I read this article too and while I don't like their advice (razor blade instead of a knife? c'mon!) you have to take it in context. They're talking about 'ultralight' hiking. Ultralight hiking is a fairly extreme form of hiking that many people don't really understand.

This breed of hiker is also the type who will spend an extra several hundred dollars on a single piece of equipment because it weigh 2 oz. less than what's cheap. They are also known for restitching clothing and gear to make it weigh less. I've seen modified ultralight packs weigh as little as just a few oz. where padding is removed and spare clothing is stuffed into waistbands and shoulder straps to help cut weight.

These people are also hiking on extremely well marked trails and are typically very familiar with the trail in question. Not everybody is ready to take on the 2175 mils of the Appalachian trail but these are the people who do it. I don't recall if it's mentioned but these trails are often well populated, in parks where there are rangers around all the time, and even have shelters and hostels along the way at regular intervals (The Appalachian has over 250 shelters peppered along it's length...doesn't seem to dumb to leave the tent at home considering that fact.

That being said, I don't like the way the article gives the feel that any average Joe can use these techniques to cut weight...I think that they're putting some people at risk by not being more clear about the sport...perhaps they're just assuming their readership are familiar with every aspect of backpacking.

Case you haven't seen this yet. Gear lists submitted by ultralighters. Not all of them are trail hikers.

Yes, some of them go out to do several hundred miles of off trail
with only a razor blade or the scissors pulled from a swiss army
knife for a cutting tool.


http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/user_gear_list_index.html

Maybe the razor blade is a key component so that you can slit your wrists after the agony of brushing your teeth with your finger and rationing yourself three 1-ply squares of TP per day for two weeks.

Don't depend on Backpacker Magazine for ANYTHING!!
They're the ones who started the "shallow-lug sole" myth ("deep-lug boots are destroying our trails by compacting the soil"), they didn't want anyone to know that in order for a trail to last very long the trail MUST be compacted. And this is only one example!

As I recall, there is a very fine line between courage and stupidity!!!!!!!!!

You can learn a lot from the ultralightweighters. They just suffer a little more out in the wilderness than those who are fully prepared (except when having to lug around 50lb of kit).

The following links are audio interviews.

http://backpackinglight.audioblog.com/deluge/7861d1e0-fb3b-0047-a126-8cabf5d425b2.mp3 - 14 Meg Download


http://backpackinglight.audioblog.com/deluge/167d028d-85f3-c98d-73b5-ef1ca08588a0.mp3 - 9.6 Meg Download


http://backpackinglight.audioblog.com/deluge/ebb1866a-7249-b8d3-c479-91f3d1f17981.mp3 - 17 Meg Download

Other podcasts available at http://www.backpackinglight.co.uk/page73.asp

It is at the campsite you doff your wafflestompers to avoid
compacting that area.

I stopped reading BP not long after their new editor recommended not carrying a first aid kit of any type, just borrowing what you need from someone else. I see that things have not improved much...

There is a reason why I consider picking on ultralighters an unfair activity- too many of them make it too easy. It's like hunting in a petting zoo. Of course, most ultralighters hike regularly marked trails in a temperate climates, that have lean-tos provided to them, and half the time, the the AT and PT are within walking distance of a town with ATMs, resturants and motels if the weather gets really bad.

I'm not saying it can't be done- I took the ditch kit out for the weekend. (Including an inch and half of rain on Saturday night- the contractor bag poncho works.) I was a little wet and chilly a few times, but I came out fine. But if I have to cut something from your list to make it lighter, I'm not going to switch to a razor blade and leave my multitool at home, or drink water straight from a beaver pond, bag that. If you want to cut snivel gear, leave the GPS with it's batteries at home, give away your scale, and learn to use a map and compass.

*adds razor blades to survival kit, just in case I run out of TP*