I carefully reread my original post, and there is nothing that I would change. Many people quoted me using half of my sentence in order to carefully skip the meaning and to demonstrate their own point.

I generally go out with a base weight of 16 to 18 pounds and Anybody who says I advocate 50 pound packs is full of it. I don't feel the need to repeat anything I said, I said it clearly the first time.

The purpose of the post was to tell beginners that if they think they have the right gear because it falls under some artificial weight concept _ like 12 pounds, that they might have been fooled by others into taking too light of gear. I waited quite a while to comment on this, I wanted everyone elses input and I respect your points of view.

I never return gear. The montebell sweater is nice, its just not a winter down coat. It is a layering piece and may be right for summer camping in the Cascades or for winter day skiing. However to say that it is better because it is lighter is patently ridiculous. The old coat has more detail, more insulation, more warmth and is more functional. It is a more valuable more functional and yes "better" piece of gear than the UL sweater, the ONLY thing the UL sweater has going for it is that its lighter.

If its going to rain, I take rain gear capable of keeping me dry, not a poncho. When its going to be cold, I take a warm sleeping bag. If I'm going to be melting a lot of snow, I take a heavy duty stove. To me there is absolutely no difference between carrying a 20 pound pack or a 25 pound pack. When I go into the mountains during a winter storm warning I carry a 4 season mountain tent. My 8 pound TFN mountain 24 IS a better tent that your tarp, although I generally take my Bibler, the TNF is the correct choice for some trips.

My original post was to explore, has the crase for less weight been worth the trade offs in the products that we buy, I say no, some say yes. Beginners need to be exposed to these ideas. Judging from the aount of unsolicited email I get from readers, supporting my ideas, I will continue to give them.
Jim have a nice day.