Korean-made Lightweight Gear

But if the Koreans ever get into making UL backpacking gear I'll bet it will be high quality stuff.

There is some lightweight gear being made in Korea; check out Zerogram at http://www.zerogram.co.kr

However, most lightweight gear made here is less than cutting edge.

Montane in Korea make a very nice Featherlite sleeping bag that weighs 460gm or 16.2 oz, and packs real small. Goose down & Pertex Quantum. Also a rectangular bag for 540gm or 19 oz.

See http://www.odpark.co.kr

Lightweight gear is stifled a bit, as camping in the mountains is illegal here, so stealth is the word. Camping grounds have been mushrooming, but they cater more for glamping (glamour camping), are expensive, and you may well need to book ahead.

Some outdoor shops (of which there is a huge number) are wanting to support backpacking more, though car camping is king.

There are many manufacturers here of camping goods, and they do tend to make quite an extensive range of specialised gear and clothes, in some cases I suspect in small quantities for buyers in the know. I regularly come across some intriguing older pieces in the great Seoul flea market I frequent; but there is little in the way of the cottage industry like in the US.

Of course Locus Gear in Japan is close, and shipping here is cheap…

Apparently Zerogram is coming to the US, and you can buy their stuff via their online store.

http://www.zerogramgear.com/

The Zero 1 tent is especially interesting, at least to me. 630g (I’m assuming before stakes), but man is it tiny. If my math is right, it’s about 23 inches wide and 6ft 8 inches long? Tiny! The price is pretty nice though.

Edit: I found a video of it. The packed size makes me drool.  I’m a couple weeks away from buying a new tent, and this just went to the top of a list.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbKelSb-Too

That looks sweet. I just browsed their Facebook page and there’s a picture of that 1P tent in cuben fiber weighing 15oz. I really like that tent style. Too bad it’s a little too small for me.