Alpkit have some new ultralight tents ready for pre-orders

SteG

SteG

Thru Hiker
I don't weigh my gear, or my backpack when I go out. So much easier on the mind. Just take the essentials and that's it.
Go back packing and have fun.
Weighing everything and feeling I need to buy more stuff now to get under this imagined magical number takes all the fun out of it for me. I find the whole gear thing can get a bit boring in general, your never happy with what you've got, and I'm as prone as any body else for trawling the internet.i see my pack as light weight and happy with that. I've had 2.5 kg tent, 2.5 kg rucksack and loved them. Anything under 1.6kg tent and same with bag is light weight to me.
 
el manana

el manana

Thru Hiker
SteG said:
I don't weigh my gear, or my backpack when I go out. So much easier on the mind. Just take the essentials and that's it.
Go back packing and have fun.
Weighing everything and feeling I need to buy more stuff now to get under this imagined magical number takes all the fun out of it for me. I find the whole gear thing can get a bit boring in general, your never happy with what you've got, and I'm as prone as any body else for trawling the internet.i see my pack as light weight and happy with that. I've had 2.5 kg tent, 2.5 kg rucksack and loved them. Anything under 1.6kg tent and same with bag is light weight to me.
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Great comment @SteG :thumbsup:
 
Franky

Franky

Section Hiker
SteG said:
I don't weigh my gear, or my backpack when I go out. So much easier on the mind. Just take the essentials and that's it.
Go back packing and have fun.
Weighing everything and feeling I need to buy more stuff now to get under this imagined magical number takes all the fun out of it for me. I find the whole gear thing can get a bit boring in general, your never happy with what you've got, and I'm as prone as any body else for trawling the internet.i see my pack as light weight and happy with that. I've had 2.5 kg tent, 2.5 kg rucksack and loved them. Anything under 1.6kg tent and same with bag is light weight to me.
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Exactly Steg:wink::D:thumbsup:
 
Rog Tallbloke

Rog Tallbloke

Thru Hiker
I didn't worry about the weight of my gear until my back got broken in a huge motorcycle crash. Back pain at the end of the days walk takes a lot of the fun out of it for me, so I'm quite obsessive about keeping carried weight to a minimum nowadays. I wish I didn't have to be though, so I agree with @SteG's sentiment, even if I can't do the same anymore.
 
Ed the Ted

Ed the Ted

Ultralighter
SteG said:
I don't weigh my gear, or my backpack when I go out. So much easier on the mind. Just take the essentials and that's it.
Go back packing and have fun.
Weighing everything and feeling I need to buy more stuff now to get under this imagined magical number takes all the fun out of it for me. I find the whole gear thing can get a bit boring in general, your never happy with what you've got, and I'm as prone as any body else for trawling the internet.i see my pack as light weight and happy with that. I've had 2.5 kg tent, 2.5 kg rucksack and loved them. Anything under 1.6kg tent and same with bag is light weight to me.
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I agree with this so much, the principle of minimalism is so much more healthy for me than having an excel sheet, weighing everything, and trying to get a base weight below blah blah blah. To an extent it is a need produced by a market that then fulfills that need. Plenty of people did more adventurous things than I can ever dream of before nylon was invented.

Great that lighter stuff is out there for people in situations like Rog, though, too.
 
Taz38

Taz38

Thru Hiker
Agree, if you can (comfortably) carry it do so, but if not, its good to start looking at ways to reduce weight. I got mine down by at least 2kgs and that helps me alot. I find it far more enjoyable now than when I lugged a heavy pack around in my twenties, or even a fairly heavy pack a few years ago.
I often weigh my stuff as its really helped getting the weight down where needed.
I end up carrying more food though...
 
Fossil Bluff

Fossil Bluff

Thru Hiker
Hello there, Father.

Father Ted: Ah! Hello Colm! Out and about?

Ah, ya. Same as yourself.

Father Ted: Good, good!

I hear you’re ultralight now father.
*Ted turns around in shock*

Father Ted: WHAT?!

How did ya get interested in that sort of thing?

Father Ted: WHO SAID I’M ULTRALIGHT?!

Everyone is saying it, Father. Should we all be ultralight now? What’s the official line that the church has taken on this?
 
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cathyjc

cathyjc

Thru Hiker
SteG said:
I don't weigh my gear, or my backpack when I go out. So much easier on the mind. Just take the essentials and that's it.
Go back packing and have fun.
Weighing everything and feeling I need to buy more stuff now to get under this imagined magical number takes all the fun out of it for me. I find the whole gear thing can get a bit boring in general, your never happy with what you've got, and I'm as prone as any body else for trawling the internet.i see my pack as light weight and happy with that. I've had 2.5 kg tent, 2.5 kg rucksack and loved them. Anything under 1.6kg tent and same with bag is light weight to me.
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Agree.
Mostly I don't weight my gear before a trip.
But I do weight the joint/communal gear - I got fed up of carrying more than my fair share.
I do know the relative weight of most of my gear - it enables me to choose the lowest weight items that are the right ones for the "job".
 
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WilliamC

WilliamC

Thru Hiker
Since I have nothing to say about the Alpkit tents, I'll weigh in here.
If you're out for a short time or have abundant resupply opportunities and water sources, the weight of your gear matters little unless you go to extremes. Even with mainstream packs, tents etc, your pack weight is likely to be under 8kg or so, I'd imagine.
If you're having to carry 8 days' worth of food and/or have long stretches without water supply in hot weather, you (well, certainly I) will want to get your base weight as low as you can within your necessary safety and comfort limits.
We have a choice of gear, and we'll sometimes go with the heavier option on short trips as it's usually cheaper and more durable. Last week, though, we were carrying food for 5 nights/6 days and at one point I was carrying 5.5L of water. We made sure to be taking the lightest gear that we had that was up to the job.
 
Mole

Mole

Thru Hiker
WilliamC said:
Since I have nothing to say about the Alpkit tents, I'll weigh in here.
If you're out for a short time or have abundant resupply opportunities and water sources, the weight of your gear matters little unless you go to extremes. Even with mainstream packs, tents etc, your pack weight is likely to be under 8kg or so, I'd imagine.
If you're having to carry 8 days' worth of food and/or have long stretches without water supply in hot weather, you (well, certainly I) will want to get your base weight as low as you can within your necessary safety and comfort limits.
We have a choice of gear, and we'll sometimes go with the heavier option on short trips as it's usually cheaper and more durable. Last week, though, we were carrying food for 5 nights/6 days and at one point I was carrying 5.5L of water. We made sure to be taking the lightest gear that we had that was up to the job.
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Good points. Which is why baseweight is a useful metric.

Though I think the 8kg full pack weight is a little optimistic even with ultralight gear for many.
On some treklite meets I've been on, for fun and education, we've weighed the packs of everyone at the start of the hike.
For instance, even in summer, for just an overnighter on Dartmoor, not many were under 8kg. It was only @Cass and myself.
This trip:
 
WilliamC

WilliamC

Thru Hiker
Mole said:
Good points. Which is why baseweight is a useful metric.

Though I think the 8kg full pack weight is a little optimistic even with ultralight gear for many.
On some treklite meets I've been on, for fun and education, we've weighed the packs of everyone at the start of the hike.
For instance, even in summer, for just an overnighter on Dartmoor, not many were under 8kg. It was only @Cass and myself.
This trip:
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Interesting. Maybe I didn't make enough allowance for the UK weather ;)
To be honest, I was going to write 8-10kg, but couldn't bring myself to write the oxymoron "under 8-10kg".
 
Mole

Mole

Thru Hiker
WilliamC said:
Interesting. Maybe I didn't make enough allowance for the UK weather ;)
To be honest, I was going to write 8-10kg, but couldn't bring myself to write the oxymoron "under 8-10kg".
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:D yes that would be painful to read for some.


Yes probably most under 9-10kg ;):asshat:

For a couple, it was genuinely heavier ( but still lightweight) gear. Others seemed to have similar range big 3 items to me, so I'm not sure what else was being carried.
Obviously the gas users were at a massive disadvantage:angelic:
 
Fossil Bluff

Fossil Bluff

Thru Hiker
Mole said:
Obviously the gas users were at a massive disadvantage:angelic:
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:eek:<cough> bell <cough> end! :biggrin:

Maybe three distinct aspects:

@WilliamC explanation of his own activities is at the heart of the ultralight movement. Reduction of base weight to make longer duration trips bearable.

@Mole You’ve also described the ‘culture’ or philosophy of following ultralight. It’s something people are interested in.

Thirdly, by striving to achieve UL, or at least considering weight reduction, many will make their short duration trips less of an endurance test by achieving a 9kg sack instead of a 15kg lump that they previously carried.

I personally like the lightest gear without sacrificing my own perspective of ‘what is normal’ - this would soon shift if I had to carry 8 days food, that’s for sure :thumbsup: But then I don’t have designs on being ‘ultralight’.

Many people would view ultralight hikers as a bunch of stoopids, who are trying catch pneumonia as they mince about in tights and plimsolls trying to pitch a DCF handkerchief in driving rain, in winter, on Dartmoor for a single night. But it’s not until you throw in the ‘cultural’ or ‘philosophical’ aspect that the objective becomes clearer.

We are all different, but what unites us is the love for the outdoors - whether that be 15 or 5kg base weight :)

My tu’pence worth.
 
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Mole

Mole

Thru Hiker
Fossil Bluff said:
:eek:<cough> bell <cough> end! :biggrin:

Maybe three distinct aspects:

@WilliamC explanation of his own activities is at the heart of the ultralight movement. Reduction of base weight to make longer duration trips bearable.

@Mole You’ve also described the ‘culture’ or philosophy of following ultralight. It’s something people are interested in.

Thirdly, by striving to achieve UL, or at least considering weight reduction, many will make their short duration trips less of an endurance test by achieving a 9kg sack instead of a 15kg lump that they previously carried.

I personally like the lightest gear without sacrificing my own perspective of ‘what is normal’ - this would soon shift if I had to carry 8 days food, that’s for sure :thumbsup: But then I don’t have designs on being ‘ultralight’.

Many people would view ultralight hikers as a bunch of stoopids, who are trying catch pneumonia as they mince about in tights and plimsolls trying to pitch a DCF handkerchief in driving rain, in winter, on Dartmoor for a single night. But it’s not until you throw in the ‘cultural’ or ‘philosophical’ aspect that the objective becomes clearer.

We are all different, but what unites us is the love for the outdoors - whether that be 15 or 5kg base weight :)

My tu’pence worth.
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Totally agree about the main benefit being packweight reduction without loss of camping comfort.
My point in reply to Williams 8kg figure was to illustrate that this figure wasn't being met in many cases I've encountered, even by folk with lots of (ultra) lightweight gear.

I would say I have a fair amount of (near) ultralight gear but very rarely get below the 5kg baseweight that UL defines. So not really a ULer like some on here. ( No cuben! And usually use a framed pack).

Though I do wear short shorts when hiking in warm weather, I've been doing that since a boy, and the fashion has finally come around again to match:couchpotato:
 
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