I stayed at the Kvikkjokk Fjällstation at the end of my Sarek hike in august 2023. There I met a swedish guy that told me about his ultralight gear. I think he travelled with a base weight of about 4-5 kg.
He talked about his quilt, super light tent and about how few things he settled for. He brought only the absolutely necessary stuff with him. On the other hand, he easily walked 20-30 km a day in terrain where I struggled through 10-12 km and was completely shattered after the daily stage. He also talked about the principle that 1 kg on the feet corresponds to 3 kg in the rucksack. He wore trail runner shoes instead of hiking boots and accepted getting wet feet after crossing rivers. My boots where soaked from day 3 weighing about 2 kg instead of 1,3 kg. My Altra Lone Peaks weigh 700 gr.
At first I took him for a purist with an extreme approach to hiking gear. After I got home and thought about my hike and how my heavy pack had determined my options and influenced the overall experience I started to investigate what this ultralight approach is about.
Since then I have invested in lighter gear and removed a lot of nice-to-have items from my packing list.
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