Tam
"but when people choose a heavier piece of gear that is similarly priced, and equally useful baffles me."
"equally useful" is whats evading you. The UL equivalent of a heavier piece of gear may not be equally useful. If you are on an easy does it trip in easy terrain your UL gear may be adequate, but a lot of places that gear would be shredded and not function at all, or it may simply not be adequate for the user to complete the trip they went out to enjoy. I always say - take the lightest gear that allows you to do what ya come for. This "lighter is always better concept" is based on lack of experience.
Jim
Trust me, I'm well aware that there is a difference...but in my neck of the woods, there is really not a whole lot of the extremely technical types of hikes that would warrant "tough as nails and heavy because of it" sort of equipment, and in general, most people I see with "heavy" gear just don't pay that much attention to weight.
I'm not an ultralighter by ANY means, I'm simply weight conscious, which to me are two very different things. I count carefully every ounce, but I don't carry pieces of gear that any person who takes care of their stuff should be "shredding" under normal use, in order to shave weight.
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