UltraLite or Ultra heavy?

“One of the reasone (a big one) I backpack is for exercise... the workout. So I personally don't care too much about cutting the handle off my toothbrush to save a gram or two. I think it's kinda funny to see some people here worrying so much about the merits of one tent or backpack over another when the weight difference may be an ounce or two. I know it all adds up but, hey..... what's an ounce or two? If it makes THAT much difference to you maybe you should take up another recreation... or drive up the auto road.

Just kidding... don't everyone go off on me now!

But seriously, even on my day hikes, if I'm not carrying my son in his Kelty child carrier (carrier, kid & water total weight 40+ lbs.), I I'm carrying my pack weighted down with everything I'd need for a full 3 days (well over 30lbs). The way I figure it is, I want to practice and work out for the worst possible scenerio, then when I do go hike a tough summit like Washington, Adams or something I can lighten my load and it feels easy cuz I've worked my waup to it.

What do you all think or do?”

“I'm usually in the same weight bracket as you Cap'n Jim. I try to keep the weight down, but I am not fanatical about it. My pack is always over 30 lbs. no matter what season or what.”

“I hear what you are sayin'. The only thing I want to replace right now is my pack but I have an original, RE: before K2, Dana Terraplane Overkill and it can carry enough weight to break me down. I am looking at the Mountainsmith Specter, it has got good reviews for extended trips and carrying big loads, because I can cut 3.5# just with this pack. My average for a week ranges between 40-50# and a 3 day weekend can be 30 so I see a huge reduction just by replacing my pack.

All the rest of my gear is what I am going to use until in falls apart and unless I dump the freestanding solo tent(4# with screen body, 5 with mountaineering body)...which I am not...it is the only way I will see a reduction.

Sure if I replaced every piece of gear I have with something newer I could save some major poundage but I would also spend some major loot...then I would have $2000 of gear in the closet and $2000 of it on my back...naw ain't gonna happen.”

“i say, if a 'packer has the cash and desire to go ultra-light, then more power to 'em. I dont. I want comfort
from everything i use(pack,tent,sleeping bag,shoes,etc) but bottom line weight is not at the top of my priority list. I want quality stuff thats going to hold up-and i have never ever weighed my
backpack-and don't plan on starting now. I know if im hiking somewhere Ive planned to visit for months, i'll be slogging a few pounds of camera stuff too, so why worry about the length of my toothbrush handle?

to each his own. 'light and fast' is not my creed.”

“"I try to keep the weight down, but I am not fanatical about it. My pack is always over 30 lbs. no matter what season or what." EarthNsky

Yeah me too... seems like if I get the weight down below 30 then I start thinking "wow, now I can bring that extra bag of trail mix or a couple pair of fresh sox" (I like to change my sox frequently) Then I'm back up over 30# again!

Yeah Sticks... the price of some of this Ultralite stuff is anything but Ultralite$$$

Gramey... oh yeah... that camer weight adds up fast. I know what you mean about stuff that holds up too. Who wants to worry about a strap that'll break if you put 40 or so lbs. in the pack or a hip belt or suspension system that is uncomfortable or cant support the load on your back. I have tried some Ultralite packs and personally I feel I can carry a heavier load in a good internal or external frame pack, better than I can carry a lighter load in an Ultralight pack if the load is not supported properly (let alone what it does to my back) or the hipbelt padding isn't long enough to come around to the front of my hips or wide enough.

Just my opinion though... light & fast isn't my credo either... I prefer to slow down & smell the roses”

“Well as a backpacker with back and knee problems (I won't give up packin') I am an ultra (sort of) liter. Yes I will spend bucks to save ounces. I do not however cut my tooth brush handle. So I guess my credo is light & slow.”

“Going light can be cheap-if you know how to do it. Fer one thing, you buy less krap!! I find my pack is so easy to carry simply because I don't carry all the junk I used to carry a couple years ago.
Sure I sit on a FedEx padded mailer, I eat out of freezer bags, but I sleep in a warm toasty down bag, on a real Thermarest pad and in a real two man tent. I even have a FULL sized toothbrush, boys!
My pack (from last weekend)
http://community.webshots.com/photo/278878485/280506500kxZHET
Our tent:
http://community.webshots.com/photo/278878485/280498128ejMmhs
Going light has helped me to have more fun. Why carry heavy loads if you don't need to? All you are doing is killing your knees! I'd rather be hiking at 60 instead of having surgery!!
It is all about asking yourself:
Do I really need to carry all this stuff? Do I actually use it?”

“I tend to overpack which shoots the weight up. I have cut out some things I use to carry because I never used it. My pack weight ranges around 35 to 40 lbs.
Now I hope to cut that down because I got a lighter pack,sleeping bag and tent. Between those 3 items I knocked off about 8-10 lbs. I will know more next weekend when I finally get to use all of them.”

“Yeah I guess those are the big 3... if/when it comes time for me to replace them I'll probably try to go with lighter models.”

“Light or heavy... somewhere in the middle i suppose, I'm moving more towards ultralight, with a 1.5 lb pack, 1.5 lb sleeping bag, pepsi can stove, though I still carry a full size toothbrush, And I carry a 5 lb, 2 person tent.”

“Captain Jim, yeah the big 3 can reduce the weight quite a bit.

I have a week long trip this summer in the Sierra's so my total weight needs to drop some. I also have to add the weight of a bear canister which I never carry. See back up it goes..lol. I will go on some hikes with the canister just to get use to it.

The main thing is what can you get by without taking and still be comfortable. That is up to each person.”

“I carry the Kitchen sink. I've always carried way too much but most of the time had what everybody needed. I've been in bad straights where it really paid to be prepared.”

“35 to 40 pounds.”

“My pack for a weekender/overnighter (1-2 nights) can be anywhere between 25 and 40 lbs, mainly depending on the type of hike I'm going on. Also, just about all my gear is grouped into two supercategores: absolute essentials (tent, sleeping bag, food, appropriate clothes, water purification, etc.), and luxury items (chair, tarp, deck of cards, etc).

If the hike is one of those so-called Buttkickers, I only bring the aboslute essentials. And I might pick and choose the type of essential gear too, like say in the summertime I'll take the sodacan stove instead of the whisperlite. In the summertime, I've gotten my pack as low as 25 lbs for these types of trips.

However, if the hike is more laid back in which it's really more about just reaching some remote place in the woods to camp, I start throwing in luxury items depending on mood, weather, etc. I may also bring the whisperlite instead of the sodacan stove (it heats up water much faster). I'm also looking to get a somewhat larger tent than my Zoid, for the same reason (read: HS Cloudburst....mmmmm.... But that a whole other topic altogether).

I'm a fairly large guy too, so the heavier pack doesn't really bother me all that much. I don't do any of the extreme things like cut off half the toothbrush to save a whole 1/4 oz or anything like that. Besides, forget the toothbrush and toothpaste. Those one-time-use brush strips at the supermarket are much more practical. That being said though, when hiking a trail with big hills, the going is much easier when you don't have as much junk on your back...”

“PS, if you can get your BIG 3 (shelter, sleeping bag, and pack) to be under 10 lbs, you're in really good shape. But that can be rather tough to do, especially if you're like me and love the double-walled tent...”

“My pack is between 30 and 40 lb. more in the 40lb range. I am working on getting it lighter, but I also don't want to loose certain comforts, like a big tent, my therm-a-rest chair, an extra jacket, etc...

So I am sort of between being comfortable in camp and being comfortable while hiking.

I can deal with the 38lb pack, so I am not complaining.”

“I guess this is why I have so much gear. Its depends on the hike, the people going, weather, miles per day etc... different gear for different occasions.
I range from 20lbs to 35lbs.”

“Sometimes I go ultralight and sometimes I just go lightweight. My last trip my pack weighed maybe 25-30 for a winter trip. I’m not fanatical about weight and rarely even weigh my pack anymore. My base gear is fairly light so it’s not even a conscience effort. Part of it is I just don’t need that much stuff. I like simple more than light. Less stuff = more simple.

In the summer time I do like to push it and see how light I can go and how little I need. Now that my 2 pound 35 degree quilt is made my weight for the big three is about 6 pounds:

2 pound shelter (tarp/hammock)
2 pound sleeping bag
2 pound pack”

“Ultralight is great until you need something. Unless you are out for a dayhike you need a certain amount of gear. I'd rather have the load of an extra few pounds than need something and not have it. What are we talking about anyway 5-10lbs, that's nothing!”

“We're light, but not ultralight and very comfy. Summer overnighters Angie'll carry 12-15 lbs dry weight and I'll have 15-20 lbs dry. We love our Tarptent which weighs less than 2 lbs, and our tarp weighs half that. She carries a golight speed and I have a gregory G pack. We have our luxuries like thermarest adapters and paperback books, chocolate, bourbon or wine, camp sandals, etc. We're not missing out.”

“That’s what it’s all about currahee. Take the 10% ya have to have, then take the 10% ya wanna have and screw the rest.”

“Nigal wears a thong to save weight.”

“So does yo momma!

”

“thats actually a hennessey hammock.”

“I try to stay as light as possible without sacrificing comforts. A typical summer wknd I will be less then 25 lbs, I have gone as light as 40 lbs for 9 days (those weights are with food and water too). I dont have to go light but I enjoy being able to walk in better comfort and do longer days with less energy. I have gone ultralight but it was to do a set distance in a set time (36 miles in 36 hours).”

“Cant see why you cant have the best of both worlds. I walk through tea tree that would tear most u/lite packs to ribbons (torn up some cordura packs too). You make things ultralite so you can carry more of 'em!”

“Well, I'd never qualify as an ultra-light, fast & light or lightweight hiker. I've developed a core list of what I want with me on the trail and have worked on getting the weights down. My average pack runs slightly over 30 pounds right now. I rarely change what I bring in my pack whether out for 3 days or 7 days (food quantity would change). I've taken this approach as a way to stay in shape. When I've gone on longer trips I've found that those who are with me tend to lag back because they are not accustomed to to heavier weights.... it has an impact!”

“5.875#, tent, bag and pack. I keep it very close to 30# for a week out in Winter, 25# or so (with extra gear) in the Summer. I carry everything I need and nothing I don't and, yes, I did cut the handle off the toothbrush, but it was a really HEAVY handle...”

“I never cared much for labels.
Hike your own hike.”

“My big 3 for 3 season is 7lbs-8.5lbs depending on sleeping bags. And my total weight for my last "fall" trip with temps down it 5-10* was 22lbs with food for one night. But on FYAO V I must have sledded in about 50+ lbs of comfort food and extras.”

“i like to carry about 80 pounds.

i could carry a tarp, bivy, or hammock but instead i like carrying a 12 pound family sized cabin tent.

i carry three -20 degree sleeping bags cause, *you never know*

some people would say i'm weird for carrying all my stuff, but part of the reason i go backpacking is for the workout.
that's why sometimes i'll even throw in a couple bags of sand just for the extra weight.

why walk 15 miles with 20 pounds, when i can walk only 3 miles with 80 pounds and get the same workout?

some people pack only enough food for the days they'll be out, but to me, that's just crazy. what if you decide to go bushwacking, get attacked by a polarbear, manage to survive the attack but are wounded in the process and now you have to spend a month in the woods while you heal enough to trek out?

those ultra light idiots would starve in like 2 weeks. ha! not me! i'd be livin la vida loca since i always bring enough clothes and food for a month.
we'll see who gets the last laugh then!”

“lol! @ sacco - you carry those bags of sand over the Devil's Path too, right?”

“nah roam. for a buttkicker like the devil's path i don't need sandbags. you see i figure with such rough terrain, there's a decent chance of twisting an ankle or getting dehydrated or something.

so i carry a doctor with me. he's a pretty small guy, only about a 4'11" so i can strap him on top of my pack.
sure, he adds another 130 pounds, but better safe than sorry i always say.
and what could be safer than carrying around an M.D. w/ ya?”

“Now THATS a first aid kit!”

“Damn, I need to get me a first aid kit like that...”

“I "used" to carry about 80#'s for my (4-day below zero)winter backpack. After I herniated a disc (at work) my ortho guy told me to back-off. So now I just dayhike.

I found that I could get in & out of most everyplace without the wgt & sz of a backpack. Of course I like to hike at night & have hiked for 16 hours straight thru.”

“http://www.target.com.au/html/dunlop/volley.htm
This is still considered essential footware for a lot of bushwalkers in Sydney.
last edited: 2/28/05 7:07:09 AM”

“Back in the 80's we all wore wool flannel shirts, oilskin Jackets (called Japaras after the type of cotton) and our floorless tents were also made of cotton japara and if you were a bit of a sook you took a plastic ground sheet . Dropped branches for Tent Poles courtesy of Mother Nature and 20 steel tent pegs. When all this lot got wet it added another 5kgs!”

“Damn Bunyip! I gotta get me a pair of these...



OK, I\'m off to the shoes are da bomb thread.”

“I was thinking the same thing when I saw them.”

“I'm an ultralighter at heart. For a 3 day trip carrying all food and fuel for 2 people, stove, etc, and water, I am was 28 lbs. last year. This year I have a 2 lb lighter pack, so we will see... I could easily get under 20lb if I shared the food, and left the container at home.

-percious
www.percious.com”

“Dunlop Volley's are the best squash shoe ever.
Slightly heavier than other shoes but never slip on court.”

“My next trip out I'm going stoveless. I'm going to make a blow tube and see how it does in making a hotter cook fire. I just have to remember to blow OUT, not suck in. LOL!”

“my pack weight varies btwn 25-30 lbs. I recently had surgery on my hip and they actually had to take bone from my illiadic crest (hip bone) and put it in my leg. The reason I am telling you this is b/c throughout my recovery I have been researching and modifying my pack and it's contents to be more lightweight. There's no way I could continue to hike w/ my old gear, primarily b/c it would be dangerous for me and also b/c of the intense pain on my hip. They removed a section that is the exact point in my hip where my hip belt wraps around my body. w/o a lighter load and a more comfortable pack I would be in serious pain and risk injury. My modifications include a lighter pack, lighter sleeping bag, and less of the stuff I really don't need like my chairkit, extra clothes, overstocked 1st aid kit, etc.”