I hear that a lot. While it can cost a pretty penny to get completely outfitted, one of the reasons I offer so much assistance to folks is so they can save money by purchasing the right gear the FIRST time. If I can help a hiker skip some mistakes a beginner might make (like the mistakes I made in 2003), they can start investing money in quality gear from the get go.
But the expensive myth doesn’t really hold true once one looks at the cost of gear. My Mountain Laurel Designs backpack costs $180, which is cheaper than most traditional packs by Gregory or Mountainsmith. The Gossamer Gear tarp I have costs $200; way cheaper than any quality tent on the market! My Nunatak quilt is over $400, but most 20 degree down sleeping bags cost about the same. You can scrimp on your sleeping bag, but saving a couple hundred bucks isn’t going to be very worthwhile when you’re shivering in the cold, and eventually want to replace it with a quality product. The BushBuddy stove I use is over $100, but I never have to buy fuel, so it has payed for itself many times over.
There are many items in my pack that are cheap yet functional. My arm warmers are a pair of snowboarding socks with the toes cut off. An alcohol stove is easily made using aluminum cans. My sleeping pad costs $16 and my water bottle is a recycled sports drink container. When traditional backpackers say my ultralight set-up is expensive, they are failing to remember how much they paid for their own gear. Often twice as much!
How do you have time to do all this hiking? Do you work as a teacher?
Saw you on Oregon Field Guide! Any plans to maybe write a book for those of us who want to share your ultralight dreams? I’m 46 years old and my knees won’t hold up to lugging around 70-plus pounds anymore! I also don’t want to spend a ton of money! I agree with your theory about buying quality the first time rather than experimenting with crap products. I want to get my money’s worth right from the start.
Happy trails!
Finding the time for adventure is easier once you decide that’s what you want out of life. Our society does it’s best to trap us at an early age into debt, but I avoided that like the plague. Never had a credit card, lived beyond my means, or fathered children. Even when I was only making 12K a year working retail jobs, I still socked away enough money to go out for months on trail. There were some creative living situations going on that may raise a few eyebrows though. I squatted in the warehouse I worked at for a few months one year, and 90% of my food came from the dumpsters behind the grocery store, so rent and food bills were not a problem. But I looked at this lifestyle as another branch of my hiking adventures!
Making adventure happen seems to be a matter of priorities. People find time to do things like golf or watch television…I just wasn’t interested in things like that. I knew I wanted to emancipate myself from wage slavery once a year, so I did everything I could to make that dream a reality.
That is very inspiring..
Lint,
Keep on truckin’, man. Am reading dirtmonger’s journal on postholer.com and he has teamed on the trail with you lately. Love what you say about the ultralight. I’m 60, got back into bpacking again 3 years ago and started off buying some stuff i wish i hadn’t. but, o well. i’m now all about the lightest. do bushbuddy, but have the traditional not the ultra. you should also mention how one can find a lot of good gear being sold 2nd hand without much use on it. that’s how i picked up a cool gassamer gear u.l. backpack. few years older than current models, but o so lite and functional. got to be functional in the end, eh?
Love your stuff!
Just watched your segment on Oregon Field Guide. I’ve always loved nature and hiking/backpacking, but now that I’m older and have more chronic pain issues than I care to mention, I have trouble keeping moving without sufficient heat for my upper back, neck and shoulders during the night (and during the day, truth be told) without roasting the rest of me and a supportive surface for sleeping. What I want to know is the answer to two questions:
1) Have you tried any of the camping hammocks, like the Hennessy Ultralight Hammock and what you think of them, if so?
2) Do you have any workable suggestions besides bulky, wasteful Thermacare strips or an electric heating pad for keeping my arthritic back, neck and shoulders sufficiently warm, both during the day (a breeze across my neck and shoulders, even on a very warm day, is enough to start severely painful aching and muscle spasms) and at night, which are what I usually rely on? I’ve got an entire wardrobe of warm vests, scarves and shrugs, but they don’t always cut it (not by a long stretch). I’ve thought of heat reflecting material, but most of that seems to be bulky and/or not meant for reusable clothing.
No, I’m not kidding. I would damned near kill to be able to backpack overnight again, but doing so without a pack train and/or massive amounts of strong painkillers seems nigh unto impossible.
Sorry, it would help if I put in a link to the Hennessy Hammock in question, wouldn’t it!
or http://hennessyhammock.com/catalog/specs/hyperlite_asym_classic/
Just watched the PBS segment. Very cool.
You are inspiring. I have incorporated UL stuff into my hiking style too.
You are very right on how folks “pack thier fears”. Great phrase.
Keep on Keepin On.
I carried a Warbonnet Blackbird on my 2010 AT thru hike and loved it. Very comfortable, and with trees abound, finding a spot was easy every night. Unfortunately, I have no real suggestions for the warmth question other than trying something like Columbia’s Omni-Heat material. I haven’t tried it, but after Googling around a bit, it seems like it might be good.
Finding used gear is a great way to save some money. I’m lucky enough to live in a town with LOTS of used gear, and even find gems in the Goodwill from time to time.
For keeping your back/legs warm in a hammock, the best product available (imo) is an underquilt. Basically a small down quilt that attaches underneath the hammock and connects to the suspension. Two of the best companies out there (again, imo) is Warbonnet and Hammockgear.com.
http://www.warbonnetoutdoors.com/quilts.php
http://www.hammockgear.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=3&zenid=fe28cad753b14bb93d6de40424c51f74