Backpacking gear attributes: the relationships between weight, cost, durability, versatility, and performance

So, I have mixed feelings about an article like this. Yes, it is a great way to optimize gear selection for specific trips. That being said, it assumes that the reader has several tents/tarps to select from. The logical extension is to assume that the reader has multiple packs, cooking systems, sleeping pads and other support paraphenalia to go on these trips.
For whatever reason, I own one backpack, one tent and one pad (and a butt ton of cooking gear). Over the years, I have optimized my gear for a vast majority of the trips that I go on in order to reduce weight. While a Tarp may work in 30% of the trips that I take, I don’t think that I would every purchase one. Maybe I am just cheap or that I have other things that require investments. It is a good article, it just does not apply to my style of backpacking. My 2 cents.

Jon – I suppose I would reply by saying that you’ve executed much of the strategy discussed in the article to dial in the kit that you want for the use cases you need it for…!

I hope also that the information here can be used to help people shop for and buy more versatile gear, and perhaps less gear, that covers wider ranges of use cases for them.

This a great article.  It is a nice combination of geeky-ness combined with functional, practical application.  The radar charts are an excellent, easy to understand visual.  I just sent the article to a friend that always over-emphasises low price and is never happy with his purchase (& within a year he buys another low price shelter spending more in the longer-run). I now own two shelters: 1) Tarp – For 40 years, I have used various tarp versions – currently a DCF trekking pole, 2-person, light weight tarp (for all those years, I just used a headnet at night in Colo Rockies for buggy conditions, which has gotten worse thru the years); 2) Tent – the other shelter more recently added is a DCF 1-P light-weigh, trekking pole tent for buggy conditions.  While both shelters have their function, of the two, I prefer the tarp.  These two shelters cover everything for me but full-on winter conditions.  And, yes, I have already drawn my radar charts for both of my shelters.  Thanks Ryan for your analysis.  Dave

I’m definitely going to try to recreate these graphs with own gear, it looks like a fun exercise for shelters anyway. Any trip I take in 3 seasons it seems like my pack is the same size plus or minus 10% capacity. Bags and pads are temperature dependent. I do have a few overlapping shelter options though. Duomid full perimeter tarp, X-Mid, and the Dipole. Since I really like the Dipole I’ll will use that for bugs or more inclement conditions when I’ll spend more time in the tent. I like the duomid because it is: 1 pole, easy pitch, storm worthy, it’s 2ish ounce lighter, and I got it at a good deal, but the XMid is solid in all of those categories too, it can be used as a more livable full perimeter tarp, and with the mesh inner it can be a loaner as well.

I can relate to the comment about buying used or on sale items and being slightly disappointed. For me it’s mainly been the pack. I realize now I just need one I really like and will use every time. I am never “fast packing” and if I do want to cover miles it going to be summer when gear is lightest anyways. I’m going with an SWD fully decked out that can handle BV450 horizontal (90% of my trips, BV475/500 vertical for the other 10%).

Once my gear closet inventory is set I’m mapping out what to use and when based on season, temps, conditions, and not worry about weight. Hoping that alleviates some packing anxiety! Every thing I’ve purchased is sufficiently light so I’m going to just bring items based on what I expect to encounter to be safe and comfortable. The pack out weight is what it is at that point.

Since I tend to go mostly alone I always try to keep a big 4 set to offer a friend (or two) who only has some (or none) of the necessary gear, which is the main reason I’ve had a hard time parting with certain items of mine. “I got this as a great price and it can use be used as a loaner…”

The other issue I have is keeping some specific gear for the 1x a year I go with my daughters or wife. Good thing I’ve been able to find close out sales on pads, packs, and Magma bags for that otherwise I would feel really bad about that stuff collecting dust 360 days a year!

@Jon: I think the system is supposed to be used either for selection from your own gear, or for choosing which to purchase. The system works the same.

I had not seen this article yet, but could have really used it in my recent purchase of a free standing car camping/winter/canoe camping? tent.

For shelters this works great.

I don’t see how to apply this to clothing though, since it’s all in the combinations.