Hyperlite Mountain Gear: Explore More with Less

The drive to eliminate the unnecessary has been the heart and soul of Hyperlite Mountain Gear’s design process since the beginning. Mike St. Pierre, the founder and CEO of Hyperlite, made his first pack with a roll of fabric and an old sewing machine in an attempt to reduce as much weight as he could when he journeyed into the backcountry. It was an endeavor of passion, born from a lifelong love of exploring and engineering, all resulting in a creation that was insanely lightweight and unbelievably durable. It changed the way Mike explored the outdoors, and soon Hyperlite was born.

TRIM THE FAT

Founded by Mike and a team of backcountry athletes, Hyperlite aims to create a pack that helps increase speed, distance, and efficiency in the pursuit of remote wildernesses. Their vision is to enable explorers from alpinists to thru-hikers and weekend backpackers to keep their gear secure and their eyes on the prize.

The secret sauce behind Hyperlite’s ability to make packs that are as lightweight as they are durable is all in the fabric. While searching for materials to make his first pack, Mike chose Dyneema. With its reputation as the lightest, most durable fabric in the world, Dyneema aligned perfectly with Hyperlite’s focus on eliminating the unnecessary and allows all the weight on your back to be just the stuff that you need. No matter if you’ve hiked five miles or five hundred, we all know that as you add on the miles, each gram you carry only seems to get heavier.

BARE NECESSITIES

Built on the concept of Essentialism, Hyperlite finds ways to eliminate clutter in favor of thoughtful and intentional necessities. However, what’s necessary varies from person to person and from trip to trip. We all have that one thing that we just can’t go without, even when there doesn’t seem to be any more room in our bags. While still making sure there’s room for headlamps and rope, essentials go beyond the gear and extend to your company, your mindset, or your comforts. Hyperlite’s mantra “everything less matters” isn’t about going without, but rather about doing more with less.

WHAT'S YOUR ESSENTIAL?

While we’re always looking to expand what we bring with us, Hyperlite challenges their customers to also expand how we think about both our essentials and our efforts. It’s human to put ourselves down for efforts that don’t measure up to criteria we think we need to meet, but the reality to Mike and the team at Hyperlite is that every effort matters — even the smallest ones. Regardless of whether you’re going on your first ever hike or your seventh 14er, it all counts for something. 

Incredible things happen when we throw perfectionism out the window and focus on just moving forward with our small and simple efforts. It’s what Mike did when he first sat down at that old sewing machine, and now Hyperlite moves forward with constant innovation as one of the leaders in the backpacking industry. When talking about lightening your load, Hyperlite’s name carries a lot of weight (all without being heavy). It turns out everything less really does matter. What will you do with less?