going lighter with equipment

[wayno]

http://www.backpackingnorth.com/p/ultra ... eover.html

In August 2011, popular US backpacking magazine Backpacker published an article on ultralight hiking titled Ultimate Comfort: 12 Easy Ways to Shed Weight and Camp in Style.

As a response to this, Backpacking North examines the 12 steps they recommend to reduce your packweight, and offers a more comprehensive selection of tips and gear recommendations. The series draws on my own experiences, and on those of other people writing in the ultralight blogosphere. Rather than showcasing the newest gear, the series focuses on tried-and-tested gear that has proven itself popular with the UL hiking community. that pertex sheild is extremely thin,... made ofr saving weight first and foremost, and durability last

[quicky]

Hey Wayno

Yep, it's one of those opportunity cost things, often forsaking durability for going lighter. I've now got some gear that I do have to be more attentive to, from shells to down and UL packs, simply because their materials are lighter, thinner and so on. Given that, going ‘lighter weight’ requires a shift in both thinking and doing. This doesn’t always translate to a bad thing though, and I’m sure you agree.

In an attempt to protect your gear more, going lighter commands the hiker to become more selective with foot placemen, or body positioning while hiking for example. I seem to float, duck and weave about more on the track…trudging less, and not relying on my gear to do all the protecting. Trail or off-trail, I find that this keeps me engaged even more with everything around me.

Gear is also packed differently; making sure that the more delicate nature of some of the lighter gear is protected. Not only does everything get lighter, but it decreases in volume. In doing so, I’ve trimmed my total pack volume (including side pockets etc) for a 6 day trip down to about 45 litres.

Going lighter often means that you become more productive too. At the moment I’m loving my Esbit stoves, so cooking times generally take longer. Similarly, pitching lighter-weight tents often requires more attention to ground selection and positioning, clothing layers need to be thought through more etc. However I think that these sorts of considerations lead to better hikers....building on leave no trace principles, more efficient use of gear and improved overall hiking skills.

There's many more examples for sure, but I guess my point here is that you end up 'being', and 'doing' more with your time - which in my opinion is a good thing. I enjoy that aspect of hiking…the constant internal dialogue of thinking that turns into doing along the way. It opens up another layer of richness to the hike. http://www.packlessbemore.com

On the flip side, at the end of the day when it’s all said and done, nothing beats just sitting back, not thinkin’, doin’ nothin’, and takin’ it all in. If only they made lighter weight Whiskey...then I could take more

Thanks for the link too!

[madmacca]

I think one of the good points made in that series is that Backpacker has the order wrong.

Lighten your gear, THEN you can lighten your backpack.

[wayno]

i have different weights of gear, i pick the gear according to durability to match the type of trip i'm doing,
although my trips dont need heavyweight gear.

[Onestepmore]

These were great articles, and lots of fantastic links. Thanks for posting this Wayno