Ultralight Backpacking

“Damn Mr.Short Trip...you sure include alot of numbers with yer posts!”

“My pack for this weekend (3 days) is ~25 lbs. SnowDude is carrying the tent (2 lb 13 oz), ground cloth (7 oz) , bear canister (2 lb 2 oz) and water filter (13 oz). His pack is about 31-32 lbs. I could lighten my pack by leaving the Slinglight chair, Canon Rebel and 5 rolls of film.....nahhhh!”

“I agree with pekka, that sometimes posts come across sounding strong with attitude, rather than with well meaning advice. I've been reading a couple of books written for women backpackers and ultralight is a big issue, because for obvious reasons. Women on avg. are smaller and less muscular than men. Women often don't have the choice of backpacking with heavy equipment vs more expensive lighter equipment. They simply can't carry the heavier weight for 10-15 miles without risk of injury. For men, it seems more a matter of choice.

Some of us prefer the colder seasons for hiking and therefore need somewhat heavier or more expensive equipment for sleeping warmly and safely, and for sitting out a storm. That is why I've paid attention to RichB and SnowNymph talk about their equipment. Expensive stuff, but I've begun to understand the value there.

The backpacking for women books also discuss the excess fat issue that RichB brings up. It is way more important to lose those extra pounds than to cut off the extra straps on your pack. Good motivation for me, who always packs on a little extra winter insulation.”

“Pekka is right most arguments arising out of the lightweight Vs heavyweight crap is pure attitude.

I tell my scouts backpacking is all about wants and needs. First, find out what you need any always take it. Then figure out want you want and decide if you "need" to take it with you.

Wants and needs are almost never the same for any two people. Some folks like to cover big miles and don't need a bunch of stuff in camp and some folks like to set up camp like a Hilton after a few miles. Neither one is the "wrong" way to hike. It's just a different style.

A hiking style is wrong only if it doesn't suit you. It's just that simple.”

“I used to be a heavyweight backpacker, when my kids still came with me, and I had to carry things like a 4-person tent, 2-qt cookpot, etc. I carried 50+ lbs. routinely. Now that I hike solo, and as I gain experience, I'm approaching ultralight. My base weight, with a tent, and excluding water and food, is 20 lbs. I can do a weekend with a bivy with 15 lbs. total.
I find light works for me for 3 reasons:

1) I have limited vacation time, and I want to see as much as possible in the time I have. I'm not a fast hiker, and I get bored in camp by myself, so I hike long days to get the miles in and stay active. I typically walk 12 hours when the sunlight permits it. This is much easier with a light pack. An added benefit is I don't have to carry things to entertain me or make myself comfortable in camp (like a chair), because I just eat and sleep in camp.

2) I find one of the most enjoyable aspects of bp'ing to be a return to simplicity. I get off on the freedom having everything I need in a pack on my back. The less I have to bring, the more free I feel.

3) Reducing weight and finding items with multiple uses is a hobby in itself, especially in the winter months when I'm otherwise idle. It satisfies the tinkerer in me to trim a pack, build a pop can stove, find a tiny plastic bottle for this or that, etc. When I replace a piece of gear, I go for quality first, but lightweight almost always seems to follow.

What I don't understand is the animosity I sometimes get from heavier hikers. I have been offered snacks and things, which I accepted out of politeness, only to have others then been accuse of being a mooch to lighten my load. Others infer that lightweight is for sissies, saying things like " I can carry 60 lbs. Because I'm in shape" I wouldn't dream of dissing someone for carrying 60 lbs. of whatever it is that makes his or her hike enjoyable.

Hike your own hike!


p.s. I just bought a Go-Lite daypack at REI outlet for 1/2 off; $35. 2200 CI ( I think) at 10.5 oz. ”

“'Kindalight' - I kinda like that one. Look for it in the October issue of Backpacker.”

“This is a pretty heavy thread!”

“I had no idea I was opening up such a polarizing can of worms and heated debate. Can't we all just get along.”

“No. It's my way or the highway!”

“A friend is doing a part of the JMT and some of our group is resupplying her every few days. She carries between 20-25 lbs in a daypack. The first week out her Slumberjack tent collapsed (rain, hail), and they guy who hiked the first 4 days with her loaned her his tent to use for the rest of the trip. She also switched stoves with him (she started off with the esbit (?) and took his Snowpeak for the remainder of the trip).”

“Gecko - you must be kidding. A thread about the color of the sky would be polarizing and heated around here, LOL.”

“Le Subtil offers great advice and commentary. Being a newbie to backpacking, I was thinking too much like a "camper", where I'd bring all kinds of stuff. My pack started at 60-65+ lb. As I was just telling my wife (she was watching Marthat Stewart hike Arcadia on her show today) that everyone is different and what works for one person might not work for others. I'm in agreement about the whole "ultra light" thing. I like the idea in trying to get as light as possible, but I don't like the people who get down right snobbish about it.”

“I agree lagtis. I have recently been experimenting with some light weight gear, which is nice. But the 50 pound pack still has it's advantages: Added comfort after the trail, and it gets you in better shape!”

“My knees and feet dictate an ultralight attitude. As you age you too will see the need.”

“LOL Amen BS”

“Can we have another amen for BS? Which is just support for RichB's comment on losing weight off yourself to really lighten the load. The dilemma I face is the need to exercise more to lose my flab, but the recent problems with foot pain make my favorite exercise, walking/hiking, a day-to-day situation. Luckily I like to bike, too, so I need to develop the discipline to get on the bike more.

I would like me to be more like my pack, from which I've trimmed a lot of weight. If we measured ourselves like we do packs, I wonder what C.I./liter rating I'd get? Probably what Backpacker calls a "monster expedition" model, LOL.”

“Buddha - Sorry, it's
la q tis. No g. Thanks!”

“Of Borg?”

“What you need to do pekka is to get a disease. Not a really bad one but something that makes your doctor put you on a restricted diet. Works miracles.”

“resistance is futile?.”

“Last AT trip I walked down the trail preaching the lightweight gossiple...

Not realy, I'm not an ultralighter, I guess I'm a kindoflighter, I was down to 38 pounds with water and 7 days of food - I could have gone lighter (33 pounds), but I brought a 5500CI pack because there was the possibility of me having to carry all the gear for another person.

I did get asked some questions from other hikers about my gear. I refused offers of food and even making hot water (that stove couldn't possibly work well enough) on their stoves at shelters where I met many of them. I even gave some heavier weight backpackers food when they were running low.

I think I can argue that I'm in very good shape and can haul 100 pound loads down the trail IF I WANT TOO. But I find it much more fun to try and get my pack down below 30 pounds for a whole week - and still eat like a king.”

“Don't let BS fool you guys he's one old fart thats in great shape and can out hike most of the folks that come here!I know I saw alot of the back of him in the Linville Gorge 2 years ago.”

“I assume that when you (most of "you") mention weight, you're not including food and water. Since those two items go without saying, one must invidually add that weight to the total "pack & gear" weight to arrive at a personal total. At least, that's the way I interpret such posts, unless otherwise noted.

That being said, my pack weight for the llama hike - without fod/water - slides in at 31.45 pounds. Without a few of the luxuries included in that total, I'd weigh in at about 28#. With a tarp, bivy, or something smaller than my SD Orion, I could shave a couple more pounds.

The above gear weight is for 10 days.”

“Obi when I talk pack weight I differentiate between "Dry" meaning no food or water and "Wet" meaning with food and water.

You are right though, posts that don't make a distinction can be confusing as to what thier real (walking down the trail on day one) pack weight is.”

“Current dry weight for a 3 season hike up to 6 days long is 17.27 pounds. And that includes a book and a radio. If I change a few things I would like to, then I can get down to 15.61 pounds.”

“Like Sgt ROck, on a trip last month, I too was the featherweight, but was the go to man for food and extra gear the others forgot. It's amazing the stuff people will pack and the stuff they will leave at home.
I too keep myself in good enough shape to haul a 100 lb'er "IF I WANT TO" but who wants to? I go to enjoy the trip, not punish myself. (Although some on the last trip thought sleeping under just a tarp was punishment. I call it experiencing the night.)

Last summer a couple of freinds and I did a 7 day 62 mile trip and even with carrying a 35 lb pack, we all gained weight.”

“LOL

BS, I want to go backpacking with you. I'll help carry the food if you cook it. :o)”

“If you carry my pack, I'll cook and do the dishes.”

“I'll carry your pack if you let me pack it. :o)

I hope you like ultralight backpacking!! ;o)”

“oh please, the secret to having a light pack is simple! just let your boyfriend (if he's reeeel good ;) carry the tent, both your sleeping bags, the cooking stuff, and both bottles of wine. that's what i did when me and Tarpy went to Dolly Sods over the weekend! worked like a charm...practically all i had was the food and some clothes and water.
(i used go by Trail-er Park, but that name was so girly-girl. totally not me.)
;^P”

“I just got back from Philmont Scout Camp my pack with 3 qts water and food for two days (that is my share) 48 lbs, when we came back it was 32 lbs because we ate all the extra food that I took such as shrimp scampi and crab cakes. It was enjoyable trip because of the extra food BSA likes to give you 2000 to 2500 calories a day.”

“For long trips requireing alot of gear i reccomend getting the kelty Araphaho, it held everything i needed for a 5 day winter trip. Best of all its light weight.”

“I have never heard of an Araphaho. They do not list it on the Kelty website. Is it a new model? What does it weigh?”

“http://www.backpackinglight.com/default.htm

An e-zine”

“The best way to lighten your load and still have what you want is after the trip, as you're unpacking, make 2 lists. 1 list is of the stuff you took but didn't use. The other list is the stuff you didn't have but wished you did.
After you do this 6 or 10 times you'll have your own custom pack.”

“NOTE: just because you brought your first aid kit on six trips and did not use it, do NOT leave it at home. hopefully, you will ALWAYS carry it and NEVER use it.”

“I'm sorry did I imply that just because you didn't use your brain on the hike you don't need to use it when you make your lists? 8^)”

“Don't forget the list of items you were GLAD you brought!”

“It depends on what kind of trip you're taking. I'll do a quick overnighter run up to some lakes in the Beartooths for some stealth fly fishing with a Dana Bombpack; probably 15 lbs. But you've got to be storm-proof up there over 10,000 feet since it can go from sunny and 70's to snowing and 30's in a matter of hours. On the heavyweight side, we'll do the ALMOST-ANNUAL BIRTHDAY HIKE. One of my backpacking buddies has a birthday in late August so we plan the trip around the nearest full moon. We'll head in to a favorite lake 8 miles in the A-B Wilderness, have a great dinner, then hike a quick 2 miles up some switchbacks to a pass at 11,000 feet to watch the sunset/moonrise complete with UN-Lite beer and stinky cigars (to watch the sun set on his youth). Then it's stagger back down to camp in the dark and dive into our sleeping bags. It generally seems to involve 40 lb+ packs with beer, fresh food and lots of first aid supplies. It's really an un-cleansing experience and totally worth it's weight! AHH beeeer!

ps- thanks for the welcomes on the other threads”

“Don't forget the list of things you did not bring and are glad you didn't (ie, encyclopedia, anvil, mother-in-law, etc)”

“Mountaineer Eric Shipton and his partner Bill Tilman were proponants of fast and light nearly 70 years ago, to the point it was called the Shipton-Tilman Style. Their approach focused on going light and low-cost, remaining culturally sensitive, and doing it for the sheer joy of adventure. How far did they take it? They claimed they could organize an expedition on the back of an envelope, and once seriously debated sharing one (1) spoon for a mountaneering party rather than carry one for each man.

This info was gleaned from a Universal Press Syndicate article by Jeremy Schmidt, which also noted that despite Shipton & Tilman's great accomplishments, few of their contemporaries followed suit.

Schmidt also quotes Reinhold Messner as saying he wants "to spend half a year or more in the wilderness with only a rucksack -- and nobody will know where I am going" as a comment on both the weight of gear and fame.”

“For ages now I have struggled with how to get rid of the orange plastic "potty trowel" in my backpack. It is rather large and weights a horrid 1.7 oz.

Well I found a web site of a dude that had made a replacement from titanium. I basically copied the project. The shape of the trowel is based on the MontBell "scoop" (1.4 oz).

The final trowel weighs in at .33 oz... 5x lighter than my current trowel! I am very pleased. It is made from a sheet of titanium I got from the web, carefully cut out, bent into shape (this is very hard to do) and finished. The final feel is rather strong. I have yet to field test it however since it's main job is to bury my #2 I am thinking it's up to the task.

Here is a photo of the end result.



OK, so there you have it. I thought the UL people out here might like to see. The homemade gear nuts might also like this project.”

“Here is a pic of the MontBell trowel my trowel shape is copied from... roughly.

”

“Nice work JS!!”

“I've really never understood the need for such implements. Perhaps it's my rural upbringing that compels me to walk a distance off the trail and just crap.”

“I should have provided the URL to the web site where I found the project. I didn't come up with this idea. I just copied the project on this web site. Others might want to give it a try.

http://www.freewebs.com/jasonklass/titaniumtrowel.htm”

“I've never really seen the need to bury #2. Animals don't bury it. Especially horses and birds.



Thank God horses don't fly.”

“The best way to take care of bid'niss is to take a nice big rock, smash it, and smear it and leave it to the elements to take care of in short order.

This is, of course, if you even poop in the woods. I don't.”

“lmao!”