While I know it's hard not to follow the trends - internal frame really is just that. some of us (surely not me, I'm practically a baby) hiked back when external frame was all the rage smile

if the old external is relatively light, an feels good to you, heck *use it* - after a few trips with it you can decide what parts of your gear you want to invest in lighter options. Nothing beats experience with the gear for that, as you get a "system" of how you like to pack things, and make them work together.

If I lived in the states, I'd be making good use of REI or campmor's web sites and ordering stuff.. REI in particular is easy to return things even those ordered on the web. (The acronym stands for Return Everything Immediately smile )

even before you invest in the super high tech UL gear, your biggest asset to backpacking light is the experience in your brain, and how you stay comfortable without putting your whole house on your back. You can practice that very effectively with older gear and hand-me-downs - If you can end up with a weight of 15 to 20 pounds in that old bag including it, before you add food water and fuel, you're probably doing better than 90% of the people on the trail anyway, and as you get out you'll figure out what you want to replace first.

And don't wait for a stove. Find some meals that work with just boiling water, make a Penny stove (the one I use) or a cat stove, look at a few people's lists here and get out a few times.

After that decide what you want to start replacing to make your experience better - which may mean you start buying some lighter gear, or even decide in some cases to take (gasp) some heavier gear... (I change stuff around a lot depending on where I am going and what I'm doing, and how lazy or hardcore I feel smile )



Edited by phat (02/28/14 08:36 AM)
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