Dear beginners, and others,

Unlike the "old days", you get a lot of choice now as to what you do, where you can go, and what you carry with you.

Some of you have read Ray's book and some have read Colin Fletcher's. Fletcher carried everything including the kitchen sink, but advocated carrying the lightest kitchen sink. Anyway What I wanted to address is which weight category you will want to be in and why. First off the whole 5 pound pack is not a beginner thing because it takes a great deal of experience to get by with that little gear - its not a really cool way to go unless you want to go maximum miles in mild weather and you are in excellent shape.

Light weight camping with a pack in the twenty pound range is easy to accomplish these days. Even with a tent, real stove, extra clothing and rain shells. The thing is, there's what I call "mission hardware", which includes cameras, bikinis, kites, chairs, wine, climbing gear, NVG, hunting or fishing gear. You have to decide WHY you are going and whether what you will do when you arrive is more important to you than how much it weighs when you carry it.

Frankly I'll carry a 25 pound pack anywhere and be happy, even skiing or climbing. My gear selections are based on tent and warm clothes first, then a realistic stove for where I'm going and what I'm doing.

If you are going to altitude or into a strange environment, you may require heavier clothing or tougher gear. Most Ultralight gear is not very durable, and is often not well ventilated because they don't want the weight of a pit zipper. There is specialised gear for each sport if you want to ski, climb etc, see what people who do that carry. Ski jackets have a lot of extras that BPing jeackets do not for weight savings.

Footgear. Where you go will have a major effect on your footgear. If you are hiking in rocky mountainous country, you need much heavier leather boots than if you stay on the trail. If you are far off trail, you have to consider what would happen to you if you were injured because you sandals were not adequate for the job.

The main thing I'm saying here is that there is no right or wrong, no pack too small or too large and if we each hike our own hike and leave the other guy to hike his, we'll be ok. Its the individual that should really think about what they want to do, before they decide what to buy. That 5 pound pack that seemed so cool to carry might leave you cold in camp.

BE PREPARED
Jim