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Why your outdoorsy friend suddenly has a gummy bear power bank

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258 points arnon | 1 comments | 21 Sep 25 12:31 UTC | HN request time: 0.206s | source

https://archive.ph/1G2Ut
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exabrial ◴[21 Sep 25 21:05 UTC] No.45326635[source]▶
> Ultralight culture seems a little nuts to the uninitiated.

I prefer "Durable, but as light as possible", not the other way around. Most ultralight gear breaks after a few uses or when it is mishandled in anything-less-than-perfect conditions, which, happens a lot outside.

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s0rce ◴[21 Sep 25 22:01 UTC] No.45327074[source]▶
My ultralight gear has been sufficiently durable for my backpacking and hiking, even off trail. I'm not hunting or repairing trails but stuff lasts a while. The only exception I've found is inflatable pads which get punctured but no more often than bicycle tire inner tubes and they can similarly be patched with some effort.
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wkat4242 ◴[21 Sep 25 22:11 UTC] No.45327140[source]▶
What do you use those pads for I wonder?
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trenchpilgrim ◴[21 Sep 25 22:40 UTC] No.45327313[source]▶
You put them under your sleeping bag and they make your sleep way warmer than if your sleeping bag is directly on the tent floor.

https://www.nemoequipment.com/collections/sleeping-pads

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ashdksnndck ◴[21 Sep 25 23:07 UTC] No.45327481[source]▶
That the purpose of the sleeping pad is characterized as thermal performance and not comfort is proof that I am not capable of the ultralight mindset.
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1. elcapitan ◴[22 Sep 25 07:04 UTC] No.45329989[source]▶
I think a lot of ultralight items are jugdged by measurable properties primarily (which makes the whole subculture very nerd-compatible, I guess). Ofc that doesn't mean you don't care at all for things like comfort.

A solid pad in Ultralight often also doubles in the backpack as a replacement for what would be the frame in traditional backpacks, so it's dual use (or triple, if you consider using it as a sitting mat when taking breaks.

Also, sleeping bags typically compress under your body and lose isolation because of that, so with a pad you can use quilt-style sleeping bags (they wrap around the top and sides but not bottom, which makes them again lighter).