How to Make an Ultralight Glasses Case for Your Thru-Hike

Heavy Cases to Swap Out

NOT Ultralight:

Standard glasses cases weigh a lot so making an ultralight glasses case is worth the effort. I measured the weight of three standard glasses cases, which weigh between 102 to 121 grams (3.6 to 4.3 ounces) with an average weight of 114 grams (4 ounces).

Three black glasses cases on a table.

Three standard glasses cases: average weight 4 ounces

Three black glasses cases open with glasses in them on a table.

Only 30 grams! Compare that to 114 grams for an average eyeglasses case.

How to Make an Case:

Use a Crystal Light container as your glasses case! It brings the weight down to 30 grams or 1.06 ounces.

Two Crystal Light containers next to each other.

Left: Crystal Light container. Right: wrapper removed-> glasses case!

A Crystal Light container being weighed on a small scale.

Standard glasses cases with eyeglasses inside.

The Crystal Lite case fits most large sunglasses or two normal sized eyeglasses. I recommend adding some padding inside to reduce any motion if your glasses are in your pack while you’re walking. A microfiber lens cleaning cloth makes great padding and also keeps your glasses clean without scratching the lenses. Making your own ultralight glasses case can be a lot of fun!

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A pair of glasses inside a Crystal Light container.

Standard eyeglasses in Crystal Light container – no padding

A pair of sunglasses wrapped in a cloth inside a Crystal Light container.

Standard prescription sunglasses, wrapped in a microfiber cloth.