What ways are you reducing your “Gear” outside of backpacking?

I like the one-gun analogy too.

My bike is like that for me. It might be a steel-frame with wider tires and weigh 26lbs, but I'm so familiar with it after 6,000 miles that I end up controlling my ascents better than a lot of other riders on $5,000 Cervelos. I know what gear I need to be in by instinct now, and so I put both my shifters on "Friction." I just shift based on intuition and sound, rather than clicking into certain numbers. With so much commuting, the bike is an extension of my body. I feel more awkward walking…

Actually, this sounds stupid, but my bike has been disassembled in a box all week because my flight last weekend got cancelled and my train ticket isn't until this weekend. I'm starting to get depressed… Ha!

When you're done being full-time Cycliste Maximillion…

http://www.arestlesstransplant.com/category/van-life/

I am sure we all have had our "one guns".

For me, it was an old North Face "Purple Haze" sleeping bag (with a first generation VersaTech shell!). It didn't have side block baffles so I could send all the down underneath me in the warm months, and shift it all back when it got cold. If it was too cold, I'd just bring an extra bag/quilt along. And with TNF's $25 cleaning/re-lofting program, I'd since sent it back to them twice over the years to have it filled to it's original specs.

The hard part about having a single gun, is knowing when it's time to let it go. I still have that 25 year old bag, and it still does exactly what it's supposed to do. I have lighter bags, but I have the greatest emotional attachment to that one. (sigh…)

And just like any tool, it is important to remember: "If my only tool's a hammer, everything looks like a nail."

Matt

(On a side note, that Versatech shell fabric still seems to work very well after 25 years. Since it is simply a tightly woven fabric and not a laminate or a membrane, it hasn't decayed whatsoever. It also looses very little down through the shell.)

I confess, I have acqquires more backpacking gear over the decades and I love it.

So now I have winter gear and 3 season gear.

And then there's "The Other Gear":

18.5 ft. kevlar sea kayak, PFD, spray skirts, 3 pr. paddles, & other gear

Cannondale bike with the lights, shoes, jacket, shorts, shirts and helmet

7 rifles – four of them with scopes

2 pistols

one shotgun

500 lb. gun safe

assorted hunting clothes

reloading equipment

2 pr. alpine skis

ski boots

4 pr. XC skis of various types & poles and boots for each type of skiing

2 pr. snowshoes

etc., etc.

Plus the car racks needed to cary these toys

"He who wears out the most toys wins."

As long as all that cool assed gear you have can go to eleven!

:)

So I just spent 2 hours scrolling through Van Life. Thanks for the link, Eugene. If anyone else is having as much fun daydreaming as I am, I also found this link:

http://overlandia.mx/

When I was "nomadic" people always told me I'd never find a man, (uh like I needed one?) and my reply was that the man I could love would be "out there" where I was, not in some damn bar or city….and sure enough I found him one day while I was working for the USFS. A helitack fire fighter. He had to follow me for two years before we got mind melded…now that was/is true love. And still is after 32 years….:-) now we bag peaks together and do over landing in remote areas of the west.
Max the gal who loves you will want to be with you, biking, hiking or whatever. Don't settle for less!

"my reply was that the man I could love would be "out there" where I was, not in some damn bar or city….and sure enough I found him one day while I was working for the USFS.

"Max the gal who loves you will want to be with you, biking, hiking or whatever. Don't settle for less!"

Beautifully put and spot on. Advice well worth taking.

I'll keep my eyes open…

<3_<3

"I'll keep my eyes open…"

There's a 50% chance she'll find you first. That's what happened to me. It always helps to have an extra pair of eyes scoping the field. ;0)

Beware. Some gals are in the game only to get their MRS degree.

You want to find the right gal who can support you in the lifestyle to which you have become accustomed.

–B.G.–

This is lovely. If I start getting dating advice on BPL, I'll never need another site for the rest of my life.

To put a long (and mostly hilarious) story short, I've dated a few girls and they were more into me than I was into them by the end, because for some reason, a guy who doesn't abuse trust, doesn't get angry, and doesn't ignore you is the most precious commodity on the planet.

So I've got like ~5 relationships that ended quietly and respectfully and now I'm an expert on the types of women who don't make good girlfriends. The search continues, awkwardly.

I like the people on here who get out with their S.O's. I hope I'm lucky enough to land that gig on a long-term basis. I don't need someone to live in a van with me, but a hiking partner would be something totally special that I've never experienced.

Ultralight Romance is finding someone you'd carry a 2-person shelter for. Hahaha!

Ok, I'm reigning in this thread drift. I don't want to be the subject of the most off-topic gear thread in BPL history. Would love to hear more about minimalist living and long-distance traveling.