I started backpacking when the original, iconic Kelty frame pack was cutting edge high tech, and horrendously expensive at $35 to $38. We typically carried pretty hefty weights then, wearing classic waffle stompers, but I can never recall not being impressed with anything that was lighter and just as satisfactory as a heavier item. As the technology and skills developed, it has been easy to adopt lighter and lighter items - not exactly complex reasoning is required.

What seems to have happened with the extreme ULers is that they have budded off an entirely new game where "minimum weight" is the principal objective, not simply traveling through the wilderness with just the right amount of gear.

I suppose my motto is "Right, not necessarily light."