any one going on record as anti-ultra light??

[DavidNH]

I want to have some fun. This is for the rest of you. Anyone like to go against the grain and go anti ultra light.. carry all the comforts of home in your pack? What was the heaviest your a pack got on your backpack trips? 50+? 60+ ?

personally, I find that while there is a point where the pack gets to heavy to lift never mind carry, I don't mind carring some weight. Plenty of food, relaxed pace (10 mpd or maybe 15 mpd if easier terrain) and I like being in woods for a long time. Plus, why not have some camp comforts?

DavidNH

[Bearpaw]

Personally, I'm just pro-hiking.

Every thing from 110 pound arctic loads in the Marine Corps, 70-pound mountaineering packs when teaching for NOLS, and 20-pound packs for 5 days on AT & BMT sections. I prefer lighter, but I'd rather be out there with a few extra pounds than in front of a computer with a spreadsheet to drop a few more ounces.

[warraghiyagey]

I don't particularly care for labels of sorts but I'm sure I'm on the opposite end of the spectrum of the ultralighters. While my pack will never be the 70 lbs it was when I first left Katahdin I find myself very comfortable between 40-45 lbs. Probably will until the white hairs set in.

[Tinker]

I travel light, but not stupid light. My motto is "better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it." That said, some people go for gourmet meals, apres-hike wear, camp shoes and furniture, etc. Not necessary, but I won't deride someone else for hiking their own hike.
In the winter, I'd rather hike smart than light.

[Almost There]

I try to go light, but don't really worry too much about it. Get ready to freak out, but I have never weighed my entire pack. I know that my pack, sleep bag, and tent come to a total of 9lb1oz. Other than that..I carry what I want and don't worry about the rest.

[Montego]

Most my pack ever wieghed post military was 74* for a week long summer trip back in 1982. Course, had a Golden Retriever with me that ate better than I did LOL. Never again says I.

[Jim Adams]

72 lbs. climbing Springer for the start of my 1990 thru. Got it down to 42 lbs. by Hot Springs...that was with a carton of Marlboros, a pound of dry cat food and a cat.

geek

[grizzlyadam]

summited springer in october of 2000, heading north, with a pack that weighed in around 100 pounds. at woody gap i threw away around 20 pounds of food. at neals gap i mailed home 30-something pounds of "stuff"....

summited katahdin in october of 2003, heading south, with a pack that weighed in at 33 pounds.

i learned a few things in those three years.

[Frosty]

It all depends on what your main goal is, to hike or to camp. If you spend most of your time hiking, and only camp to rest up for more hiking, then carrying extra weight to make the camp easier is counter-productive. That is, since your goal is more to hike than camp, make hiking more enjoyable ... carry less on your back.

If you are out there to camp, and hiking is something you do between campsites, then for you camping is the thing. It is more important to have stuff for your camping experience than the hiking part, so leaving stuff behind to make hiking easier is counter-productive. Make camping more enjoyable ... carry more camping gear.

[River Runner]

I say carry what you feel comfortable with, and I'll carry what I feel comfortable with.

I just don't find I need a lot of 'camp comforts'. A log works just fine as a back support instead of a camp chair. I don't need clean clothes to sit around camp (but do pack clean clothes for sleeping - long johns or shorts & T-shirt depending on season and an extra pair of socks). A beer can pot & esbit stove heat my water just fine. I do tote along some sort of comfortable sleeping arrangement - either a thick pad or my hammock.

But for those who find they want 'extras', as long as they are carrying them, that's cool to me.

[ed bell]

I want to have some fun. This is for the rest of you. Anyone like to go against the grain and go anti ultra light.. carry all the comforts of home in your pack? What was the heaviest your a pack got on your backpack trips? 50+? 60+ ?

personally, I find that while there is a point where the pack gets to heavy to lift never mind carry, I don't mind carring some weight. Plenty of food, relaxed pace (10 mpd or maybe 15 mpd if easier terrain) and I like being in woods for a long time. Plus, why not have some camp comforts?

DavidNH

Have your fun, and I'll have some too. I've never shouldered a load I couldn't carry. Never weighed it, but once it was on my back I carried it. No kitchen sink, though.

[scavenger]

Even when I carry home-made primitive gear (buckskin pack and clothes, wool blanket, bowdrill kit, stone knife, etc) I still don't really carry as much weight as some folks using modern gear. I have no idea how they get their packs so heavy.

[t-bor]

the heaviest was my 50 pound pack plus two cases of pbr and a half gallon of old crow

[Mountain Dew]

I'm only anti-ultralight when those that choose to be are always asking to use something of mine. I.E. butter, maps, info books, magazine, sports section from town newspaper, repair kit, .....

[Lone Wolf]

I'm only anti-ultralight when those that choose to be are always asking to use something of mine. I.E. butter, maps, info books, magazine, sports section from town newspaper, repair kit, .....

or ask you to boil water for them cuz they don't carry a stove

[NICKTHEGREEK]

or ask you to boil water for them cuz they don't carry a stove

Saying no to a request like that is soooooo easy.

[russb]

I am like most who posted here. I carry what I like. I do try to keep weight down but I don't obsess about it. I'd rather eat and sleep well than cut an extra few pounds off my pack weight.

[Summit]

I've carried 66 lbs starting out when carrying 14 days worth of food because I did not want to bother with reprovisioning food on my 180 / 210 (did this several times) mile hikes. Getting a little older now, I do not intend to ever carry 14 days worth of food again, but I guess I would if I had to!

I have been cutting weight significantly with new stuff and to make hiking more enjoyable as age creeps up. But I'm not a scales/ounces person and carry a few things for enjoyment that would not make an ultra-light's "essentials only" list!

[AT-HITMAN2005]

i caught a lot of crap from my hiking companions in 05 because they were unwilling to lighten there load. i'm by no means ultralight, but i try to keep it around 20lbs, they were carrying 35-40. funniest thing to me was they carried alcohol stoves, and drank from platys with inline water filters. i carried a simmerlite and 22oz fuel bottle, drank from nalgenes using a katadyn hiker to filter my water. they would ask me how my fanny pack was feeling today.

[fiddlehead]

"Anti Ultra-lite"?
Well, why don't you really have some fun and pack an old style canvas tent, big old rectangular sleeping bag, wool pants and shirt, coleman lantern, ax, rubber raincoat, 10 or 12 potatoes and a couple cans of Dinty Moore?
with Limmer's on your feet
That'll show the ultra lite boys who's smarter, aye?
Once met a guy carrying a gallon of whole milk. why not?