Ultralight Backpacking - It's NOT About The Weight!

hey guys it's Darwin and today we're talking about ultralight backpacking and why for me it's not really about the weight I tried I really tried to get out on the trail this morning and film this video for you guys but last night in this morning it started dumping snow again and well [Music] [Music] I like you guys but not that much to deal with that crap why I'm trying to film so I am back here in the office but I did bring the plants back so hopefully that brings a little bit outside inside and helps a little bit so a couple of years ago I made a video called base weight and why it's so important and at the time I was on this journey and my backpacking career trying to get as light as possible why well the same reason a lot of hikers become white weenies because I believed that the lighter I could get my base weight the better I would feel on the trail the less bogged down I would be by the weight and don't get me wrong there's still a lot of truth to that if I keep my base weight low I'm putting less stress on my shoulders on my back on my knees and on my feet and when I'm doing something like a long distance hike and already stressing my body out every single day if I can help that in any way possible by lowering my base weight I'm definitely going to do it but like a lot of hikers I went down that rabbit hole and became obsessed with trying to get the lowest possible base weight I could get and become an ultralight hiker well in 2017 I went out to do a section hike of the Arizona Trail and I decided to experiment a little bit I got my base weight down about seven pounds eight ounces I think it was and when I got out on trail I felt right I felt fast but that night when I got to camp I wish there were things that I had some luxury items that night when I was sleeping I was a little bit uncomfortable because I wasn't on a thick enough pad so when I got back I started reevaluating and trying to figure out this balance I started adding comfort items back I started trimming gear off in other places and when I went out to through hike the PCT in 2018 I kind of had this balanced pack I definitely had a heavier base weight and a lot more comfort items well when I was about halfway into my through hike of the PCT I started realizing that I wish that I had more simplistic gear I wish that I had some of the gear that I had on that section hike of the ZT but some of the comfort items that I had brought with me on my thru-hike of the PCT and that's when it clicked for me I realized that to me ultralight hiking and ultralight gear wasn't about the weight it was about the simplicity of the gear that I was using while I was out on the trail a good example is the pack that I started the PCT with was the Z packs arc blast it's a great pack but every single day I was having to adjust the frame adjust the hip belt and do all these extra steps to something that should be a lot more simplistic than that so when I got to Washington I traded it out for my waymark through 40 it did the exact same thing it carried my weight but it was a much more simple design I didn't have to worry about adjusting anything I could just throw it on and take off hiking and I found in that last 500 miles I was just enjoying the hike more because I had less things to worry about now looking back at some of the forefathers of long-distance hiking like John Muir grandma Gatewood or Earl Shafer they had super simplistic gear they weren't carrying a camp chair or a solar panel or a pack with a sleeping bag compartment heck most of them didn't even have a sleeping bag or even a tent now I know that's sort of a silly example because that was then this is now and we have more technology but it kind of holds true to today they were able to enjoy the trail more by having less now over the years I've gotten a lot of guff because I'm constantly switching out my gear I don't think that I've ever done two hikes with the same pack set up and why what's because I am constantly searching for what I call the trifecta of perfect gear I want it to be light so I'm saving my knees and my shoulders in my back I want it to be durable so it can last a multi-month hike or two and I definitely want it to be simplistic so it's less crap that I have to worry about when I'm out on the trail those are the only three things that matter to me does it matter who makes it doesn't matter how expensive it is or how cheap it is it doesn't matter what other people will think of me when I'm carrying it on the trail now ever since I made that video two years ago I've seen this weird divide the hiking community kind of two sides of the coin you have these ultralight hikers that are so worried about their base weight and so obsessed that they won't even carry a two ounce water filter and most of them get Giardia and then you have the backpackers that almost rebel against the whole ultralight gear ethos because they think it's too expensive or the materials are too light and there's this weird devided thing in the hiking community I'm this type of hiker or on this type of hiker and at the end of the day we're all out there doing the exact same thing it doesn't matter if you have a heavy pack or a light pack super expensive gear or cheap gear that you bought at Walmart is it good to care about bass way absolutely it is again if you can save your knees and your feet while you're out there you're just gonna feel better at the end of the day but going on a trip where you could use an extra base layer because you're going at higher elevations and you don't bring it because you're trying to be an ultralight hiker and trying to make sure your pack looks small that's just stupid it's all about balance you got to get out on the trail you got to experience it for yourself and you've got to go through trial and error you got to see what makes you comfortable what makes you uncomfortable if you like something with bells and whistles on it or if you want something that's simplistic if an off-brand piece of gear is gonna work for you or if you need to spend that extra money on a piece of cottage company gear it really all depends on you and an answer to that question am i an ultralight hiker no actually I've only had an ultralight kit one time and that was on the AZT and to be honest I was sort of uncomfortable usually when I go out on the trail I'm usually right around eleven twelve thirteen pounds because I like to carry extra camera equipment that's my luxury item I choose the gear depending on what hike that I'm gonna be doing and what I think that I'm going to need to enjoy the hike a little bit more and I do that by constantly using different things on the trail and figuring out what works for what situation so you guys have been asking for it for about two years I'm finally gonna bring back my ultralight gear on a budget series and why because of this video because of that conversation an argument that we've been having back and forth so if you're like me and you're not really worried about having the lightest gear and you're more worried about the simplistic part of it I got you covered look for one of those videos coming out within like the next month because I've scoured the Internet and I've looked for a handful of awesome cheap simplistic and lightweight pieces of gear to help lower the base weight alright so hopefully this video wasn't too preachy I just felt like I finally needed to say something I just see this bickering in this argument back and forth whether it's on Instagram or Facebook or reddit or here on YouTube about I'm an ultralight hiker a section hiker it doesn't matter we're all just hikers use what works best for you figure out what you need for what hike you're doing and get out on the trail and enjoy yourself and let's stop labeling ourselves and being this or this and let's all just enjoy the trail together if you found any value in this video go ahead and hit that like button subscribe to my channel if you haven't already and as always guys thanks for watching [Music]

Channel: Darwin onthetrail

Views: 101,453

Rating: 4.9416976 out of 5

Keywords: UL Backpacking, UL Hiking, Ultralight, UL Hiking Gear, PCT, Pacific Crest Trail, PCT Thru Hike, AZT, Arizona Trail, AZT Thru Hike, AT, Appalachian Trail, AT Thru Hike, Backpacking, Hiking, Adventure, Hiker Trash, Long Distance Hiking

Id: abJ51kBnjLc

Length: 8min 50sec (530 seconds)

Published: Thu Dec 26 2019