I often never see ultralight backpackers "in the wild". In my mind it comes down to two concepts: education and decision making. As far as education goes, I think a lot of folks know about 'going lightweight' but that's as far as it goes (my last time I looked through mainstream backpacker magazines things were far from the philosophy of ultralight backpacking). So in my opinion although the concept is known, unless one decides to make that effort to learn, it'll never happen.

I will add that I once considered myself an ultralight backpacker and while I still adhere to the philosophy of lightening up, there are several decisions I've made over the last several years that stear me away from 'ultralight'. If you saw me on the trail, I doubt I'd be grouped into the lightweight club, but I couldn't be happier with my packweight. That's not to say my pack isn't light, it just doesn't look it. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />