Re: the newbie ?

--- In [email protected], "bacncheesmurrder88" <bacncheesmurrder88@...> wrote:
> so im new to the whole minimalist, lightweight backpacking scene but am no stranger to carrying a heavy pack over long distances, (ARMY.)  i guess my question is... is the point to see how light you can get, or to see how little you can bring?

For me, the point is to get little enough on your back that it's pretty much like you're carrying nothing on your back, so that you can enjoy a pleasant stroll in the countryside rather than conduct an endurance contest against your pack. The point at which this happens varies for various folks. For me, at 25 pounds total weight (food, water, and gear), my pack pretty much disappears and I enjoy the hike instead. For you it may be different.

Others have different goals, they find challenge in going even lighter and subjecting themselves to more physical discomforts on the camping side of things. I'm quite aware that I am carrying a few luxury items that purists either sneer at or are dismissive of, such as a sleeping bag and an inflatable backpacking air mattress (albeit a 14 ounce one) rather than a Z-rest or blue foamie and a down quilt, but I find it hard to sleep on something as unforgiving as a Z-rest, find alcohol to be too fiddly for me in the mornings pre-coffee compared to my Soto isobutane stove (I drink instant on the trail, of course, but I'm an addict so I must have my coffee to begin moving in the morning), and find my Western Mountaineering sleeping bag to keep me much warmer than a quilt (due to the seal around my face, the hood, and the chest baffle) when it's cold outside while being only a few ounces heavier. 

So anyhow, if your goal in backpacking is to go "Army Strong" and pound the trail into submission in the most energetic way possible, you're probably going to be happy with your current heavyweight gear. Personally, I prefer to enjoy the hike rather than engage in a battle of will vs. the trail. But it's all personal, in the end, you have to decide for yourself what your goal is, and switch your gear to arrive at what works for that goal. For me, I arrived at 25 pounds total load via trial and error to arrive at what's most enjoyable for me, for you, it may be something different. That's something you'll have to decide for yourself in the end.