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Affiliate disclosure

Last updated 2026-08-14

UltraLightSetup.com is reader supported. If you buy something through a link here we may earn a commission, at no additional cost to you. Here is exactly how that works and where it does not apply.

The required statement

UltraLightSetup.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. We also participate in the Backcountry affiliate program through the Impact network, and we may join other retailer and manufacturer programs over time. Every one of those relationships is disclosed on the page where the link appears.

Why Backcountry comes first on every card

Most affiliate sites lead with Amazon. This one does not, and the reason is the niche rather than the commission rate. A large share of the gear this audience actually wants is not sold on Amazon at all, and the mainstream half of the category, Big Agnes, NEMO, Osprey, Therm-a-Rest, Sea to Summit, Black Diamond, Outdoor Research and Rab, is carried by specialist outdoor retailers who also employ people who know what a trekking pole shelter is.

So the buttons on this site are dual. Backcountry leads, Amazon follows, and both point at the same product. Backcountry does pay a higher commission than Amazon, and we are telling you that rather than hiding it. It is also where this audience already shops, which is why the order would be the same at equal rates.

The links that earn us nothing, on purpose

The best gear in several categories on this site comes from small manufacturers who sell direct only and run no affiliate program whatsoever. Zpacks, Durston Gear, Hyperlite Mountain Gear, Enlightened Equipment, Katabatic Gear, Nunatak, Hammock Gear and Wild Ideas all build to order and sell through their own storefronts. Quilts in particular are almost entirely a cottage category, which is exactly why cottage quilts fit better than off the shelf bags.

Those products get a plain manufacturer link, clearly marked on the page as earning us nothing, and they are recommended anyway, sometimes over items that would pay us. Leaving them out would misrepresent whole categories, and a site that only recommends what it can monetise is not worth reading. If you ever wonder whether a recommendation here is bought, the presence of unmonetised cottage gear at the top of several categories is the answer.

What we will never do

  • We never invent a product listing. Every product identifier behind a link on this site was returned by a live retailer lookup and read against the product we mean. Where a product genuinely has no listing on a retailer, the link is a scoped search or a manufacturer page, never a fabricated product URL that would be a dead link.
  • We never claim to have tested something we have not. We research published manufacturer specifications and verified owner reviews. Any site claiming hands-on testing of forty tents is telling you a story, and we would rather be useful than impressive.
  • We never sell a verdict. Brands and agencies are welcome to talk to us and we do disclose partnerships, but a pitch that requires a specific conclusion is declined.
  • We never let a commission decide a recommendation. A $17 stove is the top budget pick on this site and a free trash compactor bag is recommended over a $33 dry bag, because those are the right answers.

How this changes what you pay

It does not. Affiliate commissions are paid by the retailer out of its own margin. You pay the same price whether you arrive at Backcountry or Amazon through a link here, through a search engine, or by typing the address yourself. What the commission does is fund the time that goes into the charts, the calculators and the gear list builder, all of which are free and none of which sit behind an email wall.

How the links are marked

Retailer links on this site carry rel="nofollow noopener sponsored", which is the standard machine readable disclosure, and open in a new tab. Product cards state the retailer on the button itself. Manufacturer direct links for cottage gear carry rel="nofollow noopener" without the sponsored attribute, because they are not sponsored, and the card says in plain English that the link earns us nothing.

Prices, stock and your own judgement

Prices and availability change constantly and are controlled by the retailers. Confirm both the price and the specification on the retailer's page before you buy. Weights quoted here are the manufacturer's published figures for the size and configuration named, not figures we measured, so weigh your own kit before trusting a total.

And the point that outranks every commercial consideration on this site: going ultralight must not mean going unprepared. Adequate shelter, insulation for the real conditions, rain protection, navigation, water treatment and a way to call for help are fixed costs, not places to save grams. We would rather you bought nothing than bought your way into a trip you were not equipped for.

Questions about any of this go through the contact page. See also the disclaimer, the privacy policy and the terms of service.