My 'progress' has been in the other direction. Most of my early backpacking included pack weights in the mid-30s. Even at that weight I usually was sharing items with a trail partner and, for many years, my dog carried our nine-pound tent.

Now, I've been enamored of ultralight. Good thing too, 'cause my trail partner dropped out of backpacking and my current pup doesn't backpack either. While it's not considered 'ultralight,' my 15lb pack yields camps that are more comfortable and I eat better than I did before.

I think the key to light/ultralight backpacking is that you don't give up anything...most especially comfort.

FB