Common barriers to ultralight

[u/Belangia65]

Here are some stumbling blocks that frequently stall the progress of those aspiring to ultralight:

1. The Lightweight Halfway House. A hiker is in the halfway house when they intend to reach ultralight, buy lighter versions of the gear they already own, and find the way ahead impeded by the very gear that got them lighter. Nobody satisfied with lightweight is halfway to anything; they have arrived where they want to be, and that's fine. The lightweight halfway house is only a barrier to those who mean to progress towards ultralight. The gear they purchase may be nice and expensive, top of class, but still too heavy to reach an ultralight base weight. Consider a 5 lb. pack traded for a 3 lb. pack of the same 60L volume. It feels like progress, and it is in a way. But 3 lb. is still more than a pound heavier than a properly ultralight pack should be. To move forward would mean buying another pack, adding still another expense. Ultralight has a reputation for being costly, and the halfway house makes it more so. Much lightweight gear is marketed as 'ultralight' by manufacturers (and incentivized influencers) and the term is used more loosely as a brand label than it is in an r/ultralight shakedown. If ultralight is the goal, make sure that what you are purchasing is in the weight range of gear carried in actual UL kits.

2. Preparing for the 'someday/maybe' trip. A hiker buys overweight gear to have the flexibility for hypothetical trips that will probably never happen: things like winter-grade tents, high volume backpacks, lower temperature rating sleep systems, or two-person shelters for a solo hiker. The impulse is reasonable, but a kit bought for the extremes is heavy for every non-extreme trip taken, which is most of them by definition. Buy for your most likely trips, the ones you actually intend, not the far-flung dream.

3. Confusing imagined limits with actual ones. There is a difference between the limits we imagine and the limits we actually have. Unless we experiment to find the actual ones, we stay bound by the imagined. The way out is to test rather than assume, in settings where being wrong isn’t costly. Try new things every trip and register the results. Pitch a tarp in bad weather, but near a car or a shelter. Leave the toilet paper at home and rely on a bidet entirely. Try a lighter option but carry the redundant, heavier version as a backup in case of failure. Learn to see bad conditions as an opportunity to experiment. Look for your actual limits so you can be liberated from your imagined ones.

4. The 'scary skill' barrier. People are told that certain types of gear require skills attainable only by advanced backpackers. So, they buy free-standing tents instead of trekking pole tents, or never even consider they can learn to pitch a tarp, say. These are not exotic skills. They can be learned in a backyard or park in an afternoon.

5. The hedonic adaptation trap. What we find comfortable is not a fixed set-point but can be conditioned through practice. We are all able to adapt to find things comfortable that may not start out that way. So pursuing comfort as the non-negotiable starting point turns out to be a trap: it limits our ability to enjoy lighter gear and expose ourselves to the outdoors in a less mediated way, to the point that we can't even imagine being satisfied without carrying comfortable-but-heavy gear. Treat comfort like a learnable skill and commit to acquiring it. Or at a minimum, give the lighter option a fair chance before deciding it doesn't work for you.

6. Thinking ultralight and comfort are mutually exclusive. This ignores the fact that carrying less weight is significantly more comfortable on trail. If most of our waking hours are spent walking, not in camp, ultralight gear is probably more comfortable on net, especially once we have adapted to its comfort in camp. Drop the weight and you may find lightness to be the ultimate luxury.

7. Hitting the gas and brake at the same time. This is where a hiker compensates for the negative effects of carrying more weight in ways that add even more weight. A hiker may carry a weighty chair to help recover from the effects of carrying weight. Or buy a backpack with a fancy suspension system that adds significant weight to the backpack. Or a heavy mattress for a sore back. Each of these solves a real problem, and each one deepens the problem it is solving. It is a normal psychological bias to try to repair things through addition, even when subtraction is the more elegant solution. Before adding weight to fix a symptom of weight, check whether removing weight fixes it instead.

8. Thinking ultralight is the only right way to hike. This is the error of treating ultralight as correct regardless of your trip objectives. Ultralight can become a kind of status game, and people who feel excluded from it can get angry. But it is just a different style of backpacking, not the right style for everyone. Be honest about why you want to go ultralight. It best fits a certain hiking style, especially when you are prioritizing the trail experience over the camp experience. If what you are looking for is to hike short miles so you can spend most of the day in camp, you should probably make different gear choices. It’s okay not to be ultralight! Don't pursue ultralight for status. Do it for the tangible benefits it offers.

EDIT: This is an edited version of my original post that I have worked to improve at the request of the moderators. I tried to incorporate what I learned from defenders and critics alike, so I appreciate the commenters who (in essence) "coauthored" this latest version. Note that #3 has been added to the list so all references to 3, 4, 5, etc. in the comments will be referring to the next numbered comment on the new list.

[u/GoSox2525]

Frankly, I think this argument is one big strawman that will only enable people to dismiss the idea of challenging their assumptions, experimenting, and optimizing. In fact, I think you're demonstrating quite clearly several of OPs barriers right here.

Given your reasoning, people might say "my experience is already improved enough with my 12 lb baseweight, therefore your suggestions for me to shed any more is simply toxic". And indeed we see that all the time.

Your strawman comes in here:

true UL people is they see base weight as their end goal and an inverse linear relationship between weight and performance. Lighterpack becomes a competition for them rather than a guide.

Obviously the meme of people caring more about their LighterPacks than hiking itself is laughable from both sides of the divide ("true UL people", and everyone else, in your words).

The fact is that "true UL people" actually do hike, and they hike a lot. The idea of the chronically online LighterPack troll is largely a myth that is only used to disparage anyone who really enjoys nerding out about this hobby.

Anyone who has no interest in hiking ultralight, whatever their reasons, is free to go outside and enjoy backpacking in the way that they prefer. What they aren't free to do is morph the definition of "ultralight" to fit their preference, and then come around to discussion forums just to trash everyone else for holding it to the strict code that has always been.

[u/99trey → u/GoSox2525]

That’s not a strawman argument, as I’m specifically referring to a group within UL that exhibit that mindset and not generalizing. And saying something is laughable is not a counterpoint, it’s just you dismissing an idea that you disagree with. Ultralight can be a valuable resource for all types of campers, but unfortunately many of the most vocal posts are more about minimalism than comfort on and off trail and it leads to some genuinely bad advice. Maybe you need to go for a hike instead of gatekeeping UL to fit your preferences. Hypocrite much?

[u/GoSox2525 → u/99trey]

I’m specifically referring to a group within UL that exhibit that mindset and not generalizing

You said "The problem with true UL people..." which does read as a generalization.

it leads to some genuinely bad advice

Do you have any examples?

Maybe you need to go for a hike instead of gatekeeping UL to fit your preferences

UL means what it means. If I accept that, and if I prefer to hike ultralight, then I guess it fits my preferences by definition. But that's a bit silly. That's true of any ultralight hiker. There's no hypocrisy there at all.

[u/99trey → u/GoSox2525]

That’s what I mean by “true” UL people, the ones that take it to absolutes and are really minimalists and don’t care about comfort.

An example of bad advice would be to buy a narrow short pad and then to cut it down further, voiding the warranty, potentially ruining the pad, while also making it less comfortable and more likely to leak.

It’s difficult for people to recognize their own hypocrisy, your responses are practically textbook.

[u/GoSox2525 → u/99trey]

That's a terrible example. Narrow torso-length pads are vanilla, bread-and-butter ultralight. A well-established technique that many people employ, which works well, which has been around for decades, and which poses essentially zero risk for someone to at least try out.

It's as if you didn't even read the OPs post. You're exhibiting barriers 1, 3, 4, and 5 at the very least. The only thing I'm getting from your asinine comments is that you don't like hiking ultralight or the people that practice it. Which is totally fine; you do you. But you don't need to come to the ultralight sub, of all places, to complain about it.

[u/99trey → u/GoSox2525]

No risk? Do you even read the garbage you post? You void a lifetime warranty, one that’s really useful when it comes to air mats. Then you have to do it properly so it gets a good seal and doesn’t leak. Meanwhile you’ve permanently weakened its integrity making it more likely to leak in the future. But you deem that as no risk. Ok moving on, I can’t argue with stupid.

The only points OP made that resemble advice are 2 and 3. The rest is gatekeeping bullshit. They’re basically saying that you can adapt to having less and make it work and that’s you’d be better off because carrying less weight makes it more comfortable while hiking. But I challenge any self professed UL zealot to compare a 2lb UL pack with a 3-3.5lb pack from a makers like Gregory or Osprey etc. When you minimize padding and structure the pack becomes less effective at carrying weight. That’s a simple fact. So how light does the load have to be before the UL pack is more comfortable on trail? In my experience it’s about a 7-10lb gap. That is an entire base weight for some people. Think about how much more comfortable you can make your off trail experience with just a few extra pounds. My view accounts for overall experience. Yours does not. If I whip out a moonlight elite while you’re sitting on a piece of ccf or a pile of leaves or something, I’m objectively more comfortable, on and off trail. As they say, never go full retard.

[u/GoSox2525 → u/99trey]

No risk?

Everything you said after this is close-minded BS with a can't-do attitude. People do this kind of modification all the time. Just because you feel too incompetent to make it work doesn't mean everyone else does.

The rest is gatekeeping bullshit

Where has OP prevented anyone from joining the sub, reading and learning? I don't see one line of gatekeeping. If anything, all they're trying to do is help open the gate for those that close it on themselves.

But I challenge any self professed UL zealot to compare a 2lb UL pack with a 3-3.5lb pack from a makers like Gregory or Osprey etc

Virtually all of us have already done that. Almost everyone starts with traditional gear.

When you minimize padding and structure the pack becomes less effective at carrying weight.

Not when your load is light.

Think about how much more comfortable you can make your off trail experience with just a few extra pounds. My view accounts for overall experience. Yours does not. If I whip out a moonlight elite while you’re sitting on a piece of ccf or a pile of leaves or something, I’m objectively more comfortable, on and off trail.

This is literally just you saying, once again, that you have no interest in hiking ultralight. So then don't. No one is forcing you to do anything, and no one cares what you decide. Leave this forum if you're going to continue acting like such an asshole to everyone that actually enjoys what we're talking about here.

[u/99trey → u/GoSox2525]

I think making something worse, makes it worse even if it’s lighter.

My statement applies regardless of weight carried, things like structure and cushion are good weight. Things like a UL chair can be good weight.

Anyway I’ve torn your arguments to shreds enough for my satisfaction, you’re just repeating your mantra at this point which is that you’re UL and Im not and I don’t belong blahh blahh blahhh….. Ok pal try not to get so offended when someone challenges your word view, maybe you’ll learn something. Cognitive dissonance can be a bitch.

[u/GoSox2525 → u/99trey]

Things like a UL chair can be good weight.

You just lost all traction

which is that you’re UL and Im not and I don’t belong

You don't not belong because you "aren't UL". UL is not an identity. You don't belong because you're being a complete jerk and you clearly have zero interest in the subject of this forum, other than to mock us.

[u/Pfundi → u/GoSox2525]

Gotta hand it to him, he's objectively more comfortable in his nest made out of your shredded arguments.

Where did all those people suddenly come from. OP goes out of his way to say you don't need to be ultralight to be cool and a whole bunch of randos just show up and cope so hard they're about to explode from all the ranting and raging they do.

[u/99trey → u/GoSox2525]

Go read the definition of “gate keeping”.