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  1. #11
    Senior Member Scratch's Avatar
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    Honestly, I don't see why lightweight backpacking and comfort are mutually exclusive. Once I setup camp, I'm as comfortable now (carrying 15 pounds on my back) as I was carrying 45 pounds. My equipment is lighter now but I also found I carried a bunch of stuff I really didn't need or use. It took several years of experimentation and many trips to find the right combination for me. If a person is happy with the weight they are carrying, I don't think anyone is trying to convince them otherwise. HYOH.

    Ultra-lightweight backpacking can also be a challenge. Just like someone might see how fast they can do a marathon or a thru-hike, a person might also want to push themselves to see how minimalistic they can hike a particular trail. If I were ever to do that, it would be for my own personal satisfaction that I could. I don't expect I'd be doing it on a regular basis. Comfort is still too important to me.
    Last edited by Scratch; 09-20-2009 at 20:15.
    Dan
    W7DDM

  2. #12
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    Talking Double Duty Toenail Clippers

    Quote Originally Posted by Cannibal View Post
    I love the old school...

    BTW, that cutting firewood with toenail clippers line is still making me giggle. I gotta remember that one.
    Don't forget that in "A Walk in the Woods", Katz deemed toenail clippers as a multi-purpose item. They doubled as bear protection! I figure they're multi-purpose anyway - I use them not only for clippin' toenails... but also for fingernails.

  3. #13
    Senior Member Knotty's Avatar
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    Count me a gram weenie. I pack titanium toenail clippers.

    Seriously though, I'm no weenie. To me it's about balance. The person sleeping on the ground under just a tarp or poncho has given up comfort for weight savings. I'd rather settle in on gear that doesn't burden me with unnecessary weight but still provides convenience and comfort.

    For example, many aluminum cook sets off a nice balance between price and weight, tipping the scales less then steel but leaving more money in the wallet then Ti.

    To each his own.
    Knotty
    "Don't speak unless it improves the silence." -proverb
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  4. #14
    Senior Member ikemouser's Avatar
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    Speaking of titanium, i ben t my titanium stakes, does anyone know how to bend them back, maybe with heat + vice?

  5. #15
    Senior Member
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    I am only a gram weenie because im a gear Wh*re and because, it is a challenge for me, and just like red hat, my first trip, when I was 12, and probably about 100 lbs, i probably had at least a 40 pound pack. I had to have an older scout help me put my stuff on. Now im helping kids out in my troop who go through the same process, and it is a process.

    just my 2 pennies

    -CS
    Quote Originally Posted by RamblinRev
    I think such as drastic move as to commandeer Easter candy over a discrediting of the Easter Buny is too extreme.

  6. #16
    Senior Member Scratch's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Knotty View Post
    ... I'd rather settle in on gear that doesn't burden me with unnecessary weight but still provides convenience and comfort.
    ... and once a person starts to focus on this, they MIGHT become a gram weenie.
    Dan
    W7DDM

  7. #17
    Senior Member Sailor's Avatar
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    On a hitch hiking/walking trip of Europe in the '60's, I carried one of those old Kelty packs that about owned the American walking world in those days. Inside I carried a sports coat/slacks/leather shoes, dress shirt and tie, along with the normal stuff you need to live in hostels or camp, both of which I did. Carried a SVEA...which I still have and use. Guess that would be old school packing. I don't feel the need for a tie so often these days...

  8. #18
    Senior Member Kankujoe's Avatar
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    Thanks for all the replies... I'm really more in the middle about weight vs. comfort continuum... to me, its more about having good, stout, quality gear... and believe me, my gear closet (actually most of my garage & basement) is full of enough equipment to outfit a small army...

    For any given "adventure" my equipment choices are based on my mode of transportation... ie. hiking, bicycling, kayaking, car, trailer etc... each mode has a different mix of equipment choices & combinations... but I am by no means a "gram weenie" & nor do I carry everything including the kitchen sink. I opt to buy some of my equipment for it's wear value, I also like multiuse equipment to a point but not if it is a compromise for it's intended use.

    I probably carry way too much stuff but I like to live & travel by the old scout motto "be prepared."
    KJ

  9. #19
    Senior Member MedicineMan's Avatar
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    just think, most of the ultralightweight phenom came from hiking on GROOMED trails and from point to piont to point to point. Like the AT, the PCT and others. On these trails gear can be babied way up to a point.
    Lewis/Clarke probably did a lot more bushwacking which would kill todays gramweenie gear.
    I've embraced one thing from the past ==wool, even though Smartwool is probably modernized wool.
    As far as weight I've gone the gamut and am actually carrying the heaviest pack now in over 36 years...3.2 pounds for the pack alone. I've decided it's not so much the weight of the pack but what I put in it.
    I do my share of bushwhacking/bushcrafting too but then it's a totally different goal and gear choice. The breathable Mountain Hardware gets subbed out with an Empire Canvas Works Long Field Coat; the GG pack gets subbed out with a Snugpak Sleaka and even more rudimentary gear than what I'd use on the groomed trails but gear that is to be used to craft/build and for a place I plan to stay at for a while.
    The hammock can and is used in both of these worlds but for a long term bushcraft experience I realize the lightweight hammocks for backpacking are quite ephemeral

  10. #20
    Senior Member Kankujoe's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by MedicineMan View Post
    just think, most of the ultralightweight phenom came from hiking on GROOMED trails and from point to piont to point to point. Like the AT, the PCT and others. On these trails gear can be babied way up to a point.
    Lewis/Clarke probably did a lot more bushwacking which would kill todays gramweenie gear.
    I've embraced one thing from the past ==wool, even though Smartwool is probably modernized wool.
    As far as weight I've gone the gamut and am actually carrying the heaviest pack now in over 36 years...3.2 pounds for the pack alone. I've decided it's not so much the weight of the pack but what I put in it.
    I do my share of bushwhacking/bushcrafting too but then it's a totally different goal and gear choice. The breathable Mountain Hardware gets subbed out with an Empire Canvas Works Long Field Coat; the GG pack gets subbed out with a Snugpak Sleaka and even more rudimentary gear than what I'd use on the groomed trails but gear that is to be used to craft/build and for a place I plan to stay at for a while.
    The hammock can and is used in both of these worlds but for a long term bushcraft experience I realize the lightweight hammocks for backpacking are quite ephemeral
    You've made a very important observation....

    But now the question... Which gear should be bulletproof regardless of weight & Which gear can be lite weight without compromising function/comfort?
    Last edited by Kankujoe; 09-21-2009 at 01:18.
    KJ

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