Two is One and One is None - My take on Ultra light hiking/camping

Jimmy in his Natural habitat

"I'd rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it"

"Be Prepared" so that's three quotes/mantra's that I just threw out there, one of which is the motto of the boy scouts, all of these sayings are interconnected and have deeper meanings that one should often think about while going on long distance hikes, camping trips, or missions to places where you cannot instantly obtain something you desperately need. And before I dive into the meat and potatoes of this post I want to introduce you to a friend of mine, many of you have probably met him before, his name is Murphy and he's got this law that we are all subject to and this law states;

"Things will go wrong in any given situation, if you give them a chance" or "whatever can go wrong, will go wrong at the worst possible time"

whether it's something small like forgetting to pack extra socks or something big like a plane breaking down while en route to pick up you and nine other people from a remote location in the arctic(yes this did happen to me while running low on food and fuel), my boy Murphy will slap you with that law when you least expect it. So how does one defend against such litigation taken against you? The answer to that my friends is preparation and contingencies.

"Two is one, and one is none"

This adage has been said for years in military circles, and it applies to many things but the basis of it is; If I have a piece of kit, system, or method that I absolutely rely on to achieve a task or goal then I must have something prepared in case that piece of kit, system, or method is no longer usable. Because if don't have a back up plan to use, which is one, in case the original doesn't work, then I will have nothing to replace that original plan, thus none. So in short have a back up plan for your kit, systems and methods, for instance if I have a water filter to collect and purify water I will also have a pot to be able to boil water in case that filter kicks the bucket.

"I'd rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it"

This saying refers to gear that you can bring that has a low chance of being used but being absolutely necessary when it is used. an extreme example of this is the tourniquet, taking a tourniquet to your local gun club or firing range can bring about some odd stares from people because the chance of someone being shot at this range that they have been shooting at for years is low, but when Murphy drops his gavel and by freak accident someone is shot in the leg and their femoral artery is severed having that piece of kit could save someone's life. A far less extreme example and more for the hiking side of things, for me the piece of gear would be my Snugpak sleeka elite softie(which I will do a review on in a later post). This piece of gear is a down jacket that has a comfort rating of -5C and a low of -10C it packs down to a decent size with it's compression bag but would not often be considered to have in the summer...I bring this piece of kit on every camping or hiking trip all year round. My reasoning behind this is if for whatever reason I am wet and cold I can remove my wet layers and put this on while my clothing is drying and have my core temperature at a safe and comfortable level thus reducing the risk of me getting hypothermia(which occurs more often in the fall and spring than in winter). And yes I have needed this in the summer, on an training exercise one year we had been walking all day in hot and humid conditions with body armor and gear, when the sun went down so did the temperature and our sweat saturated uniforms brought about shivering as we waited for our ruck sacks to catch up to our position and for at least an hour of waiting all I could think about was grabbing my softie and throwing it on as fast as I could. Eventually our kit made it to us and I did just that, but that goes to show if I did not have access to warm kit I would have been more uncomfortable than I needed to be in a situation that is already uncomfortable, though I doubt I would have gone into hypothermia there's no point in taking that chance in becoming an administrative burden on those around me.

My take on Ultra light hiking/camping

As technology improves in the hiking/camping world we begin to see more lightweight and ultralight weight products on the market often weighing ounces or pounds less than their predecessors. But what does it mean to be "ultralight"? the term is referring to the base weight of your gear without food and water, in my research I have seen people's kit at a base weight of 10 lbs or less for ultralight and light weight as low as 20 lbs with the average backpackers gear at around 30 lbs. These are not a hard and fast rules to be considered any of these styles, but as a baseline we will keep these weights in mind. 

I'll start this off by saying I am not bashing anyone who prefers these methods of hiking/camping and as a matter of fact I have a lot of respect for these styles and I often adopt this mindset where ever I can, because as a guy who has carried an 80-90 lb ruck sack filled with mission essential gear I tried anything to reduce weight where I could.

Things to consider

Light and ultralight have their advantages and disadvantages, for instance less weight = less fatigue = greater distance traveled, which is perfect for trying to complete trails in record time while having everything you need to sustain yourself, but is this sustainable for a long period of time? perhaps longer than what you were planning on? how durable is this ultra light tarp/tent that you are relying on for shelter? what happens if the weather changes for the worse, will your ultra light rain jacket hold up to a severe storm while moving to shelter? these can be the disadvantages and are just some basic questions I would look into as far kit and equipment goes, do heavy research on ultra light products to ensure they can hold up to what ever Murphy throws at you, because I have seen guys that I've worked with go out and buy super Gucci gear that cost them an arm and a leg and fail after less than 48 hours in the field. Always be skeptical about gear that claims to be ultralight at a good cost, I find the best place to look at honest gear reviews is YouTube, now in saying that if that product has been sent to someone with money that review might be biased, at a minimum take 4 or 5 reviews and read carefully before purchasing kit, otherwise you could be out some money and no body wants that. So in short, a disadvantage of ultralight can be durability in adverse conditions, know what you're buying before you buy it.

Now to piggyback on that last point of durability, chances are if you are having a base weight of 10 lbs you are bringing very few items and thus fewer contingencies if a piece of kit, a system, or method fails, plan to have contingencies for the most important aspects of survival, water, fire, and shelter. Food can be put off as a general rule of thumb you can survive 3-4 weeks without food(caloric output pending) but only 3 days without water(environment pending) and 3 hours without shelter(environment pending) and fire is essential water purification, cooking, and warmth as a basic skill. Ensure if you are going to do ultralight activities you have a back up plan if your primary plan fails.

Balanced as all things should be

To quote my boy Thanos, balance your kit, I would recommend that if you are going to dive head first into ultralight hiking/camping that you first take a look at tried and true products that have stood the test of time but are possibly a little heavier, then substitute light pieces of gear as time goes on and you've tested them in controlled environments, once you have built confidence in your kit make that switch to full ultralight and enjoy your lighter burden as you rack up Km's on your proper fitting broken in hiking shoes/boots.

In closing, I will be honest and say that I have not personally done ultralight camping or hiking for long periods of time these are just my concerns with it, if I am doing anything less than 10km's I probably won't bring a back pack I will normally have the basics in my pockets, otherwise know as EDC or everyday carry. I hope you found this information helpful! have fun bashing on!

Cheers!

Jimmy