Where do you splurge?

Everywhere compared to UL 5lb. weights. ;-)

My base weight is around 12lbs. I could drop a couple more without the bear canister and a few sacrifices.

But to answer your question. I carry a book for reading at night (and sometimes during the day) and I carry extra food & fuel in case I get injured and need to stay longer. I carry a pillow (Exped) which is something I never did before but the extra comfort at night is worth it. I carry a couple small warmth items that are not strictly needed (neck gaitor, light gloves). I carry a fairly warm sleeping bag (Arroyo) which is warmer than I need in the summer (don't want to pay for another bag). Basically I evaluate everything and it is matter of judging if I like it enough to carry it. It depends on the trip to some extent, how many miles I have planned and weather and conditions.

Am I the only who thought impure thoughts at this title =D

oh, anywho, samsung NX-10 30mm lens always goes, except for when running. I'll be taking it in a plastic bag to machu pichu this fall, though I guess that doesn't count cuz we'll have porters.

Course I'm not even close to sub 5lbs.

My splurges are a nice comfy Thermarest pillow and a Thermarest UL camp chair. I originally dropped down in weight like you to around 6lbs. I realized I could add back a couple of luxury items such as these. An overall compromise to Ultra Light and comfortable Lightweight!

I splurge with a down air mat and pillow. 21.5oz for the pad and 2.5oz for the pillow.

Hard to believe… but the last year or two, I have changed my gear list very little. I believe I've reached the point where my gear list reflects my desired balance between comfort and light weight. I still buy, of course, but mostly to play with new gear before re-selling.

Where I've splurged to achieve the above involve shelter (Big Sky Mirage 2P) and clothing/insulation (ID eVent rain jacket, MB insulation jacket, and MB bag).

Sleeping pad. Gotta have at least 2-1/2" of air. Sometimes a chair.

OK, I'm relatively new to the UL world and am slowly trying to replace my heavy gear with lighter gear, but the one heavy item that I currently own that I'm not yet ready to part with is my Exped synmat. Nothing makes me crankier than waking up with sore shoulders from sleeping on too thin of a mat. Interesting to see that others consider a slightly heavier pad a splurge worth keeping.

Sleeping comfort is extremly important if you don't get good rest it won't matter that your pad only weighs 4 ounces because you wont have any energy if your a back sleeper and can sleep fine on foam go for it I'm glad you can but for side or stomach sleepers like me my pad and pillow weight is nothing when compared to how energized I am after a good night o sleep the extra 10 ounces feels like less weight when you compare it to the horrible night of sleep I get on foam just my 2cents but sleep is extremely important to re energize after a long day

I just purchased some Goosefeet Down Sleeping Socks/Booties with double the down inside for 3.0 oz.

Right now, I am looking at my kit to adjust for getting the most warmth for the weight on my existing clothing and adding small things for comfort, warmth.

Just tired of cold feet while sleeping and 3.0 oz does not bother me.

My base weight is about 10-10.5 lbs with pocket camera.

Like you have discovered, it takes a lot of rethinking and money to rebuy all the gear to get down to a SUL base weight.

Think it is cool that you are going for it, but I am not terribly worried about my base weight anymore…more about comfort and convience of the ease of use of the gear vs. just focusing on the weight alone.

I still try to be rigorous about asking myself, "Do I really need that in my kit?"

But now I am asking myself, "Will this make my life easier/comfortable while I am out there?"

Anyway, good luck to you on your quest….and try not to go nuts over all the choices you have to make with your gear.

-Tony

Definitely my sleepig pad.

And if I'm feeling lazy trailstar instead of poncho tarp.

I don't think SUL is a bad thing, actually it is good. But not for every trip. Every trip has a different goal, time of season, length (time/distance), water availability, etc.; all change. I will continue to do some sub 5 trips, but not as many.

For me most of the SUL stuff works well for most 3 season trips. It is just that on some trips I want a larger pack to handle the extra amount of food and water I need. Winter is another set of needs gear-wise.

The one item I feel I have splurged on in the past year is a neoair. Haven't used it yet… actually it is out on loan to a friend right now. But as I get older, it takes me too many days to get comfortable with a UL pad, so this summer I will try the neo. I also bought a pillow from Bender, seems that I usually don't have any left over clothes to make a pillow. But other than that, I am comfortable with the SUL gear.

I had to add a pillow for the same reason. As I have dropped my base weight to under 10lbs, I didn't have anything left for a pillow but my trail clothes, and those are usually hanging outside drying out after a daily rinse. Pushing things to below freezing doesn't leave anything but an empty pack which is either under my feet or my head.

It all depends on what you consider a splurge. I switched to a NeoAir, which meant, for the first time, my weight went up (I was switching from a closed cell pad). For many, they had already made the switch to some sort of inflatable (for comfort reasons) so switching to the NeoAir was actually a drop in weight. I'm sure I have plenty of things that people consider luxury items. If you use a tarp, then even a tarptent is a splurge.

But the first thing that pops into mind is my camera. I really don't need it, nor does it help me sleep any better. It doesn't weight that much, but with the extra batteries and foam case, it probably weighs about a half pound (I'm not talking about a "real" camera, just a compact). A half pound isn't much, except that I would be hard pressed to think of any other way of easily dropping a half pound. Still, I imagine I will stick with it; it is really nice to show people what a place looks like, and not just try and describe it.

The camera… boy can those suck up time on the trail and get in the way. In the past I rarely brought one, but now I wished I had pictures of some trips!! Even when I bring one I take very few pictures. But more and more I bring one, so my wife and kids will have something to remember me by :)

Sleeping pad. Every time I take one that's not as cushy or warm I regret the decision.

I might add an air pillow into the mix since I don't have enough clothing, but I'm still trying to convince myself the Platy is good enough.

I don't consider it a splurge, really, but I carry a ti mug in addition to my pot so that I can have coffee w/breakfast & a mug o' pleasure in the evening.

Edited for accidental double post

After a long day on the trail, nothing beats 'em for freshening up before pulling on silk-weight sleep wear. Pure bliss!

If there are trees I like to bring along my Nano 7 hammock. Its great for naps.

Great idea on the wipes we take them on backpackin in hunting trips to clean up so we don't get our
Bags dirty but they would help keep my thermals clean too and yea it is pure bliss:)

I splurge on gear that makes a difference in how much I carry.
It could have saved a lot of money by carry less expensive, but heavier gear.
Cuben/spinnaker fabric, 800+ down, titanium,… A little less weight, but a lot more $

+1. Sleep is too important.

+1 on the camera and batteries.

My memory sucks so bad, if I didn't have photos to prove that I was there, I would forget that I would have been there. :)

Techinically, I ditched the camera and batteries, I would be UL, sub 10 lbs.

Oh well, no UL bragging rights for me….just have to settle for being light weight Asian Worker Monkey and Asian Tourist, Photographer. :)

-Tony

+2 on the Goose Feet!

Camera: 23 years ago I left my camera home to save weight during a 9-day trip in the Glacier Peak Wilderness. I have to admit that my pack started out at 50 lbs., and the other folks on the trip thought that was light! I have regretted omitting the camera ever since and now consider it one of my "ten" essentials! By turning off the LCD screen (useless in bright light anyway) and using the viewfinder, I save enough power that I can shoot pictures like crazy for a week on one set of batteries.

Sleeping: With pressure-sensitive hips and shoulders (definitely old age), there's no sleeping on CCF pads or 1.5" Thermarests any more! The only way I could sleep on either would be under general anesthesia! I recently ordered a 3.5" thick insulated (R5) air pad from Bender of Kooka Bay. While this is a bit extravagant financially (although not compared to a NeoAir, which I found both cold and uncomfortable), weight-wise it will be 4 oz. lighter than my current POE insulated air pad, as well as an inch thicker (which will allow me to make it soft and squishy) and a foot longer. I expect to sleep really well this summer!

My pressure-sensitive shoulders mean I have to have a backpack with load lifters and stays to remove all the pressure from my shoulders. My 2005 model SMD Comet works just fine and, with judicious trimming, it weighs 27 oz. Since I can't manage even an 8-lb. day pack without a frame of sorts and a hip belt, there's no way I could use a lighter pack. I just hope I can keep the Comet together, since a replacement with load lifters and the lumbar pad (which works very well for me) would be at least half a pound heavier.

I get cold easily (a function of aging as well as being female), so I take more insulation than most of the folks on this forum. It's also a function of many years' experience–I've had temps in the teens in the high Rockies in summer and in the Cascades in fall, a number of times, and I refuse to spend such nights shivering!

Nor, thanks to a couple of medical conditions, will I go out without TP (actually paper towel sheets, which work a lot better) and wet wipes. An infection of the nether regions is not worth the small amount of weight, and it all gets packed out.

I also take a 5.4 oz. PLB (McMurdo FastFind)–this is a strictly psychological weight saving to keep anxious family and friends off my back.

This all adds up to a base weight of 12 lbs., which for me is just fine. I know where I could cut another 2 lbs., but that would cut my enjoyment–which is why I'm out there in the first place.

Most of my splurges have been for camera gear and shelter, until fall started coming on early and I needed warm clothing. My camera gear adds around 25 pounds to my pack (a little more if I carry a film changing bag, though I'm going to lose a few pounds with a new tripod and a lighter dark cloth)… but since the camera gear will eventually allow me to spend more time backpacking, it's worth the effort. It's hard to sell photographs without it, and once I get myself to a profitable state, my primary job function will be trekking. :)