Newbie to Ultralight

Mike Clelland(NOLs instructor and author),he has some great free videos on lightening up be sure to watch(his clothing system,the entire contents of his pack,water treatment and part 1 and 2 on the dinky stuff for ideas),this is an article he wrote The fastest way to backpack weight loss ,this is pmags Lightweight Backpacking 101 and The Frugal Backpacker – The $300 Gear Challenge .These are some other articles and videos for you to check out

Backpacking for Cheap: Gear for the Gearless

Backpacking Checklist (Gear List): 3-Season, 3-Day

Lightweight Backpacking 101: An Introductory Manual for Lightening Your Load Today (1st Edition – August 2001)

Cheap Ultralight Gear List

Ultimate Hiking Gear & Skills Clinic

Oregon Field Guide: Ultralight Hiking

Lightweight Testimony: Lighter, Farther, Faster
Jamie Shortt talks about his progression and shows his gear list for each stage, Lightweight Testimony: My Journey into Lightweight Backpacking
CleverHiker Light weight Basics
CleverHiker Trail Skills

I am not in the UL camp just yet but I am getting close, and I am certainly no guru.

My $.02.

First, read "Ultralight Backpackin' Tips: 153 Amazing & Inexpensive Tips For Extremely Lightweight Camping" by Mike Clelland.
I'd also suggest the "Ultimate Backpacker's Gear Guide" by Andrew Skurka.

I think reading these is time and money well spent, in terms of gear suggestions as well as tips, techniques, and advice guided by experience.

Mike and Andy's books will strongly recommend a tarp and bivy combo, particularly for dryer portions of the country. But given your requirements, I think one of the 3-person tents from tarptent.com would be worth looking into.

Oh, and this website has a lot of great articles on LW gear and techniques, too! Definitely check out the article archives, and spent some time searching through the forum history.

It's hard to recommend one specific pack. Everyone has something different they are looking for, or that feels comfortable for them. At one time, recommending a GoLite Jam was popular, because it was pretty cheap. But they are currently in Chapter 11, and you'll probably want to shop around anyway.

You could make a spreadsheet like this one to make comparisons easier:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1DrHcVYuLfsKF4SGKlndS34nfhRodT5KBl46UGql6JSs/edit?usp=sharing

Do something similar for quilts:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AlRcnwtF72OjdFBzb2R6SldJM01kek1aODRpNEh2VGc&usp=sharing

Disclaimer: My spreadsheets were made in February of 2014, and may have outdated information regarding models offered, features, prices, and specs.

Narrow down your choices, and order several of them to try *indoors*. Pick the one that works for you, your gear, and your budget, and return the rest (in the same as-new condition that you purchased it).

If you have a good back and can afford to be choosy about site selection, you could get away with a closed cell foam pad for pretty cheap, such as a Thermarest Ridgerest or Thermarest Z-Lite. My lower back is pretty cranky, so these days I wouldn't leave home without my Thermarest NeoAir XLite.

Other stuff:

Chlorine Dioxide for water treatment or the Sawyer Squeeze filter. I still can't get my wife psychologically past the idea of "bugs" and dirt in her water, so we still filter when we are doing a trip together. When I'm solo, I'm fine taking the chemical treatment.

On a budget, the catfood can alcohol stove and the KMart/Walmart "Grease pot" is light enough. You may need two cooking setups if you all three of you are hiking, otherwise the last person is going to be waiting up to 18 minutes for their hot water.

Again, for "dry" country, you may be able to get away with DriDucks rain jackets and a rain skirt like Mike describes in his book. I use a rain skirt, but a full-featured rain jacket. I live in Michigan, and we can get lots of precip around here and when I hike in upstate NY.

Hope this helps. You should get many more opinions responding to your post soon. ;-)

Bryan, You will find Andrew and Mike's books in my links above.

+1 on Skurka and Clelland. As a recent newbie, I was lucky enough to go on instructional trips with both of them. Good judgment all around — and a fun contrast in styles (e.g. AS advocates trekking poles, MC goes w/out).

I hear you on the kid/tent issue! (tarp/bivy? just me yes, w/kid? no)

Maybe keep an eye out for a used TarpTent Hogback. Big guy + kid + dog, you're probably looking at a 4-person shelter. Even if you want to keep it down to something smaller, a used TT is probably a good way to go for a shelter.

EDIT: reread your post. Yeah, it's just you plus one other companion at a time, the Hogback would be overkill. How much width do you need? Check out the TT Stratospire2 and the Cloudburst. (TT is on my mental short list of "safe bet" recs)

If you're carrying items for your six year old, a lighter pack would probably come later. I want to bring my 7 year old out for the first time next summer, and will probably need to use my old conventional pack to handle the volume.

Thank you for all the great replies. Looks like I'll be watching vids all week. Going to check out the Dallas area REI this weekend and see what's out there. I like to plan things, so I'm going try to figure out what fits for what I want before I get crazy buying stuff I'll never use. I will post back in a bit when I get a little better educated! Thanks!

>> … before I get crazy buying stuff I'll never use.

Good luck with that! :D

More seriously though, keep the pack you already have. Sounds like the frame will be useful when carrying extra gear.

Spend more time considering your sleeping kit and shelter. Keep an eye out for gear here at BPL. I bought an awesome MYOG bivy for $50.

"Going to check out the Dallas area REI this weekend and see what's out there."

Keep in mind that there's a whole other world of gear beyond the REI offerings. What's out there is mostly someplace else.

In the end something like Big Agnes tent could be an appropriate choice for your situation, but know your alternatives.

First of all, welcome! This site is a great resource for lightweight backpacking.

Like the others have said, there are a number of books, articles and web sites to help get an idea of different strategies for cutting weight from your gear. It's well worth the time to do a lot of research. Ray Jardine is pretty opinionated, but his book has some useful information also.

Most people recommend starting with the big 3; backpack, tent, sleeping gear. You can save POUNDS with that stuff. Most of the rest is just saving ounces or grams.

Create a gear list with weights of EVERY item and WHY you are taking it.

I like to have a note section with a comment on each piece after a hike on whether it fulfilled it's function. Don't take stuff you don't need.

Use an accurate scale.

Buy good gear.

I like REI but I'd say don't even go there until you know what you want. They have a lot of good gear, but their lightweight options are pretty limited.

If you are on a budget, (or even if you're not) the gear swap section of this forum is a much better place to shop.

If you are like most people, your gear list will become refined over time. If you get good gear but find it's not the right gear for you, you can sell it here. If it's not good gear, you might not be able to give it away.

Good luck. It's easy to get overwhelmed with all the information, options and opinions. :)

For a tent I would suggest a Tarptent Rainshadow 2. That is what I am considering for myself, my wife and my 10 year old daughter. Plenty of room for three and it is not too unreasonably heavy for just one (under three lbs).

As an addition to reading, if you haven't read it already…I feel everyone should have at least one pass reading through "Beyond Backpacking – Ray Jardine's Guide to Lightweight Hiking".

HTH

KJ