and warm clothes add to your pack weight. But I have a few not-so-ultra-light exceptions, some of which I’m going to discuss in this post. Foremost among them is my extra sleeping pad and some form of food protection, such as a bear canister or metal lunchbox.