if you could start over again- SUL with abundant resources…

Hmm

Big 4 probably a Nanutuk quilt, neoair short, Zpacks pack, Cuben tarp, Cuben bottom M55 bivy sack like the one someone made here, IE about 3 oz, cuben dry bag.

As much DIY as you can. Millionaires don't spend money…that's how they stay millionaires :)

_

I threw intelligent budgeting out the window this year, and got exactly what I wanted for gear. You can thank me later, Visa.
I am deliberately not listing the price, since it hurts to think about it. That said, I'm really happy with all the gear listed, and I'm using it 3 nights a week.

Here's what I'd recommend for SUL:

Quilt: katabatic palisade or chisos 14.5 – 17.5 oz

Tarp: Zpacks Hexamid single or twin 6 oz ( Sleeps 2 and eliminates need for bivy)

Pack: MLD Burn 11oz

Pad: POE Elite AC 10-14 oz

Puffy: WM Hooded Flash

Cooking: Trail Designs Sidewinder with Evernew 1.3 Pot–6oz (you can go lighter for sure, but I like being able to cook for two)

Rain: North Face Triumph Anarak — 5.5 oz (I'd get a Montane Spektr at 7 oz if I were somewhere where it rained a lot)

Wind Pants– Montbell Dynamo 3oz (used for warmth, wind protection, and for sleep. I hike fast in shorts in the rain.)

Groundsheet: MLD Goodnight EVA Foam Pad (groundsheet/extra insulation/virtual pack frame) 3.2 oz

Shirt (worn): I/O bio contact glory (hooded and with thumbloops to replace hat and gloves) If it gets soaking wet, I wear the WM next to skin to bed)

I'm aiming for relative comfort and versatility with this list for 1 and 2 person trips, and depending on what else I bring it may or may not leave me under 5lbs, but I don't care.

If I were going really minimal, I'd replace the elite AC with a GG Torsolight, I'd get a zpacks zero, smaller cookset, etc.

What would be fun is to ask the opposite question: if you only had a limited amount of money (arbitrary, let's say $500), what pack, sleeping bag, pad, tent (or tarp), etc would you get? Just the main components, don't worry about food, fuel, etc.

One fellow posted his entire equipment list here that had been purchased from WalMart for a song. It was not the very best equipment, but it would do the job.

Unfortunately, the BPL search engine isn't very good, so it may be tough to find that posting.

–B.G.–

Bob is referring to this article I believe. The great majority is NOT SUL though there are a few items that could be suitable for a SUL kit.

Here is a cheap way to go that is light.

Campmor 5×9 poncho tarp – 9oz
6 titanium stakes and kelty trip tease – 3oz
MYOG M90 Climashield quilt – 45dF – 14 oz or 25dF – 22 oz
MYOG 1.25 Tyvek bivy – 8 oz
GG pad – 4 oz
Used small prolite 3 – 11oz
Golite ION – 9oz
Garbage bag dry bag or one of the Chinese jobs.
Got several for $15.

Anything made with:

cuben, tarp/shelter, backpack, groundcloth, …

titanium, cook pot, windscreen, spoon, stove, …

carbon fiber, trekking poles, pack stays, tent poles, …

light/thin merino wool clothing.

rain and wind shells made of the new high tech breathable materials.

ultra light fishing gear.

I'm not sure UL/SUL is a millionaire's game, not matter how you play it. I mean, will the most cuben and carbon fiber intensive kit, all custom made, ever come close to the cost of a high-end alpine ski package or a road bike (or camera gear)? Not to mention what people spend on motorcycles, powerboats, ATVs and other "outdoor" toys.

Under $500 seems pretty easy. I just made a SUL target list yesterday, mostly with stuff I already have. Would need to MYOG a pack and get some DriDucks to complete it and try it out–project for next season, I think. I get these numbers (clothes worn and little stuff not included):

MYOG tarp + groundsheet + stakes….$50
GoLite 1+ season quilt (40% off sale).$120
CCF pad, cutdown …………………………$10
MYOG pack (estimate)…………………….$50
Montbell Down Inner…………………….$155
DriDucks jacket……………………………..$20
Stove, water bottle…………………………..$0
Heinie pot………………………………………$0
Misc other…………………………………….$10

Total is $415, in round numbers. Could easily be lower, I'm sure (more MYOG, getting Montbell piece on sale, etc)

That would not be sufficient for the Canadian Rockies.

-Temps that drop to freezing at night at 6000 ft in August.
-mosquitos and black flies that could carry away small deer.
-bushwaking that can take place would shred the jacket.
-fire ban.

I have always thought that talking about UL or SUL needs to be done in the context of where and when.

Gerald,

Imagining how a millionaire could do SUL backpacking has been a delightful exercise! I've enjoyed reading some of the approaches already posted and decided to go off in a different direction. There's one indefensible — oops!, I meant to write "indispensable" — piece of SUL gear that I haven't seen much discussion of on these forums: the indigenous porter.

The true millionaire SUL-style that is practiced every season on Everest and elsewhere is to employ a member of the Sherpa ethnicity (yes, Sherpa is not a job title) or other high-altitude indigenous people to carry and set-up all your equipment for you, fix ropes and other protection, and to sometimes drag you up the summit as you valiantly conquer the mountain, no, mother nature herself. Looking to this historical and contemporary precedent and given the woeful economic realities of the working class while the wealthy continue to benefit handsomely, this much venerated style of mountaineering could easily be adapted to long distance walking. And from just a few dollars a week depending on the locale!

Even 50KG is SUL if it's being carried by an indigenous child!:

The savings in hiring this child as compared to going full-Cuben would be enormous. And remember folks, that's how millionaires got to be and remain millionaires. A careful eye towards opportunity cost and a blind eye towards every cost externality.

How many times have you lamented the lack of a diving board in the backcountry? In true millionaire SUL-style, lament no more!:

With the addition of the porter to your SUL kit, no comfort sacrificed would be your own. The possibilities are endless!

Yes deGuerre, my wife agrees, that is how to get her to backpack:-)

I should have clarified. Clearly an exercise where you buy *any* product, regardless of weight or quality, while spending as little money as possible is extremely easy. It's also very easy to buy the nicest products with an unlimited budget.

What I was suggesting was an exercise where a person had to assemble a functional, light (maybe ultralight) pack that could be used for a few nights backpacking, while keeping it under a certain price and weight.

I am new to BPL so I am not the right person to come up with these arbitrary numbers but as starers, how about $300 max and 15 lbs as limits? And it has to sustain only yourself for a trip lasting 3 nights. Is that reasonable?

"I should have clarified."

Well, no, you should have started your own thread.

+1 What Doug said!

First off, I joined BPL to go light, not superultraextramostest light. So that my 63yr old legs and oft-torn ligaments could continue ever upward, I have almost completely re-equipped over the last year, cutting my previous base weight of 30 years in more than half. Not cheap, but any amount of money was worth it to regain some of my very favorite places in the alpine zone. I like heading up and getting high rather than long distance. Lady friends sometimes join me, so I have a real tent for 2 that can be used solo. Also, New England is buggy and damp, and I find a double wall tent to increase comfort. Much though not all of my gear tends to be optimized for 3-5 day winter hikes in the alpine zone of the NH's Whites. I still use my ancient Svea 123 in the winter for cooking when temps are below 10F, which is most of the winter, but will probably switch to invertable canister stove this coming winter.

Montbell #5 & #1 bags
Go-lite Quest(extra room when carrying all common stuff for two)
BA Flycreek 2
MB Thermawrap jacket and Exl vest
Patagucci R10 rainjacket(on sale!)
TNF Verto wind jacket
MSR Pocketrocket with 3oz canister
Snowpeak pot
Evernew bowl
Thermarest neoair
Feathered Friends Hyperion down puffy
WM Flash down pants
Smartwool tops and bottoms and socks in various weights
Cabela's gore-tex light pants
Montbell dynamo wind pants

David,

Welcome to BPL! It’s a bit of a drag to be new here as the integrated search function is so crappy and the lack of the ubiquitous “sticky” threads so common on other forums.

First off, while you pose an interesting question that is a concern of many, this thread’s topic is millionaire SUL. Perhaps you could make a different top-level thread to address your question?

You should check out Jamie Shortt’s LytW8.com. He has many fantastic gear lists and trip reports there. One list is tailored to low-budget lightweight backpacking and uses gear that you may have laying around already or that can be purchased from any big box store (such as Wal-Mart) or big outdoors retailer (such as REI).

One of the best and most rewarding ways to go about saving money while going UL or SUL is to make your own gear (MYOG). With some planning, careful shopping around for materials (read: eschewing hype and branding) and sometimes going straight to the source such as with down, and minimal sewing skills (lean on the wife/girlfriend/mother in your life!) you can outfit yourself quiet inexpensively and lightly.

Check out the MYOG forum for other member projects for ideas and guidance, but don’t limit yourself to that forum alone. Hammockforums.net has a much larger MYOG/DIY forum although it is somewhat skewed away from lightweight and towards hammocking. There are others. Just Google around or visit a forum when you see it mentioned in a thread here.

@Pilate,

Thank you for the welcome and your advice. I really should have not steered the topic off on a tangent and instead should have started a new discussion. I apologize to you, Doug, Peter and whoever else I offended.

Gosh David, no apology necessary and you certainly didn't offend me! I just happen to be a fairly direct person, Pilates is a nice person….

I've already got the gear of a SUL Millionaire. But I'm not really an SUL'er, more like a UL'er

(2) McHale packs
(1) ZB1 pack (Fogarty special)
(2) Nunatak quilts
(1) Katabatic Gear quilt
(2) MLD Tarps
(1) Katabatic Gear Bristlecone bivy
(1) reg Neo-Air
(1) Jetboil Sol (Alum.)

Here's my millionaire SUL list. Note that the emphasis is on SUL as requested.

BIG FOUR:
Pack: Cuben Zpacks Zero with whatever options you like. Keep it sub 5oz
Sleeping Quilt: Katabatic Chisos (summer) or a warmer model for spring/fall.
Sleeping Pad: NeoAir XTherm Short (~10oz), at R 5.7oz, this is ready for any season.
Shelter: HMG Echo I. Ditch the inner for a SUL shelter or add it back when the bugs are bad.

COOKING:
– 800-900ml Titanium Pot
– Titanium Spoon
– Trail Designs ULC Ti Caldera Cone

INSULATION:
– Montbell Ex-Light Vest (summer) or WM Flash Jacket (spring/fall)
– GooseFeet down pants (extreme spring/fall)

Since I already own most of these items (7 out of 9) does that make me a millionaire?

Dreaming of the gear I would buy if I had unlimited funds is a frequent occurrence for me :) If I had my choice, I think would get:

Pack: Cuben ZPacks Blast

Quilt: Something with 900 fp down custom made to fit me that could keep me warm down to freezing but weigh under 16 oz. I think Javan recently posted a quilt like this that was maybe 12 or 13 oz if remember correctly.

Shelter: I would get a ZPacks Hexamid solo tarp with a hexanet for when the bugs might be out. Just because I could, I would also probably get a cuben MLD Solomid or Cricket tent and a poncho tarp.

Insulation: I would also have an array of puffy insulation from down and synthetic vests and jackets/parkas based on the conditions I expected (including what Dan mentioned).

I agree you don't have to be uber wealthy to get into SUL (on the other hand dirt poor isn't going to help either :))

quilt katabatic chisos- an honest 40 degree rating @ 14 oz
w/ your new shiny WM Flash your good to freezing :)

shelter- MLD cuben solo trailstar & superlight bivy w/ cuben bottom (bivy adds even more warmth to the system)

pack- zpacks blast