Last summer, I set out to do a 3-day alpine traverse in Colorado's San Juan Mountains with my trusty, beat-up paragliding gear and a 40lb pack. By day two, my shoulders were screaming, the extra weight of my 7kg (15lb) wing and 4kg (8.8lb) old-school harness had turned a fun adventure into a miserable slog, and I bailed on the paragliding portion entirely to just hike out early. I'd spent months planning the flight portions of the trip, only to skip them because my gear was too heavy to carry over the passes. That trip forced me to rethink everything I thought I knew about backpacking with paragliding gear. I didn't need the heaviest, most durable competition wing on the market, or a harness built for 4-hour cross-country flights. I needed a setup that was light enough to forget I was carrying it on the hike up, safe enough for unpredictable mountain air, and packable enough to strap to the outside of my pack without snagging on every tree branch along the trail. After a year of testing different configurations on 10+ backcountry trips, I've landed on a setup that works for almost every backpacking expedition---no unnecessary weight, no safety shortcuts, no post-hike soreness required.
Start With the Wing: Your Biggest Weight Savings (and Biggest Safety Investment)
The glider makes up 60% of your total paragliding gear weight, so it's the first place to cut pounds without sacrificing safety. Forget the old 30D or 40D nylon wings that weigh 7kg+ (15lb+) and stuff into a bag the size of a sleeping pad. Modern ultralight wings use 20D nylon on the top surface (just as durable for backcountry use, since you're not dragging it over rough concrete at busy launch sites) and 30D on the bottom, weighing between 3.5 and 5kg (7.7 to 11lbs) and compressing down to the size of a 2L water bottle. For 90% of backpacking trips, an EN-B rated wing is the sweet spot: it's stable enough to handle the turbulent, unpredictable air you'll get launching from alpine summits, but light enough to carry for 10+ mile hikes with 2,000+ feet of elevation gain. Skip EN-A wings if you can---they're too sluggish for mountain air, and you'll outgrow them after a few flights. Only step up to a lightweight EN-C wing if you're planning to do long cross-country backcountry flights where extra glide performance is worth the slight bump in weight and reduced stability. Skip the extra accessories that come with most wings, too: you don't need a heavy speed system or extra trimmers for short summit flights, and most wings come with a tiny built-in repair kit that's all you need for minor in-the-field fixes.
Skip the Bulky Harness: Choose One That Works for Hiking And Flying
Old-school paragliding harnesses are built for comfort during 3+ hour flights, with 2 inches of foam padding that adds unnecessary weight and bulk when you're hiking. Modern hike-and-fly harnesses are designed for exactly this use case: they have thin, moisture-wicking padding that's comfortable for 8+ hour hiking days, weigh between 1 and 1.5kg (2.2 to 3.3lbs), and often have built-in pockets for your reserve parachute so you don't need a separate heavy reserve bag. Skip the full flight deck, too. Unless you're doing long cross-country flights where you need constant altitude and wind data, a small handheld GPS or your phone (strapped to your arm with a simple band) with a free vario app is all you need. That cuts 1 to 2lbs off your pack weight, and you're already carrying your phone for trail navigation anyway. Many ultralight harnesses also have removable leg straps, so you can pop them off while you're hiking to cut even more bulk and improve your range of motion on steep scrambles.
Cut Weight Everywhere Else (Without Sacrificing Safety)
Once you've sorted your wing and harness, there are a few small swaps that add up to big weight savings, no safety risks:
- Reserve parachute : Don't skimp here, but you don't need the old 1.5kg (3.3lb) heavy reserves. New lightweight reserves use 20D nylon instead of 30D, weigh around 1kg (2.2lbs), and are just as reliable for emergency deployments in the backcountry. Make sure it's sized correctly for your weight range, and always get it repacked by a certified technician every 6 months.
- Helmet : Skip the heavy full-face paragliding helmet unless you're flying in consistently windy, rocky areas. A certified ski touring helmet weighs half as much, protects just as well from impacts, and doubles as a helmet for winter backpacking or ski touring trips if you do those.
- Instruments : Skip the heavy barograph and full flight computer. A $20 Bluetooth vario sensor that pairs with your phone adds less than 50g of weight, and gives you all the altitude and climb rate data you need for casual backcountry flights.
- Extras : Ditch the heavy carabiners, multi-tools, and repair kits you'll never use. Most paragliding wings come with a small, certified repair kit, and a single small multi-tool is all you need for minor gear fixes on the trail.
Pack It Right So It Doesn't Slow You Down on the Trail
How you pack your paragliding gear matters just as much as what gear you bring. Skip the heavy mesh stuff sacks that come with most paragliding gear, and use 2oz silnylon compression sacks for your wing: they compress it down to the size of a 1L water bottle, so you can strap it horizontally across the top of your pack without it sticking out and catching on tree branches or rock faces. Put your harness, reserve, and helmet in the main compartment of your pack, centered close to your back, so the weight doesn't throw you off balance while you're hiking. Pro tip: your wing's fabric makes a perfect lightweight emergency groundsheet if you get caught in a storm, so you don't need to carry an extra tarp. Just brush off any pine needles or dirt after each flight to avoid damaging the fabric.
The Real-World Setup That Works for 4-Day Alpine Expeditions
My current go-to for 3-5 day backcountry trips has a total paragliding gear weight of just 6.6kg (14.56lbs)---17.5lbs lighter than my old setup, and light enough that I barely notice it on the hike up:
- Ozone Zeno EN-B wing (4.2kg / 9.3lbs, compresses to 2L size)
- Nova Ion 2 hike-and-fly harness (1.1kg / 2.4lbs, built-in reserve pocket)
- Lightweight certified reserve parachute (1kg / 2.2lbs)
- Certified ski touring helmet (300g / 0.66lbs)
- Phone with XCTracer vario app + 10,000mAh portable charger (0 extra weight, already carry for navigation) Last month, I used this exact setup for a traverse of Colorado's Gore Range: I hiked 12 miles to the summit of 13,804ft Mount Powell, launched in smooth morning air, flew 19 miles over the valley, and landed at a trailhead 3 miles from my car. My total pack weight for the 4-day trip was 28lbs, which is totally manageable even for long days of hiking with 3,000+ feet of elevation gain. No sore shoulders, no skipping the flight because my gear was too heavy, no extra weight I didn't need.
The Only Rule You Should Never Break
A lot of new pilots ask me if they can save weight by buying a cheaper, uncertified wing or reserve, or skipping the helmet. The answer is always no. The weight savings you get from skimping on safety gear is never worth the risk of a malfunction or injury in the backcountry, where help can be hours or even days away. Splurge on certified, well-reviewed safety gear, then cut weight everywhere else: skip the extra gadgets, the bulky harness padding you don't need, the heavy stuff sacks you'll never use. The goal of lightweight paragliding gear for backpacking isn't to have the lightest possible setup on the internet. It's to make the hike to the summit just as fun as the flight down, so you can spend more time chasing clouds over remote peaks and less time huffing under a pack that's too heavy to carry.