Topic
A lightweight life.
Forum Posting
A Membership is required to post in the forums. Login or become a member to post in the member forums!
Home › Forums › General Forums › General Lightweight Backpacking Discussion › A lightweight life.
- This topic is empty.
-
AuthorPosts
-
Jan 14, 2010 at 10:51 am #1562719
Ummm, in case anyone thinks I was espousing bringing just one pair of pants and then running around in the hostel with undies while waiting for said pants to dry… I did state above 1 pair of pants and 1 pair of shorts (good for both indoor and out). :)
Mine are InSport nylon shorts purchased at Hikelight.com:
Jan 14, 2010 at 4:10 pm #1562839I did notice you had shorts on your list.
On my pure pleasure trips I might have been able to get away with short and one pair of pants. But I have been on a number of trips when I needed a clean pair of pants faster than I could wash and dry. Like muddy pants from helping build something during the day and a then immediately needing to meeting with some mucky-muck for dinner.
My light weight life is not just saving weight, but making things simpler for me. Taking two pairs of pants on each trip removes the need to ask "can I get away with 1 pair?" which means my mind can worry about other things.
–Mark
Jan 14, 2010 at 4:38 pm #1562851Acheiving true simplicity is one of the most difficult things I have ever attempted. Three years ago I was living in 6 houses between Lake Naciamento and Lake Tahoe. Now I live off one dollar per hour. I sold my cars and all my toys. Last month my utility bill was $4.00. In truth with I feel good about what I'm doing but I miss my cars and motorcycles and steam shower and Jacuzzi and… I am still learning but at some point I think I may want a house again and maybe even a car. Only time will tell. Ali
Jan 15, 2010 at 12:40 pm #1563128Jeans: Of course this is something I never bring on a purely backpacking trip. But I have been considering it for this one because I plan on working intermittently and feel a little awkward about applying for work in nylon pants or shorts (not that jeans are great business wear). This relates to that "frontcountry" v "backcountry" clothing dilemma.
Currently I am considering buying pants down there, or getting a pair of zip offs.
My real problem with bringing pants is that I usually don't bring any for backpacking except for rain pants. Plus, it will be summer in South America, and I think that pants have a good chance of sitting in the bottom of my bag. However, I do hear it is colder in the Patagonia than in the Sierras and Cascades which I am used to.
Anyways, personal considerations combined with scrutiny of items is important and can be applied to both lightweight backpacking and a light lifestyle.
How does one get down to a dollar a day? Just curious and envious :)
Jan 15, 2010 at 3:42 pm #1563189BTW, Ali wrote about living on $1/hour not $1/day.
I get 90% of my clothing from thrift stores– 100% recycled in the original form, which is the best kind. I've written about the finds before– there is much abundance to those who will take a little time to look. I look for hiking clothing, so that is what I find and wear daily. I save the high perfomance stuff for the trail. I trade some of my finds for new when I can't get it used.
I'm sitting in a 15,000 square foot warehouse at the moment, filled to the rafters with recycled electronics that WORK. Washington State started an e-cycle program last year and collected 38.5 MILLION pounds of TV's, monitors, and computers. Our level of waste is shameful!
Jan 17, 2010 at 6:18 am #1563588Another great read is: It's All Too Much by Peter Walsh.
His book is about getting organized, simplifying life and not letting the "stuff" own you. I highly recommend the book.couch
-
AuthorPosts
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
Forum Posting
A Membership is required to post in the forums. Login or become a member to post in the member forums!
Our Community Posts are Moderated
Backpacking Light community posts are moderated and here to foster helpful and positive discussions about lightweight backpacking. Please be mindful of our values and boundaries and review our Community Guidelines prior to posting.
Get the Newsletter
Gear Research & Discovery Tools
- Browse our curated Gear Shop
- See the latest Gear Deals and Sales
- Our Recommendations
- Search for Gear on Sale with the Gear Finder
- Used Gear Swap
- Member Gear Reviews and BPL Gear Review Articles
- Browse by Gear Type or Brand.