FianllyME said
"Anyways, Jim, I find your rant humorous. All your gear is ultralight, and now you want to tell beginners that ultralight gear is not better. Your 4 season 8 lb tent is ultralight. Your down everything is ultralight. Your backpack is superultralight. Your 16 pound pack with durable gear is ultralight. "

You mean my 4 season 4 pound 5 ounce tent is UL, but its also a 20 year old design made of goretex, and none of the features were spared to make it that light. My spectra backpack isn't UL, it weighs between 29 and 60 ounces depending on which modular features are in. My jackets are mostly goretex, and have pit zips. My down airmattress (which I just got back from Warmlight) is 20 years old and weighs 27 ounces, my WM down bags have goretex shells and are heavy compared to modern WM bags. My favorite stove is a Coleman Xponent. Even my Ti pots and pans are 20 years old - the originals, not as light as modern UL. My alcohol stove even weighs 1 oz not .5 oz. No the only piece of what I would call UL gear is the new Montebell coat and at 14 ounces its also not UL.

However my 16 pound base weight is almost UL even though the individual pieces of gear are not. What does this say? It says that even people carrying all UL gear are still carrying too many items they don't really need. Heck I wear fleece jackets and fleece pants and my down pants weigh 24 oz.
Jim
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These are my own opinions based on wisdom earned through many wrong decisions. Your mileage may vary.