Base weight/body weight

Kat,

I'm 5'-2" as well and new to UL. All I can say at this point is that I am a work in progress. Through spending some coin to get a new pack, tent and bag, revising my BP strategy and carrying less JIC or "luxury" items, my total weight is now substantially less with a base weight less than 10 lbs. To go further, I'll have to spend more for custom big three as even the smallest are big for me. I could easily lose 18 inches off the length of my tent and still be comfy, but It would be impractical to attempt hacking up and re-sewing it to do that.

However as a cyclist and triathlete, I know how easily it is to really spend on the latest gear to get my bike lighter, but my philosophy has always been that it's better for me to peel off 5 lbs of body fat than spend $1000 to shave a few ounces off my bike weight. So with that in mind, I don't see me being SUL, except on weekend trips in really hot weather when all I carry is some food and a light cover.

A better way of looking at the level of minimalism is the number of items you carry. If you look at somes one 5lb SUL list and compare it to a 10lb UL list you usually see a lot fewer items and more multiuse items. Yes some items like shelters and packs are lighter and more expensive but most of it is a further reduction in comfort level. So if you look at someones gear list and see that you have the same comfort level and same type of gears just that you haven't spent the money to replace yours then you have achieved the same level of minimalism as the other person. You just haven't spent the money to match the weight.

BUT… none of this really matters accept in your head. People seem to like branding themselves as part of a group so if you are at 10.5 lbs and really you have 8 oz of XL gear penalties it might bother you that some arbitrary definition keeps you out of the club you want to be in.

The reality is no one here cares if you are UL or not. It is purely a psychological barrier.

The biggest weight different between small and large people is food. At 6'3 200lb I need about 4000 calories a day to be full and I still lose weight on hikes. I comapare this with people taking 2500 calories a day and they are saving 10 to 12 ounces a day in food. And once you start looking a bear canisters the penalty is even greater.

But a tall person makes most of that back in the old percent of body weight carried. I know that to lose the amount of speed hiking I need to be carrying twice as much as my wife. So I will gladly take the other penalties for the ease of carrying everything.