Infographic / flier to hand out to newbies to help lighten their packs.

The horse people and cattle lobby can outspend backpackpackers by about $1000:1

Dream on . . .

Kevin, if you tell them your pack weighs 7 lbs, I'll believe they are interested! How do you get by with 7lbs?

To the OP…..

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WDgq-K2oYLo&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DWDgq-K2oYLo

One of my favorite movies and quotes. :).

"How do you get by with 7lbs?"

Exactly.

A base weight of 7 pounds would be great, but a packed weight of 7 pounds is hard to imagine.

–B.G.–

oh of course… base weight… food not included :-P

"The horse people and cattle lobby can outspend backpackpackers by about $1000:1

Dream on . . .

+1 :(

"One of my favorite movies and quotes. :)."

:)

If you preach at people, they get irritated. There is no way to come away without insinuating that they are "doing it wrong".

There is no right and no wrong.

The only advantage to hauling a light pack, is you can go farther, faster.

Thats not in everyones plans.

Before I got into UL hiking, the concept of going out and walking several hundred miles at a time, and over a hundred miles between re-supplies never occurred to me. I suspect it has never occurred to many heavy packers either. Thats OK.

Its the long distance thing I like. If Im only taking short trip, might as well bring some luxury.

Its all good.

I'm not one to give out unsolicited advice and some large looking packs can actually be light (filled with down and Cuben fiber). In fact, the opposite may occur zipping down the trail. Passing a formal Sierra Club group, their leader snickered how my low footwear was unsafe – on a wide and tame trail. Didn't stop to argue as beer awaited and, as karma would have it, their bus couldn't make it up to the TH due to a bridge wash out after I had left (proving karma can be a be-yotch, I guess).

Did you ever ready Bill Bryson's hilarious "Walk in the Woods" where he makes fun of the AT gear-minded hikers who spend nights by the fire boasting about the see through pack panels that allow them to see what gear is inside … when the old kind just needs to be opened for this to happen? For this reason – and much of what Nick's fine blog post is centered on, I tend to agree being a gear geek is enough of a cross to bear without making our idiosyncrasies obvious to others.

That said, I have this tiny Zpacks Zero backpack I use for summers in the Sierras. It always seems to me that when I'm skipping back down the mountain with a pack that weighs 2/3rds of what I hauled in, some fine sir or madam on their way up stops to ask what material my pack is made of. This is a fine opportunity to mention how what the pack is made of ultimately helps get my total load down to 6 or 7 or whatever Lbs. it weighs on that particular trip before food and water. If they are curious – and those going up usually are – you can point them in the right direction. I ALWAYS recommend the many infographics that comprise Mike McClelland (SP?) Ultralight Backpacking book. Hopefully I've made a convert or two. if not, who cares. I know that I have loaned/given the book to at least three friends who now are way more happy when we go hiking.

Friends on the other hand – we gate check for things like 12 lb. tents that can be fixed before we head out, but these days we usually have everything on the same page before we even leave the house. As in "that's the only tent you have? You will share Alex's."

I don't see the need to do this, but if anybody is really determined to do this, then here is a suggestion.

In your word processor, type in two or three or four web URL addresses, maybe BPL or similar. Shrink it down to the smallest reasonable font size, and then fill up an entire sheet of paper with a bazillion of those. Cut them up so that they look like the fortune paper slips in a Chinese fortune cookie, and then take those out on the trail with you. They shouldn't weigh much at all, which also carries the message.

Don't just hand them out. If somebody does ask you about pack weight or something, then you can hand them one slip.

RJ can thank me later for this.

–B.G.–

I was thinking of business cards. Less litter when they toss them ten paces down the trail. They should be starch based so they easily biodegrade.

You could have a little stand at a trailhead, like Lucy in Peanuts, and offer services like toothbrush handle shortening, pack strap trimming and pack contents evaluations with free condescending remarks and toilet paper alternatives.

I though of doing the same thing regarding essentials, but you can't fix stupid and I don't a have a December birthday :)

I always wanted to join a cult.

Can we all wear Tilley hats?

If your pack is really that light, just let them pick it up if they'd like. If they're really carrying 65 pounds then that is going to be a hallelujah moment for them.

Then, if they are still interested, just tell them to take a look at Mike Clelland's Ultralight Backpackin' Tips. I have yet to find a more accessible introduction to ultralight backpacking techniques.

"I always wanted to join a cult.

Can we all wear Tilley hats?"

Naw, Petzl e+ headlamps like some sort of priesthood from a lost continent.

And we would need a 1947 International Harvester school bus.

As I think I said somewhere here before, I think our cult talisman should be the 1/2 oz titanium potty trowel, perhaps worn around the neck like a cross.

We could have a touring musical and sing this to the tune of "Hair:"

Sheeeeee asked me why,
Why I'm an ultralight guy
I'm ultralight noon and nitey-nite-nite
I'm ultralight high and low
Don't ask me why, don't know
It's not for lack of of bread
Like the Grateful Dead,
Momma

Give me a pack that's light,
Short torso length or longer
Here baby, there Momma, everywhere Daddy Daddy
Light! Light! Light!