Is every UL backpacker rich?

[Chad M]

Scrolling this forum I can’t help but notice that every single piece of gear discussed costs an amazing amount of money for what it really is. People also seem to be able to afford this gear without having jobs (going on month long walks with thousands of dollars worth of cottage gear).  I am just wondering, in your opinion, is UL or lightweight backpacking the same as daddy belonging to the yacht club?  Is it just a collection of rich kids?  Honestly, I love lightweight gear but spending 600 dollars on a miniature circus tent to sleep under (supports for the circus tent not included) to hike the JMT?  Really?  Seems against most everything I’ve ever read about JM. Thoughts?

[Ken Thompson]

Chaff.

[Kattt]

Yes, by any decent standard and by that I mean a measure  “that has some decency”.

 

Ps. I am probably at the lowest end on this forum and I still think this is a luxury that I am somehow able to swing ( not UL but light enough). I work 70+ hours a week, have no debt and never eat out but compared to the vast majority of people in this world I am rich. People with two or three times what I have complain about being poor all the time. I don’t get it.

[Chad “Stick” Poindexter]

Haha…. nope, not me anyway! Work, save, spend wisely and buy it over the course of several years.

[Brad Rogers]

When I was in my hay day of UL backpacking ten years ago, I had a decent, but not great job, and then was out of work for six months.  I used a Gossamer Gear Spinnshelter and Gossamer Gear Mariposia Plus with a Thermarest Ridgerest back in those days.  I was still fortunate as I never was “short” money, but I didn’t have tons of money to have lots of extra gear.

I know a lot of people who have really nice gear and get out on lots of trips, of course they don’t have much else, but of course they make a lot of sacrifices to do so.

Now I have a good job and while not rich, have money for just about whatever gear I need.  I now however have less time to get out an use my gear.  I find myself doing fewer trips than I used to, but I am doing bigger trips (and can afford airfare to go out west etc)

There are several good articles on how to put together a UL kit for cheap (sometimes as low as $300).

All in all we worry about our gear way too much – trips are fun with a $600 ZPacks Tent or a $90 Eureka Tent.  Just get out there.   On that same token, we all probably have more than we need and I am not talking (just) about backpacking gear.

 

[Chad M]

Lol, I knew that would get some immediate responses.  I do the same as you my fellow namesake Chad stick. I spend stupid money on great lightweight gear and I’m not knocking it at all!  I need and love lightweight, durable gear. Just taking a step back and looking around and noticing how much money is being dumped into walking through the woods these days. It really is astounding I think.

[Tony Wong]

Chad,

Interesting observation on your part and I can see how you have come to your conclusions.

Over the years, I have observed two characteristics of UL/Lightweight backpackers:

1. Many BPLers are frugal/cheap…railing against “high shipping cost” or price increases
2. Many BPLers have an endless fascination with Cuben Fiber Products and other expensive gear

Maybe cars enthusiast offer an analogy….maybe people are “stuck” driving Honda Accords and Civics, but they all dream about owning an exotic sports car.

Also in that vein, I would say that spending “a lot” of money on backpacking gear is relatively minor compared to someone who wants to buy a used sports car for $10k, $20k, or more to satisfy their passion.

Do many ULers have a lot of money that puts them into the yacht club???

Some do and I am guessing that most do not and are average Janes and Joes.

However, it is a matter of priority for them on what they chose to spend their money on.

I drove a 1994 Saturn for 18 years til the engine valve cover broke and killed my car…..my car was probably worth between lunch money and $600 bucks.

Yet, I am seriously considering buying a Zpacks Duplex in the future (should my girl friend really take to backpacking) that might be the same value as my old Saturn.

Stupid cheap in certain areas of my life, but stupid crazy with “blowing” money on UL gear.

Example: After my 2011 JMT trip, I wanted a bigger and lighter bear canister. I had paid $80 for my Bear Vault, which weighed 2.4 lbs. I replaced it with a custome 12″ tall Bearrikade for something like $325…just to save 0.3 lbs?!!! (Even I think that I am crazy for doing this) Sad thing is that I have not been able to take this out on the trail for the past 2 years….it does not fit in my GoLite Jam2…DOH!!! (I am waiting for a MLD Exodus Full Suspension to arrive shortly….a pack that I have wanted since I completed my 2011 JMT trip….so this makes me patient and stupid all at the same time?)

I guess, in the end…..like any other expensive purchase, it is a matter of what your priorities are and what you are willing to spend your hard earned money on.

Not every purchase is logical….if we were all logical we would drive econo box cars.

I do think that ULers, myself included, can get obsessed about gear and make it the main focus, when gear is simply a means to an end….getting out on the trail and enjoying the outdoors.

For most of us here, we have decided that carrying a lighter load on our backs greatly adds to our enjoyment of the outdoors…our passion.

Remember, you have wandered into the home of the crazy, passionate gear geeks who are willing to weight their gear down the nearest 0.5 oz to see where they can save some weight….the fringe, the extreme, the crazy people.

Anyway, few thoughts, not sure if it answers your question….you would have to ask people here if they rich and part of the yatch club.

As for me, I actually do make some good money, but as I am typing this, I am still at work and it is 7:31pm……no yatch in my future, but maybe a cuben shelter.

Tony

[Nick Gatel]

Honestly, I love lightweight gear but spending 600 dollars on a miniature circus tent to sleep under (supports for the circus tent not included) to hike the JMT?

Or one one could learn how to become competent using a 13 oz, 8 x 10, silnylon tarp for under $100.

Pick a gear item and there is an inexpensive option.

 

[Kattt]

I guess this all hinges on one’s definition of rich and that is clearly all over the board. That and no one wants to be called rich  so that bar gets raised higher and higher. I am lowering it to having plenty of food, even if I make it all at home, not being cold, having a roof over my head, a car ( bought used 100+K miles) health and car insurance and after all that I can still afford my ipad and a new phone, nice gear and a few other luxuries. The year before I left Italy, I experienced ” poor” ; we lived in a 600 year old house with only 1/2 a roof, burned the olive orchard in our fireplace to stay warm, had no money to fill the generator etc. Now I feel rich.

[Justin Baker]

When you look at ultralight gear, you typically have two types of gear: reasonably priced gear that is very light and super expensive gear that is a few ounces lighter than the reasonably priced gear. An example would be a sil nylon shelter vs a cuben fiber or shelter. Or you have gear that has a slightly better quality or performance than a reasonably priced item but is twice or more expensive. An example would be a decent $100 rain jacket vs a $400 goretex jacket. This type of thing exists in any hobby. When someone is very dedicated a to a hobby, assuming they can afford it, they will often spend large amounts of money for very small gains in performance or weight savings. You can buy the more reasonably priced, but reasonably light gear and do the fast and light thing successfully while being at a slight disadvantage over the “rich” people. Your own economic situation is your own business and calling people out who choose to buy expensive gear is rude and inappropriate.

[Chad M]

Ty for your thoughtful response Brad.  I am in basically the same boat as you and I agree 100% with your “just get out there” attitude.

[Chad M]

I have crazy expensive gear, CF tarps, UL down jackets, Yada Yada Yada. I’m not trying to be disrespectful to the community at all, I’m just taking a step back and looking at my “gear room”. All of a sudden it looks crazy to me. No disrespect intended my man.  I just wanted people’s thoughts on MY thought and I’m receiving them.

[bjc]

I’m a miserly sort. My wife had to remind me that spending 400 for a cuben tarp and net tent (on sale of course) was no more than 4 nights in a motel. As Nick has said, there are always less expensive options for UL gear.  You get to choose what items are worth spending more on and which aren’t. Example: My SMD Lunar Solo weighs only 23 ounces and I bought it from the bargain bin for about $180.

[Brian B]

This is like coming to the conclusion that everyone you know on Facebook is going on amazing vacations all the time and must be rich. That’s what people post on Facebook.  It only seems that everyone is always going on vacations because (1) you know a sufficiently large number of people on FB that someone is always on or coming back from a vacation, (2) they don’t post about working the other 50 weeks a year.

 

[DancingBear]

The cost of high-grade backpacking gear (UL or not) is substantial, no doubt about it.  Though there are less expensive options that work just fine as well.

But once you’re out on the trail it’s a really cheap hobby.  I look at it in terms of nights in a hotel.  A lot of people take vacations each year that include 10 nights in a hotel.  A decent but not even remotely deluxe hotel room costs $100 a night.  So if I take backpacking vacations that involve no nights in a hotel, but I buy $1000 of gear every year (and I don’t) I’d still be even on the money.  And I’d have gear that I could use the following year as well, with no further expenditure, but the guy in the hotel would have nothing but receipts to show for his money.

Three years ago I spend $300 on a tent.  But I’ve used it about 60 nights so far, and it’s still in great shape.  That’s a cost of $5 a night, which declines every time I use it.  The gear may be costly up front, but it gives good value in the long run.

Walt

 

[Chad M]

Completely understand the hotel vs long run shelter option (as I explain it to my lovely wife constantly:).  I have a 300 dollar tarp that I can sleep under anywhere, anytime.   I get it.

AND I own a 1967 Ford Mustang.  Why?   I dunno?  I don’t take it to work or to the grocery store.  I just like it. It sounds amazing and it looks cool. So I completely understand hobbies. But, I’ve dumped more money into walking through the woods comfortably than I have on that car in 10 years.  That seems crazy to me.

[James holden]

going light can be fairly cheap these days …

having the same gear was everyone else seems to have on BPL however can be quite expensive …

with online sales and the wide availability of UL and light gear … theres no real practical reason why it should cost $$$$$$$ except in ones mind

;)

[Thomas Willard]

4 years ago I bought a bunch of gear in order to make the step to UL. Everytime I want to buy something, I have to sell something first, essentially keeping the money from selling as part of my gear fund.

[Lester Moore]

Every hobby has gear aficionados who choose to invest in the newest and finest gear because they enjoy it and are able to do so. And every hobby has practitioners who excel and have fun with the most simple and inexpensive of gear. This holds true for woodworking, hunting, amature astronomy, mountaineering, backpacking and photography to name just a few pursuits. While the important part of backpacking to me is getting outside and becoming a part of nature, playing with new gear is a fun and educative, albeit unnecessary, sideline.

[Brando Sancho]

there are plenty of people on here who don’t have a lot to spend on gear, and there are plenty of those who have disposable income, but most people dont have a class consciousness either way if that is what you’re asking. the personal question of how much does a specific piece of gear cost does not instigate introspection regarding privilege or inequality for most people.

[Scott Kilcoyne]

I sell off my collection of 70s/80s punk records to buy new gear.

[Jim C]

To paraphrase some comedian, camping is where we spend a lot of money to live like homeless people.

[Tony Wong]

Jim,

Ha!

Love it…..or as I like to tell my clients, “In my off time, I like to be homeless”.

Or I tell people, “I will be one of the best equipped homeless people that you will ever see.”

Tony

[Chad M]

Lol, the best equipped homeless person. THAT is funny.

[Kattt]

Someone “reported ” this topic? Have we become this delicate now that we cannot even handle a bit of a provocative question?

[Author]

Posts