Cheapest UL Gear List Challenge

[Dale Wambaugh]

“Ear piercing?? Hell I had my arm removed so that I have a negative total FSO weight.”

So that’s what they meant about how to get Crazy Pete out of a tree….

Answer: wave to him!

[Jim Colten]

I've been PMed asking me more about the sleeping bag I mentioned a year ago in this post.

I've used it about 15 nights over the past year, in May, June, July, October and April. All that use was in central and northern MN, temperature range 30F-70F.

I still like the bag and I recommend it to families of boy scouts young and old. I'll be taking it to Philmont in two months and several of our scouts and dads will be doing the same. They also have tested it in July, October and April and nobody complained of being cold on a couple 30F mornings. I was wearing light wt long underwear tops and bottoms and a stocking hat those colder nights and I believe that was typical of the others. I don't expect that it'd comfortably take me (a warm sleeper) to 30F without some help.

It is marginally long enough for me (6'0"). I'm too large in the other directions for this bag but it works OK used as a quilt.

The person asking me for more info was asking for an sobo AT walk. I don't think it'll last for that kind of long term daily use but at that price you could go thru a couple of them.

It comes with a compression stuff sack which is a bit of a joke because it is a very tight stuff in that sack and there's no more compression possible. So cut off the compession straps and save some grams. I prefer to use an "expansion sack" that fills th bottom of my Granite Gear Virga pack. I can squish it smaller when I need the pack volume at the start of a trip with all the food and allow it to expand to fill the pack when the food has been eaten.

The weight is pretty much as advertised (2.31lbs)

[James Pitts]

Thanks for this, Jim. I have struggled with a sleeping bag that the guys might use in my troop. Most of the bags the guys have are huge and heavy… cheap poly bags. Totally unfit for backpacking. The parents are… well… basically cheap and it's hard to get them to spend money on their sons. They have Scout Account money they can use to buy gear on their own but it is precious and they need to make good choices.

Hehe, by the way, by comparison my son is pimpin'… 800 fill down bag, Golite pack, alcohol stove (which he built with my help) etc, etc. His base pack weight(at 12) is impressive. I wish I had gotten started that light that early. Oh the things I would have done!

[David Wills]

i know this thread started almost 2 years ago and has pretty much been exhausted, but i was shopping for halloween costume stuff at Dollar Tree and found something that I knew had to be added to this thread, and in the name of this thread bought it. there was something primal about this piece of gear, even more zen like than cuben fiber, at least to a college kid. Drumroll please…

A $1 backpack! Weighs about 6 oz, no pockets, unpadded 1" webbing shoulder straps akin to the worst thought out MYOG backpacks, and made of what looks like 200D polyester of the cheapest quality. The zipper feels like it could bust open at any moment. The volume is about 1000-1300 ci. To me, it reminded me of the days contemplating uses for emergency blankets and bubble wrap, $4 6×8 poly tarps, fleece blankets, my first catfood can stove, and other things that just barely worked.

I think this backpack even requires a new category of backpacking- Super Ultra Cheap. Now heres my SUC gearlist-

$1 backpack 6 oz
$5 poncho vinyl 9 oz (sleeping bag cover when cold or no manmade shelter
$1 emergency blanket 2 oz (groundsheet/ bivy)
$5 2.5 yds of walmart fleece for blanket (duct tape footbox together :) 14oz
$1 50 ft string 2oz
$9 thinlite 1/8" 2oz
$2 cotton taboggan 2oz
$.49 tuna stove .5 oz
$5 scout mess kit pot 3 oz
$1 gatorade 32 oz bottle 1.4 oz
$15 accessory kit (AAA flashlight, bleach,med kit,plastic spoon, survivo 5-1) 7 oz
$.25 not enough toilet paper .5 oz

There you have it, under 50 oz, safe to 50*, not too dangerous at 45*, completely rookie, no sewing, and only $45.74 (shipping, gas, etc not included), and a terrible idea. I feel the need to use this gearlist for a 2 nighter.

[Paul Tree]

The pint-plus Cozy Shack containers make a nice bowl. They don't wither from boiling water (boiling at 6000'). The lid is great too, makes alot less licking because you pour in a little hot water, put on the lid, and shake your way to a mostly clean bowl-cup. If you are the ritzy type that brings soap, think of the suds! Aluminum tablespoon from the kitchen drawer.

[Sam Haraldson]

…I knew had to be added to this thread…

David – I'm of the opinion that a thread of this nature can continue indefinitely whenever someone makes a find – no matter how asinine – such as the one you made. I'm currently working on a thrift store kit to bring out on a weekender sometime just for the fun of it.

[Michael Demchak]

hah David, to be honest, i'd love to see that kit in action, would deffinitly be fun. i think you could turn a hobo into a backpacker with that kit.
mikE!

[Jim Colten]

Now heres my SUC gearlist
he-he … glad to see that we can make fun of ourselves

$2 cotton taboggan 2oz
not quite sure what a "cotton taboggan" is, pls educate me

$5 scout mess kit pot 3 oz
You could beat that cost probably without more weight using a tin can, if you can borrow a sidecut can opener you'll even have a lid

I feel the need to use this gearlist for a 2 nighter.
looking forward to the trip report:-)

[David Wills]

i think most people refer to a toboggan as a snow sled, but I always knew them as hats. i can see how people could conjure an image of a kid sliding down a mountain on cotton cloth.
sadly, we don't have snow sled lingo in georgia :(

[Thomas Knighton]

>sadly, we don't have snow sled lingo in georgia :(

Sure we do! It's called "WTF?", right? ;)

Or maybe that's just southwest Georgia specific :D

Tom

[David Wills]

While cruising dollar tree again, i found a few new SUC (Super Ultra Cheap) things of interest. First, I saw a pair of gloves for $1. Not just any gloves though, they are fleece lined nylon shell gloves. Windproof, warm, and the kicker is they only weigh 2.5 oz for the pair. Of course, they probably wont hold up too well, but i can see them lasting for a few seasons at least. I also found some of those 4oz teriyaki flavored tuna packets, not cans, for $1 each. Also, i found some classy sunglasses for $1. they are lighter than most too because of the cheap materials.

[Ryan Gardner]

Forget REI, I'm shopping at Dollar Tree from now on.

Better yet, I'm going to start a company called "The South Face". It's Super Ultra Cheap and Super Ultra Crap. The thing is, it will be so cheap you can afford to replace it every time it craps out on you. It will also, of course, be extremely light.

[David Wills]

It's spring time, which means SUC is in need of a new find. I have a $1, 5.75 oz hiking pole to offer. It is made from a mop pole from Dollar Tree. It played double duty as a spear for Halloween. 44" Tall, it seems pretty durable for now. the grip is made from blue foam and duct tape. Some people may be confused though and ask "why make a hiking pole in the name of SUC when you can pick up a stick from the woods?". The answer is that you stand a slightly lower chance of throwing this stick in the fire than a wood one, and the perfect stick is very hard to find. Other acceptable answers include weight and the hobo=awesomeness factor.

[Jeremy Cleaveland]

I wonder how PVC would work for hiking poles? add the grips and good tips like with the DIY carbon poles.
With all the tyvek gear and these, you could completely outfit yourself at the local hardware store…

[Ryan Gardner]

Or your neighbor's yard when they remodel.

[Adam Kilpatrick]

David Wills,

ROFL. Some of your posts on this site are hilarious, and just what I needed right now whilst the GIS software I am using continually crashes on me wasting days of work.

But seriously, this thread was awesome, and has really opened my eyes a bit and made me remember how little we really do need to survive, and how we don't need thousands of dollars worth of unobtanium to survive comfortably, relatively safely and more importantly HAVE FUN in the wilderness.

I think I will try my upmost to minimise the expense and materialism of my bushwalking from now on.

In about 3 months it will be mid-winter in the desert in Australia, and I'll try and head out and try camping with nothing but a box of matches one night (it will be sub freezing). I promise I'll post the results.

Drying my eyes,
Adam

[Steve .]

David, thanks for the idea on the SUC trekking pole.

I have some broom handles laying around. Maybe I can rig a Leki type tip and use it with my Gatewood Cape. Can't beat the price that's for sure.

[Richard D.]

I think it would be a great development if ultralighters began 'competing' with each other to see how cheap they can get their lightweight gear and actually take it out into the wilds and prove it works and then brag about it at forums like this:) Not to actually replace the whole high-tech goods, but as a sort of compensatory movement to engage more people in wilderness activities and self-reliance. Maybe this is something we will develop more in Ukraine/Russia due to the lower incomes of most backpackers.

[Steven Evans]

"Other acceptable answers include weight and the hobo=awesomeness factor"

Hilarious!

Honestly though, that kit looks pretty good…for summer backpacking, you'd be good to go!

[Dale Wambaugh]

An old fashioned bicycle handlebar grip might go well with the mop handle.

I've made them from bamboo and glued in the bottom section off a broken aluminum pole giving a carbide tip and the basket mount to boot. About the same weight as a tin pole, but naturally shock absorbing and warmer to the touch. Decorate with line wrappings and/or wood-burned designs.

[Charles Mason]

MYOG version

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