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



Hi,

What I liked especially about Jardine's way of reasoning was:

- Reason the other way around: not how much do I need to be really
comfortable in camp, but how much can I still take and be comfortable while
hiking
- A few unhappy (wet, thirsty etc) moments, may be a good trade off for a
lot of bouncy happy trail miles (and also: if you get just a teensy bit wet
or thirsty, it won't kill you. i knew that, but his words made me think
about it some more)
- Don't be afraid to think differently about things. For example: instead of
trying to get boots that are more, super, amazingly waterproof, you could
think about getting shoes that dry faster.
- Although my tent feels like the safest place on earth and I loved it for
ages, it can keep me from getting closer to nature. A tarp has actually made
me less 'afraid' and annoyed at bugs. So what if there is a fly under my
tarp. I remember chasing them madly around my tent...

These 'ultralight principles' do not even have that much to do with
ultralight...

Saskia

> From: Ronald Moak <rmoak@fallingwater.com>
> Date: Fri, 13 Jun 2003 12:34:28 -0700
> To: 'Brett' <blisterfree@isp01.net>, pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net
> Subject: RE: [pct-l] new resource for home-made equipment (was: REI past &
> present)
> 
snip

> 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
>