A place to chat about gear and the philosphy of ultralight. Ultralight bushwalking or backpacking focuses on carrying the lightest and simplest kit. There is still a good focus on safety and skill.
Forum rules
Ultralight Bushwalking/backpacking is about more than just gear lists. Ultralight walkers carefully consider gear based on the environment they are entering, the weather forecast, their own skill, other people in the group. Gear and systems are tested and tweaked. If you are new to this area then welcome - Please remember that although the same ultralight philosophy can be used in all environments that the specific gear and skill required will vary greatly. It is very dangerous to assume that you can just copy someone else's gear list, but you are encouraged to ask questions, learn and start reducing the pack weight and enjoying the freedom that comes.
Common words Base pack backpacking the mass of the backpack and the gear inside - not including consumables such as food, water and fuel light backpacking base weight less than 9.1kg ultralight backpacking base weight less than 4.5kg super-ultralight backpacking base weight less than 2.3kg extreme-ultralight backpacking base weight less than 1.4kg
Today I bought a metallised closed cell foam mat for $4 from Vinnies. It seems quite firm & dense (black) foam (no brand name). I am thinking of keeping it in reserve for use under my NeoAir XLite in the deeper cold. I bought the XLite during the GFC when these things were very affordable on MassDrop. Now I am older & some 20 kg lighter, I sleep colder these days & this option is 1% of the cost of upgrading to an XTherm, plus I don't do many winter nights as the dark is sooo looong & boring & well cold. However, I am not sure whether the metallised side goes up or down. It doesn't seem cold to the touch unlike Mylar. Any ideas, Does it matter?
Ta, that's what I thought but I wasn't sure as IR, convection & conduction are different processes. Well, the way it's rolled suggests silver side up & I found an image on ebay that looks the same. It's better protected that way too.