[pct-l] Durability of ultralite backpacking equipment

[losthiker at sisqtel.net (Deems)]

> BF,
> I always enjoy your input, humor, and insight. I'm sort of an alcohol
stove
> tinkerer and great promoter, and no longer carry anything a corporation
can
> make. In fact, I trust the reliability of my Pika stove above the
corporate
> stoves, but understand and accept that I can't be a chef with it.
>
> <As for soda can stoves, my homemade alcohol stove has seen several
hundred
> nights of use. Looks like heck, but still works just fine. >
>
> touch?
> http://users.sisqtel.net/losthiker/pikastove/
>
> <IMO, materials are entirely subordinate to construction and design.>
>
> But not subordinate to the intended use. Weight limits, stress limits, and
> abrasion limits dictate durability, reliability, and suitability to the
> intended adventure. Again, UL gear is best suited to those that understand
> all of the above. I'm an old school backpacker from the '70s, and all of
my
> gear from back then is still functional and reliable with still intact
> lifetime guarantees. North Face and Kelty were incredible and reliable 30
> years ago!! Today I am still hiking at 50, but now use the ultralight gear
> to enable myself to satisfy my wilderness adventure addiction at almost
the
> same level as I was doing 30 years ago with 50 lb loads. I have accepted
and
> understand both the limits of the gear on my back, and the back that
carrys
> the gear..
>
> Always understand your gear's limits by testing at home and in the
> wilderness, which I consider the only valid testing laboratory for all
gear.
> I doubt my G4 will be very reliable 32 years from now, like my 1973 Kelty
> Serac, even with its 20 years of use, is today.
>
> In hopes that Blisterfree will be at AldhaW???
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> Silnylon used in shelters and some packs is an incredible
> new
> resource for ultralight gear, but it has great limitations
> and needs
> constant vigilance and care to maintain and extend it's
> life....which will
> be shorter than the vintage Kelty Packs, and North Face
> tents. We also carry
> soda can stoves instead of MSR XGK stoves. There is a cost
> to enlightenment
> on the trail, where lighter pack weight is the greatest
> benefit, and gear
> lifespan is becoming a distant memory.<<
>
> ******
> IMO, materials are entirely subordinate to construction and
> design. Build it well, and the item of equipment should have
> a surprisingly long life, regardless of fabric. I have a
> homemade 9 oz sil-nylon pack with 3000 miles on it, and not
> so much as a blown stitch. This pack has been through hell,
> trail conditions-wise, and even used (while grimacing) in
> desert & canyon bushwhacking situations, but the fabric is
> still in good shape. If anything the ultralight fabrics
> surround the user with an aura of fragility beyond reason,
> and you become aware of every scrape, scratch, and tug from
> the brush, attending to the pack when, in fact, the pack
> often requires no attention. This isn't to suggest that
> ultralight equipment doesn't sometimes fail, and fail
> graphically, only that _usually_ the environment itself is
> not to blame. Few places, I've discovered, categorically
> rule out the use of UL gear, or imply its limited life
> expectancy. (Mesh - as used on backpack pockets, eg, is far
> far less resilient than sil-nylon, though of course
> ultralighters didn't coin the use of it.)
>
> As for soda can stoves, my homemade alcohol stove has seen
> several hundred nights of use. Looks like heck, but still
> works just fine. Maybe the "Whisperlite corporation" could
> use it in their ongoing case study in stove reliability and
> customer satisfaction.
>
>  - blisterfree
>