UL REI STYLE – Yes it CAN Be Done

There must be multiple battle fleets out there — because there's also the REI flagship store in Seattle.

I'm pretty sure there's only one Flagship…and it's in Seattle. I've always referred to it as Mecca.

Feathered Friends is right down the street from the REI and you can hit up Second Ascent in Ballard later for any used gear needs.

I went to college in Tacoma and would venture to Seattle to pick up some camping stuff.

I've outfitted myself a good majority through REI and the gear swap on here. I score a Flash 65 for $25 at a garage sale recently and benefited from their liberal return policy with regards to trekking poles.

Not sure how to define "flagship" store, but for many years the only REI store in the world was on Capital Hill in Seattle. I spent many hours waiting on lines for their annual clearance sales, where fantastic bargains were to be had, expecially for returns and rental equipment.

I recall the record for waiting on line was seven days in the late 1970's…the guy stayed in a tent in the parking lot. I think they gave him a minute or so in the store alone before everyone else was allowed in.

So the original REI store was in Seattle, not sure about the current "flagship" store.

"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."

+ 1

@ Roger – as a person who's moderated at every major internet marketing forum I can tell you that you should be a little less "lazy". This thread was designed to be informative and fun. It was derailed and broke out in flames. What's even worse is this is a service I paid for.

@ Ben – I politely ask that if you can't stay on topic that you refrain from further posting in to this thread.

@ Everyone – if the moderators don't want to clean this thread can you please go back in to your posts and edit out anything that doesn't seem to be "on topic".

Let's try to finalize a good "REI newbie gear list"

Thanks everyone

Wikis exist for exactly this type of purpose.

If you really want to make a REI friendly newbie gear list, the wiki would keep it accessible. This thread will eventually be lost.

I'll edited this thread to remove this comment shortly to be in line with your requests. Just saying. wiki wiki wiki wiki wiki.

I don't have a list but I do use several items that REI sales (or could order)
My 2010 kwipment includes;

Marmot atom 40 degree bag (I hate red, but this one is sexy)
Marmot home alone 2 bivy (why do they use ORANGE??)
Golite jam2
Black Diamond trekking poles (they keep me upright)
Therm-a-rest prolite small
Granite Gear pillow/stuff sack (a bit of luxury)
Jetboil (highly modified down to 8 ounces)
Platypus (in many sizes, shapes and tastes)
Delorme pn-40 (and 200 extra AA batteries!)
MSR pack towel (for that clean-clean feeling)
100 valuims
TOILET PAPER!
several other small items that get me through the day.

Integral Designs Sil-shelter (16oz) ($170)
REI Halo 25 bag (31 oz) ($259)
Ridgerest Short (9 oz) ($20)
Golite Pinnacle (33 oz) ($175)

Total weight: 5 lbs 10 oz
Total cost: $624

A solid big 4 that would serve the vast majority of hikers in the vast majority of conditions they would hike in. Not budget, but not luxury UL either. A sub 10 lb base weight is somewhat possible with a basic alcohol stove, light pot, and not excessive clothing.

http://www.rei.com/stores/18 Denver

http://www.rei.com/stores/11 Seattle

Looks to me like now the main store in either city is now listed as The Flagship. The store in Seattle is listed as a Flagship and The Original. But as the song goes" Hell has all the best bands, anyway."

ditto for Portland, OR

For 2 people, you can't do too much better than the REI Quarterdome tent.

Double wall, free standing, a veritable palace even for two very picky hikers.

Little over 3.5 lbs. Can be found for a lot cheaper than cottage gear single wall silnylon tents.

Actually, the "packaged weight" is 4.5 lbs. And the list price is about what I paid for my 2.5 lb. tarptent. But, then, I just like to argue.

Oh, wait…I am.

I'm fairly new to the whole "UL" thing. I haven't read Jardine's books or camped on his website. Common sense tells me lighter is better for knees, feet, backs and mobility in general.

I will say this though: The common perception of "UL Snobbery" is alive and well in this thread. My suggestion is to stop it.

I thought the idea for the thread was awesome. Even the headline is clear, and actually, 100% true. While REI exists for the common everyday bacpacker/outdoorsman, they have done an excellent and very commendable job stocking items – many which have been listed above – for the "Light to UltraLight" crowd.

And to list individual items as "UL" seems to me to be silly. One poster nailed it right on when he stated that "UL" refers to a base pack weight of 10 lbs or less. How you get there is your gig. If you have a base weight of 9 pounds but your sleeping bag is 3 pounds…does that disqualify you from "UL" status?

The last thing I need is some "UL" snob telling me where I can and can't go to be "pure" in my "UltraLightness." Fighting about his stuff seems to me a lot like arguing over if it's better to killa Blood Dwarf while running away, or a One Tusked GigaDonk ElderBeast in "World of Warcraft." (Which I have never played before, btw).

The way I see it, get out and hike. And do it as light as feasibly possible, not just for your sake, but for the land's sake as well. Support your cottage industries like JRB, etc. And when necessary hit up REI, they have good gear as well.

But Ben, stop with the snobbery & negativity. It's a turn off to anyone checking this incredible philosophy of hiking/camping out.

Just my two cents. Had to toss it in. And, glad to be here. Pretty sure this is my first post.

Dug:

Do you even know what "snobbery" means?

Why is it "snobbish" to point out that REI does NOT cater to UL items — even though of course you can find some light weight stuff here and there?

Let me illustrate for you:

If OP had asked about light weight items and if I (or anyone else) were to forcibly direct him away from REI and onto UL cottage gear — then yes, perhaps that would be "snobbish".

But OP stated clearly right from the get go that he was looking for UL gear! Well, by shopping only at REI, he would be severely limiting his UL choices — and that's just not a good thing.

Get it into your head — I've never interpreted regular gear as better or worse than UL gear (and vice versa). Different gear for different hiking tasks.

And if you read some of my posts on this thread, you will notice that I wrote that I shop gear at UL gear shops, REI, Campmor, and Wal Mart too.

Pointing out that OP's limiting his shopping to just one store is crimping his choices is NOT snobbish.

So I suggest next time, you read up more before mouthing off!!

4th post on this thread;"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"
From the first thread I posted on about lighting a jetboil;
"The Jetboil system is both huge and heavy compared to most all other canister stove system! Are people at campsites really in such a rush to get their water boiling? Or do they put up with all this weight and bulk just for the 2 minutes' bragging rights?"

That was when I learned right off what I was getting into. I say things to upset people and I'll tell them that I was wrong. I often am. I might be right now. But this guy is flawless! He just keeps going and going. You don't like jetboils but posted over and over about how bad they are. Where you didn't need to! SeeYa! (I got a date today)

REI does not cater to the UL crowd — so for OP to ask us to LIMIT ourselves to ONLY buying our UL gear from REI is IDIOTIC!

That doesn't mean REI isn't a fantastic store for tons of other gear — just that it shouldn't be the sole source for UL gear.

I stand by what I wrote.

theres quite a bit of snobbery going around …

as long as a person is going as light as they comfortably want … what's the issue

MEC up in canada is no means UL … but i just bought an ID silponcho there …

i doubt ud find any physical retail outlet catering exclusively to the UL crowd … and to bash them for not doing so makes no sense

Come on guys. OF COURSE the OP knew he was limiting his options greatly by only picking UL gear from REI. What was meant as a fun exercise to see what kind of UL gear list you could put together just giving the gear at REI is turned into, "Buying UL gear from REI is IDIOTIC". Seriously, if you didn't want to participate then great go to the next thread. No need to state the obvious by saying REI isn't the best place to get all your UL gear and ruin the intent of the thread. Either just play along or move on to the next thread.

Pack-GG Vapor Trail
Tent-BA Fly Creek
Stove-Snowpeak Giga Power
Sleeping Bag-Sub Kilo
Pad-Neo Air Short

Certainly not the lightest setup out there but certainly will get it done. Atleast others I was able to grasp the concept of this thread and have fun with it rather than feeling the obligation to toot the cottage industries' horn.

Ben sorry if it wrecks your brain to have a little fun with a challenge such as this, I feel for ya if you are that sensitive.

Guys (and NOT just Dug)

How about we keep it friendly? Gear is just gear. We don't want to degenerate into a WB-style flame war site.

Cheers
Roger Caffin
Online Community Monitor
Backpacking Light

Guys (everyone)

How about we keep it friendly? Gear is just gear. We don't want to degenerate into a WB-style flame war site.

Cheers
Roger Caffin
Online Community Monitor
Backpacking Light

I'm very sorry to anyone that actually read through my last post. I just felt I should respond, and after I posted, realized I may have been able to leave him a private message.

I'll post my list in a second, on with the show! :)

"This is reminding me of a Whiteblaze thread."

Can I take it I'm not the only one who thinks more and more BPL threads turn out this way lately? Lot o' hating/fighting going on. Or has it always been this way? I've only been on here a bit over a year now, I think, and it just seems to be getting worse/out of hand. Bummer. And yes, I've been guilty myself (ain't claimin' perfection).

But for a site that's supposed to be all about lightening up, we sure do need to lighten up…….

Here's my list of REI UL options:

Shelter:
Integral Designs Siltarp – 8' x 5': 7 oz.

MSR E-Bivy : 10 oz. If it got buggy or weather called for a little more protection thatthe tarp.

Bag:
Mountain Hardwear Phantom +32: 23 oz.

Sleeping pad:
Therm-a-Rest Z-Lite Sleeping Pad (cut for just torso padding): 10 oz.

Pack:
GoLite Jam Pack (50liters): 31 oz.

Stove:
Homemade can stove is my favorite, but this is from REI, so….
MSR Pocket Rocket: 3 oz.

Fuel:
MSR IsoPro: 4 oz.

Cookware:
Anything about .9L and titanium

Light:
Petzl E-Light: .98 oz. I have this light, it's fantastic. Maybe not the absolute best for night hiking, but if you're just in camp, I love it. Also rated to work in extreme temperatures.

Knife:
Buck Smidgen Knife: 1.5 oz.

Stuff Sacks:
Outdoor Research Mesh Ditty Sacks – Package of 3: 3.2 oz. total for 3.

Water:
Platypus plusBottle 1-Liter Water Bottle with Push/Pull Cap: .8 oz. If I'm really out, I might take two. My personal favorite though is 2L soda bottles. Free, and nearly indestructible, and haven't leaked on me yet. :)

Water Purification:
SteriPEN Adventurer: 3.6 oz. (w/batteries)

Water purification pt. 2:
Bandana. I've used my bandana after purifying water to get any bits & pieces still floating. With a SteriPEN, I like the secondary bandana filter.

Eating Utensil:
REI Ti Ware Folding Spork: .4 oz.

Pack towel:
MSR PackTowl UltraLite Medium Towel: .8 oz.

Approximately 103 oz. total base weight. 6.5 lbs.

For Reading:
My hardbound edition of "War and Peace." 50 lbs.

For fun:
My Wilderness Systems Tarpon 120 kayak: 60 lbs.

Geez Benjamin! It's just a harmless exercise. Relax. Go buy some gear or something. Let's get this thread back on track. If you don't want to play along, quit posting.