John Abela from Hikelighter.com passed away

Sad news. Thanks for posting, Wayne.

John also helped to develop the ultralight community. RIP

For you newbies to Backpacking Light, check out John’s web site and you get a glimpse of what this man has given to the backpacking community.

https://hikelighter.com/

To bad, UL travel has lost a huge believer. Pleasant Dreams John!

That is terrible news, John was definitely an early leader in the community.

I am quite sorry as well. John was indeed quite the innovator and steward of UL gear and techniques. He was very generous with his advice, and I found him to be a nice guy when I communicated with him personally.

What Alex said and then some!

( Off-topic: this morning I deleted an earlier post in this thread that violated forum guidelines. Please keep your posts respectful here and use the thread to remember John in a positive light. – Thanks )

John passed away November 13 at the age of 45. Life is such a gift, and John leaving us at such a young age is a reminder to me to be grateful for this community, how we’ve helped each other, and what John gave to us.

John and I didn’t always see eye to eye on things but I appreciated his passion for ultralight backpacking, his willingness to help others, and the unique personality he brought to his video content.

He taught me a lot about alcohol stoves and was eager to ship samples to me so I could test them and then allow me to bombard him with questions about how they worked. I’ve never been an alcohol stove expert but with John’s willingness to educate me about them I at least have a working knowledge now. I’m very grateful for that.

John left an important legacy to our community and we are poorer without him. RIP, John.

I enjoyed John’s posts here and on his website, I’ll miss him.  RIP

Ron

Oh man, what a shock.

John was a man of great passion and strong opinions. A unique personality in the BPL community. In my own correspondence with him he was always exceedingly generous with his time, knowledge, and encouragement. Rest in peace John.

R.I.P. John Abela

Very nice words by Ryan Jordan.

Rest in Peace  – well, maybe.

I’m betting he’s on cool, sweet trails, with a pack that weighs nothing, and eating gourmet grub.

Carry On Big Guy!

I’m shocked to hear of his passing. I’ve known John for years and have been on quite a few trips with him. He was a good person I considered a friend. Sad indeed.

His passing and the return of being able to edit one’s posts here are strangely close together. {moderator note: update on post edit-time-limitation conspiracy here}

John Abela(on right) and Ken Thompson, organizers of the 6th GGG

John was a one of a kind.   I’m sorry to hear of this.

Safe travels John.

What? This is sad news indeed. Way too soon. I have gone on a few trips with John several years ago but have not kept in touch. How sad.

John always thought outside the box and had interesting ideas, plus he did the work to test them himself! He will be missed. RIP John.

I saw this mentioned on Reddit a few days ago and is such terrible news to hear. I knew John well in terms of being an “internet friend” (a.k.a. one who you never meet, but often communicate with) and it really does feel like just the other day we were debating the merits over slots in backpacking tables or something similar that no other humans would bother discussing…he was also one of our sponsored hikers, and worked with me to develop various products, including the A-pod (a.k.a. Abela-Pod). I enjoyed his openness when testing products, and graciously contributing to the ultralight community. He will be missed and my thoughts are with his family. RIP.

I didn’t know John but read his blog and knew he was a UL pioneer.

At my “advanced age” his passing at 45 makes me even more grateful for all the years I’ve been given to enjoy the outdoors in every season.

Wow, so sad.

That is very sad news.  I recently was referred to his website and spent quite a bit of time reading through his reviews and words of wisdom. He will be missed but I hope is website will be preserved so we can benefit from his passion for all things ultralight.

I conversed with John many times over the years via email and discussions on this very website.  I am incredibly shocked to hear of his passing.  Condolences to his family and friends.

Wow. Sad to hear.

Could always count on his objective evaluations of gear. Cant say i knew him, but had a couple online interactions with him, and read many of his reviews and trip reports.