Anyone gone UL and switched back?

[Paddlefoot]

My last long-distance hike was 1991 when I thru-hiked the AT. I won't tell you how much my pack weighed!

Kids and Cows have largely kept me off the trails since then, but I'm starting to think about a thru-hike again - probably the PCT.

I am astounded by how the equipment has changed - I think my 42 year old body would do better with a significantly lighter load.

I am willing to make the investment in gear - but I am wondering if anyone here has gone ultralight and then decided to go back to conventional backpacking (and why?).

Thanks!

[Tipi Walter]

You probably won't get many takers on this one as most people who go ultralight end up brainwashed with the new religion and even if they went back to heavy they'd never tell anyone about it. I was ultralight back in the early 1980's with just a tarp and a bivy bag but now I'm UltraLoad. And anyway, who's ultralight with 45lbs of food for a 20 day trip??

[Nutbrown]

I'm a bit on the fence. UL is too expensive (cuben tarps) and I'm not willing to go that far for the money. I have gone as light as possible for me, and I think I have to find my happy place at 23-24 lbs. I don't think I'll ever go back to stupid weight like what I carried at first (canned food and a spare pair of jeans) but my UL quest is wanning.

[yellowsirocco]

You don't come back from UL. You dip your feet in and realize it is crazy. I have tried some UL solutions and didn't like them. I tried a JRB quilt and a SMD Gatewood Cape. Both of those were too extreme for me so I use more conventional gear.

[jakedatc]

It depends how far you go... some people like to test their own limits. once you find that then you can back off slightly and find a happy spot. You can definitely be pretty damn light at the same cost as conventional stuff and not lose any comforts. you don't need cuben, tarps, frameless packs to be lightweight. I do like to read UL and SUL gear lists and trip reports from people testing the limits to get ideas for my own trips.

a lot of it is the mindset and theory that goes with it as much as the actual gear. you don't NEED 3 changes of clothes when 1 will do, you don't NEED a 5lb shelter that is no better than a 2lb one, you don't NEED heavy Nalgene bottles when Smartwater bottles hold the same amount.

[Tipi Walter]

It depends how far you go... some people like to test their own limits.

Wouldn't a better test of a person's limits be humping an 80 lb pack for two weeks?

[jakedatc]

Limits of how light you can go without sacrificing comfort. I already know that i don't enjoy carrying more than 30lb and I've already done 4-5 days with less than 25lb so I see no need to go heavier.

I am glad you like to do long unsupported trips, I have no desire to do that. ever

[daddytwosticks]

I swing both ways wrt ultralight/conventional, depending on lots of factors. Guess I'm not brainwashed.

[skinewmexico]

Wouldn't a better test of a person's limits be humping an 80 lb pack for two weeks?

Personally, I'd rather do that by chasing NFL cheerleaders.

And just so the OP knows...........Tipi does a type of backpacking of which most of us are unfamiliar. He goes on solo, multi-week, unsupported trips, often (usually?) during the worst weather possible. No offense intended, Tipi; every trip you do seems epic. If I was brave enough to try your kind of trips, I'd probably have a lot of the gear you do. But since I don't, I use the lightest tool for the job. It's all about finding out what works for you, where you hike.

Of course, I still think using conventional gear for most hikers is like using a 15 year old laptop. Ha!

[treesloth]

You don't come back from UL. You dip your feet in and realize it is crazy. I have tried some UL solutions and didn't like them. I tried a JRB quilt and a SMD Gatewood Cape. Both of those were too extreme for me so I use more conventional gear.

What kind of quilt did you use from JRB? If you used a 48-inch width hammock quilt on the ground, I'm sure you had a hard time keeping it comfortably wrapped around you. I agree with the Gatewood cape, a bit too extreme for me too. I could imagine having to setup that shelter in a drenching rain...

[garlic08]

Not me. I changed my pack very slowly over three or four seasons, from 30 plus pounds (base weight, no food or water) to under ten. I actually saved money going lighter. When I needed a new tent, I bought a Henry Shires Tarptent for $200 instead of a high quality double-wall job for $300+, like the one I wore out. I sold my Thermarest for $50 and bought a Z-rest for $20. I no longer buy water bottles, just use recycled. When I lost a multitool, I didn't replace it. My frameless pack only cost $80. The sleeping bag was expensive, but now I have an excellent sleeping bag and I kicked myself for waiting so long to buy one. Mostly, I just left the stuff I never used, couldn't eat, or didn't keep my warm or dry at home. Maybe because I changed so slowly, I never experienced any "bounce-back"--I never added anything back to my pack.

Good luck in your quest.

[Franco]

Paddlefoot
If you intend to do winter walks where snowfall is likely to happen and be abundant, listen to Tipi.
On the other end if you are contemplating a walk in the woods , like doing the Appalatian or bits of it in the "3 seasons" just ignore him...

Ultralight takes skill and up to a point less comfort in favour of speed or simply a lighter load, but do keep iun mind that UL is a starting weight of 10 lbs or so.
There is another way and that is what I call "comfortably light" , that is what I do.
My shelters are in the 24-35 oz range (Tarptent) Fully enclosed easy to set up (dry) and take little space in the pack.
My pack usually is an Aarn (the ones with front pockets) but also have a ULA Circuit, about 37 oz, that holds up to 35 lbs with comfort.
The mat is a Neo Air, about 13 oz, again very comfortable for me.
For a sleeping bag I use the Western Mountaineering Summerlite, that works with a base layer down to about 32f but I use it also down to 20f with my puffy pants and top (in winter) the Summerlite is about 19oz.
I don't cook, just boil water, so my Caltera Cone TiTri (titanium wind screen) works well for me.
Light ,efficient (good combo of fuel economy and speed) and works in the wind too. Very stable.

The above is far from beign UL but it is as comfortable for me at camp as any other gear I have used and much more so when I walk (less weight...)
Franco
http://www.tarptent.com/ (I look after Tarptent in Australia)
http://www.ula-equipment.com/
http://www.traildesigns.com/stoves/caldera-ti-tri
http://www.westernmountaineering.com/index.cfm

[SouthMark]

Wouldn't a better test of a person's limits be humping an 80 lb pack for two weeks?

Yea, my orthopedist would love it. I do not hike to prove how much or how little I can carry. I hike to enjoy the trip and humping an 80 lb pack up a mountain is not my idea of fun (I know, I have done it back before I knew better). The heavier my pack the more I like to camp, the lighter my pack the more I like to hike.

[yellowsirocco]

What kind of quilt did you use from JRB? If you used a 48-inch width hammock quilt on the ground, I'm sure you had a hard time keeping it comfortably wrapped around you. I agree with the Gatewood cape, a bit too extreme for me too. I could imagine having to setup that shelter in a drenching rain...

Oh I don't remember it was so long ago. I am smart enough to know not to use a hammock quilt on the ground though.

[Different Socks]

Has anyone here that is UL, ever gone "stupid light". The expression comes from a well known ultra-lighter, Mr Andrew Skurka himself.

[Franco]

Andrew Skurka is a professional adventurer/trail runner not a typical occasional walker nor a typical through hiker either.
There is a lot of middle ground between stupid light and stupid heavy...

[John B]

I'm just a lowly section hiker, but I got rid of some of my ultralight stuff for things that are more comfortable to me. I went back to lightweight boots instead of trail runners; I ditched the alcohol stove for a SnowPeak canninster stove; I carry TWO sleeping pads -- a closed-cell Thermarest and a NeoAir; I carry a COTTON t-shirt to sleep in. Just a few examples.

[Gillum]

Yea, I have dealt with the YoYo effect but I am currently at UL end and feel good about it.

[jakedatc]

Andrew Skurka is a professional adventurer/trail runner not a typical occasional walker nor a typical through hiker either.
There is a lot of middle ground between stupid light and stupid heavy...

which...has nothing to do with what he said/asked.. he said if anyone had DONE it..

[levidoug]

I think Franco hit the nail head. Comfortable light is more where I am also going
from stupid heavy-lol.