UL REI STYLE – Yes it CAN Be Done

Stuff I've bought there myself:

Integral Designs siltarp and eVent bivy
Hennessy Ultralite (they also carry the Hyperlite)
Primus Ti stove
GoLite frameless pack (forget which model)
Ti cookware and flatware
Mont-Bell LW bag
Mountainsmith LW bag
REI Flash 18 pack
The aforementioned NeoAir small
Fenix CR123 flashlight (+ button cell lights)
ClO2 tablets

While there aren't a lot of cutting-edge ULW items, one could readily assemble a perfectly good lightweight kit solely from them. I'll also note certain stores seem to stock UL items not available on line. Seattle main and Berkeley, for example.

Cheers,

Rick

I've actually worked on something similar just to see what could be done.

I was thinking the MSR E-wing for rain gear and a bit of luxury shelter in addition to a WPB bivy. The Patagonia Nano Puff also seems like a solid choice as well.

Edit:
They also carry Nemo bivies and tents.

REI can also order anything from manufacturers they carry from what I understand so some interesting stuff becomes available from ID and Golite. I haven't figured out how to come by a water resistant bivy through them yet though.

Sorry to be such a naysayer… but why should we wreck our brains thinking up ways to bend backwards to order from the likes of REI — when we can get true UL gear direct from cottage gear makers who spend so much risk and time and effort servicing us, the UL crowd?

Lots of people think it is foolish sending money to someone, and then waiting 10 weeks for their pack or tarp.

Some people are comforted by the generous return policy a larger store can offer.

Some people want to see and try on the items before them buy.

I think this list is for people we know, that are not UL, and it would be a way to help them significantly lower their weight in a way they feel comfortable doing.

Cameron:

You are right on all counts. But generally, REI is focused on serving mainstream "traditional" to "light weight" hikers — not UL hikers. Silnylon gear pieces are very few and far between — and cuben fiber articles not al all.

Does REI's "100% satisfaction" guarantee extend to special order items as well? I am not sure.

To me, what's important is proper matching: matching the right gear to the task at hand — and matching the stores that carry the gear you want.

There are things that I shop at REI for — and there are things that I will look elsewhere. Capitalism and choice are good things.

Humor us.

IF there were NO other stores and you had to put your kit together from REI, what would it be?

NM

REI's 100% satisfaction guarantee covers all products purchased by members. Many discussions have taken place by reputable members, and those who test the system for their own benefit. The overwhelming evidence supports that if you buy something at REI, and you do not like it, you can return it.

This is a great idea for a thread. As others have mentioned, not everybody is willing or ready to (a) buy gear from small manufactures or (b) make it themselves. Also, these "major" outdoor stores carry some good products. I have two REI brand synthetic t-shirts that I bought in 1997. They're the only t-shirts I've ever used while backpacking and have been worn and washed literally countless times over the past 13 years with no signs of wear. Stores like REI and EMS are fine places for people to begin backpacking gear.

If everybody who shopped at these stores today switched to cottage gear makers, think how long the waits would be for everything! ;-)

You may want to include the costs of this REI "kit."

(1)Petzl e+LITE Headlamp, $30, 0.98oz (1.60oz with case)
(2)Therm-a-Rest Ridge Rest Sleeping Pad (Short), $20, 9oz
(3)REI Minimalist Bivy (R), $90, 14oz

These are three products that I've bought and use from REI, and I have a sub-8lb base weight. Also, I bought all three on sale and spent much less than these full prices shown above.

You can put together a 3 season SUL-UL kit from most anywhere if you put some thought into it.
Shelter:
plastic ground cloth tarp/ bug netting
pack:
mesh backpack (cost like 10 bucks)
optional poles:
swiss army
pot:
grease pot
stove:
Coleman Xtreme or alcohol can stove
bottles:
take your pick from the water isle
clothes:
every thing you need if you look around.( for summer)
pad:
blue foam
light:
LEDs -take your pick
You will probably have to buy a sleeping bag somewhere else though
ect, ect,…

"Silnylon gear pieces are very few and far between — and cuben fiber articles not al all."

Au contraire:
http://www.rei.com/product/797362

I find myself agreeing with everyone. I fully support REI as a place to purchase gear. I have had only great experiences with REI. That being said I try to purchase from cottage guys every chance I get… MLD Cuben tarp, MLD bivy, MLD prophet pack, nunatak custom ghost, JRB stealth, 2 caldera cones, BPL wools, etc, etc. Now though I make most of what I use.

I really believe each approach has merit (store, cottage, MYOG). I will say that I consider cottage gear knowledge and purchasing to be somewhat an advanced skill just like tarp camping. To effectively spend your money you have to know more about gear manufacturers and what you truly need/want then you do from a source like REI. Can you get the really advanced pieces from REI…the answer is a resounding no. But until you really have elevated your skills I generally suggest researching what REI has to offer.

That being said I put together several gear lists. The first is a transitioning 3 season gear list that has everything needed from Walmart or REI, base weight of 12 lbs with a framed pack, double wall tents, and canister stove.

LytW8 Gear Lists

The next list is an ultra light list that adds a few items from backcountrygear.com (cant get at REI). A few items are no longer made but most of the list is still current. This list is a 6.7 lb base weight without a single cottage item.

The last list is my advanced list. It utilizes cottage gear to create a powerful sub 5 pound base weight. Please read the note of caution at the bottom of this list.

I have experience with most of the items listed on all 3 lists or some close varient so I feel confident these lists will work for someone with skills to match. Also I included the retail cost of each item and added it up at the bottom.

What I will say is someone relatively new to the sport I would be hesitant to put them into all cottage gear right out of the gate. Why…the wait time, the cost, skill required to use, can’t see physically before buying, knowledge of how to customize, and need for a paypal account.

REI is quick, fool proof garauntee, easy to try out, etc. Once someone is ready for cottage gear then by all means I truly believe it is the way to go.

….

Unless of course you take the next plunge and make your own gear.

Jamie

@ Jamie – That's what I'm talking 'bout!

@ Franco – I love cottage manufacturers and suport them when as a consumer with options it is beneficial to me. I'm a firm believer in level playing fields. Living 5 minutes away from an REI (and 15 minutes from the Seattle store) has its advantages. Having said that I think we're all that way to a certain degree. Not everyone here drives a hand built automobile right? (Although I do heart my Ducati).

The point of this thread is to get a resouce together to an almost "sticky" type status. So that if a potential backpacker is looking to get gear they don't get sold on 35lbs of stuff for their weekend trip.

When I talk to people who work at REI or Oregon Mountain Community it's clear that UL is something they have a limited radar about. "I'm not UL" but they are interested in where we are coming from. When I took out a pocket scale I blew a clerks mind. But to his credit he had a big scale at home. A physical REI 20 minutes away is great for last minute or seeing gear. There is room for both .

Alex, Thanks! I could tell you and I were thinking the same way.

Jamie

Sure, it can be done. And I can probably to it at most big box sporting goods stores. But once someone has some additional knowledge, most of this gear will no longer be used. There are just too many more functional options out there.

I am not going to degrade REI. I have spent tons of money there over the years, and I still do. My REI Membership number only has 6 digits. I do buy most of my snow peak canisters there, some clothing and other stuff that I use a lot. BTW, they do carry Tilley hats!! But there is little that I would call UL. Lightweight at best for most items.

Of the original list published, I would only buy the very last one… the tea kettle, and that is not something I would use a lot. Here are some things you can get that most of us might use:

– Snow Peak Gigastove or Lite Max
– Snow Peak Canisters
– Some Titanium cookwear
– Swiss Army Knife Classic
– Photon II
– REI eVent baseball cap
– Marmot Mica Rain Jacket (7 oz)
– Smart Wool products
– Calipene garmets
– Ex Officio Boxer briefs
– Tilley AirFlow Hat
– Wright Socks
– Other clothes if you do your research
– Playpus water sacks
– Aqua Mira or Micro Pur
– Denatured alcohol
– titanium tent stakes
– Maybe a small Thermarest Nano or Prolite
– Maybe a Thermarest closed cell pad
– Esbit tablets
– Esbit stove
– Food (Mtn House, Cliff bars, Power Bars, etc, etc)
– Bear cannister where required
– Dr Bronners soap
– Jungle Juice
– Bandana
– matches or striking fire starter
– micro whistle
– maps in some stores
– compass
– GPS if you really need one
– Topo! software
– Waterproof map paper
– Salomon XA Pro 3D
– Alosak
– Sun glasses
– Fisher space pen
– rite-in-rain paper
– wrist watch

Wow, that is a lot of stuff. But UL Big 3 items? No way.

We need to be informed buyers. We need to do our research to find gear that needs our needs and budget. If someone cannot wait to get what I often consider the best gear available (our beloved cottage makers), then don't blame them for poor planning.

I concur with what most everyone has said concerning REI. Sure they don't have the latest and greatest cutting edge technology but we've probably all been there and bought from them. And I know the merits of buying from cottage manufacturers have been covered elsewhere as well. So there's no use derailing this thread any further rehashing old points.

The topic of this thread if particularly beneficial to new members since they're likely to have credit at REI or be able to return some items they just bought on impulse for better choices. It will also be a nice resource for when one of us inevitably ends up with an REI gift card from a caring relative that figured we'd like it.

I say on with the gear list suggestions!

Prolly not all still available…

Salomon raid revo30
Pro-lite XS
ID sil tarp/shelter
Rei CF poles
Steripen
Platypus bladders
Titanium pan
Golite quilt
Trip tease guy lines
MSR needle stakes
Kinesys sunblock

"Silnylon gear pieces are very few and far between — and cuben fiber articles not al all."

"Au contraire:
http://www.rei.com/product/797362"

Will wonder never cease! Good for REI — although the guy in the green vest will steer you toward them Gregory packs first!

I still think some of you are trying too hard to make REI into what it isn't!! Yeah, I guess it can be a fun exercise (to some) about outfitting a UL hiker solely from REI selection — just like one could sort of kind of outfit a hiker decently solely from Wally World — but at the end, it just a lot of effort trying to squeeze a round peg through a square hole.

What next? A "challenge" to see who can come up with the cheapest gear list solely from Saks? OK, ok, maybe I'm just not in the mood… :)

If I lost everything for one reason or another and had to start over from scratch off of REI gift cards given at Christmas time by friends and family I'd do this:

– Integral Designs Micro Bivy – 18.5
– Golite Jam2 – 31
– Neoair Short – 9
– Mountain Hardwear Phantom +32 – 23
– Patagonia Nano Puff Pullover – 9.5
– Snowpeak 700 ti Mug – 4.25
– Golite Poncho Tarp – 8

Is it the lightest? No, but it's pretty solid in my opinion. Some other options might be:
– Nemo Gogo
– ID Silcoat Cape
– Mountain Hardware Conduit Bivy @ 14 ounces this is appealing but is it as good as an Event bivy?
– Mountain Hardware Scrambler Pack – 19 (16ish without foam pad) and I really like the older version. I'm not sure if the Phantom bag and the Event bivy would fit without taking up to much room though.

UL implies ULTRA-light, and that has a definition in the realm of the lightweight camping nerds. THe base weight (all gear carried excluding consumables) needs to be under 10 pounds.

Alas, the REI list is more correctly in the LIGHT-weight collum (base weight under 20 pounds)

Interesting what is avaialble in the mainstream – and what is not!

peace
Mike C!

****Sorry to be such a naysayer… but why should we wreck our brains thinking up ways to bend backwards to order from the likes of REI — when we can get true UL gear direct from cottage gear makers who spend so much risk and time and effort servicing us, the UL crowd?*****

Because some of us don't want to pay $400 to get something 6 weeks from now.

And another thing…I can't seem to find your gear list full of cottage gear.

…and some of us are trying to see REI for what it IS: a viable option for sourcing much of the UL gear this community so feverishly desires. I get the feeling not too many here want to think of REI this way, but the sampling of gear above leads me to believe it true.

I picked up my ID silwing there, a Photon II, my Vargo Jet-ti, and countless other items typically thought of as "UL." In fact, I think a good argument could be made that, in the past few years, REI has done a fine job at "embracing" the UL movement. As has been noted before by others, this is a small, dare I say finicky (in that we pay great attention to detail) demographic. REI could have taken things quite a different way, one not as supportive of UL, but then we'd never have $42 Granite Gear cuben fiber stuff sacks…well, maybe Bass Pro Shops would've stocked them…

Rich:

Couple of pointers for you:

(1) I have different gear pieces to meet my various hiking needs and wants. Where did you read that I only have "cottage gear"?

(2) I don't blame you for not wanting to "pay $400 to get something 6 weeks from now". But that has NOTHING to do with the fact that REI caters mostly to the mainstream market. Better you look elsewhere.