More Ultraightweight Backpacking Ideas (updated for 2006)
by Bob Gross
"Down is Up"
I'll bet that you never thought that this would get into topics of the World Economy, did you? Read on.
Way back in the 1960's, the aluminum frame backpack designed by Dick Kelty
was a big deal. As a technical innovation, maybe it wasn't much, but it seemed
to ignite a major beginning to the backpacking craze of the 1970's.
Back in those days, there were endless arguments about the best insulation
for a sleeping bag. The "synthetic" camp defended the Hollofil and Polarguard
bags. The "down" camp defended prime goose down. The synthetic camp tended
to win out more in the wetter states like Washington, and the down camp tended
to win out more in the dryer states like California and Arizona. Back then,
there were a few major manufacturers of high quality sleeping bags here in
the US, and there were one or two more companies that supplied do-it-yourself
kits for sleeping bags. As a result, there was a market demand for high quality
goose down itself. Unfortunately, the suppliers were primarily overseas.
Why? Because goose flocks are not normally kept for the primary purpose of
harvesting goose down. Primarily, they are kept for the purpose of producing
goose flesh for human consumption, and the goose down is merely a valuable
byproduct. Goose meat isn't that popular as a food item in North America.
Besides, you can't use just any old feathers from some wandering waterfowl.
Certain types of white geese raised in cold northern latitudes produced the
best white down.
In the 1960's and 1970's, Poland produced lots of white goose down. I suppose
the Polish culinary habits demanded those geese, but the white down was sold
to the sleeping bag manufacturers primarily in the US. US labor for sewing
the sleeping bags was expensive, but that was the only way to keep the finished
quality high, or so it was thought at the time, so the final pricetag on
a premium goose down sleeping bag was creeping higher and higher. Down was
up.
By the late 1970's, the Chinese had entered the market by supplying white
goose down. Retail chains such as REI were importing the Chinese down and
having the sleeping bags sewn domestically by REI's domestic subsidiary,
Thaw, as an example. Then some smart businessmen woke up one day and suggested
that the sleeping bags use Chinese down and also Chinese labor. At first,
there were quality concerns. However, sewing skills improved and pretty soon
finished sleeping bags were coming into the REI stores with a "made in China"
label. Immediately, the finished retail price of sleeping bags dropped significantly.
Now down was down. One year we were paying over $400 for a winter-weight
sleeping bag, and the following year we were paying closer to half that much.
Since then, a handful of domestic sleeping bag manufacturers here in the
US have been clinging to their business, primarily in the semi-custom sleeping
bag market. The customer orders a bag by a checklist of short, regular, or
long, a temperature rating, an outer shell material choice, a color choice,
and a few other options. Then the bag is sewn and shipped within a matter
of days. In contrast, the mass-produced sleeping bags all come from Chinese
factories, all in a few standard designs.
An ounce of good goose down will fill up at least 600 cubic inches of volume.
To a certain extent, the more fill-power it has, the lighter the overall
bag will be for a given warmth. So, by the early 1980's when I purchased
a down bag rated at 650 fill-power, that was a big deal. Little by little,
down processing techniques were developed to squeeze more fill-power out
of each ounce. Then 700 fill-power down commanded a premium. Time passed
and the market demanded more and more. Very recently, 800 fill-power down
garments have appeared, and I believe I saw one that was rated at 900 cubic
inches per ounce. The market demanded that nylon shell materials be lighter
to reduce the overall weight. In the old days, nylon material weighing 2-3
ounces per square yard was the norm. Then 1.5 ounces came around. Now there
are a few fabrics weighing less than one ounce per square yard.
The market discovered that providing less is more. Providing a lighter fabric
and higher fill-power down results in a premium bag commanding a premium
price. The weight of down is down so the finished price goes up.
That early 1980's bag that had beaten the 2-pound barrier is mildly obsolete.
I purchased one recently that weighs in at 1 pound 5 ounces. If this trend
continues, pretty soon the backpacker won't carry any real sleeping bag.
It will be just a bag of warm air contained within a force field. Just joking.
So, is that what this whole ultralightweight backpacking idea is about… just down? Not really.
Prior to the end of the Cold War, the Soviets were masters of metallurgy
of titanium. They used massive amounts of titanium metal for the high-temperature
skin of Mach 2 jet and rocket aircraft. Then the Cold War ended, and all
of a sudden, the Soviets were not building so many titanium-skin aircraft.
The titanium metal market tanked. Then some smart businessmen woke up one
day and suggested that there is an alternative market for titanium. Backpackers
had to carry heavy metal stoves and pots made of stainless steel or aluminum.
If a similar product were made out of titanium, then ounces could be saved.
Besides, titanium tolerates high heat very well, so cooking items were natural
hits. Titanium cook pots, mugs, and stoves entered the market. Backpackers
pay a premium for each item, even if it is only a small number of ounces
that is saved. The price of titanium is back up.
Siliconized nylon is another successful fabric that was optimized for rainproof
tarps. The fabric weight is about 1.3 ounces per square yard, so suddenly
a tent can be constructed that weighs no more than one pound. It may not
have the tear-strength of a dense 3-ounce nylon fabric, but maybe it is good
enough for moderate conditions.
My point is that one approach to ultralightweight gear is to use highly engineered
materials like super down, titanium, and super-thin coated nylon.
Another way to minimize the load to be carried is to simply delete everything
not essential. That's OK, but some backpackers like their comforts, too.
Yet another idea is to take only items that have multiple purposes. For example,
a down vest can be used inside a marginal sleeping bag to get you through
a cold night. I've heard rumors that titanium tent pegs are used as a wire-type
pot support on a micro stove.
Another minimalist technique only applies to experienced backpackers. Most
normal backpacking gear has great safety margins built-in. A hot MSR XGK-II
stove can melt snow by the buckets full, but do you really need that much
heat on a summer backpack trip? Maybe you only need to boil a pint of water
at a time, so a micro stove might do the job with mere ounces, not pounds
of stove. By the way, do you need real stove at all, or do you need just
a little "cooker?" During World War II, the Germans produced a little solid
fuel gadget for their soldiers to cook over, and it was smokeless. Now, this
is sold as Esbit fuel, and some ultralightweight backpackers do 100% of their
cooking over a tiny half-ounce square of it on a tiny holder of metal, especially
when their cooking needs are minimal.
So far, we have mentioned the Germans, the Soviets, and the Chinese. Who is next?
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