Common Lightweight or "Ultralight" Mistakes

[Kc Fiedler]

If you're going ultralight you might save ounces by modifying these factors:

1. Toilet paper on your packing list
2. Carrying a filter on the AT (not really necessary)
3. Underwear in your pack list
4. Deodorant is in your pack list
5. All your gear is from one manufacturer
6. You're carrying a canister or white gas stove (though I recognize both of these stove types have their advantages in certain situations, I concede that)
7. Toothpaste in your pack list (Dr. Bronners works for hand soap, dish soap, and toothpaste)
8. Carrying a water bladder system (arguably worth their weight when carrying huge quantities of water over long distances I.E. desert southwest, I concede)
9. Carrying a dedicated pillow
10. Using a sleeping bag instead of a quilt

I recognize that there are exceptions to all of these. Too many times I've seen self proclaimed ultralight hikers make many of these gear choices when a lighter alternative is close at hand. Even if you can get your weight down and still carry some or all of these things... ditch them and you'll be much further ahead on your road to lightweight packing. If you're going to step thru the door of ultralight then go the whole measure. No half measures.

I, personally, find that price point tends to be a limiting factor for gear choices so I can completely empathize with the price per ounce of weight consideration.

Of course there's no black and white and everyone has their own system. We all fall somewhere on this spectrum. Hike your own hike for sure but I just wanted to list a few ultralight gear choices that might save a gram counter a little weight.

Finally I'd like to thank those of you who pointed out the issues with this post and encouraged me to amend them.

Stay comfortable, have fun, and count those ounces.

[saltysack]

Toilet paper......underwear come on.....u kidding ......if your that weight conscious u should hit the gym...wipe your arse w leaves and dirt..see how far u make it...without underwear I chafe my legs therefore a few oz of worn weight is lighter than carrying a lube.


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[Sno66nj]

Harsh post brah...

HYOH

Hike happy be happy

[Kc Fiedler]

I've made it hundreds of miles and hundreds of nights without it. It took me a while to get used to not having it but you'd be surprised how easy it really is to get by without TP. I know a lot of people have chafing problems, compression shorts to fix that seem like a very reasonable idea. Personally I just use running shorts with a built in liner, it's enough support for me. The real mind blower was when I learned that people wipe their ass with their hands. I just had to try it. Do the deed, wipe with a stick, then a little water on the hand, wipe and clean. Wash up with water and Dr. Bronners. It's really quite the experience I must say. I still prefer a good straight stick and maybe a leaf. It's better LNT anyways.

[Sno66nj]

The real mind blower was when I learned that people wipe their ass with their hands. I just had to try it. Do the deed, wipe with a stick, then a little water on the hand, wipe and clean. Wash up with water and Dr. Bronners. It's really quite the experience I must say. I still prefer a good straight stick and maybe a leaf. .

HAHHAHAHAHAHAHA - That just made my evening - Another great way to save weight is to get an enema

[Shonryu]

I consider myself a hardcore SUL backpacker but one thing you will always find in my pack is TP.

Being an UL or SUL backpacker to me means being able to reduce unnecessary weight while still justifying the weight for the things your carrying by serving multi purposes. There are numerous uses for TP out in the wilderness and for the 1-2 once weight I think its restarted to call anyone an amateur who carries it.

[Kc Fiedler]

I consider myself a hardcore SUL backpacker but one thing you will always find in my pack is TP.

Being an UL or SUL backpacker to me means being able to reduce unnecessary weight while still justifying the weight for the things your carrying by serving multi purposes. There are numerous uses for TP out in the wilderness and for the 1-2 once weight I think its restarted to call anyone an amateur who carries it.

SUL hikers, it seems, should be ultra analyzing everything. I know some people are comfortable with different things and I'm not nagging on your for carrying TP. I think you might find it's not so hard to go without it as you might imagine. And as a SUL backpacker the 1-2 oz savings should be pretty significant. Try going without it some time, if you feel like a new challenge (I assume in saying this that you haven't tried going without it before but maybe you have).

[Odd Man Out]

Common Lightweight or "Ultralight" Mistakes

If you're posting an Ultralight forum post I immediately question your competency when:

1. You question the competency of people who do things differently than you.

I recognize that there are exceptions to this this but you gotta have a really good reason for it. Too many times I've seen self proclaimed ultralight hikers make this silly mistake. Even if you can get your weight down and still carry this attitude ... ditch it and you'll be much better off.

Stay comfortable, have fun, and count your friends.

[Kc Fiedler]

Common Lightweight or "Ultralight" Mistakes

If you're posting an Ultralight forum post I immediately question your competency when:

1. You question the competency of people who do things differently than you.

I recognize that there are exceptions to this this but you gotta have a really good reason for it. Too many times I've seen self proclaimed ultralight hikers make this silly mistake. Even if you can get your weight down and still carry this attitude ... ditch it and you'll be much better off.

Stay comfortable, have fun, and count your friends.

I like the message you're sending with this. You're right it's definitely not cool to rag on people because they do things differently. Which is why I went through the effort of stating that there are exceptions to all these things. It seems to me, however, that if you're going to tag your hiking style as "ultralight" or "super ultralight" then you need to meet some baseline of competency. I wrote this post because I've seen a lot of gear lists and youtube videos lately of ultralight nature that just don't seem to be living up to what I'd expect from an ultralight hiker. Competency is a huge part of being an effective backpacker and everyone has things to learn and different gear set ups / systems to try. Odd Man Out, I'm not trying to alienate anyone with this post but when people start tagging things as "ultralight" and "super ultralight" I expect a little higher than average of it. I'm not counting anyone out of my friends for what they carry in their pack, it's on their back not mine. I hope you can see that I am pulling in to question the spectrum of "ultralight" and "super ultralight" and the gear and techniques that fall under that, not the people themselves or their value as a hiker.

[Mr. Bumpy]

Remember the fabled trail name Sock in Hole.
TP is always on the list.

[Tipi Walter]

If you're posting an Ultralight video or forum post I immediately question your competency when:

1. Toilet paper is on your list
2. You're hiking the AT and carrying a water filter
3. You still have underwear in your pack list
4. Deodorant is in your pack list
5. All your gear is from one manufacturer
6. You're carrying a canister or white gas stove (though I recognize both of these stove types have their advantages in certain situations, I concede that)
7. You have toothpaste in your pack (Dr. Bronners works for hand soap, dish soap, and toothpaste)
8. You have a water bladder system (arguably worth their weight when carrying huge quantities of water over long distances I.E. desert southwest, I concede)
9. You're carrying a dedicated pillow
10. You're still using a sleeping bag instead of a quilt

I recognize that there are exceptions to all of these but you gotta have a really good reason for it. Too many times I've seen self proclaimed ultralight hikers make many of these silly mistakes. Even if you can get your weight down and still carry some or all of these things... ditch them and you'll be much better off. If you're going to call yourself ultralight then go the whole measure. No half measures.

Of course there's no black and white and everyone has their own system. Hike your own hike for sure but I just wanted to list a few amateur "ultralight" mistakes I see all too often.

Stay comfortable, have fun, and count those ounces.

Wow, where to start. (And yes, I can reply since this is in the General Forum and not the Ultralighter Forum). Old KC must never get out in 0F or -10F. Try using a quilt in subzero temps and see how much fun you have. There's a reason mummy sleeping bags have a zipper and a draft tube and a neck collar.

Plus, living on iodine or chlorine for 6 months out of the year may not be the best plan (especially if you're backpacking 6 months out of the year for the next 10 years), and often the Steripen doesn't work at 10F. So bring the water filter because many of the shelter sources can be contaminated by clueless humans camping around the shelters for the last 75 years. You'd be surprised how many humans like to take dumps just about anywhere they feel like it. I once saw a big turd with TP right in the headwaters of a spring.

I've made it hundreds of miles and hundreds of nights without it. It took me a while to get used to not having it but you'd be surprised how easy it really is to get by without TP. I know a lot of people have chafing problems, compression shorts to fix that seem like a very reasonable idea. Personally I just use running shorts with a built in liner, it's enough support for me. The real mind blower was when I learned that people wipe their ass with their hands. I just had to try it. Do the deed, wipe with a stick, then a little water on the hand, wipe and clean. Wash up with water and Dr. Bronners. It's really quite the experience I must say. I still prefer a good straight stick and maybe a leaf. It's better LNT anyways.

Like I said, no one would follow this advice at 0F. Hands are fragile and water is cold. Plus, using a stick and leaves just allows your fecal matter to sit around on the ground where I may walk or sit, or place my pack for a reststop. Do you bury the leaves and the stick? I hope so. Underwear is a great idea for backpackers for several reasons, not the least being that "fart accident" you may have whereby you eat a questionable meal of beans or stew and have the inevitable in-tent Oopsy Detonating Fart blowout whereby some turdage escapes into your shorts.

It's MUCH better to have on nylon or silk underwear to take the stank so they can be immediately washed (if it's not 0F) and so you won't have to wash your merino leggings or shorts. It's a buffer. And I always carry two pair on a long trip---one worn and one washed to dry. After about 10 days straight in one pair, putting on the clean pair is like being 22 years old again for about 15 minutes. It's nice, and I'm ready to go another 10 days with the fresh pair.

I consider myself a hardcore SUL backpacker but one thing you will always find in my pack is TP.

Being an UL or SUL backpacker to me means being able to reduce unnecessary weight while still justifying the weight for the things your carrying by serving multi purposes. There are numerous uses for TP out in the wilderness and for the 1-2 once weight I think its restarted to call anyone an amateur who carries it.

I quite carrying regular TP about 25 years ago and have found a much better solution---bounty paper towels as shown below---


Regular toilet paper is unwieldy and wasteful. Instead use one paper towel, folded in half and wet it with water. Wipe, fold again to quarter, wipe again. Two wipes on one towel. The secret is getting the towel moist first. The above shows 40 paper towels in rolls of 10 each, enough for 20 days without resupply. And like Shonryu says, they are multiuse items---snot rags, burnable, cleaning rags, (separate from the butt wipes!) etc. And once used for cathole duty, I use my hiking pole to punch a deep hole into the ground (usually next to a tree about 10-12 inches deep), and stuff the used paper towel down deep into the hole with the tip of my hiking pole.

And finally---Kc Fiedler says there are exceptions to his rules and then says many ULers make "these silly mistakes", or ditch these mistakes and you'll be much better off or go the whole measure and no half measures. "Ultraloaders" like me don't worry about making silly gear mistakes or thinking a very light kit will allow me to be much better off. In fact, I consider sitting here at the computer typing out this crap to be half measures at best, when I should be outside and taking in the whole measure of nature, no matter what I'm carrying. END O' SCREED.

[Storm]

All I can say to Kc "Keep your hands out of my GORP!"

[Kc Fiedler]

Hahaha, Tipi you had some pretty witty comments in there. I like it. You called me out, too. I agree with a lot that you said! Old Kc does get out in those temps, I'll overlook the fact that you're trying to hang my age above my head as if it matters. I should have stated in my original post that I was speaking of AT thru hiking in reasonable conditions (May-October) when most people don't expect to encounter -10 degree weather. I saw just the other day a quilt with a draft tube and neck collar option, integrated with the pad underneath. Forgot where I saw it but it might be a good solution! From what I've read and heard there have been no problems associated with Chlorine Dioxide or Iodine in extended drinking use, but I'm not the end-all-be-all source of information on that. Limiting ones exposure to chemicals seems generally a safe bet though, you're right! I would not be surprised at all about people's misuse of waste disposal along popular trails, believe it or not Old Kc has hiked before and has seen many and more ways that people improperly dispose their feces. Of course I bury the leaves, I am an LNT Trainer and while I don't always follow every principle of LNT to the letter, I certainly dispose of my waste properly I bury my feces and everything it touches in a cat hole well away from any water sources. I talked about wiping your ass with your hands just as an eye opener, not as "advice for zero degree ass-wiping". I simply said it's possible, not that everyone should run around wiping their asses with their bare hands all day. I also, personally, don't have problems with explosive in-tent sharting so that's never crossed my mind but thank you for sharing, point taken. I like your paper towel idea that seems like a pretty efficient way to carry some toilet tissue, I'm sure the towels come in handy for many other uses as well. I respect people's choices in gear and weight, but I do not respect being called "Old Kc" in what appears to be a demeaning manner. I'm sure you didn't mean for it to be that way. Thanks for your insight!

[Kc Fiedler]

I meant March-October but typed May. My mistake.

[Kc Fiedler]

All I can say to Kc "Keep your hands out of my GORP!"

That's how I felt the first time I heard someone suggest hand to butt contact. In the spirit of trying everything once (or most things) I had to see what it's all about. I must say... don't knock it 'till you try it. It's not so bad.

Is that chocolate under my fingernail....?

[Siarl]

Hmmmm. And why should I care if someone in the world thinks I'm not meeting Ultralight versus just a regular ol' long distant hiker? Do you have credentials or Curricula Vitae to support your claims? Honey, I don't care if you've hiked Mt. Olympus with Carl Sagan and wiped your ass with the family corncob. Your post comes off sounding pompous and arrogant. HYOH.

[Dogwood]

Good initial post, Kc Fiedler. You are a prime candidate for the UL goon squad. I hereby nominate you as a pledge candidate to the fraternity? I almost cried at you list. I said, here's a guy who "gets it."

[Hot Flash]

If you're posting an Ultralight video or forum post I immediately question your competency when:

1. Toilet paper is on your list
2. You're hiking the AT and carrying a water filter
3. You still have underwear in your pack list
4. Deodorant is in your pack list
5. All your gear is from one manufacturer
6. You're carrying a canister or white gas stove (though I recognize both of these stove types have their advantages in certain situations, I concede that)
7. You have toothpaste in your pack (Dr. Bronners works for hand soap, dish soap, and toothpaste)
8. You have a water bladder system (arguably worth their weight when carrying huge quantities of water over long distances I.E. desert southwest, I concede)
9. You're carrying a dedicated pillow
10. You're still using a sleeping bag instead of a quilt

I recognize that there are exceptions to all of these but you gotta have a really good reason for it. Too many times I've seen self proclaimed ultralight hikers make many of these silly mistakes. Even if you can get your weight down and still carry some or all of these things... ditch them and you'll be much better off. If you're going to call yourself ultralight then go the whole measure. No half measures.

Of course there's no black and white and everyone has their own system. Hike your own hike for sure but I just wanted to list a few amateur "ultralight" mistakes I see all too often.

Stay comfortable, have fun, and count those ounces.

Female here. Like hell I'm going out without toilet paper or underwear. If you think going commando is a good option for a woman, then you obviously have no experience with women.

[Kc Fiedler]

Hmmmm. And why should I care if someone in the world thinks I'm not meeting Ultralight versus just a regular ol' long distant hiker? Do you have credentials or Curricula Vitae to support your claims? Honey, I don't care if you've hiked Mt. Olympus with Carl Sagan and wiped your ass with the family corncob. Your post comes off sounding pompous and arrogant. HYOH.

Siarl, it matters little and less to me where you fall in the spectrum of hiking preference. I'm certain you don't care what I think of your hiking style which is exactly why I didn't aim this post at critiquing your hiking style. This post is simply pointing out inconsistencies I see between the ultralight philosophy and what I'm seeing in a lot of ultralight posts and videos. By all means HYOH I agree, I have never and will never ask someone to conform to my hiking style. I'm not really sure where you got the impression that I care what type of hiker you are.

[Kc Fiedler]

Female here. Like hell I'm going out without toilet paper or underwear. If you think going commando is a good option for a woman, then you obviously have no experience with women.

I've lead many co-ed backpacking trips, and I've had to interact with a woman or two throughout my tiny little lifespan. I respect anyone's choice of underwear, take what you want I'm not gonna try to stop you. There are, however, females out there who hike with running skirts and while I'm not asking anyone to do this, it would be entirely possible to do so without underwear. Thank you for pointing out that my under garments statement was unfairly discriminatory. When I lead backpacking trips with females in them often times a "pee rag" is used. Just a handkerchief that hangs on the outside of the pack, used for urinary hygiene. One of many possible alternatives to TP if a woman were open to the idea.