Having been at this for more than a few years (!), I'm increasingly amused by the discussions of lightweight v. comfortable - and how our targets have shifted. There have been a few posts, especially from newcomers, that got me thinking about this today.

Our current state of affairs has us debating whether a 20 pound pack load places too much emphasis on comfort - "I think, with a little work, you could probably pare your load to 15 or 16 pounds." "Yeah, but I like a lot of comfort when I camp, so I'll probably shoot for a 20 pound load and just suffer under the extra weight." (Yes, it's an exaggeration, and no, it's not intended to make fun of any particular person - merely create a mental image.)

I clearly remember in the 1980's when I carried 45 pounds for a weekend, and had the lightest pack in my group. We weren't even arguing about comfort in camp v. comfort on the trail; we were just using the lightest stuff available at the time. Then we won the Cold War in the 90's, and all those unemployed defense engineers turned their talents to civilian pursuits - and suddenly we had Keurigs, and LED everything, and cell phones, and laptops, and an internet. But best of all, we had titanium cookwear, miniaturized stoves and headlamps, 3 pound tents, and 3 pound packs - and 3-inch-thick, 1-pound sleeping pads.

Before, "ultralight" meant doing without, and 30 pounds was the ultralight threshold (I remember crossing it very well), and comfort wasn't part of the equation. Now, with new goodies, 20 pounds is where we start trading off weight for comfort.

As the poetess said, "These are the good old days, these arrraRR... the good old days."