You know there’s an ultralighter in the house when….

Oh this can be a fun thread.

You know there's an ultralighter in the house…

when the kitchen scales get more use than the bathroom scales

when the tags are cut off all your clothes and sleeping bags

Someone else?

This is a slightly different incarnation of the old, "you know you're a gearhead when…" but it's still fun so here goes:

-There's a pile of empty cat food cans under your sink and you don't own a cat.

-you've actually done the math to see if dehydrated water is physically possible.

-you look at your Crocs and figure there's at least 50 or 60 more holes you could cut into them.

-at least once a month, you have to be escorted out of your local supermaket by security after spending hours there measuring each can with a micrometer and inspecting for dents.

etc., etc., etc…..

even one lousy ounce seems bone-crushingly heavy!

…you replace the battery for your digital scale more often than for your backpacking headlamp.

…you see trimmings from freeze dried food packages litter the floor during packing for a trip.

…you only buy lithium batteries for your (regulated) headlamp.

…you agonize between Ti tent stakes and slightly heavier but stronger and better holding MSR Groundhog stakes.

…you make a new Dana-type Wet Rib front pouch from silnylon to save 1.8 oz.

…your "significant other" says, "What are all these clothing labels doing on the floor?".

…when you KNOW it's just a matter of time before someone invents good powdered beer.

These are great so far…

– you forget your pack at the last rest stop because you can’t tell the difference between when it is on your back or when you aren’t carrying anything

– you go skydiving and actually end up needing to wear belt weights in order to fall downward

– you carry a pair of scissors so small that you need to bring the extra weight of a magnifying glass in order to see it

– you consider marketing a freeze-dried gear system that requires adding hot water and waiting three minutes for it to expand

– you count yourself as a multiple-use item replacing hiking poles and tent poles in your silnylon shelter

Wait a minute Doug—no one wears a shirt and tie in Wash. state. Regional costume regulations call for a Columbia Sportswear Plaid Shirt—-unless you're one of them immigrant Californicators…. :-)> Standards must be slipping.

Miguel, "freestanding shelter #3" has caught the epitome of the UL experience.

LOL!

-the entire space of your closet becomes a storage sack for your down.

Miguel:

I LOVE your drawings — esp. the multiuse balloon transport-shelter-cooking system! :)

The REI dividend check is larger than your tax refund.

You choose your beverages by what size and type of can/bottle they come packaged in, with an eye to future stove building.

| You choose your beverages by what size and type of can/bottle they come packaged in, with an eye to future stove building.

I'm sadly guilty of this :D

Alas, so am I.

You can't just buy or make something without considering the 'gravity' of your options. Increasing cost is less relevant to your decision making than decreasing weight.

A Cocoon shipped status causes a euphoric state.

"You choose your beverages by what size and type of can/bottle they come packaged in, with an eye to future stove building."

I can add to this one..

You buy Heinekin or Fosters and foist the beer off on your brother-in-law just so you can have the can to make a cookpot.

Guilty.

Pam

you actually find yourself doing the hold-pack-up-by-a-pinkie picture thing and then make it your avatar