[pct-l] new resource for home-made equipment (was: REI past &present)

[rmoak at fallingwater.com (Ronald Moak)]

>> Capitalism flourishes and that's great. I take no issue with the core
principle of the system. But I do think there are a lot of good examples of
"bad" capitalism out there. <<

First on capitalism. When it comes to the outdoor industry, what kinds of
"Bad Capitalism" are you referring to. While visions of Enron and WorldCom
dance in most peoples heads when "Bad Capitalism" is mentioned theses days,
I don't see how it relates to outdoor related business. Just because I'm a
tiny Nat in comparison to say an Elephant size REI, doesn't make me anymore
virtuous. 

My problem with "Ultralight Principles" as preached by Ray and others, is
that the message that's frequently delivered, misses the point and often
doesn't provide a sound basis for evaluating equipment choices. Primarily
because the emphasis is almost solely based on weight and constrained to a
fairly narrow usage. 

The prevailing assumption is the lighter the load, the more enjoyable the
trip. It's as if there is a 1 to 1 relationship between pack weight and hike
enjoyment. Simply put, when Ray was developing his principles, his primary
goal was to make his trip more pleasurable. He analyzed what he liked to do
(ie walk long days), then he adapted both his gear and hiking style to
accommodate his goal. The result was to make his hike more pleasurable.

So the real goal for Ray or anyone else for that matter is to make your hike
more pleasurable. The relationship between gear weight and pleasure depends
to a large part upon your definition of pleasure. 

Now granted for virtually any outdoor activity, reducing weight can
generally have a positive impact on the pleasure derived from the
experience. However, the primary emphasis in ultralight is on weight and not
pleasure. Which is due, as I mentioned before, to the assumption that the
two are directly tied together.  

So if we really want to train people to comfortably shed pounds off their
pack, the first thing they need to decide is what they want to do in the
backcountry. Only then can they really start looking at how their gear
selection effects, either positively or negatively, their backcountry
experience.

I believe in the light or ultralight experience, however it needs to be
applicable to a wide range of interest and circumstances. Only then will it
stand a chance of taking hold and having a lasting effect. 

Consider that only a tiny fraction of backpackers to long hikes in a
lifetime. Of them, only small subset would be considered ultralight. That
doesn't mean the rest of the backpacking community can't take advantage of
ultralight techniques, however they must be applicable in a wider context.  

- Fallingwater