A different approach, and why others don’t do this?

[Aaron Sorensen]

After 10 years of backpacking, fastpacking and doing some serious milage in the sierra's, I've seemed to take a different approach to gear than what I've seen by anyone else.

I am just wondering if I am just a SUL geek or is there something else?
I have taken an approach of figure out what I "only need".
Here are some examples.

I sleep cold. For sleeping I always figure what I need to stay warm before I go to sleep and a quilt that is warm enough when used with the gear that also keeps me warm prior to the sleep.
The only difference is I try to find each as a single piece of gear.
So if it is going to possibly be wet, my only jacket will be a synthetic one.
If I know it wont be wet, it will be a down jacket.

The difference is that jacket is the do-all jacket.
I may carry my 2.2 ounce wind jacket, but in we conditions, the synthetic jacket (which keeps its warmth when wet) is the only jacket I bring. Same with the dry and the down jacket.

I have been pored on, hailed on, and froze in the back country and the single do it all layer has never gone wrong.

I just don't understand how almost all of the peoples lists seem to have 4 jackets???

One other thing is a 4-6 ounce tarp in the dry is really all you need.
Add a 4-6 ounce bivy for the rain and you're all set.
So why is a 2-4 pound tent really necessary?

Okay, I guess I'm just an Ultralite Geek.
But if anyone has anything else to add to this, I would love to hear some more input.
This can also work for almost every system (coking, clothing, ect)…

[David Thomas]

Gun nuts say, "Beware the man with one gun" on the theory that he will be REALLY good with it, as it is the only one he practices with. If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. More charitably, if you always bring one thicker warm layer, you'll learn how to use that one warm layer (zip it open, take off the hood, get it on and off quickly before getting chilled or overheated).

I can see doing that. I find it helpful to be focused on my temperature and always be adjusting clothing so as not to sweat. That would take more on and off cycles with a single layer, but it could be done. I certainly like a single layer around town because when it's -20F outside but +70F inside, I want to go from big jacket to t-shirt quickly.

So, yeah, it seems viable to take that approach. And cheaper to buy one layer instead of 3 or 4. But it would require more attention to even changing conditions. And, as you say, arriving at your camp warm, because you can't rely on your minimalist sleep system to warm up quickly if you got chilled.

[Justin Baker]

I need to ask, what do your all in one jacket for? Is it for active or stationary? Are you relying on your synthetic jacket to keep you warm while wet while hiking through rain?

Me personally, I get cold easily. This summer I got caught in a wicked storm in yosemite and I was too cold with just a base layer, shorts, and rain jacket to continue moving. I've decided to completely remove the down jacket and add a midlayer that can keep me warm while damp. Probably a fleece vest. That is a bit different than what other people do.

If it's cold out during the day then it's most likely raining and I will be in my shelter anyways, I can just get in my bag. When it gets dark I can go to sleep early or build a fire.

[Dale Wambaugh]

"I just don't understand how almost all of the peoples lists seem to have 4 jackets???"

Four seems a reach, but 3 seems plausible: windshirt, insulation, rain shell. Why? Because they are effective over a wide range of conditions. For that matter, I look at my windshirt as a shirt– far lighter than my button downs. It does have jacket-like features with front zipper and hood.

Why not? I could suck it up and get by with one jacket, but comfort and safety count for me. Indeed, the Spartan vs comfort issue is the crux of SUL kits. Easy enough for cooking, but not so much for clothing: I like being warm and dry. At some point, it is just plain life-saving. I do hike in a region with highly variable weather. Hypothermia sucks.

The tent? Yup, tarp and bivy work well, with the bivy covering bug season too.

Use a poncho/cape with a bivy for rain gear and shelter and really slim it down. If you are going there, why not use your quilt for your insulation layer?

Why do people choose the heavier options? Ignorance, fear, comfort, clinging to tradition, stubbornness. John Muir did the wool-coat-with-a-pocketful-of-bread thing, but he was raised in a Dickensian 19th Century Scottish world. He could have died a number of times too. He was a tough old bird. I'm not :)

[Greg Mihalik]

"…but in wet conditions, the synthetic jacket (which keeps its warmth when wet) is the only jacket I bring…"

I'm glad it works for you, where you hike, and when you hike.
But June/July/August and this year Sept, in Colorado, you would have been courting danger.

"John Muir did the wool-coat-with-a-pocketful-of-bread thing…"

He was also a mooch.

[David Ure]

"I am just wondering if I am just a SUL geek or is there something else?"

Yes you are and it is pretty awesome. I am not but continue to learn much from that forum.

[Jerry Adams]

A seperate WPB jacket is good. If it's raining, I'll wear just that. Especially when I'm hiking.

As is well known, WPB jackets aren't perfect so you can get wet inside. You don't want your insulated layer to get wet. Just a base layer is best to minimize the amount that gets wet.

So, the minimum is base layer, insulated layer, WPB jacket.

I think it would be possible to have a down insulated layer, which weighs less for the warmth, even in rainy weather, without losing loft. I've been using synthetic, just because that's what I have. I have a down layer that I only use occasionally in the coldest weather.

Maybe the WPB jacket should be bigger too – around and in length. As loose as possible around neck/shoulders/head. For ansulated layer, you want it tight around neck/shoulders/head. Not really tight, but not baggy.

[Jennifer Mitol]

"I am just wondering if I am just a SUL geek or is there something else?"

Yes you are and it is pretty awesome. I am not but continue to learn much from that forum."

+1 to that.

I love your SUL geekiness and love to read your comments about it. Not that I may ever get as SUL as you, for whatever currently-unidentifiable reason, but the more I read about it, and the more you post your gear lists and adventures and fast-packing ideas, the more I strive to get there.

So by all means keep it up! My goal is to get back to ultra-trail running before I turn 50 and reading your ideas and suggestions only helps me get there.

[Aaron Sorensen]

Wow,
I wrote this a little bit tipsy last night and I guess ranted on something I don't really remember much of today.

Also posting this in the SUL forum, I guess I just thought no one would read or reply to this.
BLP'ers must be a little bored right now?

Dale,

Good points. I need to get to a point were I could wear my quilt as clothing.
I like to move big milage, so I guess a down layer only works for me when stopped for the night.
I also don't see wearing my quilt with a pack on and having something happen to it.
This is why in 40F or above I'll use a synthetic layer as it's just not as warm as my down jacket.
Then I would just need a warmer mid layer for hiking in colder weather and have my down jacket with the same quilt work for both conditions.

I have tried a half bag that I could wear and making an elephant foot type bottom for this just might work really well.

.

.

It may just have to be my next item to make.

I think being in California for the past 10 years has just spoiled me.

[Bob Shaver]

I carry a rain coat, for rain, wind, and some warmth. Plus a down coat for warmth. The rain coat is loose enough to go over the down coat. Those two seem to be adequate to me, as far as jackets go.

[Alexander S]

"But if anyone has anything else to add to this, I would love to hear some more input.
This can also work for almost every system (coking, clothing, ect)…"

I never understood why people bring a scrub pad and soap, regardless how small. I use gravel and sand once I learned how much better it cleans a pot.

Why purchase/carry an esbit stove when you can use three rocks?

Other times I admire people who use aquamira and bring only one water bag.

I need my:

Sawyer filter 2.25 oz
Evernew squeeze bag 1 oz
Nalgene colapsible camp bag 3 oz. I dunno how people do without these. My only other thought would be to simply stop filtering all together in Alpine environment.

[Eric Blumensaadt]

I agree with Bob, I ONLY carry a rain parka and use it also as a wind jacket and shell over my down or synthetic jacket.

My rain parka (and pants) is REI's eVent Kimtah series, which I understand they no longer make.

[Richard May]

I like having fewer pieces, it's less stuff to track. I guess there's the question of priorities and deciding what to spend time thinking about. Less stuff keeps me focused on the environment, where I am and what I'm doing.

I do it in other areas of my life. When photographing I prefer only two prime lenses. This keeps me focused on the image and the story it holds rather than the gear I'm using.

I'd never thought about jackets like this. To me it's what I'm wearing; a shirt for cool breeze/wind, something to stay warm and something to stay dry. The poncho plus a bivy is my shelter. That last choice was made for me from lack of money—it worked so it stuck.

[Bob Gross]

"When photographing I prefer only two prime lenses. This keeps me focused on the image and the story it holds rather than the gear I'm using."

Lenses wouldn't be much good if they did not focus the image.

–B.G.–

[Richard May]

Lenses wouldn't be much good if they did not focus the image.

LOL – I've made a bunch of lousy, tack sharp images.

[Bob Gross]

Yes, and I have shot a lot of perfect subjects that had no focus at all. Blame it on the camera. Learn how to do a Micro Focus Adjustment.

–B.G.–

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