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#112244 - 11/11/07 09:59 PM Re: hiked 6875 miles w 8 pounds of kit [Re: Doug_Ritter]
bigreddog Offline
Enthusiast

Registered: 07/02/06
Posts: 253
I find the ultralight thing a bit confusing. Dropping lots of the pointless baggage and going light is fine - but the difference between carrying an 8lb pack and a 9lb one seems pretty moot, and there seems to be some sort of martyrdom about going as light as possible. You do expose yourself to some extra risk if there is a problem, but there is ALWAYS a payoff between completeness and convenience (unless you keep your BOB strapped to your back 24/7, and even then, what about an extra few litres of water or MREs? :-))

That said, some of the novel solutions these guys come up with can be pretty interesting.

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#112252 - 11/12/07 12:32 AM Re: hiked 6875 miles w 8 pounds of kit [Re: bigreddog]
BOD Offline
Newbie

Registered: 07/17/07
Posts: 33
Loc: paleotropics
I'm surprised he didn't shorten the handle of the toothbrush like he did with the spoon.

He's still quite indulgent - separate ziplocs for "in use" and "not in use" ??

Clearly overloaded.


Edited by BOD (11/12/07 12:34 AM)
Edit Reason: speling
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#112259 - 11/12/07 02:32 AM Re: hiked 6875 miles w 8 pounds of kit [Re: xavier01]
ironraven Offline
Cranky Geek
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 09/08/05
Posts: 4642
Loc: Vermont
I don't think it is a matter of "right vs wrong" but one of "more right vs less right". As RAS said, if anything went wrong, he didn't have much margin. I personally think his first aid supplies are laughable, especially when he doesn't carry his PLB in all locations.

But I'm going to take a grumble to his weight claims. It looks like he includes the EMPTY weights of his water bladders, and no food. So it was the weight of his equipment, not equipment and supplied. When I say my pack weighs X amount, that is with full water bottles and Y days of food. I also want to know how often he was replenished.

He is also using a LOT of exotic equipment provided by his sponsors. Xavier, if by asking if he is "right", are you asking if he's doing something the rest of us aren't? Sure, he's able to get companies to give him stuff and maybe pay for some of his logistics, in exchange for being able to say he used it (advertising write off). I don't know about anyone else, but I don't have a patron or sponsor for my gear. And having examined some of Go-Lite's stuff, I'm not impressed. It is fine for sticking to the trail, but so is a lot of stuff.

An interesting example of taking a sport to the extreme. But not a guideline for emergency equipment.
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When a man dare not speak without malice for fear of giving insult, that is when truth starts to die. Truth is the truest freedom.

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#112269 - 11/12/07 03:12 AM Re: hiked 6875 miles w 8 pounds of kit [Re: xavier01]
OldBaldGuy Offline
Geezer

Registered: 09/30/01
Posts: 5695
Loc: Former AFB in CA, recouping fr...
Not bad, but if you read Worldwalk , by Steven Newman, he pretty much walked around the world carrying basically nothing (after the first few miles, in which he pooped out, and decided to ditch most of his backpacking and "survival" gear). Instead, he mooched off of the locals most of the way...
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#112298 - 11/12/07 02:17 PM Re: hiked 6875 miles w 8 pounds of kit [Re: OldBaldGuy]
el_diabl0 Offline
Enthusiast

Registered: 12/31/06
Posts: 301
Loc: NE Ohio
Look at Forrest Gump, he didn't carry a thing. And he ran the entire way. smile
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#112300 - 11/12/07 02:34 PM Re: hiked 6875 miles w 8 pounds of kit [Re: el_diabl0]
Tjin Offline
Pooh-Bah

Registered: 04/08/02
Posts: 1821
I don't know these people, nor do i know there experians level. But being focused on one thing, either equipment or weight, doesn't make something right or wrong. The keywords are experians and knowlegde. You can have all the equipment you want, but without the proper skills, you may not survive. If you have enough experians and skills, you can easily get by, with less. just look at those survival instructors or people at advanced survival training/courses. And the beautiy of experians and skills, is that it doesn't weight anything.
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#112301 - 11/12/07 02:37 PM Re: hiked 6875 miles w 8 pounds of kit [Re: OldBaldGuy]
Frank2135 Offline
Enthusiast

Registered: 04/26/07
Posts: 266
Loc: Ohio, USA
I think the purpose of your journey partly determines the gear you need to carry. I see walking 6000 miles for the sake of walking 6000 miles as something of a sporting event. You train for it and you gear up appropriately. I'm not sure the same gear would work as well for the overnight camping/fishing trip with my grandson, you know?
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#112317 - 11/12/07 09:36 PM Re: hiked 6875 miles w 8 pounds of kit [Re: ironraven]
clearwater Offline
Old Hand

Registered: 03/19/05
Posts: 1185
Loc: Channeled Scablands
He buys gear if it is a better item than what his sponsors provide.
Or he modifies it.
And he does start with a much heavier pack when including the food and
water. Most folks doing this sort of utlralight trip for long
mileage in new territory have around 45 lbs with food.
They also talk about what stuff weighs in the pack, in their pockets and the total "skin out weight".

11 more oz can be another half day of food ie. 15 more miles
without resupply. In 6000 miles this could save you 20 days
of resupplies, not counting extra miles hiked out to the resupply.

That's 20 days less exposed to the elements, away from family,
faster than the competition etc. Not saying everyone should do it,
but why people consider leaving behind some elements of preparedness for greater speed on the trip.

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#112428 - 11/14/07 01:04 AM Re: hiked 6875 miles w 8 pounds of kit [Re: el_diabl0]
OldBaldGuy Offline
Geezer

Registered: 09/30/01
Posts: 5695
Loc: Former AFB in CA, recouping fr...
He for sure didn't carry a razor...
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#112441 - 11/14/07 02:21 AM Re: hiked 6875 miles w 8 pounds of kit [Re: clearwater]
ironraven Offline
Cranky Geek
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 09/08/05
Posts: 4642
Loc: Vermont
I'm familiar with the term "skin out weight"- and it bloody well should include your consumables. Anything else is a falsehood, like calculating the take off weight of an aircraft without including the fuel. The only reason you'd lie about such a thing was to have higher brownie points with fanboys.

11 ounces of PLB can also be a SAR callout 72 to 120 hours earlier. 16 ounces of FAK can be the difference of being alive or buzzard poop in 12 hours. So don't bother peddling that schpell about 20 days to me- I've been hearing that silliness since about the time that algae tablets were the fad food of the day. Didn't buy it then, don't buy it now. I consider it stupidity on par with some of the stuff that BOSS teaches.


Edited by ironraven (11/14/07 02:22 AM)
Edit Reason: sorry, tounge slipped
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When a man dare not speak without malice for fear of giving insult, that is when truth starts to die. Truth is the truest freedom.

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