Ultralight packing just a fad?

“Sass and others have mentioned the difference between lightweight and ultralight. I've read quite a bit of the writings of the ultralight group and some of it comes down to more than trying to carry less weight. There is an element of trying to be simple and minimal that goes beyond weight. I think it is feeding some sort of psychological hunger for "less" in these people's lives.

Weighing things to the ounce and spending serious coin for lighter and lighter gear can be a bit of mental pica for some of us. Something to mull over while we drive, and hike, and try to fall asleep.

An interesting comparison would be to the pack lists of the ultralight group compared to the average pack list of all of the hikers that finished the AT last year. What differences would we find?”

“I find the luxury of hiking down a trail in comfort without stumbling over things by mile 10 far outweighs having a good read or other such luxuries at the end of the day. Plus I'm out there to enjoy my natural surroundings. Including the fireside chats of course.

When I go solo I don't need much. On long trips I save my weight for food! Other times, I'll pack light gear to accomodate a couple of bottles of champaigne. ;-)”

“Champagne? Awesome, can I come hike with you?

I'll bring my K-mart gear so you'll feel at home?

* smirks *

For me, I end up carrying about 35lbs with me, regardless. I've managed to go with 25lbs, but I missed a few of the things I normally drag with me.

I think Coop (and others) hit the nail on the head though. There's a big difference between lightweight, and the reckless chase for ultralight.

Lightweight just makes sense. We should all try to protect our ankles, knees, etc.. or our adventures in backpacking might be short-lived.

Ultralight? I like the challenge of it, but it's not for me. I like my creature comforts too much. Cookware for example -- Two pots, cup, frypan, lid.. why? Because I enjoy cooking on the trail.

Tent, footprint, sleeping bag, foam pad.. why? I want to protect my equipment, and I want to sleep better. I can't remember where I was, (oh yes I do, it was Standing Indian with SmokyGirl, SonciJill, Stix and Jerbear) but I didn't bring my tent because we had planned on the shelter?.. but when we got there the shelter was full.

DOH, the virtues of ultralight. No tent, no footprint. Bare sleeping bag laid out in the snow with half of it protected marginally by my sleeping pad.

So hey, my point? I try to always consider the what-if. Just my two cents.”

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

What do you think the chances are that we could carve out a week next year and go together? That'd be an awesome trip!

Sass- My yak weighs about the same as yours and I worked out a pretty good system for packing and portaging. Some people strive for the single trip portage but I find the extra trip a nice break from sitting in the boat. I packed all my gear in three day packs and tied a rope to each pack then stuff them clear up in the nose and behind the seat. Then I clip the rope to the deck cord. This way I can just grab the rope and pull the packs out easily. When I portage I put one day pack on my back and one on the front and carry the loose fishing poles and paddle. On the second trip I put the third pack on and carry the yak. I always have a chami cloth with me for collecting water in the bottom of the boat. When I portage I ring it out real good, fold it up and put it on top of my head and just set the yak upside down on top of that for cushion. It puts the weight right at the center of gravity. It’s not bad at all.

My dad and brothers bltch about portages but I tell them, “All it is is a really short backpacking trip.”.”

“But Nigal, I'm not as big as you and carrying my kayak is awkward and difficult for me. If Birch and I carry them together it's not so bad but one at a time, alone I can only do for short stretches. And those wheeled carts aren't allowed are they?”

“I needed to preface that kevlar comment.

Y'all are adults and are careful with your stuff. I'm out there with excitable Boy Scouts who aren't that good at looking out for submerged rocks.

The Ely Scout Canoe base loses 12 alumacraft canoes a season because of wear and tear and stupidity. They lose 38 kevlar canoes a season for the same reasons.”

““And those wheeled carts aren't allowed are they?"

Not unless you’re an Indian. They get to do whatever they want up there. LOL! Some of the portages can be pretty swampy too and there are even fewer that are level. I don’t think the wheely thing would work well.

I remember seeing a kayak carrier that is like a shoulder strap that clips to the yak so you carry it at your side. Don’t know if that’d make it any better or not. Even if you end up double carrying your boats it wouldn’t be too bad. Most of the portages aren’t too long. I find canoe portaging to be harder because the packs tend to be heavier and there’s a lot more small lose stuff to carry.”

“"Y'all are adults and are careful with your stuff. I'm out there with excitable Boy Scouts who aren't that good at looking out for submerged rocks."

I was wonderin' what the hell these people were doing that would destroy a boat so easy. I like seeing the troups in those huge 20' double canoes with a whole troup in each one. I'd hate to portage one of those babies!”

“Didn't I just post the same thing last week? Not sure...I prolly think about this all the time. Anyway, here my thoughts:

I like to travel light. A heavy pack can be a pain in the butt, well make that a pain on the back.

However, I do not want to sleep cold, nor do I like bugs crawling into my mouth while I snore away. SO....I came up with the conclussion that light is okay, superlight is not for me.

Whatever I do, I am never able to get my pack under 30lb anyway. I thought I bought everything pretty light, but still comfortable, but I just can't do it.

One of the reasons probably is that I bring my own stove, my own waterfilter, my own food. LOL OH, and I bring a lot of water. I am happy to share my stuff with others, but I don't feel right bugging others about using their stuff.

Crosscut went through my bag once because they all thought it was way too heavy...he pretty much took out all my gear I needed to be comfy. Well, I missed those things.

I even thought about buying me one of those thermarest chairs. Oh...anouther 11 oz or so...”

“Loose stuff portaging?
You mean like this?



”

“Dat's it! Man, I am an organization freek when it comes to paddling. I'll have my hiking gear stuffed here, there and everywhere but when it comes to a boat everything has it's place.

I find that my lightweight packing has helped a great deal in my packing for paddling trips. My three day packs for a week was about 30 pounds starting and that included 2 four packs of Boddington's Pub Ale. I know; bad Nigal! No cans! No cans!”

“Personally I prefer a lightweight approach. I get by with ~16-18lbs sans water or food and if you look at my pack list I do not skimp out on any ammenities.

Cold Weather List

I will on occasion go ultralight, i.e. 11-12lbs of base weight which is still not ultralight by the wacko ultralighter standards. To me when I go ultralight it's a different frame of mind, it's more of you v. Nature and how little can I carry and still remain comfortable. It's a challenege in and of itself like climbing a hard ascent. Is it as "comfortable"... well of course not. But, there is somthing about getting to the bare bones and basics and using your skills to survive, not just relying on a bag full of expensive gear, that's quite rewarding.

Not the lightest I've gone, but withing a 1lb of my lightest pack weight”

“This is a good thread. Appreciate the canoe info...

Anyway, my $.02 echoes a lot of what has already been said here.

I would like to point out, as Nigal did, that new materials have (and I think will continue to) make things lighter. That said, the durability of these things has lessened in some instances (and costs increased. If you notice what manufacturers are pointing out with this stuff, it's that it's no way near as durable as a lot of their other equipment and they increasingly have a disclaimer along with the product indicating so. What does this mean in the warranty department? I don't know but you can bet with some of the lightweight stuff that warranties are going to be harder to ascertain because the co. will claim wear and tear on a more delicate item.

I gotta say that I like being able to throw by 1000 denier DD Astralplane Overkill on the ground and sit on the sleeping bag compartment without having to worry about whether or not I'm going to puncture the bag. Ain't gonna happen! Then again, I can't wait to trade that monster in for a 3 lb or under pack for most of the 4-5 day stuff I do. I'm just gonna have to change that habit!

And yeah. In general I find ultralighters to be inventive and creative but anal and that's a trait I have a hard time associating with backpacking.”

“Bucking the ultralight trend, my new cooking pot.

Should be good for the ultraheavy sports mentioned above!”

“gemini: I also like to have all of my own stuff, but I don't mind sharing if I don't have to do without because of it.”

“I too like to be independant of the group as far as gear and food goes. I HATE group meals. My dad was really put off because I did all my own food the last big trip. He likes a lot of freeze dried and I hate it. The cost is about twice what it usually is when he plans and buys the meals. He said it felt like I wasn't part of the group. Now he's gone and bought this huge Eureka! four man tent that weighs 13 pounds so everyone is pretty much forced to sleep in the same tent if they go. I'll take a pass dad.”

“Oh, hike with the old fart (speaking as one myself). He won't be around forever and someday you might just inherit that big old tent (if you play your cards right).

BTW, my ultralight approach to my thru hike is to start naked with a Walmart shopping bag as my pack. As the journey lengthens and I gain strength I will pick up gear discarded by those who planned so foolishly.”