Ultralight packing just a fad?

“"This ultralight craze is just a fad, I fell for it, and while it has some merit, I think, as with most trends, we've gone too far in trying to minimize weight at the expense of comfort / convenience.
"

So, the question of the day: is going ultralight really just a fad? I'll reserve my opinion until I hear others.”

“like everything, the key is moderation and common sense.”

“Ditto what Roam posted.

I've gone light, but not to the point where I'm cutting the edges off of my maps to save 0.1oz.”

“My weight got real low for a while and is slowly climbing. I'll never carry over a 2# pack though, unless it's cold weather.”

“But is it a fad? Are we going to look back in 5 years and say, screw that 25 pound pack, I'm going back to 45 pounds for a weekend?

I agree its all about moderation. Get rid of the really stupid heavy things until you are comfortable. Hike your own hike, etc. But I don't think its a fad! I gave up on the neon-orage Jamz pants after the 80's went bye-bye. Big fad. But ultralight a fad?”

“I don't think it's a fad, but I do think that the days of seeing "how low you can go" are probably numbered. I hit my comfort zone at around 22lbs., without food and water. I doubt if I'll go much lighter than that.”

“I can go pretty light and be comfortable. I could go very light and I think still be comfy.”

“It's a personal choice, I don't think it's a fad at all. It might be a fad from the perspectives of individuals but the market for ultra-light products isn't going to go away. I'm glad it's out there, I'm not an ultralight fanatic by any means but I've taken some useful ideas from the trend to incorporate into my own style.”

“I’m sure there are plenty of ultralighters who are nostalgic for their 45 lb. Packs.”

“heh.. new fad. 'CarryItAll'.

How many cubics/pounds can YOU haul up some mountainside. Do you have the gonads to have the biggest and heaviest pack around?

Don't be one of those wimpy backpackers! Show your male bonding by always having a 30 pack at your disposal. Why settle for the normal food/fare while on the trail? Three words - RoadTrip Propane Grill. Steaks, bar-b-que chickens, and don't forget the baked potatoes and salad!

Why try to decide between your hammock and tent? Carry them both my good man! Two liters of water? Real men carry gallons with them!

;)”

“Well, they do when they're on the PCT...”

“I agree with you we have gone too far, although some swear by it. Some of it is fad, some is here to stay due to several factors. We are getting older and wanting to carry less. Technology is allowing lighter options than in the past. And manufacturers, caught in the fad, are offering genuine lightweight options to basic equipment that wasn't available years ago. It depends on your budget, but over time, we will all trend lower.

I started a weeklong summer trip a few summers ago with around 75 pounds. That included a 8-pound pack, a 7-pound tent, a Garcia bear container, too much food and clothing, stool, camera equipment, and I can't remember how much beer. I could never do that again.

I have a new pack (Osprey Aether), tent(NF Canyonlands), stove (pocket rocket or equiv), pots (titanium), foam pad instead of thermarest, etc since then. They are not all in the ultralight category, but collectively it all adds up to weight savings. I anticipate starting a 10-day trip next month with around 48 pounds. That's 27 pounds less for a longer trip, and I am in bliss!

But others will going on this same trip with 35 pounds. All the power to them. But in the past, I have offered several things to the ultralightists that they didn't have, like a lighter, spoon, socks, first aid, shelter from the rain, and of course, beer!”

“Does this mean TownDog can start carrying his iron Dutch Oven again?”

“I still have an image in my mind, that I will NEVER forget.

This guy and his newly wedded wife, on his honeymoon.. the two of them literally DRAGGING his pack up the trail, while he BACKPACKED hers, and between the two of them, lugged in over 130 lbs!

All this for a weekend in the Smokies. I didn't know whether to laugh, or excuse myself to cry for the two of them, once they finally got home.

I'm serious, they were DRAGGING one pack on the ground up the trail.”

“I like big packs and I cannot lie.
You other hikers can't deny
When a hiker walks in
with an itty bitty waist
and a big pack in your face
you get sprung.”

“LMAO”

“Carry as much or as little as you like, there's a price exacted either way. Pay your nickel.”

“ask a thru-hiker if ultra-light is just a silly "fad"”

“...is it just a silly fad?”

“I think I was referring to the "extremists" perspective when I wrote that. Certainly it's beneficial to reduce your weight where practical, which I've done... but I'm not going to "suffer" so that I can carry a couple less oz's! Likewise, I'm pretty happy with my 20 deg down MH bag, even tho it weighs in at 3 lbs. I can save A WHOLE POUND! by spending $300+ for a new WM bag, which I'd LOVE to have, but just can't justify spending that much money to save one lb.

That, to me, would be taking ultra-light to an extreme, and is more an example of what I was referring to.

I also don't plan on hiking the entire PCT this year either... if I were, then I'd probably have a different perspective. Also justifiable.

As a poster above wrote... "hike your own hike"!”

“I'm rollin' with laughter. Love it!”

“That's it, I'm breaking out my camp slippers, 5-pound stove, 7-pound tent, and 5-pound pack for my next trip!”

“A fad? No. It just makes sence.

Unnessasary weight is heavy”

“I'm an extremist, only because I have to carry a gallon of water:) Desert hiking has its advantages, though, you really don't need much of a blanket, and a sleeping bag seems pretty durn useless at 70 degree night temps.”

“As we get older, our packs will have to get lighter, or we won't be able to keep backpacking. At 18 it may be macho to carry a 60 pound pack, at 60 it's suicide.

But ultra ultra light - that's not usually a necessity. It can be fun if you enjoy doing long fast miles, but if you just want to go out and enjoy a few days in the woods, it's not necessary. We all make choices as to what level of comfort is necessary for our enjoyment. And our style of hiking/camping will influence that too. A thruhiker, who plans to hike 2000-3000 miles, may prefer to hike 10-14 hours a day - and doesn't need much in the way of comfort. A weekend warrier, who only plans to hike five or six miles and then laze around camp - might prefer to have books and games and extra food to munch. But if it hurts too much, if they are lugging 60 pounds, they won't do it very often.”

“This is like asking if Kevlar canoes are a fad. Anyone pine for the days of potageing their 80 glass hog? I doubt it.

Technology has gotten to the point where a 3-4 pound tent does the same thing a 6 pound used to do, a 1 pound 2" thick matress does the same thing a 1" 2 pound Trest did a few years ago, a 800 fill down bag that weighs 2 pounds does what a 4 pound bag used to do, a 2 pound backpack does what a 7 pound Gregory used to do...this is a bad thing?

If someone's not just as comfortable going light as heavy, they need to reexamine the gear they are using. Because I can use a 1 pound hammock and a 1 pound tarp in the summer I am the MOST comfortable when going the lightest not to mention the fact I'm more comfortable for the most important parts; the hiking part.”

“I gotta say...I think TechNTrek kinda bushwahacked me here, perhaps unintentionally.

If I were to start a thread about ultralight gear, I wouldn't call it a "fad"... I would call it a "trend". I do think my original comment was taken a little out of context, not denyog I said it, but would phrase it differently perhaps.”

“No offense intended, not trying to blindside ya! Just saw your comment and it sounded like it would make interesting discussion.”

“The best UL thread was when Violin trolled the boards as Mountainroamer. Of course he gut himself busted though. It was a good scrap of epic depth.”

“I saw a lot of bow-smashed and tacoed kevlar canoes and keeless kevlar canoes getting brutalized or shorebound by the wind in the boundary waters last week.

I was happy to be portaging our 70 pound alumacrafts. I'd have been happier if they were 35 pounds though.

When I teach backpacking skills to new scouts I explain that gearing up for backpacking is nothing more than determining the difference between a want and a need and finding the balance between the two that most suits your particular situation.”

“An ultralite, is that someone who gets drunk off of half a beer?”

“There may be some ultralight ideas that will turn out to be fads - and the whole ultralight thing can be carried to an extreme. However, the basic ideas: you should have a good reason for every ounce (or even every gram) you carry and trying to combine multiple functions in one item are great.

I carry some things that others wouldn't carry because of weight(like a Pur hiker filter), and often go without things other people think are essential (like a stove).”

“Thanks for you response Techntrk, I appreciate it immensely. I hope I was clear originally when I wrote that it wasn't necessarily intentional.

Any way, I am VERY suspect of "trends" / "fads".

Am I glad my pack weight is lower? YES, OF COURSE!.

Do I get hung-up about the weight of my wrist-strap for my GPS unit? NO!

My point.. let's keep some PERSPECTIVE, huh people? Don't get so carried away with minutia.

Or, as my teenagers will tell me...Chill”

“* remembers back to his Boy Scout days, when a Grumman canoe was equivalent to a TANK *

--> 060" aluminum deck caps and .080" stemcaps with special T-6 alumilite finish rivets for top strength, formed .062" aluminum thwarts are secured with marine grade stainless steel bolts."

aHh.. that was a canoe! heh.. you could plow right into a stump and just laugh about it.”

“"I was happy to be portaging our 70 pound alumacrafts. I'd have been happier if they were 35 pounds though."

dad? Is that you? Haha! My old man swears by the 17' Grumand. Anything else is just wrong! He just scoufs at my kayak and every time he comes over or he sees my 70 pound Pelican glass canoe he asks (again) "How much does that thing weigh again?"..."70 pounds dad."...then he just shakes his head and says something like, "Boy you wouldn't want to portage that thing in the Boundary Waters.". So now I am hell bound to take the thing up there just to prove him wrong. GRRRR!”

“"So, the question of the day: is going ultralight really just a fad? I'll reserve my opinion until I hear others......."

I say - who really cares?

Well, the companies that makethis stuff care. Have you bought into something? Maybe.

Has it made you a better hiker?

Well, as the saying goes, what ever works for you, might not work for me. I could give a rats ass if someone wants to buy the top end stuff in order to enhance their hiking experiance; it's their choice no matter what they buy.

If they ask "Why am I so sore"?

I've give'em a beer from my pack and have a discussion.”

“Nigal my boy!
waitaminute....errrr.
I never touched your mother!

I have a 17' grumman. It's a pig and a half. And NO I would never take that monster to the BWCAW.

You just have to be careful about the rocks is all. I banged that dang alumacraft several times and if I was in a kevlar I'd still be sitting shoreside with my thumb out.

If I were to do the Grand Portage I'd definately do it with a kevlar boat.”

“Laqtis - You give beer to people who hike with you?”

“OK, that settles it, I'm going backpacking w Laqtis. BEER.... YAAAAY, let's go!”

“I believe everyone is going to want to go back to carrying 60 lbs on their backs.

As technology changes we get better and lighter gear to use. I don't think too many people want to go back to before the microwave oven or electricity.”

“WingDing nailed it. Lighter packs are just the natural evolution of "stuff".

Don't plan your life around, or get carried away by, a .3 oz toothbrush.

In the grand scheme....Who cares?”

“"Laqtis - You give beer to people who hike with you?..."


"OK, that settles it, I'm going backpacking w Laqtis. BEER.... YAAAAY, let's go!...."



Saddle the ponies up and let's go. I'm planning a trip to PA and currently working on the details.

Beers on me!”

“I have issues #2-40something of Backpacker Mag and the whole lightweight thing is actually old hat. I have articles from 30 years ago about going light. Pick up an old external frame pack sometime. It weighs about 3 pounds. Back then down was really coming around as well as GoreTex. The big then were bivies which were still pretty light. Freeze dried meals were the norm. When we factor in people weren’t afraid of aluminum pots and there weren’t all the extras like capochino makers, all the electronic stuff and other frills. The old days were all that much heavier.”

““You just have to be careful about the rocks is all. I banged that dang alumacraft several times and if I was in a kevlar I'd still be sitting shoreside with my thumb out.”

I won’t have a Kevlar canoe simply because they are too expensive and they are too light. I like a canoe with a bit of sturdiness to it. My dad gave me so much grief for taking my Old Town Loon kayak the last time and the outfitter that toed us out to the boarder gave me major shlt saying they didn’t have any place in the BWCA and I was going to hate it. Sha! It was great! While the canoes were fighting headwinds and 1’ white caps I was just cutting right through and loving it. Portaging was a breeze too. The one thing I didn’t care for is a kayak isn’t as easy to fish from.”

“I bet some folks buy ultralight gear because bp mag writes about it. But I bet lots of folks are like me.They just want comfort. I have hauled 108 lbs packs and I have hauled 14 lbs packs, you geuss which one I liked (granted the contents were vastly different). I pack light because I like to walk moderately quick and like long mileage days, heavy is too much work.

Nigal, when I got to Boundary Waters, rest assued I am takin my kayak.”

“I've gone real light and realized that for the length of trips I usually take (4 days at most) - it's kind of silly to get all freaked about weight and enjoy some of the finer aspects of spending a night in the woods.

I still buy the lightest gear reasonable, but not at the expense of reasonable comfort and enjoyment.”

“I pack ultralight and I bet I am as comfy as anybody. I think it depends on if you are a hiker or a camper. I had a 22 pound pack for 8 days in the canyon last spring and I lacked for nothing--even had a book and aome climbing gear.”

“Laqtis - You give beer to people who hike with you?"
Snake Eyes
05:43:12 PM

Snake Eyes, you've never seen what variety comes out of a MMer pack! Some trips there's enough to make cocktails, lol, plus beer and wine. Helps to keep us warm up here.

Birch, If you want to do BW with your wife you might want to A: reconsider and take a canoe or B: plan no portages of two 55# kayaks or C: but lighter kayaks. ;) If you don't want to do BW with your wife take your kayak.

Now, onto the ultralight thing. I think alot of us have lightweight confused with ultralight. Lightweight is goooooood.

Ultralight, barebones gear that has no padding and hurts just plain sucks. I think it is a fad.”

“I've used a 48-pound Kevlar canoe on 8-10 weeklong wilderness outings and never had one problem with the hull.”

“hmmmmm, note to self. Reconsider kayaking plans for boundary waters.”